Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing system, and method for rearranging support pins

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of rearranging support pins with excellent workability, in a substrate processing device provided with a plurality of support pins supporting a substrate in the chamber of the device.SOLUTION: In a substrate processing device, a substrate processing system and a method of rearranging support pins according to the present invention, a plurality of support pins are detachably attached to an upper face of a first plate, which first plate is detachably coupled by a magnetic force to a second plate disposed in an inside space of a chamber. The rearrangement of the support pins is achieved by the steps of: pulling the first plate upward to decouple the second plate; carrying the first plate out of the chamber; changing the arrangement of the support pins attached to the first plate outside the chamber; and returning the first plate into the chamber to couple the same with the second plate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing system in which a plurality of support pins are arranged in a chamber whose internal space is reduced in pressure, and a substrate is supported by the support pins to perform a predetermined process, and a method for rearranging the support pins in the same. The substrate to be processed includes, for example, a semiconductor substrate, a substrate for a photomask, a substrate for a liquid crystal display, a substrate for an organic electroluminescence display, a substrate for a plasma display, a substrate for an FED (Field Emission Display), a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, and a substrate for a magneto-optical disk. [Background technology]

[0002] One example of a treatment applied to a substrate is a treatment in which the substrate is placed in a chamber and the internal space of the chamber is depressurized. For example, a reduced-pressure drying treatment is known in which the substrate is placed in a reduced-pressure environment to volatilize liquid components in the coating film formed on the substrate surface in order to dry the coating film. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a reduced-pressure drying apparatus in which a glass substrate having a coating film formed on its surface is supported in a horizontal position in a chamber and the chamber is depressurized to dry the coating film.

[0003] In this apparatus, the stage that supports the substrate in the chamber is made up of multiple support plates arranged in a horizontal direction, and multiple support pins are provided on the upper surface of each support plate. This allows the substrate to be supported in a horizontal position and spaced above the support plates. When the pressure inside the chamber is reduced, exhaust air flows through the underside of the substrate and the gaps between the support plates, promoting uniform drying of the coating film. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-086766 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In such devices, the support pins support the substrate by contacting a very small area of ​​the substrate's underside. This inevitably results in differences in processing quality between the substrate's areas where the support pins come into contact and other areas. In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the support pins are brought into contact with the substrate's boundary areas that are not used as circuit areas, making it possible to prevent such processing unevenness from affecting the performance of the final device.

[0006] In other words, the support pins need to be positioned so that they come into contact with areas that are not used as devices. Therefore, if the specifications of the substrate to be processed differ, the arrangement of the support pins will naturally differ, and the equipment that receives them will need to rearrange the support pins. In particular, as the substrate becomes larger, the number of support pins that support it also increases, resulting in a significant increase in the amount of work.

[0007] However, Patent Document 1 does not mention a method for rearranging the support pins or structural improvements to improve the ease of the work. For this reason, it is desirable to establish a technology that enables the rearrangement of support pins to be performed efficiently with excellent ease of work.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a technique that enables support pins to be rearranged with excellent workability in a substrate processing apparatus that supports a substrate with a plurality of support pins within a chamber. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate, the internal space being reduced in pressure; a first plate disposed within the internal space and having a plurality of support pins removably attached to its upper surface for supporting the substrate; a second plate abutting an underside of the first plate within the internal space to support the first plate; and a coupling portion that removably couples the first plate and the second plate by the magnetic force of a plurality of discretely arranged magnets. In a first embodiment, the magnets are provided in a discrete manner on the upper surface of the second plate, and recesses into which the magnets fit are provided on the lower surface of the first plate at positions corresponding to the positions of the magnets, with at least a part of the inner surface of the recesses being made of a soft magnetic material. In a second embodiment, the magnets are provided in a discrete manner on the lower surface of the first plate, and recesses into which the magnets fit are provided on the upper surface of the second plate at positions corresponding to the positions of the magnets, with at least a part of the inner surface of the recesses being made of a soft magnetic material. In a third embodiment, the magnets are provided in a discrete manner on the lower surface of the first plate or on the upper surface of the second plate, and a first distance between one end of the surface on which the magnets are provided and the magnets located closest to the one end is greater than a second distance between the other end opposite the one end and the magnets located closest to the other end.

[0010] In the invention thus configured, the first plate and the second plate are Multiple magnets arranged discretely Because they are held together by magnetic force, they can be separated by a force greater than the force that holds them together, for example by lifting the first plate away from the second plate without the need for a tool.

[0011] In addition, since the first plate and the second plate are in close contact with each other and are substantially integrated under reduced pressure, they do not necessarily need to be mechanically firmly joined together, and the first plate is not required to have high mechanical strength, so the first plate can be made relatively lightweight.

[0012] In this way, it is easy to carry the first plate separated from the second plate out of the chamber. It is also easy to rearrange the support pins on the first plate that has been carried out of the chamber. Then, the rearrangement work is completed by returning the first plate, whose support pins have been rearranged, to the chamber and returning it to a state where it is connected to the second plate. In this way, according to the present invention, it is possible to rearrange the support pins efficiently with excellent workability.

[0013] Also, one aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing system including a substrate processing unit having the same configuration as the substrate processing apparatus described above, a pressure reduction unit connected to the chamber for reducing the pressure of the internal space, and a transport unit disposed on the side of the chamber for at least one of loading and unloading the substrate into and from the chamber. In this system, a plurality of combinations each including the first plate and the second plate are arranged horizontally in the internal space with a gap therebetween, the transport unit is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the combinations with respect to the chamber, the substrate having a coating film formed on its upper surface is supported by the support pins in the internal space, and the pressure reduction unit reduces the pressure of the internal space to dry the coating film.

[0014] In the invention configured in this way, since the substrate processing section has a configuration similar to that of the substrate processing apparatus described above, the first plate on which the support pins are arranged can be easily pulled out of the chamber. The transport section is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the combinations of the first plate and the second plate with respect to the chamber. Therefore, when the first plate is removed from each combination and the first plate is reattached after the rearrangement work, the chamber can be accessed from the opposite side of the transport section across the chamber.

[0015] Therefore, when performing rearrangement work, workers and tools for the work do not need to enter the space in which the transfer unit operates, and the surroundings of the transfer unit, which is the transfer path for the substrates, can be kept clean.

[0016] Another aspect of the present invention is a method for rearranging support pins in a chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate and having a plurality of support pins for supporting the substrate disposed therein. Here, the plurality of support pins are detachably attached to an upper surface of a first plate, and the first plate is detachably coupled to a second plate installed in the internal space by the magnetic force of a plurality of discretely arranged magnets. The rearrangement method includes the steps of: lifting the first plate upward to release the coupling with the second plate; transporting the first plate out of the chamber; changing the arrangement of the support pins attached to the first plate outside the chamber; and returning the first plate into the chamber to couple it to the second plate. In a first embodiment, the magnets are provided in a discrete manner on the upper surface of the second plate, and recesses into which the magnets fit are provided on the lower surface of the first plate at positions corresponding to the positions of the magnets, with at least a part of the inner surface of the recesses being made of a soft magnetic material. In a second embodiment, the magnets are provided in a discrete manner on the lower surface of the first plate, and recesses into which the magnets fit are provided on the upper surface of the second plate at positions corresponding to the positions of the magnets, with at least a part of the inner surface of the recesses being made of a soft magnetic material. In a third embodiment, the magnets are provided in a discrete manner on the lower surface of the first plate or on the upper surface of the second plate, and a first distance between one end of the surface on which the magnets are provided and the magnets located closest to the one end is greater than a second distance between the other end opposite the one end and the magnets located closest to the other end.

[0017] In the invention configured in this manner, for the same reasons as above, the rearrangement of the support pins can be efficiently performed with excellent workability. Specifically, since the first plate is coupled to the second plate by magnetic force, the coupling can be easily released by pulling the first plate upward. In addition, since the first plate can be configured to be lightweight, it is easy to carry it outside the chamber. Since the rearrangement of the support pins can be performed outside the chamber, the workability is good. And, it is also easy to return the first plate to the chamber after the rearrangement is completed. Effect of the Invention

[0018] As described above, according to the present invention, the first plate to which the support pins are attached is coupled to the upper surface of the second plate by magnetic force, so that the coupling with the second plate can be easily released by pulling the first plate upward. In addition, the first plate is not required to have high mechanical strength, so that the first plate can be constructed to be lightweight. Therefore, the rearrangement of the support pins can be efficiently performed with excellent workability. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1]1 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a reduced pressure drying apparatus as an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed structure of a stage. [Figure 4] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an operation for removing the upper plate from the support plate. [Diagram 5] 13A to 13C are diagrams showing examples of shapes for facilitating removal of the plate. [Figure 6] 11A to 11C are diagrams showing examples of shapes for suppressing deflection of the upper plate. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a support pin rearrangement operation. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the chamber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] 1 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing system 100 is a system for applying a coating liquid to a surface of a substrate, solidifying the coating layer formed by this by a reduced pressure drying process, and outputting the result. For example, the substrate processing system 100 can be applied for the purpose of forming a functional layer, such as a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, or a light emitting layer, on the surface of a substrate in a manufacturing process of a display panel such as an organic EL display.

[0021] The substrate processing system 100 includes a coating device 1 that forms a coating layer on the surface of a substrate, a reduced-pressure drying device 2 that dries and solidifies the coating layer by reduced-pressure drying processing, an exit stocker 3 that temporarily stores the processed substrates, and a transport device 4 that transports the substrates between these devices. The transport device 4 has a hand 41 that can support the substrate from below, and as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the hand 41 advances toward each of the coating device 1, the reduced-pressure drying device 2, and the exit stocker 3 as necessary to transfer the substrate. The configuration of the transport device 4 is well known, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0022] The substrate to be processed may be, for example, a rectangular glass substrate. In addition, the coating liquid may contain an organic material and a solvent that will become a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, or a light emitting layer in the manufacturing process of an organic EL display. In addition, this substrate processing system 100 may be applied to form a resist film on the surface of a substrate.

[0023] The types of the substrate and the coating layer are not limited to those mentioned above and are arbitrary. The coating layer may be formed uniformly on the surface of the substrate, or the coating layer formed partially may have a predetermined pattern. When forming a uniform coating layer on the substrate, for example, a spray coating device, a slit nozzle coating device, or the like can be applied as the coating device 1. When forming a patterned coating layer, for example, an inkjet printing device can be applied as the coating device 1. Since these coating devices can be configured as known devices, detailed explanations are omitted here.

[0024] In order to indicate directions uniformly in the following description, an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is set as shown in FIG. 1. Here, the XY plane is the horizontal plane, and the Z direction indicates the vertical direction. More specifically, the (+Z) direction indicates the vertical upward direction. In plan view, the substrate processing system 100 is configured with the transfer device 4 at the center and other devices disposed around it. Specifically, the coating device 1 is disposed adjacent to the (-Y) side of the transfer device 4, and the reduced pressure drying device 2 is disposed adjacent to the (+X) side of the transfer device 4. In addition, the outlet stocker 3 is disposed adjacent to the (+Y) side of the transfer device 4.

[0025] 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a reduced-pressure drying apparatus, which is one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This reduced-pressure drying apparatus 2 is an apparatus that receives a rectangular substrate S on which a coating layer has been formed in advance in a coating apparatus 1 and which is transported by a transport apparatus 4, and performs reduced-pressure drying processing on the substrate S. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the reduced-pressure drying apparatus 2 includes a chamber 10, a stage 20, a decompression mechanism 30, and a control unit 80.

[0026] The chamber 10 is a pressure-resistant container having an internal space in which the substrate S is housed. The chamber 10 is fixed on an apparatus frame (not shown). The chamber 10 is shaped like a flat rectangular parallelepiped. The chamber 10 has a substantially square bottom plate portion 11 and a box-shaped cover portion 12 with an open bottom surface. The cover portion 12 is coupled to a chamber lifting portion 15, and the chamber lifting portion 15 operates in response to a control command from the control portion 80, whereby the cover portion 12 moves up and down between a closed position shown in FIG. 2(a) and a retracted position shown in FIG. 2(b).

[0027] When the cover part 12 is in the closed position, the cover part 12 covers and closes the upper space of the bottom plate part 11, thereby forming an internal space SP of the chamber 10. A seal member 13 is provided between the base part 11 and the cover part 12, thereby keeping the internal space SP airtight. On the other hand, in the retracted position, the cover part 12 is separated significantly upward from the base part 11, thereby enabling an operator to perform maintenance work inside the chamber.

[0028] Also, when the transfer device 4 accesses the chamber 10 to load or unload the substrate S, the chamber lifting unit 15 moves the cover unit 12 upward. In this case, since there is a gap large enough for the hand 41 of the transfer device 4 and the substrate S to pass through, it is not necessary for the cover unit 12 to be significantly retracted upward as shown in Fig. 2(b). Also, the lifting and lowering of the cover unit 12 for loading and unloading the substrate S and the lifting and lowering of the cover unit 12 for maintenance work may be achieved by different mechanisms.

[0029] The stage 20 is a support part that supports the substrate S inside the chamber 10. The stage 20 has a plurality of support plates 21 (four sets in this example). The plurality of support plates 21 are arranged at intervals in the horizontal direction. Each of the support plates 21 has an upper plate 22 and a lower plate 23 that are approximately the same in planar size. The upper plate 22 is formed into a flat plate shape from a soft magnetic material, for example, an iron plate. The lower plate 23 has a flat upper surface, and supports the upper plate 22 by abutting against the lower surface of the upper plate 22.

[0030] A plurality of support pins 24 are erected on the upper surface of the upper plate 22, and the support pins 24 are configured to be freely attached and detached to the upper plate 22. The substrate S is disposed on the upper parts of the plurality of upper plates 22. The upper ends of the plurality of support pins 24 come into contact with the lower surface of the substrate S, thereby supporting the substrate S in a horizontal position. The support pins 24 are, for example, magnetic pins, and have permanent magnets attached to their lower surfaces. Therefore, the support pins 24 are fixed to the upper surface of the upper plate 22 by magnetic force. Moreover, the support pins 24 can be removed from the upper plate 22 by lifting them against the magnetic attraction force.

[0031] The multiple support plates 21 of the stage 20 are connected to a stage lifting unit 25. Specifically, a downwardly extending support member 26 is coupled to the lower surface of the lower plate 23 of each support plate 21, and the lower end of the support member 26 is coupled to a lifting member 27 supported by the stage lifting unit 25 below the chamber 10 so as to be able to rise and fall. When the stage lifting unit 25 operates in response to a control command from the control unit 80, the lifting member 27 rises and falls, and accordingly, each support plate 21 moves integrally in the Z direction.

[0032] Cooperation between the transport device 40 and the stage lifting section 25 allows the transfer of the substrate S between the hand 41 of the transport device 40 and the stage 20. The transfer from the hand 41 to the stage 20 is performed as follows. With the stage 20 in a lowered state, the hand 41 supporting the substrate S enters the internal space SP. At this time, the hand 41 passes through the gaps between the multiple support plates 21, thereby preventing interference between the hand 41 and the support plates 21. As the stage 20 rises, the support pins 24 arranged on the upper plate 22 come into contact with the lower surface of the substrate S, whereby the substrate S is transferred from the hand 41 to the stage 20.

[0033] Meanwhile, the transfer of the substrate S from the stage 20 to the hand 41 is performed as follows. With the stage 20 supporting the substrate S in a raised state, the hand 41 enters through the gap in the support plate 21. When the stage 20 descends, the main support of the substrate S is transferred from the support pins 24 to the hand 41, and the substrate S is thus transferred from the stage 20 to the hand 41.

[0034] A pressure reduction mechanism 30 is connected to the chamber 10. The pressure reduction mechanism 30 is a mechanism that sucks gas from the internal space of the chamber 10 to reduce the pressure inside the chamber 10. As shown in FIG. 2(a), four exhaust ports 16a to 16d are provided in the bottom plate portion 11 of the chamber 10. The four exhaust ports 16a to 16d are located below the substrate S supported by the stage 20. The pressure reduction mechanism 30 has an exhaust pipe 31 connected to the four exhaust ports 16a to 16d, four valves Va to Vd corresponding to the respective exhaust ports, and a vacuum pump 32.

[0035] The exhaust pipe 31 has four individual pipes 31a to 31d and one main pipe 31e. One ends of the four individual pipes 31a to 31d are connected to the four exhaust ports 16a to 16d, respectively. The other ends of the four individual pipes 31a are joined together and connected to one end of the main pipe 31e. The other end of the main pipe 31e is connected to a vacuum pump 32. Four valves Va to Vd are provided on the paths of the four individual pipes 31a to 31d, respectively.

[0036] When the vacuum pump 32 is operated with the chamber 10 sealed and at least some of the four valves Va to Vd open, the gas inside the chamber 10 is exhausted to an external exhaust line through the exhaust pipe 31 and the vacuum pump 32. This makes it possible to reduce the pressure in the internal space of the chamber 10.

[0037] The four valves Va to Vd are valves for individually adjusting the amount of exhaust from the four exhaust ports 16a to 16d. The valves Va to Vd in this embodiment are on-off valves that switch between an open state and a closed state based on a control command from the control unit 80. Alternatively, the valves Va to Vd may be aperture control valves that can adjust the aperture based on a control command from the control unit 80.

[0038] In this reduced-pressure drying apparatus 2, the four exhaust ports 16a to 16d are located below the substrate S supported by the stage 20. This makes it possible to uniformize the flow of gas on the upper surface side of the substrate S. This makes it possible to suppress uneven drying of the coating layer formed on the upper surface of the substrate S.

[0039] An air supply mechanism 60 is also connected to the chamber 10. The air supply mechanism 60 is a mechanism for returning the inside of the chamber 10 to atmospheric pressure at the end of the reduced pressure drying process. As shown in FIG. 2(a), an air supply port 16f is provided on the bottom plate portion 11 of the chamber 10. The air supply mechanism 60 has an air supply pipe 61, one end of which is connected to the air supply port 16f, and an air supply valve Vf, and the other end of the air supply pipe 61 is connected to an external air supply source. One end of the air supply pipe 61 is connected to the air supply port 16f. The air supply valve Vf is provided on the path of the air supply pipe 61.

[0040] When the air supply valve Vf is opened in response to a control command from the control unit 80, gas is supplied from the air supply source through the air supply pipe 61 and the air supply port 16f to the internal space of the chamber 10. This makes it possible to increase the air pressure within the chamber 10. The gas supplied from the air supply source may be an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, or may be clean dry air.

[0041] The control unit 80 is a unit for controlling the operation of each part of the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2. The control unit 80 is configured by a computer having a processor such as a CPU, a memory such as a RAM, and a storage unit such as a hard disk drive. The control unit 80 executes a control program stored in advance in the storage unit to control the operation of each part in the reduced pressure drying apparatus 1, thereby performing the reduced pressure drying process.

[0042] Although the main configuration of the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2 has been described here, in addition to the above, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a baffle plate may be provided to control the airflow in the chamber 10 and more effectively suppress uneven drying. Also, a heater may be provided in the chamber 10 to heat the substrate S and promote the evaporation of the solvent. The content of the reduced pressure drying process performed by the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2 can be basically the same as the process described in Patent Document 1. Therefore, a detailed description of the reduced pressure drying process will be omitted.

[0043] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the detailed structure of the stage. As shown in Fig. 3(a) and as described above, the stage 20 has a plurality of support plates 21 arranged in the Y direction at a predetermined interval. Each support plate 21 has an upper plate 22 and a lower plate 23 that have approximately the same planar size, and the shape of these plates in a plan view is rectangular, more specifically, a rectangle with its longer side in the X direction.

[0044] A number of detachable support pins 24 are distributed on the upper surface of the upper plate 22. The support pins 24 have magnets on their bottom surfaces, and are detachably fixed by magnetic force to the upper plate 22, which is an iron plate. Therefore, the support pins 24 can be removed from the upper plate 22 by lifting them against the magnetic force, and the support pins 24 can be attached to any position on the upper surface of the upper plate 22.

[0045] In this way, when processing the substrate S while supporting it by locally contacting the lower surface of the substrate S with the support pins 24, uneven processing may occur due to concentration of load on the portions of the substrate S that are in contact with the support pins 24. The arrangement of the support pins 24 must be set so as to avoid this problem. For example, in the case of so-called multiple paneling, in which one substrate S is divided into a plurality of device regions for use, the arrangement of the support pins 24 can be determined so that the support pins 24 abut against the margins between the device regions.

[0046] On the other hand, the shape and size of the substrate S and the arrangement of the device area therein vary depending on the specifications. To accommodate this, it is necessary to change the arrangement of the support pins 24. In this embodiment, the support pins 24, which are magnetic pins, are attached to the upper plate 22, which is a flat iron plate with an upper surface, so that it is possible to easily change the arrangement of the support pins 24.

[0047] Furthermore, in order to perform such rearrangement work more efficiently and with excellent workability, this embodiment is configured so that the work can be performed outside the chamber 10. That is, as described below, the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 are detachably and easily coupled, and the upper plate 22 can be carried out outside the chamber 10 to perform the rearrangement work.

[0048] 3(a), the lower plate 23 is formed to be relatively thick and has sufficient mechanical strength to support the upper plate 22. On the other hand, the upper plate 22 is configured to be thinner and lighter than the lower plate 23. For example, an iron plate having a thickness of about 2 mm can be used as the upper plate 22.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 3(b), the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 are detachably connected to each other by a magnet (permanent magnet) 231. More specifically, a plurality of magnets 231 are protruding from the upper surface of the lower plate 23. A recess 221 slightly larger than the outer shape of the magnet 231 is formed on the lower surface of the upper plate 22 at a position corresponding to the arrangement position of the magnet 231. As shown by the dashed arrow, when the upper plate 22 is placed on the upper part of the lower plate 23, the magnet 231 protruding from the upper surface of the lower plate 23 fits into the recess 221 on the lower surface of the upper plate 22 and attracts the upper plate 22 by magnetic force. That is, the magnet 231 not only connects the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 by magnetic force, but also functions as a mechanism for positioning the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 relative to each other in the horizontal direction.

[0050] The attractive force of magnet 231 is set to a relatively small force, for example a manual force, that can release the connection between upper plate 22 and lower plate 23 when an external force acts to pull upper plate 22 upward. For this reason, it cannot be said that upper plate 22 and lower plate 23 are firmly connected. However, when the internal space SP of chamber 10 is depressurized, the gas between upper plate 22 and lower plate 23 is also discharged and they come into close contact, so that they can be considered to be substantially integrated in a depressurized environment.

[0051] The number of magnets 231 is also arbitrary, but it is preferable to have a smaller number of magnets as long as the upper plate 22 can be appropriately positioned relative to the lower plate 23. In this way, the external force required to lift the upper plate 22 can also be reduced.

[0052] 3(b), on the upper surface of the lower plate 23, the distance Da between the (+X) end 23a and the magnet 231 closest thereto is significantly smaller than the distance Db between the (-X) end 23b and the magnet 231 closest thereto. In other words, in the vicinity of the (-X) end 23b of the lower plate 23, the blank area where the magnet 231 is not arranged is significantly larger than in the vicinity of the (+X) end 23a. The distance Db can be appropriately determined within a range of approximately half or less of the X-direction length of the lower plate 23. The reason for this will be explained below.

[0053] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the operation of removing the upper plate from the support plate. As shown in Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 4(b), the support plate 21 of this embodiment can be separated from the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 by inserting a human hand H or an appropriate jig tool between the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 at the (+X) side end and lifting the upper plate 22. However, since the thickness of the upper plate 22 is small compared to its planar size, the lifted upper plate 22 may bend downward as shown in Fig. 4(c).

[0054] Now consider a case where a magnet is placed near the (-X) side end of support plate 21, for example at position A indicated by an arrow in Fig. 4(c). In this case, due to the bending of upper plate 22 and the action of the magnetic attraction force, it may be difficult to separate upper plate 22 from lower plate 23 by simply lifting the (+X) side end. Even if this is possible, it would be necessary to lift the (+X) side end of upper plate 22 considerably.

[0055] As in this embodiment, by concentrating the magnets 231 on the side close to the (+X) side end 23a of the lower plate 23 and leaving a large area where no magnets are arranged near the (-X) side end 23b, it is possible to separate the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 more reliably and with a small lifting amount. Since the upper plate 22 thus released from the connection with the lower plate 23 is lightweight, it can be moved in the (+X) direction and pulled out to the outside of the chamber 10, as shown in Fig. 4(d). The operation for connecting the upper plate 22 to the lower plate 23 is the reverse of the above.

[0056] In addition, here, the upper plate 22 is attached and detached from the (+X) side of the chamber 10, for the following reason: As shown in Fig. 1, the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2 is disposed on the (+X) side of the transfer apparatus 4 that transfers the substrate S. Therefore, the space adjacent to the (-X) side of the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2 is the transfer space TS in which the substrate S is transferred, and needs to be kept highly clean.

[0057] Therefore, in order to prevent dust and the like generated during the attachment and detachment work from entering the transfer space, it is preferable that the work is performed in a place as far away as possible from the transfer space TS. In this embodiment, the upper plate 22 is attached and detached by accessing the chamber 10 from the opposite side of the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2 from the transfer space TS, that is, from the (+X) side of the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2, thereby preventing dust and the like from scattering in the transfer space TS.

[0058] In cases where it is necessary to remove the entire support plate 21 because the support plate 21 is made of a single member, or the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 are fastened together with bolts or the like, or when the mass of the upper plate 22 is large, it may not be possible to remove the plate by accessing only from the (+X) side. In such cases, for example, a worker needs to enter the transport space TS and carry out the support plate 21 or the upper plate 22 while supporting it from both sides in the X direction, which leads to contamination of the transport space TS.

[0059] In this embodiment, the lower plate 23, which ensures the mechanical strength of the support plate 21, and the upper plate 22, which attracts the support pins 24, which are magnetic pins, are configured as separate members. This allows the upper plate 22 to be configured to be lightweight. Furthermore, the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 are only connected by magnetic force, and no large force or labor-intensive work is required to release the connection between them.

[0060] For these reasons, the upper plate 22 can be attached and detached and the associated rearrangement of the support pins 24 can be performed only from the (+X) side of the chamber 10, and contamination of the transfer space TS can be reliably prevented.

[0061] Next, a more practical structure of each of the support plates 21 will be described. That is, in order to explain the principle, the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 are shown as flat plates having the same planar size in Fig. 3. However, the following modifications can be made to the structure to make it more suitable for actually rearranging the support pins 24. Below, a structure for improving the workability when separating the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 will be described with reference to Fig. 5, and a structure for reducing the deflection of the upper plate 22 will be described with reference to Fig. 6.

[0062] Fig. 5 shows an example of a shape for facilitating removal of the plates. In the explanation of the principle so far, the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 have the same planar size and are joined so as to overlap each other. In this case, when the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 are in close contact with each other, there is no clue to separate them, and the task of lifting up the upper plate 22 is not easy.

[0063] In the example of the support plate 21a shown in Fig. 5(a), a notch 232 is formed in the upper part of the (+X) side end face of the lower plate 23a, where the surface is partially recessed to the (-X) side. When the upper plate 22a is overlapped with the lower plate 23a, as shown in the right figure, a small gap is formed under the (+X) side end face of the upper plate 22a. By inserting a hand or a jig or tool into this gap, the upper plate 22a can be easily pulled upward from the lower plate 23a.

[0064] 5(b), the shape of the notch 233 formed in the (+X) side end surface of the lower plate 23b is different from that of the above example, but the function is the same. That is, since a part of the lower surface of the upper plate 22b is exposed above the notch 233, the upper plate 22b can be easily pulled upward from the lower plate 23b by inserting a hand or a jig or tool into this part.

[0065] 5(c), the (+X) side end of the upper plate 22c protrudes slightly from the lower plate 23c. This configuration also makes it easy to lift the protruding upper plate 22c from the lower plate 23c by placing a hand or a jig on the lower surface of the protruding upper plate 22c.

[0066] In such a structure in which the upper and lower plates have different shapes or sizes in a planar view, it is preferable that the difference in shape between them be kept to a minimum in order to suppress turbulence in the air flow during reduced pressure drying processing.

[0067] In addition, it is possible to improve the ease of removing upper plate 22 by, for example, temporarily attaching a handle equipped with a magnet having an adhesive force significantly greater than that of magnet 231 to upper plate 22, or by previously providing a handle having a height smaller than that of support pin 24 near the (+X) side end of upper plate 22.

[0068] Fig. 6 shows an example of a shape for suppressing deflection of the upper plate. To make the upper plate 22 lightweight and improve the workability in attaching and removing it, it is effective to make the upper plate 22 a thin flat plate. On the other hand, such a structure is prone to deflection when one end is lifted. For example, as shown in Fig. 6(a), by adopting a shape in which both ends on the Y side of the upper plate 22d are bent downward, a so-called channel shape, it is possible to increase the strength against bending in the X direction and suppress deflection.

[0069] When measures are taken to suppress the bending of the upper plate in this way, there is more freedom in the arrangement of magnets on the lower plate side. In other words, if bending is not an issue when the (+) end of the upper plate is lifted, it is not necessarily necessary to arrange the magnets biased toward the (+X) side as shown in Figure 3(b).

[0070] In this case, a specific structure may be adopted in which the shape of the upper part of the lower plate 23e is changed in correspondence with the bending of the upper plate 22e, as in the support plate 21e shown in Fig. 6(b), in order to suppress turbulence of the airflow, or a concept in which the bent part of the upper plate 22f completely covers the side of the lower plate 23f, as in the support plate 21f shown in Fig. 6(c). In this way, the structure when viewed as a single support plate in which the upper plate and the lower plate are integrated, can be made into a flat plate or a rectangular parallelepiped, as in the above principle.

[0071] FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of the rearrangement work of the support pins. This work is performed, for example, when the specifications of the substrate S handled by the substrate processing system 100 are changed. In addition, for example, it may be performed in conjunction with other maintenance work in the chamber 10. This work can be performed entirely manually by an operator (or using an appropriate tool), or part of it may be combined with the operation of the reduced pressure drying device 4. First, the cover part 12 of the chamber 10 is retracted to a retracted position (position shown in FIG. 2(b)) retracted far upward (step S101). This movement may be performed by operating the chamber lifting part 15, or the cover part 12 may be lifted by an external lifting device. As a result, the chamber 10 is opened wide vertically.

[0072] Next, an operator lifts the (+X) side end of the upper plate 22 from the (+X) side of the chamber 10 thus opened, thereby releasing the coupling between the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 by magnetic force (step S102). The upper plate 22 separated from the lower plate 23 is pulled out in the (+X) direction and carried out to the outside of the chamber 10 (step S103). The upper plate 22 thus pulled out to the outside space is rearranged to change the positions of the support pins 24 (step S104).

[0073] Since each support pin 24 is attached to the upper plate 22 by magnetic force, it can be removed from the upper plate 22 by pulling it upward. Then, the rearrangement is completed by attaching the support pin 24 to a new position as necessary. Also, unnecessary support pins 24 may be removed and new support pins 24 may be added.

[0074] In order to improve the efficiency of this operation, a scale, a grid, or the like serving as a positional reference may be provided, for example, on the upper surface of the upper plate 22. Also, a jig (template, etc.) for easily identifying the positions of the support pins 24 may be prepared according to the specifications of the substrate S.

[0075] Once the rearrangement is complete, the upper plate 22 is returned into the chamber 10 (step S105). That is, an operator carries the upper plate 22 in from the (+X) side of the chamber 10 and places it on the corresponding lower plate 23. The magnets 231 on the upper surface of the lower plate 23 fit into the recesses 221 on the lower surface of the upper plate 22, so that the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 are coupled together by magnetic force. Thereafter, the cover part 12 is lowered and moved to a closing position (the position shown in FIG. 2(a)) where it closes the internal space SP (step S106), thereby completing the work.

[0076] When it is necessary to perform rearrangement work on a plurality of support plates 21, for example, after performing the above work on one set of support plates 21, the same work can be performed on another set of support plates 21. Also, a plurality of support plates 21 may be removed at once and work can be performed in parallel.

[0077] As described above, in this embodiment, the stage 20 that supports the substrate S in the chamber 10 has a structure in which the substrate S is supported from below by a plurality of support pins 24 on the upper surface of the support plate 21. The support plate 21 is separable into the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23, which are connected with a relatively small force by the magnet 231. Therefore, the connection with the lower plate 23 can be easily released by pulling the upper plate 22 upward.

[0078] Furthermore, since the upper plate 22 does not require high mechanical strength, it can be configured to be thin and lightweight. Therefore, the upper plate 22 separated from the lower plate 23 can be easily carried out of the chamber 10. In this manner, since the upper plate 22 to which the support pins 24 are attached can be easily carried out of the chamber 10, in this embodiment, the support pins 24 can be rearranged efficiently with excellent workability.

[0079] In addition, the work of rearranging the support pins 24 can be performed from the opposite side to the transfer space TS to which the substrate S is transferred. Therefore, there is no need for an operator to enter the transfer space TS, and contamination of the transfer space TS can be prevented.

[0080] Furthermore, if the support pins 24 are magnetic pins with magnets attached to their bottom surfaces and the upper plate 22 is made of a soft magnetic material such as an iron plate, the support pins 24 can be easily removed and attached to any position on the upper surface of the upper plate 22. This makes it possible to configure a stage 20 that can flexibly respond to various requirements in substrate processing and achieve a support mode that matches the specifications of the substrate.

[0081] The chamber 10 in the above embodiment has a structure in which the cover portion 12 and the bottom plate portion 11 are separated in the vertical direction, allowing the substrate S to be inserted and removed. However, some chambers of this type allow the substrate S to be inserted and removed via a shutter provided on the side. Even in such a configuration, the structure of the support plate 21 can be the same as that described above.

[0082] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the chamber. Since the structure of each part except for the chamber structure is the same as that of the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2 of the above embodiment, illustrations may be omitted or the same reference numerals may be used to omit description. The chamber 10A shown in FIG. 8(a) includes a flat bottom plate part 11A and a cover part 12A covering the upper part thereof, as in the above embodiment. A shutter 101 that opens and closes in response to a control command from the control part 80 is provided on the (-X) side surface of the cover part 12A. In this structure, the substrate S to be processed is inserted and removed by the transport device 4 via the shutter 101. Meanwhile, during maintenance work in the chamber 10, including rearrangement of the support pins 24, the cover part 12A is raised to open the chamber.

[0083] 8(b), a shutter 102 for inserting and removing a substrate S is provided on the (-X) side of the chamber 10B, which can be opened and closed freely, while a shutter 103 for maintenance work is provided on the (+X) side of the chamber 10B, which can be opened and closed freely. When the shutter 103 is open, the (+X) side of the chamber 10B opens wide, and for example, the entire side can be opened. The shutter 103 may be opened and closed manually. In such a configuration, instead of creating a work space by separating the chamber into upper and lower parts, the side of the chamber is opened wide to allow access to the inside of the chamber.

[0084] Even in these chamber structures, the structure of the support plate 21 installed inside can be the same as that described above. Even in this case, the upper plate 22 can be attached and detached by accessing it from the (+X) side surface of the chamber, and the upper plate 22 can be pulled out of the chamber to rearrange the support pins 24 efficiently with excellent workability.

[0085] As described above, the reduced pressure drying apparatus 2 of this embodiment functions as the "substrate processing apparatus" and "substrate processing section" of the present invention. The transport device 4 functions as the "transport section" of the present invention. The bottom plate section 11 and cover section 12 constituting the chamber 10 function as the "base section" and "cover section" of the present invention, respectively. The support plate 21 corresponds to the "combined body" of the present invention, and the upper plate 22 and lower plate 23 function as the "first plate" and "second plate" of the present invention, respectively. The support pins 24 function as the "support pins" of the present invention.

[0086] Moreover, the stage lifting section 25 functions as the "lifting mechanism" of the present invention, while the pressure reducing mechanism 30 functions as the "pressure reducing section" of the present invention. The substrate processing system 100 corresponds to the "substrate processing system" of the present invention. The recess 221 corresponds to the "recess" of the present invention, and the magnet 231 functions as the "coupling section" of the present invention. The notches 232 and 233 correspond to the "notch section" of the present invention.

[0087] The distances Da and Db correspond to the "second distance" and "first distance" of the present invention, respectively, the substrate S corresponds to the "substrate" of the present invention, and the internal space SP corresponds to the "internal space" of the present invention.

[0088] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the upper plate 22 is made of a thin iron plate, which is a soft magnetic material, and the support pins 24 are magnet pins, and the support pins 24 are connected to the upper plate 22 by magnetic force. However, the mechanism for connecting the support pins to the upper plate is not limited to this, and they may be fixed to each other by bolts, for example.

[0089] In this case, the upper plate does not necessarily have to be a magnetic material, and there is a greater degree of freedom in the selection of materials. For example, an aluminum plate that is lighter than iron can be used. In this manner, when the upper plate is not a magnetic material, it is desirable to place a magnetic material on the lower surface of the upper plate at a position corresponding to the magnet (for example, the inner surface of the recess 221) in order to realize a coupling with the lower plate by magnetic force. For example, a member made of a magnetic material as a separate body from the upper plate can be attached to the lower surface of the upper plate.

[0090] Also, for example, in the above embodiment, the magnet 231 is provided so as to protrude from the upper surface of the lower plate 23, thereby giving the magnet 231 the function of determining the horizontal position of the upper plate 22. However, the magnet may be embedded in the lower plate so that the upper surface of the lower plate is flat. In this case, a separate positioning pin or the like is required to determine the horizontal position of the upper plate, but with the structure shown in Figures 6(a) to (c), for example, positional deviation in at least the Y direction is naturally restricted. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures only to suppress positional deviation in the X direction.

[0091] Also, for example, the coupling between the upper plate 22 and the lower plate 23 in the above embodiment is realized by a magnet provided on the lower plate 23 side, but the structure may be reversed and a magnet is attached to the upper plate side. Also, the magnetic force is not limited to that provided by a permanent magnet, and for example, an electromagnet may be used. In this case, the upper plate can be more easily removed from the lower plate by stopping the current flow as necessary.

[0092] For example, although the above embodiment is an application of the present invention to a reduced pressure drying apparatus, the application of the present invention is not limited to reduced pressure drying apparatuses, and the present invention can be applied to various substrate processing apparatuses having a chamber for housing a substrate and being reduced in pressure.

[0093] As described above by way of example of specific embodiments, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, for example, a combination body formed by combining a first plate and a second plate may be arranged horizontally in the internal space with a gap therebetween. In a configuration in which a substrate is supported using support pins, the shape and size of the combination body do not necessarily need to match the shape and size of the substrate, and it can be said that there is a relatively high degree of freedom. If a substrate is supported by a plurality of combination bodies, the size and weight of the first plate in each combination body can be reduced, and the workability of the attachment and detachment operation can be improved.

[0094] For example, the coupling portion may have a plurality of magnets discretely protruding from the upper surface of the second plate, and the lower surface of the first plate may be provided with recesses into which the magnets fit at positions corresponding to the positions of the magnets, with at least a portion of the inner surface of the recesses being made of a soft magnetic material. With this configuration, the first plate and the second plate can be easily positioned by fitting the magnets into the recesses.

[0095] In this case, the first plate has a rectangular shape in a plan view, 2The plate may be configured such that a first distance between one end of the main surface and the magnet located closest to the one end is greater than a second distance between the other end opposite the one end and the magnet located closest to the other end. This configuration can solve the problem that, when the first plate is lifted from the other end, the coupling by the magnet located on the one end cannot be released due to the first plate being deflected.

[0096] For example, the upper surface of the first plate may be made flat and made of a soft magnetic material, and the support pin may be attached to the upper surface of the first plate by a magnet. In this way, if the support pin is fixed to the first plate, which is a magnetic material, by magnetic force, the support pin can be attached to any position on the first plate and can also be easily removed.

[0097] Furthermore, for example, when the first plate and the second plate have substantially the same shape and size in a plan view, it is preferable that a cutout be provided in part of the periphery of the upper surface of the second plate, the cutout being partially recessed from the lower surface of the first plate. With this configuration, it becomes possible to easily lift up the first plate by using the cutout as a handle.

[0098] Also, for example, a lifting mechanism for lifting the second plate within the internal space may be further provided. In the present invention, since the first plate can be easily detached from the second plate and carried out to the outside of the chamber, even in such a structure in which the lifting mechanism is coupled to the second plate, there is no hindrance to the rearrangement of the support pins.

[0099] For example, the chamber may have a base portion constituting the bottom of the chamber, and a cover portion covering an upper portion of the base portion to form an internal space, and the base portion and the cover portion may be configured to be separated in the vertical direction. With such a configuration, the structure inside the chamber can be exposed by separating the base portion and the cover portion. Therefore, the work of separating the first plate from the second plate and carrying them out can also be performed with excellent workability.

[0100] The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention may further include a pressure reducing unit connected to the chamber for reducing the pressure of the internal space, and may support a substrate having a coating film formed on its upper surface in the internal space by a plurality of support pins, and may dry the coating film by reducing the pressure of the internal space using the pressure reducing unit. Such a process is called a reduced pressure drying process, and it is known that the contact position of the support pins with the substrate affects the processing quality. The present invention is capable of efficiently rearranging the support pins with excellent operability, and is particularly suitable for use in reduced pressure drying apparatuses.

[0101] In the support pin rearrangement method according to the present invention, a transport unit that carries the substrate into the chamber and / or carries the substrate out of the chamber may be disposed, for example, on the side of the chamber, and in this case, it is desirable to carry the first plate into and out of the chamber from the opposite side of the transport unit. With this configuration, the first plate can be carried in and out without passing through the path along which the substrate is carried by the transport unit, and contamination of the substrate and the like caused by dust generated during the operation can be avoided. [Industrial Applicability]

[0102] The present invention is applicable to substrate processing apparatuses in general which process substrates by reducing the pressure of a chamber housing the substrate, but is particularly suitable for apparatuses which perform reduced-pressure drying processing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 2. Reduced pressure drying equipment (substrate processing equipment, substrate processing section) 4. Conveying device (conveying section) 10. Chamber 11 Bottom plate (base) 12 Cover section 21 Support plate (combination) 22 Upper plate (first plate) 23 Lower plate (second plate) 24 Support pin 25 Stage lifting section (lifting mechanism) 30 Pressure reduction mechanism (pressure reduction section) 100 Substrate processing system 221 Recess 231 Magnet (connection part) 232,233 Notch Da 2nd Distance Db 1st distance S-substrate SP interior space

Claims

1. a chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate, the internal space being depressurized; a first plate disposed within the internal space and having a plurality of support pins detachably attached to an upper surface thereof for supporting the substrate; a second plate that abuts against a lower surface of the first plate and supports the first plate within the internal space; a coupling portion that detachably couples the first plate and the second plate by magnetic forces of a plurality of magnets that are discretely arranged; Equipped with The plurality of magnets are discretely provided on an upper surface of the second plate, A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a recess into which the magnet fits provided at a position on the lower surface of the first plate corresponding to the position of the magnet; and at least a portion of the inner surface of the recess is formed from a soft magnetic material.

2. A chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate, the internal space being depressurized; a first plate disposed within the internal space and having a plurality of support pins detachably attached to an upper surface thereof for supporting the substrate; a second plate that abuts against a lower surface of the first plate and supports the first plate within the internal space; a coupling portion that detachably couples the first plate and the second plate by magnetic forces of a plurality of magnets that are discretely arranged; Equipped with The plurality of magnets are discretely provided on the lower surface of the first plate, A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: an upper surface of the second plate having a recess into which the magnet fits, the upper surface being provided at a position corresponding to the position of the magnet; and at least a portion of an inner surface of the recess being formed of a soft magnetic material.

3. A chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate, the internal space being depressurized; a first plate disposed within the internal space and having a plurality of support pins detachably attached to an upper surface thereof for supporting the substrate; a second plate that abuts against a lower surface of the first plate and supports the first plate within the internal space; a coupling portion that detachably couples the first plate and the second plate by magnetic forces of a plurality of magnets that are discretely arranged; Equipped with the plurality of magnets are discretely disposed on the lower surface of the first plate or the upper surface of the second plate; A substrate processing apparatus, wherein a first distance between one end of a surface on which the magnet is installed and the magnet located at the closest position to the one end is greater than a second distance between the other end opposite the one end and the magnet located at the closest position to the other end.

4. A substrate processing apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein the first plate and the second plate have a rectangular shape when viewed in a plane.

5. 5 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of combined bodies each including the first plate and the second plate combined are arranged horizontally in the internal space with gaps between them.

6. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the first plate is made of a soft magnetic material and is flat, and the support pins are attached to the upper surface of the first plate by magnets.

7. In a plan view, the first plate and the second plate have substantially the same shape and size; 5 . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a notch is provided in a part of a peripheral edge of an upper surface of said second plate, said notch being partially recessed from a lower surface of said first plate.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the second plate within the internal space.

9. 5. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chamber has a base portion constituting a bottom of the chamber, and a cover portion covering an upper portion of the base portion to form the internal space, the base portion and the cover portion being spaced apart in the vertical direction.

10. A pressure reducing unit is further provided which is connected to the chamber and reduces the pressure of the internal space.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate having a coating film formed on an upper surface thereof is supported by a plurality of the support pins in the internal space, and the pressure reducing section dries the coating film by reducing the pressure in the internal space.

11. A substrate processing section having the same configuration as the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a pressure reducing section connected to the chamber and reducing the pressure in the internal space; a transfer unit disposed on a side of the chamber and performing at least one of loading and unloading of the substrate into and from the chamber; Equipped with a plurality of combined bodies each including the first plate and the second plate combined with the combined portion are arranged in the internal space in a horizontal direction with gaps between them; the transport unit is disposed in a direction perpendicular to an arrangement direction of the assembly with respect to the chamber; The substrate having a coating film formed on an upper surface thereof is supported by the support pins in the internal space, and the pressure reducing unit reduces the pressure in the internal space to dry the coating film.

12. 1. A method for rearranging support pins in a chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate and including a plurality of support pins for supporting the substrate, the method comprising the steps of: the plurality of support pins are previously detachably attached to an upper surface of a first plate, and the first plate is previously detachably coupled to a second plate installed in the internal space by a magnetic force of a plurality of magnets that are discretely arranged; Pulling the first plate upward to release the coupling of the second plate; removing the first plate from the chamber; changing the position of the support pin attached to the first plate outside the chamber; placing the first plate back into the chamber and bonding it to the second plate; Equipped with The plurality of magnets are discretely provided on an upper surface of the second plate, A method for rearranging a support pin, wherein a recess into which the magnet fits is provided at a position on the underside of the first plate corresponding to the position of the magnet, and at least a portion of the inner surface of the recess is formed from a soft magnetic material.

13. A method for rearranging a plurality of support pins in a chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate, the support pins supporting the substrate being disposed in the chamber, the method comprising the steps of: the plurality of support pins are previously detachably attached to an upper surface of a first plate, and the first plate is previously detachably coupled to a second plate installed in the internal space by a magnetic force of a plurality of magnets that are discretely arranged; Pulling the first plate upward to release the coupling of the second plate; removing the first plate from the chamber; changing the position of the support pin attached to the first plate outside the chamber; placing the first plate back into the chamber and bonding it to the second plate; Equipped with The plurality of magnets are discretely provided on the lower surface of the first plate, A method for rearranging a support pin, wherein a recess into which the magnet fits is provided at a position on the upper surface of the second plate corresponding to the position of the magnet, and at least a portion of the inner surface of the recess is formed from a soft magnetic material.

14. A method for rearranging a plurality of support pins in a chamber having an internal space capable of accommodating a substrate, the method comprising: the plurality of support pins are previously attached to an upper surface of a first plate in a freely detachable manner, and the first plate is previously attached to a second plate installed in the internal space in a freely detachable manner by a magnetic force of a plurality of magnets that are discretely arranged; Pulling the first plate upward to release the coupling of the second plate; removing the first plate from the chamber; changing the position of the support pin attached to the first plate outside the chamber; placing the first plate back into the chamber and bonding it to the second plate; Equipped with the plurality of magnets are discretely disposed on the lower surface of the first plate or the upper surface of the second plate; A method for rearranging a support pin, wherein a first distance between one end of a surface on which the magnet is installed and the magnet located at the closest position to the one end is greater than a second distance between the other end opposite the one end and the magnet located at the closest position to the other end.

15. a transfer unit that performs at least one of loading the substrate into the chamber and unloading the substrate from the chamber is disposed on a side of the chamber; 15. The method for rearranging support pins according to claim 12, wherein the first plate is carried into and out of the chamber from an opposite side of the chamber to the transport unit.

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