Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment

Abstract

To provide a semiconductor manufacturing device capable of increasing uniformity in a coating width of a coating liquid.SOLUTION: A semiconductor manufacturing device of an embodiment comprises: a substrate storage unit which stores a semiconductor wafer W; a substrate processing unit including a rotation holding unit 22 which rotates the semiconductor wafer W while holding it and a coating liquid supply unit 23 which supplies the coating liquid onto the semiconductor wafer W; a substrate transportation unit including a transportation arm 321 which takes out and delivers the semiconductor wafer W to the rotation holding unit 22 and a movement mechanism for moving the transportation arm 321; and a position detection unit 40 which detects a position of the transportation arm 321. The movement mechanism corrects the position of the transportation arm 321 and moves the transportation arm 321 onto the rotation holding unit 22 on the basis of position detection results of the transportation arm 321 by the position detection unit 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a process of applying a coating liquid such as a resist liquid onto a semiconductor wafer is performed. The apparatus for applying the coating liquid includes, for example, a wafer carrier (FOUP: Front Opening Unify Pod) for storing the semiconductor wafer, a coating unit having a spin chuck for rotating and holding the semiconductor wafer and a nozzle for discharging the coating liquid to be applied onto the semiconductor wafer, and a transport mechanism having a transport arm for transporting the semiconductor wafer removed from the wafer carrier to the coating unit. There is a process of applying the coating liquid only to the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer using the coating apparatus. In such a coating process, the coating width of the coating film applied to the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer may become non-uniform. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-041513 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-024129 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of improving the uniformity of the coating width of a coating liquid. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a substrate storage unit including a storage container for storing a semiconductor wafer, a substrate processing unit including a rotating holder for rotating the semiconductor wafer while holding it, and a coating liquid supply unit for supplying a coating liquid onto the semiconductor wafer held by the rotating holder, a substrate transport unit including a transport arm for taking out the semiconductor wafer from the storage container and transferring the taken out semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder, and a moving mechanism for moving the transport arm from a transfer position of the semiconductor wafer from the storage container to a transfer position of the semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder, and a position detection unit disposed near the rotating holder for detecting a position of the transport arm holding the semiconductor wafer. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment, the moving mechanism is configured to move the transport arm to a transfer position of the semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder while correcting the position of the transport arm based on a position detection result of the transport arm by the position detection unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing a substrate processing unit of the coating apparatus shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a plan view showing a transfer arm and a substrate processing unit of the coating apparatus shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing a transfer arm and a substrate processing unit of the coating apparatus shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] 4 is a plan view showing a first step of detecting the position of the transfer arm by the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit shown in FIG. 3. [Figure 6] 5 is a diagram showing a first step of detecting the position of the transfer arm by the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 7] 4 is a plan view showing a second step of detecting the position of the transfer arm by the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit shown in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 8]5 is a diagram showing a second step of detecting the position of the transfer arm by the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit shown in FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 9] 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit after the transfer arm position detection step shown in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a transfer arm and a substrate processing unit of a coating apparatus according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating a first step of detecting the position of the transfer arm by the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit shown in FIG. [Figure 12] 11 is a diagram showing a second step of detecting the position of the transfer arm by the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit shown in FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the transfer arm and the substrate processing unit after the transfer arm position detection step shown in FIG. 12. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] Hereinafter, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, the substantially same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted. The drawings are schematic, and the relationship between thickness and planar dimensions, the thickness ratio of each part, etc. may differ from the actual ones.

[0008] (First embodiment) Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a coating apparatus 1 to which a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of a first embodiment is applied, and Fig. 2 is a view showing a substrate processing unit and a position detection unit of the coating apparatus 1 shown in Fig. 1. The coating apparatus 1 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 includes a substrate storage unit 10, a substrate processing unit 20, a substrate transport unit 30, a position detection unit 40, and a control unit 50 that controls the operation of the coating apparatus 1.

[0009] The substrate storage unit 10 is provided with a storage container such as a closed cassette (FOUP) 11 in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers W are stored. The substrate storage unit 10 is provided with a plurality of closed cassettes 11, and the semiconductor wafers W taken out from each closed cassette 11 are sequentially sent to the substrate processing unit 20, where they are subjected to a coating process with a coating liquid. In Fig. 1, the arrangement direction of the closed cassettes 11 is the x direction, the direction intersecting with the x direction in a plane is the y direction, and the direction intersecting with the x direction and the y direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) is the z direction.

[0010] The substrate processing unit 20 includes a plurality of substrate processing modules 21 arranged, for example, in the y direction. As shown in Fig. 2, the substrate processing module 21 includes a rotating holder 22 that holds and rotates the semiconductor wafer W, and a coating liquid supplying section 23 that supplies a coating liquid onto the semiconductor wafer W held by the rotating holder 22. The rotating holder 22 includes a spin chuck 24 that holds the semiconductor wafer W, for example, by suction, a rotating shaft 25 connected to the spin chuck 24, and a rotating drive section 26 such as a motor that transmits a rotational drive force to the rotating shaft 25. Inside the spin chuck 24 and the rotating shaft 25, a light transmission hole 27 is provided so that light emitted from a light emitting section 41 of the position detection unit 40 can pass therethrough, as will be described later in detail.

[0011] The coating liquid supply unit 23 has a nozzle 28 that ejects the coating liquid onto the semiconductor wafer W held by the rotating holder 22, and a coating liquid supply tank 29 that supplies the coating liquid to the nozzle 28. When forming a coating film of the coating liquid only on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer W, the installation position of the nozzle 28 is adjusted so that the coating liquid is supplied to the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer W. An example of the coating liquid is a resist liquid. However, the coating apparatus 1 of the embodiment is not limited to an apparatus used for applying a resist liquid, and may be an apparatus for applying a protective film forming liquid or the like. Furthermore, the coating apparatus 1 of the embodiment is effectively used when forming a coating film only on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer W, but is not limited thereto.

[0012] The substrate transfer unit 30 includes a first substrate transfer module 31 and a second substrate transfer module 32. The first substrate transfer module 31 includes a first transfer arm 311 that removes a semiconductor wafer W from the sealed cassette 11, and a moving mechanism 314 that includes a mechanism 312 that moves the first transfer arm 311 in the y direction and a mechanism 313 that moves the first transfer arm 311 in the x direction. Although not shown, the moving mechanism 314 may include a mechanism that moves the first transfer arm 311 in the z direction in order to remove semiconductor wafers W stored in multiple stages in the sealed cassette 11.

[0013] When the semiconductor wafer W is taken out of the sealed cassette 11 by the first transfer arm 311, the center position of the semiconductor wafer W taken out of the sealed cassette 11 is measured by a substrate measuring mechanism (not shown), and the semiconductor wafer W is transferred onto the first transfer arm 311 so that the center position of the semiconductor wafer W coincides with the center of the first transfer arm 311 based on the measurement result. The first substrate transfer module 31 may have a substrate table or the like for transferring the semiconductor wafer W to the second substrate transfer module 32. The first transfer arm 311 moves from a position for transferring the semiconductor wafer W from the sealed cassette 11 to a position for transferring the semiconductor wafer W to the second substrate transfer module 32.

[0014] The second substrate transfer module 32 includes a second transfer arm 321 that transfers the semiconductor wafer W received from the first substrate transfer module 31 to the spin chuck 24 of the substrate processing module 21, and a moving mechanism 324 having a mechanism 322 that moves the second transfer arm 321 in the x direction and a mechanism 323 that moves the second transfer arm 321 in the y direction. The moving mechanism 324 may include a mechanism that moves the second transfer arm 321 in the z direction. The second transfer arm 321 moves from a position for transferring the semiconductor wafer W from the first substrate transfer module 31 to a position for transferring the semiconductor wafer W to the spin chuck 24.

[0015] When the semiconductor wafer W is transferred to the spin chuck 24, the position of the second transfer arm 321 is detected by the position detection unit 40. In the coating apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the position detection unit 40 is provided in the vicinity of the spin chuck 24 of the substrate processing module 21. The position detection unit 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the rotating holder 22, and is configured to detect the position of the second transfer arm 321 holding the semiconductor wafer W.

[0016] Specifically, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the position detection unit 40 includes a light transmission hole 27 provided inside the spin chuck 24 and the rotating shaft 25, first and second openings 325A and 325B provided in the second transfer arm 321, a light emitter 41 that sequentially irradiates light to the first and second openings 325A and 325B through the light transmission hole 27, and a light receiver 42 that receives light that has passed through the first and second openings 325A and 325B. The second transfer arm 321 may be provided with at least one opening. Here, the second transfer arm 321 is provided with two openings 325A and 325B. The light receiver 42 is conveniently provided on the top plate 21a of the substrate processing module 21.

[0017] As described above, when the semiconductor wafer W is taken out of the sealed cassette 11 by the first transfer arm 311, the center position of the semiconductor wafer W taken out of the sealed cassette 11 is measured by the substrate measuring mechanism, and the semiconductor wafer W is transferred so that the center position of the semiconductor wafer W coincides with the center of the first transfer arm 311 based on the measurement result. Furthermore, when the semiconductor wafer W is transferred from the first transfer arm 311 to the second transfer arm 321, the semiconductor wafer W is also transferred so that the center position of the semiconductor wafer W coincides with the center of the second transfer arm 321. Therefore, if there is no error in the movement mechanisms of the first transfer arm 311 and the second transfer arm 321, the semiconductor wafer W will be transferred to the center position of the spin chuck 24.

[0018] However, if wear or the like occurs in the moving mechanism such as the moving belt of the first transfer arm 311 and the second transfer arm 321, a positional deviation occurs between the second transfer arm 321 and the spin chuck 24, and even if the second transfer arm 321 is moved so that its center position coincides with the center position of the spin chuck 24, the semiconductor wafer W may not be transferred to the center position of the spin chuck 24 due to a movement error of the second transfer arm 321. Furthermore, when a coating film is formed on the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer W, even if the semiconductor wafer W is held on the spin chuck 24 with some eccentricity, the coating film can be formed approximately uniformly. However, when a coating film is formed only on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer W, if the mounting position of the semiconductor wafer W is eccentric with respect to the spin chuck 24, a coating film with a uniform coating width cannot be obtained.

[0019] Therefore, in the coating apparatus 1 of the embodiment, the position of the second transfer arm 321 holding the semiconductor wafer W is detected by the position detection unit 40 immediately before the semiconductor wafer W is transferred to the spin chuck 24. If an error occurs in the position of the second transfer arm 321 and the second transfer arm 321 is deviated from the normal position, the second transfer arm 321 is moved while being corrected based on the detection result by the position detection unit 40. The movement correction of the second transfer arm 321 is performed by the control unit 50 of the entire apparatus, which includes, for example, control of the movement mechanism 324 of the second substrate transfer module 32.

[0020] In this way, by detecting the position of the second transfer arm 321 immediately before transferring the semiconductor wafer W to the spin chuck 24 and correcting the movement of the second transfer arm 321 based on the detection result, the semiconductor wafer W can be transferred to the center position of the spin chuck 24 even if the moving mechanisms such as the moving belts of the first transfer arm 311 and the second transfer arm 321 are worn. Even when a coating film is formed only on the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer W, a coating film with a uniform coating width cannot be obtained.

[0021] The process of detecting the position of the second transfer arm 321 by the position detection unit 40 will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8. In the coating apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the light emitting unit 41 and the light receiving unit 42 of the position detection unit 40 are disposed directly below and directly above the spin chuck 24. Therefore, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the second transfer arm 321 passes the position directly above the spin chuck 24 and is moved so that the first opening 325A reaches directly above the center position of the spin chuck 24. At this first position, light is emitted from the light emitting unit 41, and the light that has passed through the first opening 325A is received by the light receiving unit 42, thereby measuring the amount of light that has passed through the first opening 325A (first process).

[0022] Next, as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, the second transfer arm 321 is moved so that the second opening 325B reaches directly above the center position of the spin chuck 24. At this second position, light is emitted from the light emitter 41, and the light that passes through the second opening 325B is received by the light receiver 42, thereby measuring the amount of light that passes through the second opening 325B (second step). The position of the second transfer arm 321 is obtained from the amount of light at two points, the first position and the second position. The positional deviation of the second transfer arm 321 is detected by comparing the position of the second transfer arm 321 based on the amount of light between the two points that have been preset.

[0023] Since the second transfer arm 321 has once passed the position directly above the spin chuck 24, as shown in FIG. 9, the second transfer arm 321 is retreated so that the center position of the second transfer arm 321 coincides with the center position of the spin chuck 24. At this time, if the second transfer arm 321 is misaligned, the second transfer arm 321 is moved while correcting the movement of the second transfer arm 321 so that the center position of the second transfer arm 321 coincides with the center position of the spin chuck 24. This makes it possible to transfer the semiconductor wafer W to the center position of the spin chuck 24. Note that in FIG. 9, an arrow T indicates the movement direction of the second transfer arm 321.

[0024] Second embodiment The substrate processing unit 20 and the position detection unit 40 of the coating apparatus 1 of the second embodiment are shown in FIG. 10. The coating apparatus 1 of the second embodiment has a similar configuration to the coating apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, except that the positions of the light emitting unit 41 and the light receiving unit 42 of the position detection unit 40 are different from those of the first embodiment. Although the positions of the light emitting unit 41 and the light receiving unit 42 are different, the first and second openings 325A, 325B of the second transfer arm 321 are the same as those of the first embodiment. The light emitting unit 41 and the light receiving unit 42 in the second embodiment are disposed forward of the spin chuck 24 on the movement path of the second transfer arm 321.

[0025] 11 and 12, the step of detecting the position of the second transfer arm 321 by the position detection unit 40 is performed as follows. In FIG. 10, the arrow T indicates the moving direction of the second transfer arm 321. First, as shown in FIG. 11, the second transfer arm 321 is moved so that the first opening 325A reaches directly above the light-emitting unit 41 before reaching above the spin chuck 24. At this first position, light is emitted from the light-emitting unit 41, and the light that has passed through the first opening 325A is received by the light-receiving unit 42, thereby measuring the amount of light that has passed through the first opening 325A (first step).

[0026] Next, the second transfer arm 321 is moved so that the second opening 325B reaches directly above the light-emitting unit 41, as shown in FIG. 12. At this second position, light is emitted from the light-emitting unit 41, and the light that passes through the second opening 325B is received by the light-receiving unit 42, thereby measuring the amount of light that passes through the second opening 325B (second step). The position of the second transfer arm 321 is obtained from the amount of light at two points, the first position and the second position. The positional deviation of the second transfer arm 321 is detected by comparing the position of the second transfer arm 321 based on the amount of light between the two points that have been preset.

[0027] 13, since the position of the second transfer arm 321 is detected in front of the spin chuck 24 (in front of the movement path), the second transfer arm 321 is advanced so that the center position of the second transfer arm 321 coincides with the center position of the spin chuck 24. At this time, if the second transfer arm 321 is misaligned, the movement of the second transfer arm 321 is corrected while the second transfer arm 321 is moved so that the center position of the second transfer arm 321 coincides with the center position of the spin chuck 24. This makes it possible to transfer the semiconductor wafer W to the center position of the spin chuck 24.

[0028] The configurations of the above-mentioned embodiments can be applied in combination with each other, and some of them can be replaced. Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described here, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, modifications, etc. can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1...coating device (semiconductor manufacturing device), 10...substrate storage unit, 11...sealed cassette, 20...substrate processing unit, 21...substrate processing module, 22...rotating holding section, 23...coating liquid supply section, 24...spin chuck, 27...light transmissive hole, 28...nozzle, 30...substrate transport unit, 31...first substrate transport module, 32...second substrate transport module, 311...first transport arm, 314...moving mechanism, 321...second transport arm, 324...moving mechanism, 325A...first opening, 325B...second opening, 40...position detection unit, 41...light emitter, 42...light receiver, 50...control section, W...semiconductor wafer.

Claims

1. a substrate storage unit including a storage container for storing semiconductor wafers; a substrate processing unit including a spin holder that holds and rotates the semiconductor wafer, and a coating liquid supply unit that supplies a coating liquid onto the semiconductor wafer held by the spin holder; a substrate transport unit including a transport arm that takes out the semiconductor wafer from the storage container and transfers the taken-out semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder, and a moving mechanism that moves the transport arm from a transfer position of the semiconductor wafer from the storage container to a transfer position of the semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder; a position detection unit that is disposed near the rotary holder and detects a position of the transfer arm that holds the semiconductor wafer, the moving mechanism is configured to move the transport arm to a position for transferring the semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder, while correcting the position of the transport arm so that the center of the transport arm coincides with the center of the rotating holder, based on a result of position detection of the transport arm by the position detection unit.

2. 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position detection unit comprises at least one opening provided in the transport arm, a light emitting portion that irradiates light onto the opening, and a light receiving portion that receives the light that has passed through the opening.

3. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the position detection unit includes two of the openings.

4. the position detection unit further includes a substrate measurement mechanism for measuring a central position of the semiconductor wafer taken out of the storage container; 4. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor wafer is transferred to the transfer arm so that a center position of the semiconductor wafer measured by the substrate measuring mechanism coincides with a center of the transfer arm.

5. A substrate storage unit including a storage container for storing semiconductor wafers; a substrate processing unit including a spin holder that holds and rotates the semiconductor wafer, and a coating liquid supply unit that supplies a coating liquid onto the semiconductor wafer held by the spin holder; a substrate transport unit including a transport arm that takes out the semiconductor wafer from the storage container and transfers the taken-out semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder, and a moving mechanism that moves the transport arm from a transfer position of the semiconductor wafer from the storage container to a transfer position of the semiconductor wafer to the rotating holder; a position detection unit that is disposed near the rotary holder and detects a position of the transfer arm that holds the semiconductor wafer, the moving mechanism is configured to move the transfer arm to a position for transferring the semiconductor wafer to the rotary holder while correcting a position of the transfer arm based on a result of position detection of the transfer arm by the position detection unit, the position detection unit further includes a substrate measurement mechanism for measuring a central position of the semiconductor wafer taken out of the storage container; The semiconductor wafer is transferred to the transfer arm so that a center position of the semiconductor wafer measured by the substrate measuring mechanism coincides with a center of the transfer arm.

Images