Operation monitoring method and manufacturing device

Abstract

To provide a technique which can evaluate variations of an operation of a processing unit for each pixel.SOLUTION: A plurality of moving images M is acquired by imaging a specific operation of a processing unit plural times. A motion vector V is calculated for each pixel by means of an optical flow method for a plurality of frame images F included in the plurality of moving images M. Then, an evaluation value σ based on the motion vector V is calculated for each pixel by comparing the motion vectors V of the same time and same pixel with each other in the plurality of moving images M. After that, an operation of the processing unit is evaluated on the basis of the calculated evaluation value σ.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for monitoring the operation of a processing unit and a manufacturing apparatus including the processing unit. [Background technology]

[0002] In industrial machinery and other devices, repeatability of operations is an important issue. In particular, in devices that perform precise and fine processing on substrates, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment, even slight differences in operations can cause a significant decrease in product quality. For this reason, there is a demand for quantitative evaluation of slight variations in the operations performed by the equipment.

[0003] Conventionally, there is known a technique of installing a camera in a device and monitoring the device for abnormal operation. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique of capturing images of a substrate processing process with a camera and detecting the occurrence of an abnormality based on the captured video. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-165607 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology of Patent Document 1 detects sudden or irregular abnormalities for each frame of a video. Therefore, the method of Patent Document 1 cannot evaluate the repeatability of multiple operations repeated within a device for each pixel.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a technique capable of evaluating the variation in the operation of a processing unit for each pixel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the first invention of the present application is a method for monitoring the operation of a processing unit, comprising the steps of: a) acquiring multiple videos by capturing a specific operation of the processing unit multiple times; b) calculating a motion vector for each pixel for multiple frame images included in the multiple videos by an optical flow method; c) calculating an evaluation value based on the motion vector for each pixel by comparing the motion vectors of the same pixel at the same time in the multiple videos; and d) evaluating the operation of the processing unit based on the evaluation value.

[0008] A second invention of the present application is the motion monitoring method of the first invention, wherein the evaluation value is a standard deviation of the motion vectors in a population of the motion vectors at the same time and the same pixel in the multiple videos.

[0009] A third invention of the present application is a motion monitoring method according to the second invention, wherein the frame image is a two-dimensional image defined by an x-axis and a y-axis, and in step c), a standard deviation of the x-axis component of the motion vector and a standard deviation of the y-axis component of the motion vector are calculated, and in step d), the operation of the processing unit is evaluated based on the average value of the standard deviation of the x-axis component and the standard deviation of the y-axis component.

[0010] A fourth invention of the present application is a motion monitoring method of any one of the first to third inventions, comprising, after step b) and before step c), the steps of x) calculating features for each of the plurality of videos based on the motion vector for each frame image, and y) aligning the timing of the plurality of videos based on a time-varying waveform of the features.

[0011] A fifth aspect of the present invention is the motion monitoring method of the fourth aspect, wherein the feature amount is an average value of lengths of the motion vectors of a plurality of pixels included in the frame image.

[0012] A sixth invention of the present application is an operation monitoring method of any one of the first to fifth inventions, wherein in the step d), an evaluation result indicating that the operation has a large variation is output when the evaluation value falls outside a preset tolerance range.

[0013] The seventh invention of the present application is an operation monitoring method of any one of the first to fifth inventions, wherein in the step a), a reference processing unit and other processing units each capture the specific operation multiple times to obtain multiple videos, and in the step d), if the difference between the evaluation value of the reference processing unit and the evaluation value of the other processing units falls outside a predetermined tolerance range, an evaluation result is output indicating that the operation of the other processing units has a large variation.

[0014] The eighth invention of the present application is a motion monitoring method according to the sixth or seventh invention, wherein, in outputting the evaluation result, pixels of the frame image whose evaluation value falls outside the acceptable range are displayed by overlaying color, text, or graphics.

[0015] A ninth aspect of the present invention is the operation monitoring method of any one of the first to eighth aspects of the present invention, wherein the processing unit is a unit that supplies a processing liquid to a surface of a substrate.

[0016] The tenth invention of the present application comprises a processing unit that processes a processing object by performing a specific operation, a camera that captures the operation of the processing unit, and a computer that evaluates the operation based on a video obtained from the camera, wherein the computer performs the following processes: a) acquiring multiple videos by having the camera capture the operation of the processing unit multiple times, b) calculating a motion vector for each pixel using an optical flow method for multiple frame images included in the multiple videos, c) calculating an evaluation value based on the motion vector for each pixel by comparing the motion vectors of the same pixel at the same time in the multiple videos, and d) evaluating the operation of the processing unit based on the evaluation value. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the first to tenth aspects of the present application, the variation in the operation of the processing units can be evaluated for each pixel based on the motion vector.

[0018] In particular, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the timing of multiple moving images can be aligned. This allows the variation in the operation of the processing units to be evaluated with high accuracy in steps c) and d). Furthermore, the feature amount for aligning the timing of multiple moving images is calculated based on the motion vector. This makes it unnecessary to measure parameters for aligning the timing of the moving images separately from the motion vector.

[0019] In particular, according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, parts where there is a large variation in operation can be visually and easily grasped. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the processing unit. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating how a photograph is taken by a camera. [Figure 4] 4 is a block diagram showing connections between a control unit and each part in a processing unit. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for a substrate. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation monitoring. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a configuration of a moving image. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of one frame image. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a motion vector calculated for one frame image. [Figure 10] 13 is a graph showing an example of waveforms of changes over time in feature amounts of two videos. [Figure 11]FIG. 13 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a calculation process of a standard deviation. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an evaluation result. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0022] <1. Overall configuration of substrate processing equipment> Fig. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus 100 which is an example of a manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 100 is an apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a surface of a disk-shaped substrate W (silicon wafer) in a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process to process the surface of the substrate W. As shown in Fig. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes an indexer 101, a plurality of processing units 102, and a main transport robot 103.

[0023] The indexer 101 is a site for loading unprocessed substrates W from the outside and unloading processed substrates W to the outside. A plurality of carriers each accommodating a plurality of substrates W are arranged in the indexer 101. The indexer 101 also has a transfer robot (not shown). The transfer robot transfers substrates W between the carriers in the indexer 101 and the processing units 102 or the main transport robot 103.

[0024] The processing units 102 are so-called single-piece processing units that process substrates W one by one. The multiple processing units 102 are arranged around the main transport robot 103. In this embodiment, four processing units 102 arranged around the main transport robot 103 are stacked in three stages in the height direction. That is, the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment has a total of 12 processing units 102. The multiple substrates W are processed in parallel in each processing unit 102. However, the number of processing units 102 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100 is not limited to 12, and may be, for example, 1, 4, 8, or 24.

[0025] The main transport robot 103 is a mechanism for transporting the substrate W between the indexer 101 and the multiple processing units 102. The main transport robot 103 has, for example, a hand for holding the substrate W and an arm for moving the hand. The main transport robot 103 takes out the unprocessed substrate W from the indexer 101 and transports it to the processing unit 102. Furthermore, when the processing of the substrate W in the processing unit 102 is completed, the main transport robot 103 takes out the processed substrate W from the processing unit 102 and transports it to the indexer 101.

[0026] <2. Processing unit configuration> Next, a detailed configuration of the processing unit 102 will be described. Although one of the multiple processing units 102 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described below, the other processing units 102 have the same configuration.

[0027] Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the processing unit 102. As shown in Fig. 2, the processing unit 102 includes a chamber 10, a substrate holding unit 20, a rotation mechanism 30, a processing liquid supply unit 40, a processing liquid collector 50, a shield plate 60, a camera 70, and a control unit 80.

[0028] The chamber 10 is a housing containing a processing space 11 for processing a substrate W. The chamber 10 has a sidewall 12 surrounding the sides of the processing space 11, a top plate portion 13 covering an upper portion of the processing space 11, and a bottom plate portion 14 covering a lower portion of the processing space 11. The substrate holder 20, the rotation mechanism 30, the processing liquid supply portion 40, the processing liquid collector 50, the blocking plate 60, and the camera 70 are housed inside the chamber 10. A load / unload port for loading / unloading the substrate W into / from the chamber 10 and a shutter for opening / closing the load / unload port are provided in a portion of the sidewall 12.

[0029] The substrate holding unit 20 is a mechanism for holding the substrate W horizontally (in a position in which the normal line faces the vertical direction) inside the chamber 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate holding unit 20 has a disk-shaped spin base 21 and a plurality of chuck pins 22. The plurality of chuck pins 22 are provided at equal angular intervals along the outer periphery of the upper surface of the spin base 21. The substrate W is held by the plurality of chuck pins 22 with the processing surface on which a pattern is to be formed facing upward. Each chuck pin 22 contacts the lower surface and outer periphery end surface of the peripheral portion of the substrate W, and supports the substrate W at a position above the upper surface of the spin base 21 with a small gap therebetween.

[0030] A chuck pin switching mechanism 23 is provided inside the spin base 21 for switching the positions of the multiple chuck pins 22. The chuck pin switching mechanism 23 switches the multiple chuck pins 22 between a holding position for holding the substrate W and a release position for releasing the substrate W.

[0031] The rotation mechanism 30 is a mechanism for rotating the substrate holding part 20. The rotation mechanism 30 is housed inside a motor cover 31 provided below the spin base 21. As shown by a dashed line in FIG. 2, the rotation mechanism 30 has a spin motor 32 and a support shaft 33. The support shaft 33 extends in the vertical direction, and its lower end is connected to the spin motor 32 and its upper end is fixed to the center of the lower surface of the spin base 21. When the spin motor 32 is driven, the support shaft 33 rotates about its axis 330. Then, together with the support shaft 33, the substrate holding part 20 and the substrate W held by the substrate holding part 20 also rotate about the axis 330.

[0032] The processing liquid supply unit 40 is a mechanism for supplying a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the substrate holding unit 20. The processing liquid supply unit 40 has an upper surface nozzle 41 and a lower surface nozzle 42. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the upper surface nozzle 41 has a nozzle arm 411, a nozzle head 412 provided at the tip of the nozzle arm 411, and a nozzle motor 413. The nozzle arm 411 rotates in the horizontal direction around the base end of the nozzle arm 411 by driving the nozzle motor 413. This allows the nozzle head 412 to move between a processing position (position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) above the substrate W held by the substrate holding unit 20 and a retreat position (position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1) outside the processing liquid collecting unit 50.

[0033] The nozzle head 412 is connected to a liquid supply unit (not shown) for supplying a processing liquid. Examples of the processing liquid that can be used include an SPM cleaning liquid (a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide), an SC-1 cleaning liquid (a mixture of ammonia water, hydrogen peroxide, and pure water), an SC-2 cleaning liquid (a mixture of hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and pure water), a DHF cleaning liquid (dilute hydrofluoric acid), and pure water (deionized water). When the valve of the liquid supply unit is opened with the nozzle head 412 placed at the processing position, the processing liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit is discharged from the nozzle head 412 toward the upper surface of the substrate W held by the substrate holding unit 20.

[0034] The nozzle head 412 may be a so-called two-fluid nozzle that mixes the processing liquid with a pressurized gas to generate droplets and sprays the mixed fluid of the droplets and the gas onto the substrate W. Furthermore, a plurality of upper surface nozzles 41 may be provided in one processing unit 102.

[0035] The lower surface nozzle 42 is disposed inside a through hole provided in the center of the spin base 21. The outlet of the lower surface nozzle 42 faces the lower surface of the substrate W held by the substrate holding part 20. The lower surface nozzle 42 is also connected to a liquid supply part for supplying a processing liquid. When the processing liquid is supplied from the liquid supply part to the lower surface nozzle 42, the processing liquid is discharged from the lower surface nozzle 42 toward the lower surface of the substrate W.

[0036] The processing liquid collecting section 50 is a section for collecting the processing liquid after use. As shown in Fig. 2, the processing liquid collecting section 50 has an inner cup 51, a middle cup 52, and an outer cup 53. The inner cup 51, the middle cup 52, and the outer cup 53 can be moved up and down independently of each other by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

[0037] The inner cup 51 has an annular first guide plate 510 that surrounds the periphery of the substrate holding part 20. The inner cup 52 has an annular second guide plate 520 located outside and above the first guide plate 510. The outer cup 53 has an annular third guide plate 530 located outside and above the second guide plate 520. The bottom of the inner cup 51 extends below the inner cup 52 and the outer cup 53. A first drainage groove 511, a second drainage groove 512, and a third drainage groove 513 are provided on the upper surface of the bottom in this order from the inside.

[0038] The processing liquid discharged from the upper nozzle 41 and the lower nozzle 42 of the processing liquid supply unit 40 is supplied to the substrate W, and then scattered outward by centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the substrate W. The processing liquid scattered from the substrate W is collected by any one of the first guide plate 510, the second guide plate 520, and the third guide plate 530. The processing liquid collected by the first guide plate 510 is discharged to the outside of the processing unit 102 through the first drainage groove 511. The processing liquid collected by the second guide plate 520 is discharged to the outside of the processing unit 102 through the second drainage groove 512. The processing liquid collected by the third guide plate 530 is discharged to the outside of the processing unit 102 through the third drainage groove 513.

[0039] In this way, the processing unit 102 has a plurality of discharge paths for the processing liquid. Therefore, the processing liquids supplied to the substrate W can be separated and collected by type. Therefore, the collected processing liquids can be disposed of or recycled separately according to the properties of each processing liquid.

[0040] The blocking plate 60 is a member for suppressing diffusion of gas near the surface of the substrate W when performing some processes such as a drying process. The blocking plate 60 has a disk-shaped outer shape and is arranged horizontally above the substrate holding unit 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the blocking plate 60 is connected to a lifting mechanism 61. When the lifting mechanism 61 is operated, the blocking plate 60 moves up and down between an upper position that is above and away from the upper surface of the substrate W held by the substrate holding unit 20, and a lower position that is closer to the upper surface of the substrate W than the upper position. The lifting mechanism 61 uses, for example, a mechanism that converts the rotational motion of a motor into linear motion using a ball screw.

[0041] Further, an outlet 62 for blowing out a gas for drying (hereinafter referred to as "dry gas") is provided at the center of the lower surface of the blocking plate 60. The outlet 62 is connected to an air supply unit (not shown) that supplies the dry gas. For example, heated nitrogen gas is used as the dry gas.

[0042] When the processing liquid is supplied from the upper surface nozzle 41 to the substrate W, the blocking plate 60 retreats to the upper position. When the substrate W is dried after the processing liquid is supplied, the blocking plate 60 is lowered to the lower position by the lifting mechanism 61. Then, dry gas is blown from the blowing port 62 toward the upper surface of the substrate W. At this time, the blocking plate 60 prevents the gas from diffusing. As a result, the dry gas is efficiently supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W.

[0043] The camera 70 is a device that captures a specific operation in the chamber 10. The camera 70 is installed, for example, at a position close to the inner surface of the side wall 12 of the chamber 10. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing how the camera 70 captures images. In this embodiment, a rectangular area including the substrate W supported by the spin base 21 and the nozzle head 412 is the image capture area A of the camera 70. When the nozzle head 412 ejects the processing liquid onto the surface of the substrate W, the camera 70 captures a video of the operation in the image capture area A. The camera 70 then transmits the obtained video M to the control unit 80.

[0044] The control unit 80 is a means for controlling the operation of each part in the processing unit 102. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection between the control unit 80 and each part in the processing unit 102. As conceptually shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 80 is composed of a computer having a processor 81 such as a CPU, a memory 82 such as a RAM, and a storage unit 83 such as a hard disk drive.

[0045] An operation control program P1 and an operation monitoring program P2 are stored in the storage unit 83. The operation control program P1 is a computer program for controlling the operation of each part of the processing unit 102 in order to execute processing of the substrate W in the processing unit 102. The operation monitoring program P2 is a computer program for monitoring and evaluating a specific operation in the processing unit 102 based on the video M obtained from the camera 70.

[0046] 4, the control unit 80 is connected to the above-mentioned chuck pin switching mechanism 23, spin motor 32, nozzle motor 413, valve of the processing liquid supply unit 40, lifting mechanism of the processing liquid collector 50, lifting mechanism 61 of the shield plate 60, and camera 70 in a wired or wireless manner so as to be able to communicate with each other. The control unit 80 is also electrically connected to a display unit 84 such as a liquid crystal display. The control unit 80 controls the operation of each of the above-mentioned units based on an operation control program P1 and an operation monitoring program P2 stored in the storage unit 83. This causes the processing of steps S1 to S5 and steps S11 to S16 to be described later to proceed.

[0047] <3. Operation of the substrate processing apparatus> Next, a description will be given of the processing of the substrate W in the processing unit 102. Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the substrate W.

[0048] When processing a substrate W in the processing unit 102, first, the main transport robot 103 loads the substrate W to be processed into the chamber 10 (step S1). The substrate W loaded into the chamber 10 is held horizontally by the multiple chuck pins 22 of the substrate holder 20. Then, the spin motor 32 of the rotation mechanism 30 is driven to start rotation of the substrate W (step S2). Specifically, the support shaft 33, the spin base 21, the multiple chuck pins 22, and the substrate W held by the chuck pins 22 rotate about the axis 330 of the support shaft 33.

[0049] Next, the processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply unit 40 (step S3). In step S3, the nozzle motor 413 is driven to move the nozzle head 412 to a processing position facing the upper surface of the substrate W. Then, the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle head 412 arranged at the processing position. Parameters such as the discharge speed and discharge time of the processing liquid are set in advance in the memory unit 83 in the control unit 80. The control unit 80 executes the discharge operation of the processing liquid from the upper surface nozzle 41 in accordance with the settings.

[0050] In step S3, the upper nozzle 41 may be swung horizontally at the processing position while the processing liquid is being discharged from the upper nozzle 41. In addition, the processing liquid may be discharged from the lower nozzle 42 as necessary.

[0051] During the processing liquid supplying step of step S3, the blocking plate 60 is disposed at an upper position above the upper surface nozzle 41. When the supply of the processing liquid to the substrate W is completed and the upper surface nozzle 41 is disposed at the retracted position, the control unit 80 operates the lifting mechanism 61 to move the blocking plate 60 from the upper position to the lower position. Then, the rotation speed of the spin motor 32 is increased to speed up the rotation of the substrate W, and drying gas is blown toward the substrate W from the blowing port 62 provided on the lower surface of the blocking plate 60. This dries the surface of the substrate W (step S4).

[0052] When the drying process of the substrate W is completed, the spin motor 32 is stopped to stop the rotation of the substrate W. Then, the substrate W is released from the chuck pins 22. Thereafter, the main transport robot 103 takes out the processed substrate W from the substrate holding part 20 and transports it outside the chamber 10 (step S5).

[0053] Each processing unit 102 repeatedly performs the above-mentioned processing of steps S1 to S5 on a plurality of substrates W that are transferred in sequence.

[0054] <4. About operation monitoring> Next, an operation monitoring function of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described. The operation monitoring function is a function for monitoring a specific operation repeatedly performed in the processing unit 102 and detecting variations in the operation. In the following description, the operation to be monitored is the supplying operation of the processing liquid in step S3 described above. However, the operation to be monitored may be an operation other than the supplying operation of the processing liquid.

[0055] 6 is a flow chart showing the flow of operation monitoring. First, the substrate processing apparatus 100 executes the processing liquid supply operation of step S3 multiple times. Then, the operation is photographed multiple times by the camera 70 (step S11). In this way, multiple videos M are acquired. Here, the processing liquid supply operation may be performed on a substrate W as a product, or may be performed on a dummy substrate for adjustment when adjusting the processing unit 102. The camera 70 transmits the obtained multiple videos M to the control unit 80. The control unit 80 stores the videos M transmitted from the camera 70 in the storage unit 83.

[0056] Fig. 7 is a diagram conceptually showing the structure of a moving image M. As shown in Fig. 7, the moving image M is made up of a number of frame images F captured at short time intervals. Each frame image F is a two-dimensional image defined by the x-axis and the y-axis. Each frame image F is made up of a number of pixels arranged along the xy plane, and each pixel has a pixel value (e.g., a luminance value).

[0057] Next, the control unit 80 calculates a motion vector V for each pixel using the optical flow method for multiple frame images F included in the multiple videos M (step S12). Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of one frame image F. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the motion vector V calculated for that frame image F. Note that in Fig. 9, the frame image F is indicated by a dashed line, and the motion vector V calculated for that frame image F is indicated by an arrow superimposed on the frame image F.

[0058] In step S12, the control unit 80 compares the frame image F with one or more adjacent frame images F in a time series, and calculates a motion vector V based on the direction in which the positions of the same pixel values ​​change and the magnitude of the change. The calculated motion vector V becomes information indicating the direction and magnitude of movement of parts, etc., included in the shooting area A. In the example of FIG. 9, slight vibrations of the upper nozzle 41 caused by the ejection of the processing liquid are reflected in the motion vector V.

[0059] The control unit 80 uses a so-called dense optical flow method to calculate the motion vector V for all pixels included in the frame image F. However, the control unit 80 may also use a so-called sparse optical flow method to calculate the motion vector V for only some of the pixels in the frame image F. Alternatively, after performing a reduction process to reduce the number of pixels in the frame image F, the control unit 80 may use the dense optical flow method to calculate the motion vector V for all pixels included in the frame image F after the reduction process.

[0060] Next, the control unit 80 calculates a feature amount based on the motion vector V for each frame image F of each of the multiple videos M (step S13). For example, the control unit 80 sets the average value of the magnitudes (absolute values) of the motion vectors V of multiple pixels included in the frame image F as the feature amount of the frame image F. However, other numerical values ​​calculated based on the motion vectors V may also be set as the feature amount of the frame image F. For example, the sum of the magnitudes of the motion vectors V of multiple pixels included in the frame image F may also be set as the feature amount of the frame image F.

[0061] When the feature amount of each frame image F of multiple moving pictures M is calculated, a time-varying waveform WF of the feature amount is obtained for each moving picture M. Fig. 10 is a graph showing an example of the time-varying waveform WF of the feature amount of two moving pictures M. In the graph of Fig. 10, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the feature amount.

[0062] The control unit 80 aligns the timing of the multiple moving pictures M by comparing the time-varying waveforms WF of the feature amounts of the multiple moving pictures M (step S14). Specifically, the control unit 80 calculates a cross-correlation function between the time-varying waveforms WF of one reference moving picture M and the time-varying waveforms WF of the other moving pictures M. The control unit 80 then calculates the time lag amount at which the cross-correlation function is at a maximum value. Thereafter, the control unit 80 shifts the time of the other moving pictures M so that the time lag amount is eliminated. This aligns the timing of the actions in the multiple moving pictures M with the reference moving picture M. That is, the same actions are performed at the same time in the multiple moving pictures M.

[0063] When the timings of the multiple moving images M are aligned, the control unit 80 then calculates the standard deviation σ of the motion vector V of each pixel for each time (step S15). FIG. 11 is a diagram conceptually showing the calculation process of the standard deviation σ. As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 80 calculates the standard deviation σ of the motion vector V for each pixel by comparing the motion vectors V of the same pixel at the same time in the multiple moving images M. More specifically, the control unit 80 calculates the standard deviation σx of the x-axis component Vx of the motion vector V and the standard deviation σy of the y-axis component Vy of the motion vector V. Then, the control unit 80 sets the average value of the two calculated standard deviations σx and σy as the standard deviation σ of the motion vector V of the pixel at the relevant time.

[0064] By the process of step S15, the standard deviation σ of the motion vector V of each pixel is calculated for each time. This standard deviation σ is information that indicates how much the motion of a part or the like at the coordinates of each pixel varies among multiple videos M. The greater the variation in motion, the larger the value of the standard deviation σ. The control unit 80 records the standard deviation σ calculated for each pixel, and acquires information that arranges them in chronological order.

[0065] Next, the control unit 80 evaluates the operation of the processing unit 102 based on the standard deviation σ calculated in step S15 (step S16). Information (e.g., a threshold value) indicating the allowable range of the standard deviation σ is stored in advance in the storage unit 83 of the control unit 80. The control unit 80 determines whether the standard deviation σ of each pixel is within the allowable range for each time. Then, when the standard deviation σ falls outside the allowable range, the control unit 80 detects that there is a large variation in the operation of the pixel at that time.

[0066] The control unit 80 displays the evaluation result of step S16 on the display unit 84. The evaluation result includes information indicating the time and the pixel at which the standard deviation σ is out of the allowable range. By checking the evaluation result displayed on the display unit 84, the user of the substrate processing apparatus 100 can confirm at which coordinate and at which time the variation in operation is large.

[0067] 12 is a diagram showing an example of the evaluation result. In the example of FIG. 12, a frame image F is displayed as the evaluation result, and pixels (hereinafter referred to as "detection pixels P") whose standard deviation σ is out of the allowable range are highlighted by coloring. In this way, by displaying the detection pixels P of the frame image F with coloring, text, or graphics superimposed thereon, a user of the substrate processing apparatus 100 can easily visually grasp the parts with large variations in operation. Moreover, such images of the evaluation result may be arranged in chronological order to create a video in which the highlighted detection pixels P change over time, and the video may be displayed on the display unit 84.

[0068] As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 100, a specific operation M of the processing unit 102 is captured multiple times, and a motion vector V is calculated for each pixel in each frame image F of the resulting moving image M. Then, the variation in the operation is detected based on the standard deviation σ of the motion vector V. This makes it possible to quantitatively evaluate the degree of variation in the specific operation of the processing unit 102.

[0069] In particular, in the motion monitoring method of this embodiment, instead of simply comparing pixel values ​​of frame images F in a plurality of moving images M, attention is focused on motion vectors V, and the standard deviation σ of the motion vectors V is used as an evaluation value. In this way, the motion of the processing unit 102 can be evaluated as a motion. Therefore, the repeatability of the motion in the processing unit 102 can be more appropriately evaluated.

[0070] Furthermore, in the operation monitoring method of the present embodiment, before calculating the standard deviation σ in step S15, a process of aligning the timing of multiple moving pictures M is performed in steps S13 and S14. In this way, in step S15, the standard deviation σ can be calculated more accurately based on the multiple moving pictures M in which the operation timings are aligned. As a result, in step S16, the operation of the processing unit 102 can be evaluated more accurately.

[0071] Furthermore, in the motion monitoring method of this embodiment, a feature amount for aligning the timing of a plurality of videos M is calculated based on the motion vector V. That is, the motion vector V for evaluating the variation in motion is also used for timing alignment. In this way, there is no need to measure parameters for aligning the timing of the videos M separately from the motion vector V. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the measurement processing required for motion monitoring.

[0072] <5. Modifications> Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

[0073] <5-1. First modified example> In the above embodiment, a repeated action is captured in one processing unit 102, and the variation in the action is evaluated. However, the same action may be captured in a plurality of processing units 102, and the machine difference between the processing units 102 may be evaluated based on the obtained video M.

[0074] For example, a specific operation is captured multiple times in each of the reference processing unit 102 and the other processing units 102. Then, the standard deviation σ is calculated for each processing unit 102 by the same procedure as in the above embodiment. Thereafter, if the difference between the standard deviation σ of the reference processing unit 102 and the standard deviation σ of the other processing unit 102 falls outside a preset allowable range, an evaluation result indicating that the operation of the other processing unit 102 varies greatly may be output.

[0075] <5-2. Second modified example> In the above embodiment, the evaluation value representing the variation in movement is the standard deviation σ of the motion vectors V, whose population is the motion vectors V at the same time and the same pixel in multiple moving pictures M. However, the evaluation value representing the variation in movement may be a value calculated by other calculation methods based on the motion vectors V. For example, the variance of the motion vectors V may be used instead of the standard deviation σ.

[0076] <5-3. Other variations> In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the operation of the processing unit 102 that supplies a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate W is evaluated. However, the processing unit to be evaluated may be a unit that performs other processing on the substrate W. Furthermore, the processing object may be an object other than the substrate W. The operation monitoring method of the present invention can be widely applied to apparatuses that perform processing involving movement.

[0077] However, in an apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to a substrate W for precision electronic components such as a semiconductor wafer, the reproducibility of operation needs to be managed with extreme precision. For this reason, it is particularly important to apply the operation monitoring method of the present invention to the apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate W. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 10. Chamber 20 Board holding part 30 Rotation mechanism 40 Processing liquid supply section 50 Processing liquid collecting section 60 Barrier 70 Camera 80 Control section 84 Display section 100 Substrate processing apparatus 102 Processing Unit P1 Motion control program P2 Motion Monitoring Program W substrate A Shooting area M Video F Frame Image p Detected pixel V Motion Vector WF feature value time-dependent change waveform σ Standard deviation

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the operation of a processing unit, comprising the steps of: a) capturing a plurality of videos by capturing a specific operation of the processing unit a plurality of times; b) calculating a motion vector for each pixel of a plurality of frame images included in the plurality of moving images by an optical flow method; c) calculating an evaluation value based on the motion vector for each pixel by comparing the motion vectors of the same pixel at the same time in the plurality of moving images; d) evaluating the operation of the processing unit based on the evaluation value; The operation monitoring method includes:

2. 2. The operation monitoring method according to claim 1, further comprising: The motion monitoring method, wherein the evaluation value is a standard deviation of the motion vectors in a population of the motion vectors at the same time and pixel in the multiple videos.

3. 3. The operation monitoring method according to claim 2, further comprising: the frame image is a two-dimensional image defined by an x-axis and a y-axis; In the step c), a standard deviation of an x-axis component of the motion vector and a standard deviation of a y-axis component of the motion vector are calculated; In the step d), the operation of the processing unit is evaluated based on an average value of the standard deviation of the x-axis component and the standard deviation of the y-axis component.

4. An operation monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising: After step b) and before step c), x) calculating a feature amount for each of the frame images of the plurality of moving images based on the motion vector; y) aligning the timing of the plurality of moving images based on a waveform of a change over time of the feature amount; The operation monitoring method includes:

5. 5. The operation monitoring method according to claim 4, further comprising the steps of: A motion monitoring method, wherein the feature amount is an average value of lengths of the motion vectors of a plurality of pixels included in the frame image.

6. An operation monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: In the step d), an evaluation result indicating that the variation in the behavior is large is output when the evaluation value falls outside a preset allowable range.

7. An operation monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: In the step a), the specific operation is captured a plurality of times in each of a reference processing unit and another processing unit, thereby obtaining a plurality of videos; In the step d), an operation monitoring method outputs an evaluation result indicating that the operation of the other processing units varies widely when the difference between the evaluation value of the reference processing unit and the evaluation value of the other processing unit falls outside a predetermined tolerance range.

8. The operation monitoring method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising the steps of: In the output of the evaluation result, pixels of the frame image whose evaluation value falls outside the allowable range are displayed by overlaying color, text, or graphics.

9. A method for monitoring an operation according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps of: The operation monitoring method, wherein the processing unit is a unit that supplies a processing liquid to a surface of a substrate.

10. A processing unit that processes a processing object by performing a specific operation; a camera for capturing an image of the operation of the processing unit; A computer that evaluates the motion based on the video captured by the camera; Equipped with The computer includes: a) causing the camera to capture the operation of the processing unit multiple times to obtain multiple videos; b) calculating a motion vector for each pixel of a plurality of frame images included in the plurality of moving images by an optical flow method; c) calculating an evaluation value based on the motion vector for each pixel by comparing the motion vectors of the same pixel at the same time in the plurality of moving images; d) evaluating the operation of the processing unit based on the evaluation value; and Manufacturing equipment that carries out the above steps.

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