Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing system, and substrate processing method

Abstract

To provide a device, a system, and a method that can perform processing using a dummy substrate while reducing an impact on the transportation of product substrates.SOLUTION: A substrate processing device 1 includes an indexer block 2 and a processing block 3 laterally adjacent to the indexer block. The processing block includes processing block layers BL, BU. The indexer block includes a carrier holding portion 25 for holding a carrier C that accommodates a substrate W, and an indexer robot 26. Each processing block layer includes a plurality of processing units 11L-13U, 21L-23U, a substrate placement portion 6L, 6U that temporarily holds substrates to be handed over to and from the indexer robot, a dummy substrate accommodation portion 7L, 7U that accommodates a dummy substrate DW, and a main transport robot 8L, 8U for transporting substrates.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, a system, and a method for processing a substrate. Substrates to be processed include, for example, semiconductor wafers, substrates for flat panel displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal display devices and organic electroluminescence (EL) display devices, substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, substrates for magneto-optical disks, substrates for photomasks, ceramic substrates, substrates for solar cells, and the like.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is used. An example of such a substrate processing apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This substrate processing apparatus includes a carrier holding unit that holds a carrier for accommodating a substrate, a plurality of processing units for processing the substrate, a transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the carrier and the processing units, and a control unit. When the continuous non-use time of the processing unit reaches a predetermined time, the control device requests the host device to carry in a dummy carrier holding a dummy substrate. When the dummy carrier is carried into the carrier holding unit, the transfer unit transfers the dummy substrate from the dummy carrier to the processing unit. The processing unit is cleaned using the dummy substrate.

[0003] The transfer unit includes an index robot and a main transfer robot, and a transfer unit is disposed between them. The index robot transfers the substrate between the carrier and the transfer unit. The main transfer robot transfers the substrate between the transfer unit and the processing unit.

[0004] When the dummy carrier is placed in the carrier holding unit, the indexer robot removes the dummy circuit board from the dummy carrier and transports it to the transfer unit. The dummy circuit board is then transported from the transfer unit to the processing unit by the main transport robot. Once the unit cleaning process using the dummy circuit board is complete, the main transport robot removes the dummy circuit board from the processing unit and transports it to the transfer unit. The dummy circuit board is then transported from the transfer unit to the dummy carrier by the indexer robot. Once all the dummy circuit boards are contained in the dummy carrier, the dummy carrier is removed from the carrier holding unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-41506 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] In this manner, dummy substrates are introduced from outside the substrate processing unit, transported to the processing unit via the same path as the actual product substrates, and then transported from the processing unit to be placed in a dummy carrier. Consequently, both an indexer robot and a main transport robot are used to transport the dummy substrates, and the dummy substrates are transported through a transfer unit. This interferes with the transport of the actual product substrates, reducing the transport efficiency of the actual product substrates and, as a result, hindering productivity improvements.

[0007] In particular, in substrate processing equipment configured to process a large number of product substrates in parallel by increasing the number of processing units, the transport load on the indexer robot and the main transport robot is significant, and reducing this load is key to improving productivity.

[0008] Furthermore, the dummy carrier occupies the carrier holding section until the dummy substrate is loaded into the carrier holding section, transported from there to the processing unit, and then placed back into the carrier after processing in the processing unit. Therefore, the continued occupation of the carrier holding section by the dummy carrier may cause a waiting time for the loading of actual product substrates. Consequently, productivity improvements are hindered from this perspective as well.

[0009] Therefore, one embodiment of this invention provides a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate processing system, and a substrate processing method that can perform processing using a dummy substrate within a processing unit while reducing the impact on the transport of substrates for products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] One embodiment of this invention provides a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a carrier holding section for holding a carrier for housing a substrate or a dummy substrate; a processing unit for processing a substrate and performing processing using a dummy substrate; a dummy substrate housing section for housing a dummy substrate; a substrate housing section on which a substrate is placed; a first transport unit that is accessible to the processing unit, the dummy substrate housing section, and the substrate housing section, and transports a substrate between the processing unit and the substrate housing section, and transports a dummy substrate between the processing unit, the dummy substrate housing section, and the substrate housing section; and a second transport unit that is accessible to the carrier holding section and the substrate housing section, and transports a substrate between the carrier holding section and the substrate housing section.

[0011] In one embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus includes a storage unit that stores usage history information of dummy substrates housed in the dummy substrate housing unit, an expiration date notification unit that notifies the expiration date information of dummy substrates housed in the dummy substrate housing unit based on the usage history information stored in the storage unit, and a transport control unit that controls the transport of substrates or dummy substrates by the first transport unit and the second transport unit.

[0012] In one embodiment, the storage unit stores at least one of the following information as usage history information: the number of times the dummy board has been used, the usage time, and the wear status.

[0013] In one embodiment, the storage unit stores the usage history information and the expiration date threshold information corresponding to the usage history information.

[0014] In one embodiment, the dummy substrate housing unit houses a plurality of dummy substrates, and the storage unit stores the usage history information and the expiration date threshold information for each dummy substrate.

[0015] In one embodiment, a plurality of processing units are provided, the correspondence between the plurality of dummy substrates and the plurality of processing units is predetermined, and the storage unit stores information representing the correspondence.

[0016] In one embodiment, the expiration date notification unit compares the usage history information with the expiration date threshold information and notifies the expiration date information of the dummy substrate based on the result of the comparison.

[0017] In one embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus further includes a notification unit that notifies the user of the expiration date information of the dummy substrate housed in the dummy substrate housing unit, based on the usage history information stored in the storage unit.

[0018] One embodiment of this invention provides a substrate processing system that includes a substrate processing apparatus having the features described above, a carrier transport unit that transports a dummy carrier for accommodating used dummy substrates into the carrier holding section, and a host computer that, upon receiving notification of expiration date information from the expiration date notification unit, plans the transport of the dummy carrier for recovery by the carrier transport unit into the carrier holding section, and based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to transport the dummy carrier for recovery into the carrier holding section and commands the substrate processing apparatus to recover and transport the dummy substrates.

[0019] In one embodiment, the host computer obtains information from the substrate processing apparatus regarding the recovery of dummy substrates to the recovery dummy carrier, plans the carrier transport unit to remove the recovery dummy carrier containing the used dummy substrates from the carrier holding section, and, based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to remove the recovery dummy carrier from the carrier holding section.

[0020] In one embodiment, the substrate processing system includes a schedule creation unit that creates a transport schedule for substrates or dummy substrates by the first transport unit and the second transport unit, and further includes a schedule creation unit that creates a transport schedule for transporting dummy substrates, for which the expiration date information has been notified, from the dummy substrate housing unit to the carrier holding unit for collection, and the schedule creation unit further creates a transport schedule for transporting usable dummy substrates from the carrier holding unit to the dummy substrate housing unit.

[0021] In one embodiment, the carrier transport unit operates to transport a supply dummy carrier containing a usable dummy substrate into the carrier holding section, and the host computer plans the transport of the supply dummy carrier by the carrier transport unit to transport the supply dummy carrier into the carrier holding section, and based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to transport the supply dummy carrier into the carrier holding section and commands the substrate processing device to supply and transport a usable dummy substrate.

[0022] In one embodiment, the host computer obtains information from the substrate processing apparatus regarding the discharge of dummy substrates from the supply dummy carrier, plans the discharge of the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section by the carrier transport unit, and based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to discharge the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section.

[0023] In one embodiment, the carrier transport unit transports a recovery dummy carrier or a supply dummy carrier between the carrier holding unit and a dummy carrier storage different from the carrier holding unit.

[0024] One embodiment of this invention provides a substrate processing method including: a step of transporting a substrate by a first transport unit between a processing unit and a substrate placement unit; a step of processing the substrate transported by the first transport unit in the processing unit; a step of transporting a dummy substrate by the first transport unit between the processing unit and a dummy substrate storage unit; a step of performing a dummy process using the dummy substrate transported by the first transport unit in the processing unit; and a step of transporting a substrate by a second transport unit between a carrier held by a carrier holding unit and the substrate placement unit. [[ID=�]]

[0025] In one embodiment, the substrate processing method includes: a step of recording usage history information of a dummy substrate stored in the dummy substrate storage unit; a step of determining the expiration date of the dummy substrate based on the usage history information; and a recovery transport step of transporting a dummy substrate that has reached the expiration date from the dummy substrate storage unit to the carrier holding unit for recovery based on the determination of the expiration date.

[0026] In one embodiment, the substrate processing method further includes: a supply dummy carrier loading step of loading a supply dummy substrate containing a usable dummy substrate into the carrier holding unit by a carrier transport unit; and a supply transport step of transporting a usable dummy substrate from the carrier holding unit to the dummy substrate storage unit.

[0027] In one embodiment, the substrate processing method further includes a step of unloading the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding unit by the carrier transport unit at a timing that coincides with the completion of unloading of the dummy substrate from the supply dummy carrier in the supply transport step.

[0028] In one embodiment, the substrate processing method further includes a dummy carrier loading step of loading a dummy carrier for storing used dummy substrates into the carrier holding section by a carrier transport unit; a recovery transport step of transporting used dummy substrates from the dummy substrate storage section to the carrier holding section and loading them into the dummy carrier for storage; and a step of unloading the dummy carrier for storage from the carrier holding section by the carrier transport unit at a timing that coincides with the completion of loading the dummy substrates into the dummy carrier for storage in the recovery transport step.

[0029] In one embodiment, a plurality of processing units are provided, and the dummy substrate housing unit houses a plurality of dummy substrates whose correspondence with the plurality of processing units is predetermined.

[0030] One embodiment of this invention comprises: a carrier holding section for holding a carrier for housing a substrate or a dummy substrate; a processing unit for processing a substrate and performing processing using a dummy substrate; a dummy substrate housing section for housing a dummy substrate; a substrate housing section on which a substrate is placed; a first transport unit that is accessible to the processing unit, the dummy substrate housing section, and the substrate housing section, and transports a substrate between the processing unit and the substrate housing section, and transports a dummy substrate between the processing unit, the dummy substrate housing section, and the substrate housing section; a second transport unit that is accessible to the carrier holding section and the substrate housing section, and transports a substrate between the carrier holding section and the substrate housing section; and a dummy substrate housed in the dummy substrate housing section. The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit for storing usage history information; an expiration date notification unit for notifying the expiration date information of dummy substrates housed in the dummy substrate housing unit based on the usage history information stored in the storage unit; a schedule creation unit for creating a transport schedule for substrates or dummy substrates by the first transport unit and the second transport unit, wherein the schedule creation unit creates a transport schedule for transporting and retrieving dummy substrates for which the expiration date information has been notified from the dummy substrate housing unit to the carrier holding unit; and a transport control unit for controlling the transport of substrates or dummy substrates by the first transport unit and the second transport unit according to the transport schedule created by the schedule creation unit.

[0031] With this configuration, since the substrate processing apparatus is equipped with a dummy substrate housing section, when it becomes necessary to use a dummy substrate in the processing unit, the dummy substrate can be transported between the dummy substrate housing section and the processing unit without the involvement of the second transport unit. Therefore, the transport load on the second transport unit can be reduced, and processing using dummy substrates can be performed while minimizing the impact on the transport of product substrates. Furthermore, unlike in Patent Document 1, the carrier holding section is not occupied for a long period of time by the dummy carrier housing the dummy substrate. As a result, waiting time for the loading of carriers containing product substrates can be suppressed, thereby contributing to improved productivity.

[0032] In this embodiment, usage history information of dummy boards housed in the dummy board housing is stored in the storage unit, and based on this, expiration date information for the dummy boards is notified. Furthermore, a transport schedule (recovery transport schedule) is created for transporting and recovering the dummy boards for which expiration date information has been notified from the dummy board housing to the carrier holding unit. Based on this transport schedule, the first transport unit and the second transport unit are controlled so that the dummy boards for which expiration date information has been notified are transported from the dummy board housing to the carrier holding unit and recovered. In this way, when a dummy board reaches its expiration date, it can be automatically discharged.

[0033] The expiration date notification may indicate that the dummy board has become unusable, or it may indicate that the dummy board is expected to become unusable soon. The expiration date notification may take the form of a dummy board replacement request, which requests the replacement of the dummy board. The dummy board replacement request may include a dummy board retrieval request, which requests the collection of the used dummy board. The dummy board retrieval request may also be a dummy board retrieval reservation, which specifies when the used dummy board will be collected. Furthermore, the dummy board replacement request may include a dummy board supply request, which requests the supply of unused dummy boards. The dummy board supply request may also be a dummy board supply reservation, which specifies when the unused dummy boards will be supplied.

[0034] In one embodiment of this invention, the storage unit stores at least one of the following information as usage history information: the number of times the dummy substrate has been used, the usage time, and the wear status.

[0035] In one embodiment of this invention, the storage unit stores the usage history information and the expiration date threshold information corresponding to the usage history information.

[0036] In one embodiment of this invention, the dummy substrate housing unit houses a plurality of dummy substrates, and the storage unit stores the usage history information and the expiration date threshold information for each dummy substrate. With this configuration, the expiration date can be managed for each of the plurality of dummy substrates.

[0037] In one embodiment of this invention, a plurality of processing units are provided, the correspondence between the plurality of dummy substrates and the plurality of processing units is predetermined, and the storage unit stores information representing the correspondence.

[0038] In one specific example, multiple dummy circuit boards are associated one-to-one with multiple processing units. This prevents the dummy circuit boards from being shared by multiple processing units, thus avoiding interference between them via the dummy circuit boards. For example, even if the processing environment within one processing unit becomes contaminated, this contamination cannot be transmitted to other processing units via the dummy circuit boards.

[0039] In one embodiment of this invention, the expiration date notification unit compares the usage history information with the expiration date threshold information and notifies the expiration date information of the dummy substrate based on the result of the comparison. With this configuration, the expiration date information of the dummy substrate can be appropriately notified by comparing the usage history information with the expiration date threshold information.

[0040] In one embodiment of this invention, the substrate processing apparatus further includes a notification unit that notifies the user of the expiration date information of the dummy substrate housed in the dummy substrate housing unit based on the usage history information stored in the storage unit. This configuration allows for the appropriate notification of the expiration date information of the dummy substrate to the user, thereby drawing the user's attention.

[0041] One embodiment of this invention provides a substrate processing system that includes a substrate processing apparatus having the features described above, a carrier transport unit that transports a dummy carrier for accommodating used dummy substrates into the carrier holding section, and a host computer that, upon receiving notification of expiration date information from the expiration date notification unit, plans the transport of the dummy carrier for recovery by the carrier transport unit into the carrier holding section, and based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to transport the dummy carrier for recovery into the carrier holding section and commands the substrate processing apparatus to recover and transport the dummy substrates.

[0042] In this configuration, the substrate processing unit notifies the host computer of the expiration date information. The host computer then plans the operation of the carrier transport unit and controls the carrier transport unit according to that plan, thereby loading a dummy carrier for collecting used dummy substrates into the carrier holding section of the substrate processing unit. Therefore, based on the notification of the expiration date information from the substrate processing unit to the host computer, the dummy carrier for collection can be supplied to the substrate processing unit at the appropriate time. In other words, since the supply of the dummy carrier for collection is performed automatically and in a timely manner, the downtime of the substrate processing unit can be reduced and its productivity can be improved.

[0043] Furthermore, the host computer commands the substrate processing device to collect and transport dummy substrates, allowing the device to plan and execute the timely collection and transport of dummy substrates, i.e., the transport of used dummy substrates from the dummy substrate storage unit to the dummy collection carrier. In other words, the timing of the arrival of the dummy collection carrier and the start of the collection and transport of dummy substrates within the substrate processing device can be synchronized. This reduces the time the dummy collection carrier occupies the carrier holding unit, allowing the carrier holding unit to be quickly vacated for the carriers that will hold the actual product substrates. As a result, unprocessed product substrates can be efficiently fed into the substrate processing device, and processed product substrates can be efficiently collected, thereby improving productivity.

[0044] In this specification, "timing alignment" does not necessarily mean a temporal coincidence, but rather that the corresponding events occur within a predetermined time frame that is acceptable from a productivity standpoint.

[0045] In one embodiment of this invention, the host computer obtains information from the substrate processing apparatus regarding the collection of dummy substrates into the dummy recovery carrier, plans the carrier transport unit to remove the dummy recovery carrier containing the used dummy substrates from the carrier holding section, and, based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to remove the dummy recovery carrier from the carrier holding section.

[0046] In this configuration, information regarding the retrieval of dummy substrates into the dummy carrier is provided from the substrate processing device to the host computer. Accordingly, the host computer plans the unloading of the dummy carrier by the carrier transport unit and controls the carrier transport unit according to that plan. Therefore, the dummy carrier is automatically and promptly unloaded from the carrier holding section of the substrate processing device. Specifically, the dummy carrier can be unloaded from the carrier holding section at a timing that coincides with the completion of loading the dummy substrates into the dummy carrier. This reduces the time the dummy carrier occupies the carrier holding section for retrieving dummy substrates, allowing the carrier holding section to be quickly vacated for carriers that contain actual product substrates. As a result, unprocessed product substrates can be efficiently fed into the substrate processing device, and processed product substrates can be efficiently retrieved, thereby improving productivity.

[0047] In one embodiment of this invention, the schedule creation unit further creates a transport schedule for transporting usable dummy substrates from the carrier holding unit to the dummy substrate housing unit, the carrier transport unit operates to transport a supply dummy carrier containing usable dummy substrates to the carrier holding unit, the host computer plans the transport of the supply dummy carrier by the carrier transport unit to transport the supply dummy carrier to the carrier holding unit, and based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to transport the supply dummy carrier to the carrier holding unit and commands the substrate processing device to transport usable dummy substrates.

[0048] In this configuration, the host computer creates a plan for the carrier transport unit to transport a supply dummy carrier containing usable dummy boards to the carrier holding section of the board processing unit, and controls the operation of the carrier transport unit according to that plan. As a result, the supply dummy carrier is automatically and promptly supplied to the board processing unit. In the board processing unit, a transport schedule (supply transport schedule) is created for transporting dummy boards from the supply dummy carrier to the dummy board housing section, and the dummy boards are transported according to that transport schedule. Specifically, the first and / or second transport unit transports usable dummy boards from the supply dummy carrier to the dummy board housing section. In this way, dummy boards can be supplied to the board processing unit automatically and promptly, thus reducing downtime in the board processing unit caused by, for example, a shortage of usable dummy boards. This contributes to improved productivity.

[0049] Furthermore, the host computer commands the substrate processing device to supply and transport dummy substrates, allowing the substrate processing device to plan and execute the timely supply and transport of dummy substrates, i.e., the transport of available dummy substrates from the supply dummy carrier to the dummy substrate housing. Therefore, the supply and transport of dummy substrates within the substrate processing device can be started in conjunction with the arrival of the supply dummy carrier. This reduces the time that the supply dummy carrier occupies the carrier holding section, allowing the carrier holding section to be quickly vacated for the carrier housing the actual product substrates. As a result, unprocessed product substrates can be efficiently fed into the substrate processing device, and processed product substrates can be efficiently collected, thereby improving productivity.

[0050] In one embodiment of this invention, the host computer obtains information from the substrate processing apparatus regarding the discharge of dummy substrates from the supply dummy carrier, plans the discharge of the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section by the carrier transport unit, and, based on the plan, causes the carrier transport unit to discharge the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section.

[0051] In this configuration, information regarding the unloading of dummy substrates from the supply dummy carrier is provided from the substrate processing device to the host computer. Based on this information, the host computer plans the unloading of the supply dummy carrier and operates the carrier transport unit according to the plan. As a result, the supply dummy carrier can be unloaded from the carrier holding unit at a time that coincides with the completion of the unloading of dummy substrates from the supply dummy carrier. In this way, the supply dummy carrier can be unloaded from the carrier holding unit of the substrate processing device automatically and in a timely manner. Therefore, the time that the supply dummy carrier occupies the carrier holding unit for supplying dummy substrates can be shortened, and the carrier holding unit can be quickly vacated to hold carriers that contain actual product substrates. This allows for the efficient loading of unprocessed product substrates into the substrate processing device and the efficient recovery of processed product substrates, thereby improving productivity.

[0052] In one embodiment of this invention, the carrier transport unit transports a dummy carrier for retrieval or a dummy carrier for supply between the carrier holding section and a dummy carrier storage area different from the carrier holding section.

[0053] One embodiment of this invention provides a substrate processing method that includes the steps of: transporting a substrate by a first transport unit between a processing unit and a substrate mounting section; processing the substrate transported by the first transport unit in the processing unit; transporting a dummy substrate by the first transport unit between the processing unit and a dummy substrate housing section; performing dummy processing in the processing unit using the dummy substrate transported by the first transport unit; transporting a substrate by a second transport unit between a carrier held in a carrier holding section and the substrate mounting section; recording usage history information of the dummy substrate housed in the dummy substrate housing section; determining the expiration date of the dummy substrate based on the usage history information; a recovery transport step for transporting the dummy substrate that has reached its expiration date from the dummy substrate housing section to the carrier holding section for recovery based on the determination of the expiration date; and a recovery dummy carrier delivery step for delivering a recovery dummy carrier for housing used dummy substrates to the carrier holding section by a carrier transport unit based on the determination of the expiration date.

[0054] In one embodiment of this invention, the substrate processing method further includes a step of unloading the dummy carrier from the carrier holding section using the carrier transport unit at a timing that coincides with the completion of loading the dummy substrate into the dummy carrier for recovery in the recovery transport step.

[0055] In one embodiment of this invention, the substrate processing method further includes a supply dummy carrier loading step of loading a supply dummy substrate containing a usable dummy substrate into the carrier holding section using the carrier transport unit based on the determination of the expiration date, and a supply transport step of transporting a usable dummy substrate from the carrier holding section to the dummy substrate housing section based on the determination of the expiration date.

[0056] In one embodiment of this invention, the substrate processing method further includes a step of unloading the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section using the carrier transport unit at a timing that coincides with the completion of unloading the dummy substrate from the supply dummy carrier in the supply transport step.

[0057] In one embodiment of this invention, a plurality of processing units are provided, and the dummy substrate housing unit houses a plurality of dummy substrates whose correspondence with the plurality of processing units is predetermined. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0058] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic plan view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in Figure 1. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a schematic elevation view showing the internal structure of the processing block as seen from direction IV in Figure 1. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the substrate mounting section. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the dummy circuit board housing. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of the configuration of a processing unit. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration related to the control of the substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the controller related to dummy processing. [Figure 10A-10B] Figures 10A and 10B are flowcharts illustrating the process of replacing a dummy substrate in a substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a time chart illustrating an example of the specific operation involved in replacing a dummy circuit board. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is an illustrative plan view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to yet another embodiment of this invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0059] Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] Figure 1 is a schematic plan view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a schematic transverse cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a schematic elevation view showing a portion of the internal configuration taken from direction IV in Figure 1.

[0061] The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an indexer block 2 and a processing block 3 adjacent to the indexer block 2 in the lateral direction (first horizontal direction X).

[0062] The indexer block 2 includes a plurality (four in this embodiment) of carrier holding sections 25 (load ports) and an indexer robot 26. For convenience, in the following description, the side of the carrier holding section 25 may be defined as the front with respect to the first horizontal direction X, and the opposite side as the rear.

[0063] Multiple carrier holding units 25 are arranged along a second horizontal direction Y that is perpendicular to the first horizontal direction X. Each carrier holding unit 25 is configured to receive and hold a carrier C that is automatically transported by a carrier transport mechanism 300 (an example of a carrier transport unit) provided in the factory. Each carrier holding unit 25 is configured to hold one carrier C. A carrier C is a substrate container that houses a substrate W (product substrate) to be processed. An example of a carrier C is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod). A carrier C is configured to hold multiple substrates W (for example, 25) in a stacked state. More specifically, when held by a carrier holding unit 25, a carrier C is configured to hold multiple substrates W in a stacked state along the vertical direction Z in a horizontal orientation. A carrier holding unit 25 is an example of a container holding unit that holds a carrier C, which is a substrate container. A substrate W is, for example, a semiconductor wafer.

[0064] The indexer robot 26 is an example of a second transport unit. The indexer robot 26 is configured to access carriers C, each held by a plurality of carrier holding units 25, to load / unload substrates W, and to transport substrates W between the carrier holding units 25 and the processing block 3. In this embodiment, the indexer robot 26 is an articulated arm robot equipped with an articulated arm 27. Specifically, the indexer robot 26 includes an articulated arm 27 formed by linking a plurality of arms 28, one or more hands 29 coupled to the end of the articulated arm 27, and a base unit 30 that supports the articulated arm 27 and moves up and down. The plurality of arms 28 and hands 29 constituting the articulated arm 27 are capable of swinging around a vertical swing axis set at each base end, and although not shown, each arm 28 and hand 29 is provided with a separate actuator (typically an electric motor) for swinging.

[0065] Processing block 3 includes a plurality of processing block layers BL and BU stacked in the vertical direction Z. In this embodiment, processing block 3 includes a first layer (lower layer) of processing block layers (hereinafter referred to as "first processing block layer BL") and a second layer (upper layer) of processing block layers stacked above it (hereinafter referred to as "second processing block layer BU"). Hereafter, when distinguishing between the components of the first processing block layer BL and the components of the second processing block layer BU, the components of the first processing block layer BL will be referred to with reference numerals ending in the letter "L", and the components of the second processing block layer BU will be referred to with reference numerals ending in the letter "U". The same applies to the reference numerals in the attached drawings.

[0066] The internal configurations of the first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU in plan view are substantially the same. Therefore, please note that in Figure 1, the configuration (arrangement in plan view) of the first processing block layer BL can be represented by replacing the letter "U" at the end of the reference numeral with the letter "L".

[0067] The first processing block layer BL includes a plurality of (in this embodiment, 12) processing units 11L-13L, 21L-23L, 31L-33L, and 41L-43L (hereinafter, the processing units of the first processing block layer BL are collectively referred to as "processing units 11L-43L"), which constitute the first processing unit group. The first processing block layer BL further includes a substrate mounting section 6L, a dummy substrate housing section 7L, and a main transport robot 8L. The plurality of processing units 11L-43L perform processing on the substrate W. In this embodiment, each processing unit 11L-43L is a single-wafer processing unit that processes one substrate W at a time. The substrate mounting section 6L is a unit for temporarily holding the substrate W that is transferred between the indexer robot 26 and the first processing block layer BL. The dummy substrate housing section 7L is a unit for holding dummy substrates DW that can be used in processing units 11L-43L inside the substrate processing apparatus 1, and provides a waiting area for the dummy substrates DW. The main transport robot 8L is configured to have access to the substrate mounting section 6L, processing units 11L-43L, and the dummy substrate housing section 7L. The main transport robot 8L is an example of a first transport unit that transports substrates W between the substrate mounting section 6L and processing units 11L-43L, and transports dummy substrates DW between the dummy substrate housing section 7L and processing units 11L-43L.

[0068] A dummy substrate DW is a substrate that has the same shape (e.g., circular) and size as the substrate W. Unlike the substrate W supplied from carrier C for the actual product, the dummy substrate DW is not used in the manufacturing of the actual product. The dummy substrate DW is introduced into the processing unit 11L-43L and used to perform pre-treatment (preparation treatment) to prepare the environment inside the processing unit 11L-43L, and unit cleaning treatment to clean the inside of the processing unit 11L-43L. This process using the dummy substrate DW will be referred to as "dummy processing" below. The aforementioned pre-treatment and unit cleaning treatment are maintenance treatments for the maintenance of the processing unit 11L-43L, and dummy processing includes such maintenance treatments.

[0069] Multiple processing units 11L-43L are arranged on both sides of a transport space 52L that provides a transport path 51L through which the substrate W is transported by the main transport robot 8L, and face the transport space 52L. In a plan view, the transport space 52L has a constant width in the second horizontal direction Y and extends linearly in the direction away from the indexer block 2 along the first horizontal direction X. In the vertical direction Z, the transport space 52L has a height approximately equal to the height of the first processing block layer BL. In a plan view, on one side of the transport space 52L, the first liquid supply unit 91, the first processing unit stack S1L, the first exhaust unit 101, the second liquid supply unit 92, the second processing unit stack S2L, and the second exhaust unit 102 are arranged along the transport path 51L, in order from the side closest to the indexer block 2. On the other side of the transport space 52L, the third exhaust unit 103, the third processing unit stack S3L, the third liquid supply unit 93, the fourth exhaust unit 104, the fourth processing unit stack S4L, and the fourth liquid supply unit 94 are arranged along the transport path 51L, in order from the side closest to the indexer block 2. These are arranged to partition the transport space 52L, which is roughly rectangular in shape.

[0070] The first to fourth processing unit stacks S1L-S4L each include multiple stages (three stages in this embodiment) of processing units 11L-13L, 21L-23L, 31L-33L, and 41L-43L, stacked vertically in the Z direction. The third processing unit stack S3L faces the first processing unit stack S1L across the transport space 52L. The fourth processing unit stack S4L faces the second processing unit stack S2L across the transport space 52L. Therefore, the multiple processing units 31L-33L constituting the third processing unit stack S3L face the multiple stages of processing units 11L-13L constituting the first processing unit stack S1L across the transport space 52L. Similarly, the multiple stages of processing units 41L-43L constituting the fourth processing unit stack S4L face the multiple stages of processing units 21L-23L constituting the second processing unit stack S2L across the transport space 52L. In this embodiment, the first processing block layer BL includes 12 processing units 11L-13L, 21L-23L, 31L-33L, and 41L-43L, which are divided into four processing unit stacks S1L-S4L, with three units in each stack.

[0071] The transport space 52L is partitioned from above by intermediate partition walls 16 positioned to align with the top surfaces of the uppermost processing units 13L, 23L, 33L, and 43L of each processing unit stack S1L-S4L, and partitioned from below by lower partition walls 15 positioned to align with the bottom surfaces of the lowermost processing units 11L, 21L, 31L, and 41L. All processing units 11L-43L have substrate loading / unloading ports 37 that open to the transport space 52L. The main transport robot 8L transports substrates W and dummy substrates DW through the transport space 52L and loads / unloads the substrates W and dummy substrates DW to / from each processing unit 11L-43L via the substrate loading / unloading ports 37.

[0072] The substrate mounting section 6L is located between the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robot 8L. More specifically, in a plan view, the substrate mounting section 6L is located at the end of the transport space 52L on the indexer robot 26 side. In this embodiment, the substrate mounting section 6L is located between the first liquid supply section 91 and the third exhaust section 103. With respect to the vertical Z direction, the substrate mounting section 6L is located at a height between the intermediate partition wall 16 and the lower partition wall 15. In this embodiment, the substrate mounting section 6L is located at approximately the midpoint of the height range from the intermediate partition wall 16 to the upper partition wall 17. The vertical position of the substrate mounting section 6L must be within a height range accessible by the indexer robot 26 and also within a height range accessible by the main transport robot 8L.

[0073] The substrate mounting section 6L includes an unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 on which an unprocessed substrate W is placed, and a pre-processed substrate mounting section 62 on which a processed substrate W is placed. The unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 and the pre-processed substrate mounting section 62 are stacked in the vertical direction Z. It is preferable that the unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 is placed on top of the pre-processed substrate mounting section 62.

[0074] As shown in Figure 5 in an enlarged view, the unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 and the processed substrate mounting section 62 each include boxes 63 and 64 that are open to both the indexer robot 26 side and the main transport robot 8L side along the first horizontal direction X, and substrate holding shelves 65 and 66 arranged inside the boxes 63 and 64. The substrate holding shelves 65 and 66 have a plurality (for example, 10) of substrate support members 67 and 68 arranged in the vertical direction Z. Each substrate support member 67 or 68 is configured to support the lower peripheral edge of a single substrate W from below, thereby holding the substrate W in a horizontal position. As a result, the unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 and the processed substrate mounting section 62 can each hold a plurality (for example, 10) of substrates W stacked in a horizontal position with spacing in the vertical direction Z on their respective substrate holding shelves 65 and 66.

[0075] As shown in Figure 2, a window 4L corresponding to the substrate mounting section 6L is formed so as to penetrate the rear partition wall 2a of the indexer block 2 and the front partition wall 3a of the processing block 3, i.e., the adjacent partition walls. The indexer robot 26 can access the substrate mounting section 6L through this window 4L and load / unload substrates W to and from the substrate mounting section 6L.

[0076] The dummy substrate housing section 7L is provided at a different height from the substrate mounting section 6L, and in this embodiment, it is located below the substrate mounting section 6L within the transport space 52L. The dummy substrate housing section 7L is provided so as to overlap with the substrate mounting section 6L in a plan view. More specifically, when a substrate W is held in the substrate mounting section 6L and a dummy substrate DW is held in the dummy substrate housing section 7L, the dummy substrate housing section 7L is provided so as to overlap the substrate W and the dummy substrate DW in a plan view. The overlap between the substrate W and the dummy substrate DW in a plan view may be partial, or it may be a complete overlap, i.e., the dummy substrate DW may overlap almost the entire surface of the substrate W.

[0077] The dummy substrate housing section 7L is located between the lower partition wall 15 and the middle partition wall 16, and is positioned within a height range accessible by the main transport robot 8L. In front of the dummy substrate housing section 7L, that is, on the indexer block 2 side, are the rear partition wall 2a of the indexer block 2 and the front partition wall 3a of the processing block 3, i.e., their adjacent partition walls. These partition walls do not have windows corresponding to the dummy substrate housing section 7L. Therefore, in this embodiment, the indexer robot 26 cannot access the dummy substrate housing section 7L.

[0078] As shown in Figure 6 in an enlarged view, the dummy substrate housing section 7L is equipped with a dummy substrate holding shelf 71. The configuration of the dummy substrate holding shelf 71 may be substantially the same as that of the substrate holding shelves 65 and 66 of the substrate mounting section 6L. However, the number of dummy substrates DW that the dummy substrate holding shelf 71 can hold does not need to be equal to the number of substrates that the substrate holding shelves 65 and 66 can hold. Specifically, the dummy substrate holding shelf 71 has a plurality (for example, 12) of dummy substrate support members 72 arranged in the vertical direction. Each dummy substrate support member 72 is configured to support the lower peripheral edge of one dummy substrate DW from below, and to hold the dummy substrate DW in a horizontal position. The dummy substrate housing section 7L can hold a plurality (for example, 12) of dummy substrates DW on the dummy substrate holding shelf 71 in a horizontal position, stacked with spacing in the vertical direction Z. In other words, the dummy substrate housing section 7L has multiple layers of slots (hereinafter referred to as "dummy substrate slots DL1-DL12") stacked vertically to accommodate one dummy substrate DW each in a horizontal position (in this embodiment, the same number as the number of processing units provided in the first processing block layer BL). A dummy substrate sensor (not shown) may be provided to detect the presence or absence of a dummy substrate DW in each dummy substrate slot DL1-DL12. In this embodiment, unlike the substrate mounting section 6L, the dummy substrate housing section 7L does not have a box surrounding the dummy substrate DW it houses. Of course, it is also acceptable to provide such a box.

[0079] As shown in Figure 2, the main transport robot 8L is located within the transport space 52L. The main transport robot 8L includes a hand 81 that holds a single substrate in a horizontal position and a hand drive mechanism 82 that drives the hand 81. Multiple hands (for example, two) of the hand 81 may be provided. The hand drive mechanism 82 can move the hand 81 in the horizontal directions X, Y and the vertical direction Z, and rotate the hand 81 around a vertical rotation axis. The hand drive mechanism 82 includes two support columns 83, a vertical movement section 84, a horizontal movement section 85, a rotating section 86, and a forward / backward section 87. The hand 81 is connected to the forward / backward section 87. When multiple hands 81 are provided, it is preferable to provide multiple forward / backward sections 87 corresponding to them.

[0080] Two support columns 83 are spaced apart along a first horizontal direction X and are fixed to the side walls of the transport space 52L. The two support columns 83 extend along the vertical direction Z and function as rails that guide the vertical movement of the vertical movement section 84. The vertical movement section 84 extends across the two support columns 83 in the first horizontal direction X and has the form of a rail with both ends connected to the two support columns 83. The vertical movement section 84 is configured to move vertically relative to the support columns 83 while being guided by the two support columns 83. The horizontal movement section 85 is supported on the vertical movement section 84 and is configured to move in the first horizontal direction X relative to the vertical movement section 84 while being guided by the vertical movement section 84. A rotating section 86 is supported on the horizontal movement section 85. The rotating section 86 is configured to rotate on the horizontal movement section 85 about a vertical axis of rotation. A reciprocating section 87 is connected to the rotating section 86. The reciprocating part 87 moves horizontally with respect to the axis of rotation, thereby causing the hand 81 to move horizontally.

[0081] With this configuration, the main transport robot 8L can access the substrate mounting section 6L with its hand 81 to transfer substrates W between itself and the substrate mounting section 6L. The main transport robot 8L can further access any processing unit 11L-43L within the first processing block layer BL with its hand 81 to transfer substrates W or dummy substrates DW between itself and the processing unit 11L-43L. The main transport robot 8L can also access the dummy substrate housing section 7L with its hand 81 to transfer dummy substrates DW between itself and the dummy substrate housing section 7L. The main transport robot 8L can then transport the substrates W and DW held by its hand 81 between the substrate mounting section 6L, the processing units 11L-43L, and the dummy substrate housing section 7L within the first processing block layer BL.

[0082] Since the configuration of the second processing block layer BU is almost the same as that of the first processing block layer BL, the following explanation will omit redundant explanations as much as possible and will mainly describe the differences in configuration. The configuration of elements that have the same names as in the first processing block layer BL is substantially the same.

[0083] The second processing block layer BU includes a plurality of processing units 11U-13U, 21U-23U, 31U-33U, 41U-43U (in this embodiment, 12 processing units), which together constitute the second processing unit group. The second processing block layer BU further includes a substrate mounting section 6U, a dummy substrate housing section 7U, and a main transport robot 8U. The first to fourth liquid supply sections 91-94 and the first to fourth exhaust sections 101-104 are arranged extending in the vertical direction Z across the first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU.

[0084] The arrangement of the multiple processing units 11U-43U within the second processing block layer BU is substantially equivalent to the arrangement of the multiple processing units 11L-43L within the first processing block layer BL. The second processing block layer BU comprises first to fourth processing unit stacks S1U-S4U, which each contain multiple stages (three stages in this embodiment) of processing units 11U-13U, 21U-23U, 31U-33U, and 41U-43U stacked in the vertical direction Z.

[0085] In a plan view, the first to fourth processing unit stacks S1U-S4U of the second processing block layer BU are arranged to overlap with the first to fourth processing unit stacks S1L-S4L of the first processing block layer BL, respectively. The first processing unit stacks S1L and S1U of the first and second processing block layers BL and BU are stacked vertically in the Z direction to form a first tower T1 in which multiple stages (six stages in this embodiment) of processing units 11L, 12L, 13L, 11U, 12U, and 13U are stacked. Similarly, the second processing unit stacks S2L and S2U of the first and second processing block layers BL and BU are stacked vertically in the Z direction to form a second tower T2 in which multiple stages (six stages in this embodiment) of processing units 21L, 22L, 23L, 21U, 22U, and 23U are stacked. Furthermore, the third processing unit stacks S3L and S3U of the first and second processing block layers BL and BU are stacked vertically in the Z direction to form a third tower T3 in which multiple stages (six stages in this embodiment) of processing units 31L, 32L, 33L, 31U, 32U, and 33U are stacked. Similarly, the fourth processing unit stacks S4L and S4U of the first and second processing block layers BL and BU are stacked vertically in the Z direction to form a fourth tower T4 in which multiple stages (six stages in this embodiment) of processing units 41L, 42L, 43L, 41U, 42U, and 43U are stacked.

[0086] The transport space 52U, which is partitioned within the second processing block layer BU and provides a transport path 51U, overlaps with the transport space 52L of the first processing block layer BL. The transport space 52U within the second processing block layer BU is partitioned from below by an intermediate partition wall 16 and partitioned from above by an upper partition wall 17. The upper partition wall 17 is positioned at a height that aligns with the upper surfaces of the top processing units 13U, 23U, 33U, and 43U of the first to fourth towers T1-T4.

[0087] The arrangement of the substrate mounting section 6U in plan view is the same as in the case of the first processing block layer BL. That is, the substrate mounting section 6U is located between the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robot 8U, and is located at the end of the transport space 52U on the indexer robot 26 side. In plan view, the substrate mounting section 6U of the second processing block layer BU is arranged to overlap with the substrate mounting section 6L of the first processing block layer BL. The substrate mounting section 6U is located at a height between the intermediate partition wall 16 and the upper partition wall 17 in the vertical direction Z. In this embodiment, the substrate mounting section 6U is located below the midpoint height of the height range from the intermediate partition wall 16 to the upper partition wall 17. More specifically, the substrate mounting section 6U is located at the highest position within the height range accessible by the indexer robot 26. The vertical position of the substrate mounting section 6U must be within the height range accessible by the indexer robot 26 and within the height range accessible by the main transport robot 8U. Similar to the case of the first processing block layer BL, the substrate mounting section 6U includes an unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 on which an unprocessed substrate W is placed, and a pre-processed substrate mounting section 62 on which a processed substrate W is placed. The configuration of the unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 and the pre-processed substrate mounting section 62 is the same as that of the substrate mounting section 6L of the first processing block layer BL (see Figure 5).

[0088] A window 4U corresponding to the substrate mounting section 6U is formed so as to penetrate the rear partition wall 2a of the indexer block 2 and the front partition wall 3a of the processing block 3, i.e., their adjacent partition walls. The indexer robot 26 can access the substrate mounting section 6U through this window 4U and load / unload substrates W to and from the substrate mounting section 6U.

[0089] The dummy substrate housing section 7U is provided at a different height from the substrate mounting section 6U, and in this embodiment, it is positioned above the substrate mounting section 6U within the transport space 52U. The dummy substrate housing section 7U is provided so as to overlap with the substrate mounting section 6U in a plan view. More specifically, when a substrate W is held in the substrate mounting section 6U and a dummy substrate DW is held in the dummy substrate housing section 7U, the dummy substrate housing section 7U is positioned so that the substrate W and the dummy substrate DW overlap in a plan view. The overlap between the substrate W and the dummy substrate DW in a plan view may be partial or complete, i.e., the dummy substrate DW may overlap almost the entire substrate W. The dummy substrate housing section 7U is positioned at a height between the upper partition wall 17 and the intermediate spacing wall 16, and is located within a height range accessible by the main transport robot 8U. In front of the dummy substrate housing section 7U, that is, on the indexer block 2 side, are the rear partition wall 2a of the indexer block 2 and the front partition wall 3a of the processing block 3, i.e., the adjacent partition walls. These partition walls 2a and 3a do not have windows corresponding to the dummy substrate housing section 7U. Therefore, the indexer robot 26 cannot access the dummy substrate housing section 7U.

[0090] The configuration of the dummy substrate housing section 7U may be substantially the same as the configuration of the dummy substrate housing section 7L of the first processing block layer BL (see Figure 6). The dummy substrate housing section 7U has multiple layers of slots (in this embodiment, the same number as the number of processing units provided in the second processing block layer BU) stacked vertically to accommodate one dummy substrate DW each in a horizontal position (hereinafter referred to as "dummy substrate slots DU1-DU12"). A dummy substrate sensor may be provided to detect the presence or absence of a dummy substrate DW in each dummy substrate slot DU1-DU12.

[0091] The main transport robot 8U is located within the transport space 52U. The main transport robot 8U includes a hand 81 that holds a single substrate in a horizontal position and a hand drive mechanism 82 that drives the hand 81. The hand drive mechanism 82 includes two support columns 83, a vertical movement section 84, a horizontal movement section 85, a rotating section 86, and a forward / backward movement section 87. These configurations are the same as those of the main transport robot 8L in the first processing block layer BL. The main transport robot 8U is configured to access the substrate mounting section 6U, the processing units 11U-43U, and the dummy substrate housing section 7U. The main transport robot 8U is an example of a first transport unit that transports a substrate W between the substrate mounting section 6U and the processing units 11U-43U, and transports a dummy substrate DW between the dummy substrate housing section 7U and the processing units 11U-43U.

[0092] The first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU are separated by an intermediate partition wall 16, and it is not possible to transport the product substrate W or dummy substrate DW beyond this intermediate partition wall 16. In other words, the main transport robot 8L of the first processing block layer BL is configured not to be able to access any of the processing units 11U-43U, dummy substrate housing section 7U, or substrate mounting section 6U of the second processing block layer BU. Similarly, the main transport robot 8U of the second processing block layer BU is configured not to be able to access any of the processing units 11L-43L, dummy substrate housing section 7L, or substrate mounting section 6L of the first processing block layer BL.

[0093] The liquid supply sections 91-94 demarcate liquid piping spaces that house the piping for supplying the processing liquid used in the processing units 11L-43L;11U-43U. The liquid piping spaces demarcated by each liquid supply section 91-94 penetrate the first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU in the vertical direction Z. Each liquid supply section 91-94 houses piping 56 that supplies processing liquid to six processing units 11L, 12L, 13L, 11U, 12U, 13U; 21L, 22L, 23L, 21U, 22U, 23U; 31L, 32L, 33L, 31U, 32U, 33U; 41L, 42L, 43L, 41U, 42U, 43U, which are stacked in six layers in the vertical direction Z at the same position in a plan view to form towers T1-T4. The liquid supply section 91-94 may also house other equipment related to the treated liquid, such as valves installed in the piping, flow meters, tanks for temporarily storing the treated liquid, and pumps for liquid transfer.

[0094] The exhaust sections 101-104 demarcate exhaust piping spaces that house piping for exhausting the atmosphere inside the processing unit. The exhaust piping spaces demarcated by each exhaust section 101-104 penetrate the first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU in the vertical direction Z. Each exhaust section 101-104 houses exhaust piping 76 for guiding the exhaust from the six processing units 11L, 12L, 13L, 11U, 12U, 13U; 21L, 22L, 23L, 21U, 22U, 23U; 31L, 32L, 33L, 31U, 32U, 33U; 41L, 42L, 43L, 41U, 42U, 43U, which are stacked in six stages in the vertical direction Z at the same position in a plan view to form towers T1-T4, to exhaust equipment outside the substrate processing device 1. The exhaust sections 101-104 may also house a switching mechanism 77 for switching the exhaust pipe 76 depending on the type of processing (more specifically, the type of processing liquid) within the processing unit. Although not shown in the figures, the exhaust section 101 includes actuators for driving the switching mechanism 77.

[0095] The carrier transport mechanism 300 (see Figure 1) operates to load a carrier C containing unprocessed product substrates W into the carrier holding section 25, and to unload a carrier C containing processed product substrates W from the carrier holding section 25. The carrier transport mechanism 300 also operates to load a supply dummy carrier DC containing unused dummy substrates DW into the carrier holding section 25, and after the unused dummy substrates DW are dispensed from the supply dummy carrier DC, to unload the dummy carrier DC from the carrier holding section 25. Furthermore, the carrier transport mechanism 300 operates to load a recovery dummy carrier DC for recovering used dummy substrates DW into the carrier holding section 25, and after the used dummy substrates DW are placed in the recovery dummy carrier DC, to unload the recovery dummy carrier DC from the carrier holding section 25. The dummy carrier DC may have a configuration substantially similar to that of the carrier C for the product substrate W.

[0096] The carrier transport mechanism 300 typically includes an overhead hoist transport (OHT). The carrier transport mechanism 300 transports carrier C between the carrier storage area 350 and the carrier holding section 25 (load port). The carrier transport mechanism 300 also transports dummy carrier DC between the dummy carrier storage area 351 and the carrier holding section 25.

[0097] The carrier transport mechanism 300 is controlled by the host computer 150 and transports carrier C and dummy carrier DC. The host computer 150 is communicated with the controller 110 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 via a communication line 170.

[0098] The controller 110 controls the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L and 8U to transport the substrate W and the dummy substrate DW. The controller 110 also controls the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U to perform substrate processing and dummy processing using the dummy substrate DW in the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U.

[0099] Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example configuration of processing units 11L-43L; 11U-43U (hereinafter collectively referred to as "processing unit 11L-43U"). Processing unit 11L-43U includes a unit partition wall 36 forming a processing chamber 35, a processing cup 39 disposed within the unit partition wall 36, a spin chuck 40 disposed within the processing cup 39, and a nozzle 55 for supplying processing liquid to substrates W and DW held by the spin chuck 40.

[0100] The unit partition wall 36 includes, for example, a side wall 36a that is substantially rectangular in plan view, a top wall 36b that partitions the upper part, and a bottom wall 36c that partitions the lower part. One surface of the side wall 36a faces the transport space 52U and extends along the first horizontal direction X and the vertical direction Z, and has a substrate loading / unloading port 37 for loading / unloading substrates W and DW. The substrate loading / unloading port 37 may have a slot shape that extends in the first horizontal direction X. A shutter 38 is provided for opening and closing the substrate loading / unloading port 37. The substrates W and DW are loaded through the substrate loading / unloading port 37 formed in the unit partition wall 36 and passed to the spin chuck 40.

[0101] The spin chuck 40 includes a spin base 45 that holds a single substrate W, DW in a horizontal position, and a spin motor 46 that rotates the spin base 45 around a vertical axis of rotation. The spin chuck 40 may be a vacuum type that holds the substrates W, DW by adsorption to the upper surface of the spin base 45. Alternatively, the spin base 45 may have a circular planar shape corresponding to the substrates W, DW, and may be a mechanical type chuck that has three or more retaining pins provided at circumferential intervals around its periphery, and grips the substrates W, DW with these retaining pins.

[0102] The processing unit 11L-43U includes one or more nozzles 55 for supplying processing liquid to substrates W and DW held in the spin chuck 40. In this embodiment, a plurality of nozzles 55 are provided. These plurality of nozzles 55 may include a plurality of chemical nozzles used to discharge multiple types of chemical solutions, respectively.

[0103] A processing liquid is supplied from a nozzle 55 to the surface of substrates W and DW, which are held and rotated by a spin chuck 40. The nozzle 55 is connected to a processing liquid pipe 56 that is routed through liquid supply units 91-94. The processing liquid pipe 56 is routed through liquid supply units 91-94 and connected to a processing liquid supply source 54. A valve 59 for opening and closing the flow path is interposed in the processing liquid pipe 56. A pump 60 for sending the processing liquid towards the nozzle 55 is also interposed in the processing liquid pipe 56. The valve 59 and the pump 60 are located in the liquid supply units 91-94. The processing liquid supply source 54 supplies chemicals such as etching solution and rinsing liquid such as pure water (deionized water). Depending on the type of processing liquid, multiple processing liquid pipes 56 and corresponding multiple nozzles 55 may be provided. Some or all of the multiple nozzles 55 may have the form of movable nozzles that move above the substrates W and DW along the upper surface of the substrates W and DW. The movable nozzle may have a structure that supports the base end of a horizontal nozzle arm 57 by a pivot shaft 58 located to the side of the spin chuck 40, and rotates the pivot shaft 58 around a vertical axis (see Figure 1). Some or all of the nozzles 55 may be fixed nozzles whose relative position to the spin chuck 40 remains constant.

[0104] The atmosphere inside the unit partition wall 36 is exhausted through an exhaust connection pipe 75 that penetrates the unit partition wall 36. The exhaust connection pipe 75 is connected to an exhaust piping 76 located in the exhaust sections 101-104. The exhaust connection pipe 75 may be connected to multiple exhaust piping 76 via a switching mechanism 77. The switching mechanism 77 operates, for example, to direct the exhaust from the exhaust connection pipe 75 to an exhaust piping 76 pre-associated with the type of processing liquid (e.g., type of chemical) discharged from multiple nozzles 55.

[0105] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the control of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a controller 110. The controller 110 may be a computer including a processor 111 (CPU) and memory 112 (storage unit). The processor 111 executes a program 120 stored in the memory 112. Thus, the controller 110 has the function of a schedule creation unit that creates a transport schedule for substrate transport operations in which substrates W and DW are transported by the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L and 8U, and the function of a transport control unit that controls the transport of substrates W and DW based on the created transport schedule. Furthermore, the controller 110 has the function of a substrate processing control unit that realizes a substrate processing operation in which substrates W are processed by the processing unit 11L-43U. The controller 110 also has the function of a dummy processing control unit that realizes a dummy processing operation in which dummy processing is performed using a dummy substrate DW in the processing unit 11L-43U. For these substrate transport operations, substrate processing operations, and dummy processing operations, the controller 110 controls various control objects provided in the substrate processing apparatus 1. These control objects include drive units provided in the indexer robot 26, main transport robots 8L, 8U, processing units 11L-43U, etc. Furthermore, the control objects of the controller 110 include valves 59 and pumps 60 located in the liquid supply units 91-94, and actuators located in the exhaust units 101-104.

[0106] Memory 112 stores various types of data 130. The data 130 includes a product recipe 131 for processing a product substrate W and a dummy processing recipe 132 for dummy processing using a dummy substrate DW. Product recipe 131 is data that defines the transport operation of the substrate W and the processing content for the substrate W. Dummy processing recipe 132 is data that defines the transport operation of the dummy substrate DW and the processing content using the dummy substrate DW. When processing the substrate W, the controller 110 controls the controlled object according to product recipe 131, and when performing dummy processing, it controls the controlled object according to dummy processing recipe 132.

[0107] Product recipe 131 may be provided by data communication from a host computer 150 that is communicably connected to the controller 110 and stored in memory 112. Similarly, dummy processing recipe 132 may be provided by communication from the host computer 150 and stored in memory 112. These recipes 131 and 132 may also be input or edited by an operator using a user interface 140 connected to the controller 110. Dummy processing recipe 132 may be automatically generated by the controller 110 according to the content of product recipe 131. Neither product recipe 131 nor dummy processing recipe 132 needs to be of one type; multiple product recipes 131 or multiple dummy processing recipes 132 may be stored in memory 112. User interface 140 includes, for example, an input device and a display device. User interface 140 is an example of a notification unit that provides various warnings to the user. For example, when the dummy board DW reaches its expiration date and needs to be replaced, user interface 140 displays a warning message to notify the user.

[0108] For example, dummy processing recipe 132 includes a pre-processing recipe that specifies a pre-processing step performed on a dummy substrate DW in the same way as the substrate W for the product. The pre-processing recipe may be a recipe in which the substrate to be brought into the processing unit 11L-43U is replaced from the substrate W for the product to the dummy substrate DW in the product recipe 131. Such a pre-processing recipe may be automatically generated by the controller 110 based on the product recipe 131. For example, when performing a process to supply a high-temperature processing liquid to the substrate W, pre-processing allows the high-temperature processing liquid to be guided to the nozzle 55 and the inside of the piping 56 and processing unit 11L-43U to be heated by the high-temperature processing liquid. As a result, the substrate W for the product can be supplied with a processing liquid at the appropriate temperature in a properly temperature-controlled environment. Thus, pre-processing is an example of a preparatory process to prepare the processing environment of the processing unit 11L-43U in order to properly process the substrate W for the product.

[0109] Furthermore, the dummy processing recipe 132 includes a unit cleaning recipe for cleaning the inside of the processing unit 11L-43U by holding a dummy substrate DW in the spin chuck 40. In the unit cleaning process performed according to the unit cleaning recipe, the dummy substrate DW is held in the spin chuck 40 and rotated, and in that state, a cleaning solution (chemical solution or pure water) is supplied to the dummy substrate DW. As a result, the cleaning solution, which is subjected to centrifugal force on the dummy substrate DW, is scattered around the spin chuck 40, cleaning the inside of the processing cup 39. If necessary, by moving the processing cup 39 up and down, the incident position of the cleaning solution on the inner wall surface of the processing cup 39 is changed vertically, so that the inner wall surface of the processing cup 39 can be cleaned efficiently. Alternatively, by moving the processing cup 39 up and down or the spin chuck 40 up and down, the dummy substrate DW can be positioned above the upper end of the processing cup 39, and the cleaning solution can be supplied to the inside of the processing chamber 35 outside the processing cup 39, cleaning the inside of the processing chamber 35.

[0110] The data 130 stored in the memory 112 further includes a dummy board table 133 that associates multiple processing units 11L-43U with dummy board slots DL1-DL12 and DU1-DU12 of the dummy board housing sections 7L and 7U. Each of the multiple dummy board slots DL1-DL12 and DU1-DU12 is assigned a unique dummy board slot number (dummy board slot identification information). One dummy board slot number is associated with each processing unit 11L-43U. The dummy board table 133 establishes a one-to-one correspondence between multiple (12 in this embodiment) processing units 11L-43U of the first processing block layer BL and multiple (12 in this embodiment) dummy board slot numbers of the dummy board housing section 7L of the first processing block layer BL. Furthermore, the dummy substrate table 133 provides a one-to-one correspondence between the multiple (12 in this embodiment) processing units 11L-43U of the second processing block layer BU and the multiple (12 in this embodiment) dummy substrate slot numbers of the dummy substrate housing section 7U of the second processing block layer BU. Thus, the dummy substrate table 133 provides a one-to-one correspondence between the multiple (24 in this embodiment) processing units 11L-43U of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the multiple (24 in this embodiment) slot numbers of the dummy substrate housing sections 7L, 7U.

[0111] The data 130 stored in the memory 112 further includes dummy board history data 134. The dummy board history data 134 includes data (usage history information) representing the usage history of dummy boards DW housed in dummy board slots DL1-DL12, DU1-DU12, which correspond to the multiple dummy board slot numbers of the dummy board housing sections 7L, 7U, respectively. Preferably, the usage history includes at least one of the following: the number of times the dummy board DW was used for processing in the processing units 11L-43U (cumulative number of uses), the usage time the dummy board DW was used for processing in the processing units 11L-43U (cumulative time), and the history of the processing content received by the dummy board DW in the processing units 11L-43U. The history of processing content may be information representing the wear status of the dummy board DW. The number of uses and usage time may also be information representing the wear status of the dummy board DW. Another example of information representing the wear status of the dummy board DW is the thickness of the dummy board DW. The thickness of the dummy substrate DW can be calculated from usage history information, or it can be detected by placing dummy substrate thickness sensors in the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U, for example.

[0112] The data 130 stored in memory 112 includes threshold data 136 (expiration date threshold information) to be compared with dummy board history data 134 (especially usage history information). The threshold data 136 may include a usage count threshold to be compared with the number of uses, and may also include a usage time threshold to be compared with the usage time. Furthermore, the threshold data 136 may include a wear status threshold to be compared with the wear status of the dummy board DW. For example, the wear status information of the dummy board DW can be calculated based on the usage history information of the dummy board DW, and the expiration date of the dummy board DW can be determined by comparing this wear status information with the wear status threshold. The wear status information of the dummy board DW may also be the thickness of the dummy board DW.

[0113] The data 130 stored in the memory 112 further includes unit usage history data 135 representing the unit usage history of each processing unit 11L-43U. Preferably, the unit usage history data 135 includes the number of substrates processed by each processing unit 11L-43U, and the duration of non-use, which represents the continuous time during which each processing unit 11L-43U is not used for substrate processing. Since the internal environment of the processing unit 11L-43U gradually deteriorates with repeated substrate processing, it is preferable to set an appropriate upper limit on the number of substrates that can be processed continuously without maintenance. Also, the internal environment of the processing unit 11L-43U gradually deteriorates if the time spent not processing substrates W is long. Specifically, chemicals adhering to the inner wall of the processing cup 39 may dry and crystallize, causing particles. Furthermore, if a high-temperature processing solution is used, the temperature of the piping 56 or nozzle 55 will decrease if the flow of the processing solution is interrupted for a long period of time due to continued non-use. Therefore, when the processing liquid is discharged next, the heat of the processing liquid may be lost in the piping 56 or nozzle 55, and the temperature of the processing liquid immediately after discharge may become inappropriate. For this reason, it is preferable to set an appropriate upper limit for the period of non-use. By comparing the unit usage history data 135 (number of substrates processed, period of non-use, etc.) with the corresponding set value, it is possible to determine whether maintenance is required for the processing unit 11L-43U.

[0114] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the controller 110 related to dummy processing. The controller 110 executes the processing shown in Figure 9 in parallel or sequentially for each of the multiple processing units 11L-43U.

[0115] The controller 110 determines whether the processing of the product substrate W is being performed in the target processing unit 11L-43U (Step A1). When the processing of the substrate W is completed in the processing unit 11L-43U and the processed substrate W is discharged from the processing unit 11L-43U (Step A1: NO), the controller 110 refers to the unit usage history data 135 of the processing unit 11L-43U and determines whether the number of substrates processed has reached a set value (Step A2). If the number of substrates processed is equal to or greater than the set value (Step A2: YES), the controller 110 determines that the unit cleaning execution conditions (an example of maintenance execution conditions) have been met and executes a unit cleaning process (an example of maintenance process) according to the unit cleaning recipe to clean the inside of the processing unit 11L-43U (Step A3). The controller 110 also resets the number of substrates processed by the processing unit to an initial value (for example, 0) and updates the unit usage history data 135 (Step A4).

[0116] The unit cleaning process is an example of dummy processing and includes a transport schedule creation step A30, a dummy substrate loading step A31, a dummy processing step A32, and a dummy substrate storage step A33. The transport schedule creation step A30 is the step of creating a transport plan (transport schedule) for dummy processing. The dummy substrate loading step A31 is the step of controlling the main transport robots 8L and 8U according to the created transport schedule. As a result, the main transport robots 8L and 8U unload the dummy substrates DW from the corresponding dummy substrate slots DL1-DL12 and DU1-DU12, transport them to the processing units 11L-43U, and load them into the processing units. The dummy processing step A32 is the step of executing processing using the dummy substrates DW in the processing units, and in this case, it is a cleaning process inside the processing units. Step A33, the dummy board placement step, is the step in which, after cleaning the inside of the processing unit, the dummy board DW is unloaded from the processing unit according to the transport schedule and transported to the original dummy board slots DL1-DL12, DU1-DU12 for placement. The controller 110 refers to the dummy board table 133 to identify the dummy board slots DL1-DL12, DU1-DU12 corresponding to the processing unit 11L-43U and creates a transport schedule for the dummy board loading step A31 and the dummy board placement step A33.

[0117] After the unit cleaning process is completed, the controller 110 determines whether pre-processing is necessary to prepare the processing environment (processing conditions) for the processing unit 11L-43U (steps A5, A6). Specifically, the controller 110 checks whether a processing request (processing reservation) for the product board has been given from the host computer 150 (step A5). If a processing request for the product board has been given (step A5: YES), the controller 110 determines whether the period of non-use of the processing unit 11L-43U has reached a set value (step A6). If the period of non-use is greater than or equal to the set value (step A6: YES), that is, if the processing unit 11L-43U has not been used for the product board W for a predetermined period of time, the controller 110 determines that pre-processing is necessary, that is, the pre-processing execution conditions (an example of maintenance execution conditions) have been met.

[0118] If it is determined that pre-processing is required, the controller 110 performs pre-processing according to the pre-processing recipe (step A7). Specifically, the controller 110 refers to the dummy board table 133 to identify the dummy board slots DL1-DL12 and DU1-DU12 corresponding to the processing unit 11L-43U, and creates a transport schedule for pre-processing based on this (transport schedule creation step A70). Then, the controller 110 controls the main transport robots 8L and 8U according to the created transport schedule to unload the dummy board DW from the identified dummy board slots and transport the dummy board DW to the processing unit 11L-43U (dummy board loading step A71). After the transport, the host computer 150 performs the same processing on the dummy board DW in the processing unit 11L-43U as it does on the product board W (dummy processing step A72). Once the processing is complete, the host computer 150 controls the main transport robots 8L and 8U according to the transport schedule to remove the dummy board DW from the processing unit 11L-43U, transport it back to the original dummy board slot, and place the dummy board DW into the slot (dummy board placement step A73). After performing this preprocessing, the controller 110 resets the unused time to an initial value (e.g., 0) and updates the unit usage history data 135 (step A8).

[0119] As described above, when a processing request (processing reservation) for the product substrate W is given, the controller 110 performs preprocessing. Preprocessing includes transporting a dummy substrate DW (step A71) and dummy processing using it (step A72). Therefore, the preprocessing (dummy substrate transport step A71 and / or dummy processing step A72) is performed in parallel with, or before, the substrate loading operation (step A20) in which the carrier C containing the product substrate W is held in the carrier holding unit 25, and the indexer robot 26 takes the substrate W to be processed from the carrier C and transports it to the substrate mounting units 6L and 6U. At this time, the indexer robot 26 does not participate in the transport of the dummy substrate DW. Therefore, the dummy substrate DW is transported within the processing block 3 and preprocessing is performed without hindering the transport of the product substrate W by the indexer robot 26.

[0120] For convenience, Figure 9 shows the product substrate loading step A20 by the indexer robot 26, but this does not mean that the sequence of steps with the pre-processing step A7 is as shown. As mentioned above, the product substrate loading step A20 may be performed (started) before or in parallel with the pre-processing step A7, and it may also be performed (started) after the pre-processing step A7.

[0121] The pre-treatment recipe specifies a pre-treatment that should be performed on the product substrate W, but is instead performed on a dummy substrate DW. Therefore, the dummy substrate DW is consumed by performing the pre-treatment on it. Specifically, by performing a pre-treatment on the dummy substrate DW using a chemical solution with etching properties, the surface of the dummy substrate DW is etched, and the thickness of the dummy substrate DW decreases. When the pre-treatment recipe is executed, the controller 110 updates the dummy substrate history data 134 for the dummy substrate slots DL1-DL12, DU1-DU12 associated with the processing unit 11L-43U (step A9). For example, if the dummy substrate history data 134 includes usage count data, the usage count data is incremented.

[0122] Once the pre-processing is complete, the controller 110 executes control according to the product recipe (step A12). Specifically, the controller 110 creates a transport schedule for processing the product substrate (transport schedule creation step A120), and controls the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L and 8U according to that transport schedule. The indexer robot 26 then takes the product substrate W from the carrier C and places it on the substrate placement section 6L and 6U. The main transport robots 8L and 8U then take the substrate W from the substrate placement section 6L and 6U and transport it to the processing unit 11L-43U (substrate loading step A121). In the processing unit 11L-43U, processing using a processing liquid (chemical solution, rinse solution, etc.) is performed on the substrate W (processing step A122). After completion, according to the transport schedule, the main transport robots 8L and 8U take out the processed substrates W and transport them to the substrate placement sections 6L and 6U, and the indexer robot 26 places the processed substrates W into the carrier C (substrate placement step A123). If there are unprocessed substrates W (in the case of continuous processing of multiple substrates W) (step A13: YES), the same operation is repeated. During this time, if the number of substrates processed by the processing unit reaches the set value (step A14: YES), the process returns to step A3 and the unit cleaning process is executed. If it is not continuous processing (step A13: NO), the process returns and the process from step A1 is repeated.

[0123] If there is no processing request (processing reservation) from the host computer 150 (Step A5: NO), the controller 110 determines whether the duration of the standby state, i.e., the duration of non-use, has reached a set value (Step A15). If the duration of non-use has not reached a set value, the device enters standby mode. If the duration of non-use reaches a set value (Step A15: YES), the controller 110 executes a pre-configured maintenance process (Step A16). The maintenance process may be a unit cleaning process. This unit cleaning process may be a process using a dummy board DW (a type of dummy process), as in the case of Step A3, or it may be a process that does not use a dummy board DW. The maintenance process may also be a process similar to the pre-processing process. Furthermore, the maintenance process may be any other process. The maintenance process is primarily a process to maintain the environment inside the processing chamber 35 of the processing unit 11L-43U in a state suitable for processing the product board W, and may be a process pre-configured by the user of the board processing device 1. When dummy processing using a dummy board DW is performed as maintenance processing, the maintenance processing includes a transport schedule creation step A160, which creates a transport plan (transport schedule) for said processing; a step A161, which removes the dummy board DW from the corresponding dummy board slot and transports it to the processing unit according to the transport plan; a step A162, which performs dummy processing using the dummy board DW within the processing unit; and a step A163, which, after the processing, places the dummy board DW into the corresponding dummy board slot according to the transport schedule.

[0124] When there is no processing request (processing reservation) from the host computer 150, the controller 110 cannot automatically plan preprocessing similar to that of the product recipe 131. Therefore, even if maintenance processing (step A16) is performed as needed, it is preferable to perform preprocessing (step A7) corresponding to the product processing when a processing request (processing reservation) is received from the host computer 150.

[0125] The dummy substrate DW is introduced into the substrate processing apparatus 1 in advance and stored in the dummy substrate storage sections 7L and 7U. Specifically, for example, a carrier transport mechanism 300 (see Figure 1) provided in the factory transfers the supply dummy carrier DC containing the dummy substrate DW to the carrier holding section 25. The indexer robot 26 takes the dummy substrate DW from the supply dummy carrier DC and transports it to the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U. The main transport robot 8L of the first processing block layer BL transports and stores the dummy substrate DW from the substrate mounting section 6L to the dummy substrate storage section 7L. The main transport robot 8U of the second processing block layer BU transports and stores the dummy substrate DW from the substrate mounting section 6U to the dummy substrate storage section 7U. The controller 110 creates a transport schedule (supply transport schedule) for introducing the dummy substrate DW, and achieves the transport operation described above by controlling the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L and 8U according to that transport schedule.

[0126] When a new dummy board DW is introduced and placed in the dummy board housing section 7L, 7U, the controller 110 resets the dummy board history data 134 corresponding to the dummy board slot in which the new dummy board DW is placed to its initial value.

[0127] When replacing a dummy substrate DW in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the dummy substrate DW is transported from the dummy substrate housing section 7L, 7U to the retrieval dummy carrier DC held in the carrier holding section 25 by the main transport robots 8L, 8U and the indexer robot 26. Specifically, when the dummy substrate DW to be replaced is housed in the dummy substrate housing section 7L of the first processing block layer BL, the main transport robot 8L transports the dummy substrate DW from the dummy substrate housing section 7L to the substrate mounting section 6L. When the dummy substrate DW to be replaced is housed in the dummy substrate housing section 7U of the second processing block layer BU, the main transport robot 8U transports the dummy substrate DW from the dummy substrate housing section 7U to the substrate mounting section 6U. The indexer robot 26 transports and houses the dummy substrate DW placed in the substrate mounting sections 6L, 6U to the retrieval dummy carrier DC held in the carrier holding section 25. When multiple dummy circuit boards DW are to be replaced, the same operation is repeated. The controller 110 creates a transport schedule (recovery transport schedule) for the replacement (discharge) of the dummy circuit boards DW, and achieves the transport operation described above by controlling the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L and 8U according to that transport schedule.

[0128] Figures 10A and 10B are flowcharts illustrating the process of replacing a dummy board in a board processing apparatus. Figure 10A shows an example of processing by the controller 110 of the board processing apparatus 1, and Figure 10B shows an example of processing by the host computer 150.

[0129] The controller 110 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 plans a dummy process (for example, cleaning the processing unit using a dummy substrate DW; dummy cleaning) (step S1) and updates the dummy substrate history data 134 in the memory 112 (step S2). The controller 110 further compares the dummy substrate history data 134 with threshold data 136 to determine whether the dummy substrate DW has reached its expiration date (step S3).

[0130] As described above, the dummy board history data 134 is created for each slot in the dummy board housings 7L, 7U, that is, for each dummy board DW, and represents the usage history of each individual dummy board DW. In this embodiment, multiple processing units and multiple slots in multiple dummy board housings 7L, 7U are associated one-to-one, and therefore, each dummy board DW is used for dummy processing in only one processing unit. So, when the controller 110 plans dummy processing (step S1), it updates the dummy board history data 134 (step S2), and based on the updated dummy board history data 134, it determines whether the dummy board DW has reached its expiration date (step S3). For example, the dummy board history data 134 may include usage count data for the dummy board DW. When the controller 110 plans dummy processing for a certain processing unit (step S1), it increments and updates the usage count data of the dummy board DW associated with that processing unit (step S2). Then, when the usage count data reaches a predetermined usage count threshold (an example of threshold data 136), the controller 110 determines that the dummy board DW has reached its expiration date (Step S3: YES).

[0131] If the dummy board DW reaches its expiration date (Step S3: YES), the controller 110 plans to replace the dummy board DW (Step S4). Furthermore, the controller 110 displays on the user interface 140 that the dummy board DW has reached its expiration date and notifies the user to take note (Step S5). If the dummy board DW has not reached its expiration date (Step S3: NO), the planning of dummy board replacement (Step S4) and the notification to alert the user (Step S5) are omitted.

[0132] The controller 110 controls the transport of the dummy substrate DW and the processing in the processing unit according to the dummy processing plan (step S6). Specifically, the controller 110 controls the main transport robots 8L and 8U to transport the dummy substrate DW from the dummy substrate housing units 7L and 7U to the processing unit, and controls the processing unit to perform processing using the dummy substrate DW (for example, chamber cleaning).

[0133] When the controller 110 needs to replace the dummy board DW (step S7: YES), that is, when it plans to replace the dummy board DW (step S4), it sends a dummy board replacement request to the host computer 150 (step S8; function of the controller 110 as an expiration date notification unit). When there is no plan to replace the dummy board (step S7: NO), the dummy board replacement request is not sent.

[0134] When the host computer 150 receives a request to replace a dummy board (step S11: YES), it determines whether to start replacing the dummy board DW (step S12). For example, if there is processing of a product board W that takes priority over replacing the dummy board DW, this determination is denied and the dummy board replacement request is put on hold. If it is determined that the replacement of the dummy board DW should be started (step S12: YES), the host computer 150 controls the carrier transport mechanism 300 to transport the dummy carrier DC for retrieval and the dummy carrier DC for supply from the dummy carrier storage area 351 to the carrier holding section 25 of the board processing device 1.

[0135] More specifically, the host computer 150 determines whether there is a dummy carrier DC for retrieval in the dummy carrier storage area 351 (step S13), and if not, performs processing to prepare the dummy carrier DC for retrieval (step S14). This processing may also be an alarm processing prompting the user to prepare the dummy carrier DC for retrieval (notification that a dummy carrier DC for retrieval is needed). After this processing, the host computer 150 plans the transport of the dummy carrier DC for retrieval by the carrier transport mechanism 300 and instructs the carrier transport mechanism 300 to carry it out (step S15). If there is a dummy carrier DC for retrieval in the dummy carrier storage area 351 (step S13: YES), the processing in step S14 is omitted. The host computer 150 also determines whether there is a dummy carrier DC for supply in the dummy carrier storage area 351 (step S16), and if not, performs processing to prepare the dummy carrier DC for supply (step S17). This process may also be an alarm process prompting the user to prepare the supply dummy carrier DC (notification that a supply dummy carrier DC is required). After this process, the host computer 150 plans the transport of the supply dummy carrier DC by the carrier transport mechanism 300 and instructs the carrier transport mechanism 300 to carry it out (step S18). If there is a supply dummy carrier DC in the dummy carrier storage area 351 (step S16: YES), the process in step S17 is omitted.

[0136] The controller 110 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 plans the replacement of dummy substrates (step S4), which includes creating a recovery transport schedule for transporting dummy substrates DW that have reached their expiration date from the dummy substrate storage sections 7L, 7U to the recovery dummy carrier DC when the recovery dummy carrier DC is held in the carrier holding section 25. According to this recovery transport schedule, the controller 110 controls the main transport robots 8L, 8U and the indexer robot 26. As a result, the main transport robots 8L, 8U transport the dummy substrates DW that have reached their expiration date from the dummy substrate storage sections 7L, 7U to the substrate mounting sections 6L, 6U, and the indexer robot 26 transports the dummy substrates DW from the substrate mounting sections 6L, 6U to the recovery dummy carrier DC.

[0137] The plan for dummy board replacement by the controller 110 of the board processing apparatus 1 (step S4) includes creating a supply transport schedule for transporting unused dummy boards DW from the supply dummy carrier DC to the dummy board storage sections 7L and 7U when the supply dummy carrier DC is held in the carrier holding section 25. According to this supply transport schedule, the controller 110 controls the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L and 8U. As a result, the indexer robot 26 transports the unused dummy boards DW from the supply dummy carrier DC to the board placement sections 6L and 6U, and the main transport robots 8L and 8U transport the dummy boards DW from the board placement sections 6L and 6U to the dummy board storage sections 7L and 7U.

[0138] The operation to collect used dummy circuit boards (DW) and the operation to supply unused dummy circuit boards (DW) may be performed separately in time, or some or all of these operations may overlap in time.

[0139] Figure 11 is a time chart illustrating an example of a specific operation.

[0140] First, the dummy processing operation, represented by the grid pattern blocks in Figure 11, is as follows: A dummy substrate DW corresponding to the processing unit to be processed is removed from the dummy substrate housing 7L, 7U by the main transport robots 8L, 8U and transported to the target processing unit. Once the processing using the dummy substrate DW (dummy processing) is completed in the processing unit, the dummy substrate DW is removed by the main transport robots 8L, 8U and stored in the dummy substrate housing 7L, 7U.

[0141] If the dummy board DW reaches its expiration date through this dummy processing, the controller 110 of the board processing device 1 plans the dummy processing and, for example, when the dummy board DW is dispensed from the dummy board housings 7L, 7U, sends a dummy board replacement request (expiration date information) to the host computer 150 (time t1). This triggers the dummy board retrieval operation, which is represented by horizontal striped blocks in Figure 11. The dummy board DW will reach its expiration date after being used in one more dummy processing. That is, it will reach its expiration date after the dummy processing performed after time t1.

[0142] Upon receiving a request to replace a dummy substrate, the host computer 150 plans and executes the transport of the dummy carrier DC for recovery while the substrate processing device 1 is performing dummy processing. Specifically, upon receiving a request to replace a dummy substrate at time t1, the host computer 150 executes a process to prepare the dummy carrier DC for recovery during period T1 (see step S14 in Figure 10B), and at time t2, after the dummy carrier DC for recovery has been placed in the dummy carrier storage area 351, it commands the carrier transport mechanism 300 to transport the dummy carrier DC for recovery. As a result, during period T2 from time t2, the carrier transport mechanism 300 transports the dummy carrier DC for recovery from the dummy carrier storage area 351 to the carrier holding section 25 of the substrate processing device 1. In other words, the carrier transport mechanism 300 retrieves the dummy carrier DC for retrieval from the dummy carrier storage area 351, transports it to the substrate processing device 1, and loads the dummy carrier DC for retrieval into the carrier holding unit LP1, which is one of the multiple carrier holding units 25. Once the dummy carrier DC for retrieval is loaded into the carrier holding unit 25, at time t3, the host computer 150 commands the controller 110 of the substrate processing device 1 to retrieve and transport the dummy substrate DW.

[0143] It is preferable that the dummy processing operation be completed during the aforementioned period T2. In other words, it is preferable that the host computer 150 plans the transport of the dummy carrier DC for recovery by the carrier transport mechanism 300 so that the dummy carrier DC for recovery is transported to the carrier holding section LP1 while the dummy processing operation is being performed in the substrate processing apparatus 1. It is also preferable that the loading of the dummy carrier DC for recovery into the carrier holding section 25 is completed almost simultaneously with the completion of the dummy processing operation (storage of the dummy substrate DW to be replaced into the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U).

[0144] When the controller 110 is instructed to collect and transport dummy circuit boards DW, after the dummy circuit boards DW that have been used in dummy processing and have reached their expiration date are stored in the dummy circuit board storage units 7L and 7U, the controller 110 creates a collection and transport schedule for transporting the used dummy circuit boards DW from the dummy circuit board storage units 7L and 7U to the collection dummy carrier DC, and then executes the transport of the dummy circuit boards DW according to that collection and transport schedule. Specifically, after the used dummy circuit boards DW are stored in the dummy circuit board storage units 7L and 7U, the main transport robots 8L and 8U take the used dummy circuit boards DW out of the dummy circuit board storage units 7L and 7U and place them in the circuit board placement units 6L and 6U. The used dummy circuit boards DW are then taken out by the indexer robot 26 and transported to the collection dummy carrier DC held in the carrier holding unit LP1. When the used dummy circuit board DW is placed in the dummy carrier DC for recovery, the controller 110 notifies the host computer 150 at time t5 that the dummy carrier DC for recovery is ready for removal. Upon receiving this notification, the host computer 150 instructs the carrier transport mechanism 300 to transport the dummy carrier DC for recovery. As a result, the carrier transport mechanism 300 removes the dummy carrier DC for recovery from the carrier holding section 25 and transports it to the dummy carrier storage area 351.

[0145] While the used dummy circuit boards DW are collected in this manner, a dummy circuit board supply operation is performed to supply unused dummy circuit boards DW to replace the used ones. In Figure 11, the dummy circuit board supply operation is shown by blocks with diagonal lines.

[0146] The host computer 150 plans and executes the supply of unused dummy boards DW to the board processing device 1. Specifically, the host computer 150 creates a plan for transporting the supply dummy carrier DC containing the unused dummy boards DW from the dummy carrier storage area 351 to the carrier holding section 25 of the board processing device 1, and according to that plan, at time t4, instructs the carrier transport mechanism 300 to transport the supply dummy carrier DC. As a result, the carrier transport mechanism 300 takes the supply dummy carrier DC from the dummy carrier storage area 351, transports it to the board processing device 1, and loads it into one of the carrier holding sections 25, namely LP2. Once the supply dummy carrier DC has been loaded into the carrier holding section LP2, at time t6, the host computer 150 instructs the controller 110 of the board processing device 1 to supply and transport the dummy boards DW.

[0147] Figure 11 shows an example where the dummy carrier DC for recovery and the dummy carrier DC for supply are held in separate carrier holding sections LP1 and LP2. However, if the plan is to bring in the dummy carrier DC for supply after the dummy carrier DC for recovery is removed, the dummy carrier DC for supply may be brought into the carrier holding section LP1 from which the dummy carrier DC for recovery was removed.

[0148] Upon receiving a supply and transport command for dummy substrates DW, the controller 110 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 creates a supply and transport schedule for transporting unused dummy substrates DW from the supply dummy carrier DC to the dummy substrate storage sections 7L and 7U, and controls the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L and 8U according to that supply and transport schedule. Accordingly, the indexer robot 26 takes the unused dummy substrates DW from the supply dummy carrier DC and loads them into the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U. Subsequently, the main transport robots 8L and 8U transport the unused dummy substrates DW from the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U to the dummy substrate storage sections 7L and 7U.

[0149] At time t7, after the unused dummy board DW has been unloaded from the supply dummy carrier DC, the controller 110 of the board processing device 1 notifies the host computer 150 that the supply dummy carrier DC is ready for unloading. Upon receiving this notification, the host computer 150 instructs the carrier transport mechanism 300 to transport the supply dummy carrier DC (time t8). As a result, the carrier transport mechanism 300 unloads the supply dummy carrier DC from the carrier holding section 25 of the board processing device 1 and transports it to the dummy carrier storage area 351.

[0150] In this way, through communication between the controller 110 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the host computer 150, the dummy carrier DC for retrieval and the dummy carrier DC for supply are loaded and unloaded from the carrier holding section 25 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 in a timely manner by the carrier transport mechanism 300. This allows for the automatic and timely replacement of dummy substrates DW. Furthermore, since the time that the dummy carrier DC occupies the carrier holding section 25 is reduced, the time that the carrier holding section 25 can be used to hold the carrier C that contains the product substrates W is increased. This improves productivity.

[0151] The dummy circuit boards (DW) can be replaced one at a time, or multiple dummy circuit boards (DW) can be replaced at once. In the latter case, multiple used dummy circuit boards (DW) are loaded into a single dummy carrier (DC) for collection. Additionally, a supply dummy carrier (DC) containing multiple unused dummy circuit boards (DW) is loaded into the carrier holding section (25), and multiple dummy circuit boards (DW) are then introduced from this supply dummy carrier (DC) into the dummy circuit board housing sections (7L, 7U).

[0152] As described above, according to this embodiment, the processing block 3 adjacent to the indexer block 2 in the lateral direction is constructed by stacking a plurality of processing block layers BL and BU in the vertical direction Z. Each processing block layer BL and BU is provided with dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U for housing a dummy substrate DW. Since the dummy substrate DW can be housed inside the processing block layers BL and BU, when it becomes necessary to use a dummy substrate DW in the processing unit 11L-43U, the dummy substrate DW can be transported between the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U and the processing unit 11L-43U without the involvement of the indexer robot 26.

[0153] Therefore, the transport load on the indexer robot 26 can be reduced, allowing processing using dummy substrates DW while minimizing the impact on the transport of product substrates W. In particular, the transport load on the indexer robot 26, which transports substrates W between multiple processing block layers BL, BU, each having multiple processing units 11L-43L, 11U-43U, and the carrier holding unit 25, is very large. Therefore, by reducing the transport load on the indexer robot 26, the transport efficiency of product substrates W can be improved, and productivity can be improved accordingly. The main transport robots 8L, 8U of each processing block layer BL, BU are responsible for transporting substrates W within their respective processing block layers BL, BU, so their transport load is smaller compared to the indexer robot 26. Therefore, the fact that the main transport robots 8L, 8U are responsible for transporting dummy substrates DW inside the processing block layers BL, BU does not pose a major problem from the standpoint of production efficiency.

[0154] Furthermore, since the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U are located within the processing block layers BL and BU, the transport of the dummy substrate DW between the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U and the processing unit 11L-43U can be performed without passing through the substrate placement sections 6L and 6U used for substrate transfer between the indexer robot 26 and the processing block layers BL and BU. Therefore, interference between the transport of the dummy substrate DW and the transport of the product substrate W can be reduced, improving the transport efficiency of the product substrate W and, consequently, increasing productivity.

[0155] Furthermore, unlike in Patent Document 1, the carrier holding section 25 is not occupied for a long period of time by the dummy carrier DC that houses the dummy substrate DW. This reduces waiting time for the loading of the carrier C containing the product substrate W, thereby contributing to improved productivity.

[0156] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in each processing block layer BL,BU, multiple processing units 11L-43L, 11U-43U are arranged on both sides of the transport paths 51L, 51U along which the substrate W is transported by the main transport robots 8L, 8U, and are stacked in the vertical direction Z. Therefore, the arrangement of multiple processing units 11L-43U within the processing block layers BL,BU is designed to enable efficient substrate transport by the main transport robots 8L, 8U. This contributes to improving productivity.

[0157] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the substrate mounting sections 6L, 6U and the dummy substrate housing sections 7L, 7U are all positioned between the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L, 8U. This allows for efficient transport of the substrate W between the indexer robot 26 and the main transport robots 8L, 8U, via the substrate mounting sections 6L, 6U. The dummy substrate housing sections 7L, 7U can be positioned so as not to interfere with the transport of the substrate W by the indexer robot 26 and the transport of the substrate W by the main transport robots 8L, 8U. Therefore, dummy substrates DW can be held within the processing block layers BL, BU without affecting the transport of the substrate W for the actual product.

[0158] More specifically, in this embodiment, the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U and the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U are arranged three-dimensionally with different heights. This allows for effective use of the space within the processing block layers BL and BU, enabling the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U to be appropriately positioned within the processing block layers BL and BU. As a result, the arrangement of the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U does not obstruct the transport of the actual product substrates W.

[0159] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U are arranged to overlap with the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U in a plan view. This allows the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U to be positioned using the space above or below the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U. This ensures that the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U are positioned in a way that does not obstruct the transport of the product substrate W, and the space within the processing block layers BL and BU is effectively utilized for positioning the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U. As described above, the arrangement in which the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U overlap with the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U in a plan view may specifically mean that part or all of the dummy substrate DW housed in the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U overlaps with the substrate W held by the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U.

[0160] More specifically, in this embodiment, a second processing block layer BU (upper processing block layer) is stacked on top of a first processing block layer BL (lower processing block layer). In the first processing block layer BL, the dummy substrate housing section 7L is located below the substrate mounting section 6L. On the other hand, in the second processing block layer BU, the dummy substrate housing section 7U is located below the substrate mounting section 6U. This reduces the height difference between the substrate mounting section 6L of the first processing block layer BL and the substrate mounting section 6U of the second processing block layer BU. As a result, the substrate transport stroke in the vertical Z direction by the indexer robot 26 can be shortened, thereby reducing the transport load on the indexer robot 26. Therefore, the transport efficiency of the substrates W for products can be increased, contributing to improved productivity.

[0161] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U of each processing block layer BL and BU include the same number of dummy substrate slots DL1-DL12 and DU1-DU12 as the number of processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U contained in the processing block layer BL and BU. Each dummy substrate slot DL1-DL12 and DU1-DU12 is configured to hold one dummy substrate DW. This allows each processing block layer BL and BU to hold the same number of dummy substrates DW as the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U. Therefore, if it becomes necessary to load a dummy substrate DW into any of the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U, the main transport robots 8L and 8U can quickly load the dummy substrate DW into the processing unit and perform dummy processing. Since the indexer robot 26 is not involved in loading the dummy substrate DW, the impact on the transport of the product substrates W can be suppressed or prevented.

[0162] Furthermore, in this embodiment, multiple processing units 11L-43L, 11U-43U of each processing block layer BL, BU and multiple dummy substrate slots DL1-DL12, DU1-DU12 of the processing block layer are associated one-to-one. The main transport robots 8L, 8U then transport dummy substrates DW between the corresponding dummy substrate slots DL1-DL12, DU1-DU12 and processing units 11L-43L, 11U-43U. With this configuration, the dummy substrates DW held in the dummy substrate slots can be dedicated dummy substrates for the corresponding processing units. This makes it easier to manage the usage history of the dummy substrates DW.

[0163] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the dummy processing conditions (unit cleaning execution conditions, pre-processing execution conditions, maintenance execution conditions) are met, the controller 110 controls the main transport robots 8L, 8U to transport the dummy substrate DW from the dummy substrate housing section 7L, 7U to the processing units 11L-43L, 11U-43U, and performs dummy processing in those processing units. In this way, dummy processing can be started by transporting the dummy substrate DW within the processing block layers BL, BU, so that dummy processing can be started quickly while suppressing or preventing any impact on the transport of the actual product substrates W.

[0164] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the controller 110 controls each part of the substrate processing apparatus 1, thereby executing the following steps. Specifically, within each processing block layer BL, BU, the main transport robots 8L, 8U transport the dummy substrate DW, which is housed in the dummy substrate housing section 7L, 7U within the processing block layer, into one of the multiple processing units 11L-43L, 11U-43U within the processing block layer in a dummy substrate loading step (steps A31, A71, A161). Then, a dummy processing step (steps A32, A72, A162) is executed in which dummy processing is performed using the loaded dummy substrate DW within the processing unit. Furthermore, after dummy processing, the main transport robots 8L, 8U take the dummy substrate DW out of the processing unit and transport it to the dummy substrate housing section 7L, 7U in a step (steps A33, A73, A163). Furthermore, a process is performed in which the substrate W placed on the substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U of the processing block layers BL and BU is transported to one of the multiple processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U of the processing block layers BL and BU (step A121). Then, a process is performed in which the transported substrate W is processed within the processing unit (step A122). This reduces the transport load on the indexer robot 26, while processing using a dummy substrate DW can be performed in the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U of each processing block layer BL and BU. This improves production efficiency.

[0165] Under the control of the controller 110, the dummy substrate loading process (step A71) described above may be executed in parallel with, or prior to, the substrate loading process (step A20) in which the indexer robot 26 takes out the substrate W from the carrier C held in the carrier holding section 25 and loads it into the substrate mounting section 6L, 6U of one of the processing block layers BL, BU. This allows the indexer robot 26 to load the substrate W for the product into the processing block layers BL, BU, while simultaneously loading dummy substrates DW into the processing units 11L-43L, 11U-43U within each processing block layer BL, BU. Since the indexer robot 26 does not need to be involved in the loading of dummy substrates DW, the dummy substrates DW within the processing block layers BL, BU can be transported without waiting for the indexer robot 26 to transport the substrate W, or in parallel with the transport of the substrate. Therefore, the transport load on the indexer robot 26 can be reduced, and the dummy substrate DW can be quickly transported to the processing unit within the processing block layers BL and BU.

[0166] Furthermore, under the control of the controller 110, the aforementioned dummy processing step (step A72) may be executed in parallel with, or prior to, the substrate loading process (step A20) in which the substrate W for the product is loaded into the substrate loading sections 6L and 6U by the indexer robot 26. This reduces the load on the indexer robot 26 during transport and allows dummy processing to be started quickly within the processing block layers BL and BU. For example, when a request for substrate processing is received from the host computer 150, the transport of the dummy substrate DW and subsequent dummy processing can be started at an appropriate time in response. This allows the environment within the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U to be prepared at an appropriate time, so that when the carrier C containing the substrate W for the product is loaded into the carrier holding section 25, processing of the substrate W can be started quickly. This contributes to improved productivity.

[0167] In this embodiment, usage history information (dummy board history data 134) of the dummy boards DW housed in the dummy board housings 7L and 7U is stored in the memory 112 of the controller 110, and a dummy board replacement request is sent to the host computer 150 based on this information (notification of expiration date information). Furthermore, a recovery and transport schedule is created for transporting the dummy boards DW to be replaced from the dummy board housings 7L and 7U to the carrier holding unit 25 for recovery. Based on this recovery and transport schedule, the main transport robots 8L and 8U and the indexer robot 26 are controlled so that the dummy boards DW to be replaced are transported from the dummy board housings 7L and 7U to the carrier holding unit 25 and recovered into the recovery dummy carrier DC. In this way, when a dummy board DW reaches its expiration date, it can be automatically discharged.

[0168] In this embodiment, a dummy board replacement request is an example of notification of expiration date information, and this dummy board replacement request notifies that a dummy board DW has become unusable or is expected to become unusable soon. In this embodiment, a dummy board replacement request is a dummy board retrieval request that requests the retrieval of a used dummy board DW. More precisely, since a dummy board replacement request requests the retrieval of a used dummy board DW after the completion of the last dummy processing, it can also be said to be a dummy board retrieval reservation that specifies the timing for the retrieval of a used dummy board DW. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a dummy board replacement request is also a dummy board supply request that requests the supply of an unused dummy board DW. And in this embodiment, since a dummy board replacement request requests the supply of an unused dummy board DW to replace a dummy board DW that will become used after the completion of the last dummy processing, it can also be said to be a dummy board supply reservation that specifies the timing for the supply of an unused dummy board DW.

[0169] Alternatively, instead of determining the expiration date based on one remaining dummy operation, threshold data 136 can be set so that the dummy board DW reaches its usage limit after two or more predetermined dummy operations. This allows for a buffer to be factored in when requesting (reserving) the replacement of the dummy board DW from the host computer 150, enabling the proper execution of the recovery plan for used dummy board DWs and the supply plan for unused dummy board DWs, and ensuring timely recovery and supply of dummy board DWs.

[0170] Furthermore, in this embodiment, multiple dummy substrates DW are associated one-to-one with multiple processing units. As a result, the dummy substrates DW are not shared by multiple processing units, thus preventing multiple processing units from influencing each other via the dummy substrates DW. For example, even if the processing environment within one processing unit becomes contaminated, it is possible to prevent that contamination from being carried over to other processing units via the dummy substrates DW.

[0171] Furthermore, in this embodiment, upon receiving a dummy board replacement request from the substrate processing apparatus 1, the host computer 150 plans the operation of the carrier transport mechanism 300 and controls the carrier transport mechanism 300 according to that plan, thereby causing the recovery dummy carrier DC for recovering the used dummy board DW to be carried into the carrier holding section 25 of the substrate processing apparatus 1. Therefore, based on the dummy board replacement request (notification of expiration date information) from the substrate processing apparatus 1 to the host computer 150, the recovery dummy carrier DC can be supplied to the substrate processing apparatus 1 at an appropriate time. In other words, since the recovery dummy carrier DC is supplied automatically and in a timely manner, the downtime of the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be reduced and its productivity can be improved.

[0172] Furthermore, the host computer 150 commands the substrate processing device 1 to collect and transport the dummy substrate DW, so the substrate processing device 1 can plan and execute the collection and transport of the dummy substrate DW in a timely manner, that is, the transport of the used dummy substrate DW from the dummy substrate storage sections 7L and 7U to the dummy carrier DC for collection. In other words, the timing of the arrival of the dummy carrier DC for collection and the start of the collection and transport of the dummy substrate DW within the substrate processing device 1 can be synchronized. Moreover, the substrate processing device 1 notifies the host computer 150 of the completion of the collection of the dummy substrate DW to the dummy carrier DC for collection, and accordingly the host computer 150 plans the discharge of the dummy carrier DC for collection by the carrier transport mechanism 300 and controls the carrier transport mechanism 300 according to that plan. Therefore, the dummy carrier DC for collection is automatically and timely discharged from the carrier holding section 25 of the substrate processing device 1. Specifically, the dummy carrier DC for recovery can be unloaded from the carrier holding section 25 at a timing that coincides with the completion of loading the dummy substrate DW into the dummy carrier DC for recovery. In this way, the time that the dummy carrier DC for recovery occupies the carrier holding section 25 can be shortened, allowing the carrier holding section 25 to be quickly vacated for the carrier C that contains the product substrate W. As a result, unprocessed product substrates W can be efficiently fed into the substrate processing device 1, and processed product substrates W can be efficiently recovered, thereby improving productivity.

[0173] It should be noted that "timing alignment" does not necessarily mean a chronological match, but rather that the corresponding events occur within a predetermined time frame acceptable from a productivity standpoint. This predetermined time frame is, for example, about one minute. The same applies to the following explanation.

[0174] Furthermore, the host computer 150 creates a plan for the carrier transport mechanism 300 to transport a supply dummy carrier DC containing usable dummy substrates DW to the carrier holding section 25 of the substrate processing device 1, and controls the operation of the carrier transport mechanism 300 according to that plan. As a result, the supply dummy carrier DC is automatically and promptly supplied to the substrate processing device 1. In the substrate processing device 1, a supply transport schedule is created for transporting dummy substrates DW from the supply dummy carrier DC to the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U, and the dummy substrates DW are transported according to that supply transport schedule. In this way, dummy substrates DW can be supplied to the substrate processing device 1 automatically and promptly, thus reducing downtime of the substrate processing device 1 caused by, for example, a shortage of usable dummy substrates DW. This contributes to improved productivity.

[0175] Furthermore, the host computer 150 commands the substrate processing device 1 to supply and transport dummy substrates DW, so the substrate processing device 1 can plan and execute the supply and transport of dummy substrates DW in a timely manner, that is, the transport of usable dummy substrates DW from the supply dummy carrier DC to the dummy substrate housings 7L and 7U.Therefore, the supply and transport of dummy substrates DW within the substrate processing device 1 can be started in a timely manner that matches the timing of the loading of the supply dummy carrier DC.In addition, the substrate processing device 1 notifies the host computer 150 of the completion of the unloading of dummy substrates DW from the supply dummy carrier DC, and based on this, the host computer 150 plans the unloading of the supply dummy carrier DC and operates the carrier transport mechanism 300 according to that plan.As a result, the supply dummy carrier DC can be unloaded from the carrier holding section 25 at a time that matches the completion of the unloading of dummy substrates DW from the supply dummy carrier DC. In this way, the supply dummy carrier DC can be automatically and promptly discharged from the carrier holding section 25 of the substrate processing apparatus 1. This reduces the time that the supply dummy carrier DC occupies the carrier holding section 25, allowing the carrier holding section 25 to be quickly vacated to hold the carrier C that contains the product substrates W. As a result, unprocessed product substrates W can be efficiently fed into the substrate processing apparatus 1, and processed product substrates W can be efficiently recovered, thereby improving productivity.

[0176] Figure 12 is an illustrative vertical cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and shows the configuration in a vertical cross-section corresponding to the vertical cross-section in Figure 2. Compared with the first embodiment described above, in this embodiment, the intermediate gap wall 16 separating the first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU has been removed. Furthermore, the support columns 83 that guide the vertical movement of the main transport robots 8L and 8U extend vertically across the first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU. As a result, the main transport robots 8L and 8U are configured to move vertically with a larger stroke than in the first embodiment. Of course, the controller 110 controls the operation of the main transport robots 8L and 8U so that they do not interfere with each other.

[0177] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the two substrate mounting sections 6U and 6L in the first embodiment are replaced by a single substrate mounting section 6. The substrate mounting section 6 is shared by the first processing block layer BL and the second processing block layer BU. That is, the main transport robot 8L of the first processing block layer BL has access to the substrate mounting section 6 and transports the product substrate W between the substrate mounting section 6 and the processing units 11L-43L of the first processing block layer BL. The main transport robot 8L also transports the dummy substrate DW between the substrate mounting section 6, the processing units 11L-43L, and the dummy substrate housing section 7L. Similarly, the main transport robot 8U of the second processing block layer BU has access to the substrate mounting section 6 and transports the product substrate W between the substrate mounting section 6 and the processing units 11U-43U of the second processing block layer BU. Furthermore, the main transport robot 8U transports the dummy substrate DW between the substrate mounting section 6, the processing unit 11U-43U, and the dummy substrate housing section 7U.

[0178] The substrate mounting section 6 includes an unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 and a processed substrate mounting section 62. However, since the substrate mounting section 6 is shared by the first and second processed block layers BL and BU, it is preferable that the unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 and the processed substrate mounting section 62 each have substrate holding shelves 65 and 66 having more slots than in the first embodiment. The substrate holding shelves 65 and 66 provided in the substrate mounting section 6 may be arranged so that at least one (i.e., some or all) slots are accessible by both main transport robots 8L and 8U. More specifically, the substrate holding shelf 65 of the unprocessed substrate mounting section 61 (see Figure 5) may be arranged so that at least one (i.e., some or all) slots are accessible by both main transport robots 8L and 8U. Similarly, the substrate holding rack 66 (see Figure 5) of the pre-processed substrate mounting section 62 may be configured such that at least one (i.e., some or all) of the slots are accessible by both main transport robots 8L and 8U.

[0179] Preferably, the substrate mounting section 6 is arranged in a way that allows access by the indexer robot 26. More specifically, it is preferable that the indexer robot 26 is configured to have access to all slots in the substrate holding shelves 65 and 66 of the substrate mounting section 6, and to be able to load and unload product substrates W or dummy substrates DW to and from them.

[0180] Figure 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and shows the configuration in a longitudinal cross-section corresponding to the longitudinal cross-section in Figure 2. In the first embodiment, windows 4L and 4U corresponding to substrate mounting sections 6L and 6U are formed in the adjacent partition walls 2a and 3a of the indexer block 2 and the processing block 3, but no windows corresponding to dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U are formed. In contrast, in this embodiment, windows 5L and 5U corresponding to dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U are added to the partition walls 2a and 3a.

[0181] By providing these additional windows 5L and 5U, when introducing dummy substrates DW into processing block layers BL and BU, the indexer robot 26 can directly access the dummy substrate housings 7L and 7U to load the dummy substrates DW. Furthermore, when unloading used dummy substrates DW from processing block layers BL and BU, the indexer robot 26 can directly access the dummy substrate housings 7L and 7U to unload the dummy substrates. The main transport robots 8L and 8U do not need to be involved in the loading and unloading of dummy substrates DW. Therefore, the transport load on the main transport robots 8L and 8U can be reduced, thereby improving productivity.

[0182] Figure 14 is an illustrative plan view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the plurality of processing units 11L-43U are divided into a first processing unit group provided in the lower processing block layer BL and a second processing unit group provided in the upper processing block layer BU, with a horizontal intermediate partition wall 16 provided between them. In contrast, in this embodiment, there is no intermediate partition wall 16 that divides the space within the processing block 3 vertically; instead, a central partition wall 18 is provided that divides the space within the processing block 3 horizontally.

[0183] The central partition wall 18 divides the space within the processing block 3 into left and right sections when viewed from the carrier holding section 25 side in the first horizontal direction X. The central partition wall 18 is a flat, plate-shaped partition wall that extends along the first horizontal direction X and the vertical direction Z near the center of the processing block 3 in the second horizontal direction Y (left-right direction). The central partition wall 18 forms a first processing block section B1 located on one side and a second processing block section B2 located on the other side. That is, the first processing block section B1 and the second processing block section B2 are located to the sides of each other. The multiple processing units 11L-43U provided in the processing block 3 are divided into a first processing unit group G1 included in the first processing block section B1 and a second processing unit group G2 included in the second processing block section B2. Since the arrangement of the multiple processing units 11L-43U is similar to that of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the multiple processing units 11L-43U in Figure 14. The first processing unit group G1 consists of multiple processing units 11L, 12L, 13L, 11U, 12U, 13U; 21L, 22L, 23L, 21U, 22U, 23U that form the first tower T1 and the second tower T2. The second processing unit group G2 consists of multiple processing units 31L, 32L, 33L, 31U, 32U, 33U; 41L, 42L, 43L, 41U, 42U, 43U that form the third tower T3 and the fourth tower T4.

[0184] Corresponding to the first processing unit group G1, a first main transport robot 8A is provided on one side of the central partition wall 18. The first main transport robot 8A operates within a first transport space 53A partitioned between the central partition wall 18 and the first processing unit group G1, thereby transporting the product substrate W and dummy substrate DW through the first transport space 53A. Similarly, corresponding to the second processing unit group G2, a second main transport robot 8B is provided on the other side of the central partition wall 18. The second main transport robot 8B operates within a second transport space 53B partitioned between the central partition wall 18 and the second processing unit group G2, thereby transporting the product substrate W and dummy substrate DW through the second transport space 53B. The configurations of the first main transport robot 8A and the second main transport robot 8B are substantially the same as those in the second embodiment shown in Figure 12, so corresponding components are given the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. However, in this embodiment, the support column 83 that guides vertical movement is fixed to the central partition wall 18.

[0185] Furthermore, corresponding to the first processing unit group G1, a first substrate mounting section 6A is provided at the end of the first transport space 53A adjacent to the indexer block 2. In addition, a first dummy substrate housing section 7A is positioned above and / or below the first substrate mounting section 6A so as to partially or completely overlap with the first substrate mounting section 6A in a plan view. Similarly, corresponding to the second processing unit group G2, a second substrate mounting section 6B is provided at the end of the second transport space 53B adjacent to the indexer block 2. In addition, a second dummy substrate housing section 7B is positioned above and / or below the second substrate mounting section 6B so as to partially or completely overlap with the second substrate mounting section 6B in a plan view.

[0186] The first main transport robot 8A has access to the multiple processing units constituting the first processing unit group G1, the first substrate mounting section 6A, and the first dummy substrate housing section 7A. As a result, the first main transport robot 8A transports the product substrate W between the multiple processing units constituting the first processing unit group G1 and the first substrate mounting section 6A. The first main transport robot 8A also transports the dummy substrate DW between the multiple processing units constituting the first processing unit group G1, the first substrate mounting section 6A, and the first dummy substrate housing section 7A. In this embodiment, the first main transport robot 8A cannot access the second processing unit group G2, the second substrate mounting section 6B, or the second dummy substrate housing section 7B.

[0187] Similarly, the second main transport robot 8B can access the multiple processing units constituting the second processing unit group G2, the second substrate mounting section 6B, and the second dummy substrate housing section 7B. Thus, the second main transport robot 8B transports the product substrate W between the multiple processing units constituting the second processing unit group G2 and the second substrate mounting section 6B. Furthermore, the second main transport robot 8B transports the dummy substrate DW between the multiple processing units constituting the second processing unit group G2, the second substrate mounting section 6B, and the second dummy substrate housing section 7B. In this embodiment, the second main transport robot 8B cannot access the first processing unit group G1, the first substrate mounting section 6A, or the first dummy substrate housing section 7A.

[0188] The indexer robot 26 can access the carriers C and DC held by the carrier holding section 25, the first substrate mounting section 6A, and the second substrate mounting section 6B, and transports the product substrate W and dummy substrate DW between them. In this embodiment, the indexer robot 26 cannot access either the first dummy substrate housing section 7A or the second dummy substrate housing section 7B. Of course, the indexer robot 26 also cannot access the first processing unit group G1 and the second processing unit group G2.

[0189] This fourth embodiment may be modified in accordance with the second embodiment described above (see Figure 12), and instead of the first substrate mounting section 6A and the second substrate mounting section 6B, a substrate mounting section that can be commonly accessed by the indexer robot 26, the first main transport robot 8A, and the second main transport robot 8B may be provided. For example, a notch can be provided at the end of the central partition wall 18 on the indexer block 2 side to accommodate a substrate mounting section shared by the first processing unit group G1 and the second processing unit group G2.

[0190] Furthermore, the fourth embodiment may be modified in accordance with the third embodiment described above (see Figure 13) to allow the indexer robot 26 to access the first dummy substrate housing section 7A and the second dummy substrate housing section 7B. This allows the indexer robot 26 to load / unload dummy substrates DW into and out of the first dummy substrate housing section 7A and the second dummy substrate housing section 7B without the involvement of the first main transport robot 8A and the second main transport robot 8B.

[0191] Four embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention can be implemented in other forms as well. For example, in the first embodiment described above, the configuration of the processing block 3 was shown, which is made up of two processing block layers BL and BU stacked on top of each other, but the processing block may be made up of three or more processing block layers stacked on top of each other. Also, in the first embodiment described above, an example was shown in which each processing block layer BL and BU is stacked in three stages to form a processing unit, but the processing units included in each processing block layer may be stacked in two stages, in four or more stages, or all processing units may be arranged in one stage. Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, an example was shown in which processing units 11L-43U are arranged on both sides of the transport paths 51L and 51U, but the processing units may be arranged on one side of the transport paths 51L and 51U. Also, in the first embodiment described above, two processing units are arranged along the transport paths 51L and 51U on one side of the transport paths 51L and 51U, but one processing unit may be arranged, or three or more processing units may be arranged.

[0192] Furthermore, in the aforementioned first embodiment, the dummy substrate housing sections 7L and 7U of each processing block layer BL and BU are provided with the same number of dummy substrate slots DL1-DL12 and DU1-DU12 as the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U, and these slots correspond one-to-one with the processing units 11L-43L and 11U-43U. However, for example, the number of dummy substrate slots in each processing block layer BL and BU may be less than the number of processing units, so that one dummy substrate slot corresponds to multiple processing units.

[0193] Furthermore, although the above-described embodiment showed an example of a substrate processing apparatus in which multiple processing units are divided into multiple processing unit groups, this invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus in which a single main transport robot transports a substrate W or dummy substrate DW to multiple processing units. Moreover, the number of processing units may be one.

[0194] Furthermore, various design modifications can be made within the scope of the matters described in the patent claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0195] C Carrier DC Dummy Carrier W board (product board) DW Dummy Circuit Board 1. Substrate processing device 2 Indexer Blocks 25 Carrier holding part 26 Indexer Robots 3 Processing Blocks BL 1st Processing Block Layer 11L-13L Processing Unit 21L-23L Processing Unit 31L-33L Processing Unit 41L-43L Processing Unit 6L substrate mounting section 7L dummy circuit board housing DL1-DL12 Dummy board slots 8L Main Transport Robot 51L transport route 52L transport space BU (Block Unit) - Second Processing Block Layer 11U-13U Processing Unit 21U-23U Processing Unit 31U-33U Processing Unit 41U-43U Processing Unit 6U PCB mounting section 7U dummy board housing DU1-DU12 Dummy board slots 8U Main Transport Robot 51U Transport Path 52U transport space B1 First Processing Block Section B2 Second Processing Block Section G1 First Processing Unit Group G2 Second Processing Unit Group 8A First Main Transport Robot 8B Second Main Transport Robot 6. Substrate mounting section 6A First substrate mounting section 6B Second substrate mounting section 7A First dummy circuit board housing section 7B Second dummy circuit board housing 110 Controller 150 host computers 300 Carrier transport mechanism 351 Dummy Carrier Storage Area

Claims

1. A carrier holding section that holds a carrier for housing a substrate or dummy substrate, A processing unit that processes a substrate and performs processing using a dummy substrate, A dummy circuit board housing section for housing a dummy circuit board, A substrate mounting section on which the substrate is placed, A first transport unit that can access the processing unit, the dummy substrate housing section, and the substrate mounting section, transports a substrate between the processing unit and the substrate mounting section, and transports a dummy substrate between the processing unit, the dummy substrate housing section, and the substrate mounting section, A second transport unit that is accessible to the carrier holding section and the substrate mounting section, and transports the substrate between the carrier holding section and the substrate mounting section, A storage unit that stores usage history information of the dummy board housed in the dummy board housing section, Based on the usage history information stored in the storage unit, the expiration date notification unit notifies the expiration date information of the dummy board housed in the dummy board housing unit, A transport control unit that controls the transport of a substrate or dummy substrate by the first transport unit and the second transport unit, A substrate processing apparatus, including

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores at least one of the following information as usage history information: the number of times the dummy substrate has been used, the usage time, and the wear status.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage unit stores the usage history information and the expiration date threshold information corresponding to the usage history information.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the dummy substrate housing unit houses a plurality of dummy substrates, and the storage unit stores the usage history information and the expiration date threshold information for each dummy substrate.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, comprising a plurality of processing units, wherein the correspondence between the plurality of dummy substrates and the plurality of processing units is predetermined, and the storage unit stores information representing the correspondence.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the expiration date notification unit compares the usage history information with the expiration date threshold information and notifies the expiration date information of the dummy substrate based on the result of the comparison.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the user of the expiration date information of the dummy substrate housed in the dummy substrate housing unit based on the usage history information stored in the storage unit.

8. A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, A carrier transport unit that loads a dummy carrier for collecting used dummy circuit boards into the carrier holding section, A substrate processing system comprising: a host computer that, upon receiving notification of expiration date information from the expiration date notification unit, plans the transport of a dummy carrier for recovery by the carrier transport unit into the carrier holding unit, and based on this plan, causes the carrier transport unit to transport the dummy carrier for recovery into the carrier holding unit and commands the substrate processing device to transport the dummy substrate for recovery.

9. The substrate processing system according to claim 8, wherein the host computer obtains information from the substrate processing apparatus regarding the collection of dummy substrates to the dummy recovery carrier, plans for the carrier transport unit to remove the dummy recovery carrier containing the used dummy substrates from the carrier holding section, and based on this plan, the carrier transport unit removes the dummy recovery carrier from the carrier holding section.

10. A schedule creation unit for creating a transport schedule for substrates or dummy substrates by the first transport unit and the second transport unit, further including a schedule creation unit for creating a transport schedule for transporting and retrieving dummy substrates for which the expiration date information has been notified from the dummy substrate housing unit to the carrier holding unit, The substrate processing system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the schedule creation unit further creates a transport schedule for transporting usable dummy substrates from the carrier holding unit to the dummy substrate housing unit.

11. The carrier transport unit operates to transport a supply dummy carrier containing a usable dummy circuit board into the carrier holding section. The substrate processing system according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the host computer plans the transport of a supply dummy carrier by the carrier transport unit to transport a supply dummy carrier to the carrier holding section, and based on the plan, causes the carrier transport unit to transport a supply dummy carrier to the carrier holding section and commands the substrate processing device to transport a usable dummy substrate.

12. The substrate processing system according to claim 11, wherein the host computer obtains information from the substrate processing apparatus regarding the discharge of dummy substrates from the supply dummy carrier, plans the discharge of the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section by the carrier transport unit, and based on the plan, the carrier transport unit discharges the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section.

13. The substrate processing system according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the carrier transport unit transports a dummy carrier for retrieval or a dummy carrier for supply between the carrier holding section and a dummy carrier storage area different from the carrier holding section.

14. The process involves transporting the substrate between the processing unit and the substrate placement section using a first transport unit, The processing unit includes the step of processing the substrate transported by the first transport unit, The process involves transporting a dummy substrate between the processing unit and the dummy substrate housing unit using the first transport unit, The processing unit includes the step of performing dummy processing using a dummy substrate transported by the first transport unit, The process involves transporting the substrate by a second transport unit between the carrier held in the carrier holding section and the substrate mounting section, A step of recording usage history information of the dummy board housed in the dummy board housing section, A step of determining the expiration date of the dummy substrate based on the usage history information, Based on the determination of the expiration date, a recovery and transport process is performed to transport the dummy substrate that has reached its expiration date from the dummy substrate housing section to the carrier holding section for recovery. A substrate processing method, including the following.

15. A supply dummy carrier loading process involves using a carrier transport unit to load a supply dummy board containing a usable dummy board into the carrier holding section. The substrate processing method according to claim 14, further comprising a supply and transport step of transporting a usable dummy substrate from the carrier holding section to the dummy substrate housing section.

16. The substrate processing method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of unloading the supply dummy carrier from the carrier holding section by the carrier transport unit at a timing that coincides with the completion of unloading the dummy substrate from the supply dummy carrier in the supply transport process.

17. A process for transporting a dummy carrier for collecting used dummy circuit boards into the carrier holding section by a carrier transport unit, A recovery and transport process for transporting used dummy circuit boards from the dummy circuit board housing section to the carrier holding section and then loading them into the recovery dummy carrier, The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, further comprising the step of unloading the dummy substrate from the carrier holding section by the carrier transport unit at a timing that coincides with the completion of loading the dummy substrate into the dummy carrier for recovery in the recovery transport step.

18. Multiple processing units are provided, The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the dummy substrate housing unit houses a plurality of dummy substrates whose correspondence with the plurality of processing units is predetermined.

19. A step of transporting a substrate by a first transport unit between a plurality of processing units and a substrate mounting section, In the plurality of processing units, the process includes processing the substrate transported by the first transport unit, The process involves transporting the dummy substrate between the plurality of processing units and the dummy substrate housing unit using the first transport unit, In the aforementioned plurality of processing units, the process includes performing dummy processing using dummy substrates transported by the first transport unit, The process includes the step of transporting the substrate by a second transport unit between the carrier held in the carrier holding section and the substrate mounting section, A substrate processing method comprising a dummy substrate housing section housing a plurality of dummy substrates whose correspondence with the plurality of processing units is predetermined.

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