Substrate processing device, mapping device, substrate processing method, semiconductor device manufacturing method, and program

Abstract

Provided is a technology capable of economically and safely operating a substrate processing device by mixing wafers different in material. The substrate processing device comprises: a mapping device that determines a material of a substrate transported into the substrate processing device while the substrate is stored in a carrier; and a control unit configured to hold first information relating to the material of the transported substrate in the substrate processing device while updating the first information and to be able to control the substrate processing device so as to send out, when the first information does not satisfy a condition determined for a current operation mode among conditions each determined for each of the plurality of operation modes, the carrier storing the substrate that does not satisfy the predetermined condition.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus, mapping apparatus, substrate processing method, semiconductor device manufacturing method and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a mapping apparatus, a substrate processing method, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a program.

[0002] At a cassette transfer table on which a wafer cassette transferred by an external transfer device or a person is placed, the loading (storage) state of wafers in the wafer cassette may be checked (wafer mapping) (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-150094 International Publication No. 2018 / 154829 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-182351 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-106575 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-171648

[0004] In batch-type substrate processing equipment, wafers made of different materials, such as Si (silicon) and SiC (silicon carbide), are mixed and loaded into a processing furnace for heat treatment. However, because some wafers are made of materials that cannot be used at certain processing temperatures, a protection function is required to stop processing if such wafers are mistakenly handed over to the equipment.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a technique that enables economical and safe operation of an apparatus that allows for the mixing of wafers made of different materials.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a technology including: a mapping device that determines the material of a substrate stored in a carrier and loaded into a substrate processing apparatus; and a control unit that updates and stores first information on the material of the loaded substrate in the substrate processing apparatus, and is configured to control the substrate processing apparatus to eject a carrier storing a substrate that does not satisfy a specified condition for a current operation mode among conditions defined for each of a plurality of operation modes.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, an apparatus that handles a mixture of wafers made of different materials can be operated economically and safely.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cassette stage and a cassette transport device according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a control system for wafer mapping using a laser sensor. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cassette transfer unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a comb sensor and a wafer attitude alignment device provided on the cassette stage. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a wafer detection flow using a laser sensor. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a substrate processing method according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a boat MAP displayed on a screen by a main control unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of a laser sensor in a modified example, and is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a side of a substrate processing apparatus.

[0009] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that all drawings used in the following description are schematic, and the dimensional relationships, ratios, etc. of the elements shown in the drawings do not necessarily correspond to the actual ones. Furthermore, the dimensional relationships, ratios, etc. of the elements do not necessarily correspond between multiple drawings. Furthermore, substantially identical elements are assigned the same reference numerals between multiple drawings, and each element is described in the drawing in which it first appears, and its description is omitted in subsequent drawings unless otherwise necessary. Unless otherwise specified in the specification, each element is not limited to one, and multiple elements may be present.

[0010] (1) Substrate Processing Apparatus In this embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as a processing apparatus) is configured as, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs processing steps in a semiconductor device manufacturing method.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1 , a processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment includes a housing 11, the interior of which is divided by a wall 70 into a transfer chamber 50 and a cassette holding chamber 60. A cassette transfer unit 12 is provided on the front surface of the housing 11, i.e., the entire surface (X1 side) of the cassette holding chamber 60. The X1-X2 direction is the front-to-rear direction of the processing apparatus 10, the Y2-Y1 direction is the left-to-right direction, and the Z1-Z2 direction is the up-to-down direction. The cassette transfer unit 12 includes a cassette stage device (also referred to as a cassette loader or I / O port) 13 capable of mounting two open cassettes (hereinafter simply referred to as cassettes) 2 serving as substrate containers that are carriers for wafers 1 as substrates, and two wafer attitude alignment devices 14 are provided below the cassette stage device 13. The mounting table 44 (described later) of the cassette stage device 13 receives the cassette 2 transported by an external transport device (not shown) in a vertical position (with the wafers 1 stored in the cassette 2 being vertical).

[0012] The mounting table 44 (described later) of the cassette stage device 13 receives the cassette 2 transported by an external transport device (not shown) in a vertical position (a state in which the wafers 1 stored in the cassette 2 are vertical). The wafer position alignment device 14 aligns the position of the wafers 1 stored in the vertically oriented cassette 2 so that the notches and orientation flats (hereinafter referred to as orientation flats) of the wafers 1 are aligned. The mounting table 44 is configured to be able to rotate the cassette 2 by 90 degrees between a vertical position and a horizontal position (a state in which the wafers 1 stored in the cassette 2 are horizontal and the access opening of the cassette 2 faces the X2 direction). The cassette holding chamber 60 is provided with a cassette shelf 15 facing the cassette transfer unit 12, and a spare cassette shelf 16 is provided above the cassette transfer unit 12.

[0013] A cassette transport device 17 is provided between the cassette transfer unit 12 and the cassette shelf 15. The cassette transport device 17 is equipped with a robot arm 18 that can move a horizontally oriented cassette back and forth in the X1-X2 direction, and the robot arm 18 itself is configured to be able to move laterally and up and down. The robot arm 18 transports the cassette 2, which is in a horizontal position on the cassette stage device 13, to the cassette shelf 15 or the spare cassette shelf 16 by moving forward and backward (forward and backward), up and down, and laterally. The cassette shelf 15 and the spare cassette shelf 16 function as buffers that store the loaded wafers in the cassettes used to load them into the processing equipment until they are needed.

[0014] The transfer chamber 50 is equipped with a wafer transfer device 19, a wafer holder 20, wafer holding plates 21, a boat elevator 22, and the like. The wafer transfer device (transfer machine) 19 is installed behind (on the X2 side of) the cassette shelf 15 so as to be rotatable and movable up and down, and transfers wafers 1 in the cassette 2 to a substrate support (hereinafter referred to as a boat) 25, either collectively or individually. The wafer transfer device 19 is equipped with an advancing / retracting mechanism 20 that moves the multiple wafer holding plates 21 back and forth, and can access the facing cassette 2 in the cassette shelf 15 through an opening in the wall 70.

[0015] The boat elevator 22 is provided behind (on the X2 side of) the wafer transfer device 19 and holds a seal cap 24 via an arm 23 so that the seal cap 24 can be raised and lowered.

[0016] The processing apparatus 10 includes a reaction tube (processing tube) 31 made of a highly heat-resistant material such as quartz or SiC, and is arranged vertically with its axis perpendicular. The cylindrical hollow portion of the reaction tube 31 forms a processing chamber 32 in which multiple wafers 1 are accommodated, and the lower end of the reaction tube 31 opens to the transfer chamber 50, forming a furnace port 33 for loading and unloading the wafers 1. The furnace port 33 is closed by a seal cap 24.

[0017] A seal cap 24 for closing the furnace throat 33 is adapted to abut against the lower end surface of the reaction tube 31 from below in the vertical direction. The seal cap 24 is formed in a disk shape and is adapted to be moved up and down in the vertical direction by a boat elevator 22 provided outside the reaction tube 31. A furnace throat shutter 28 for sealing the furnace throat 33 when the seal cap 24 is moved to the lower end position may be provided.

[0018] A boat 25 for holding wafers 1 is supported vertically on the seal cap 24. The boat 25 has a pair of upper and lower end plates 26, 27 and a plurality of holding members (pillars) (three in this embodiment) arranged vertically between the end plates 26, 27. Each holding member has a number of holding grooves that are equally spaced in the longitudinal direction and recessed so that they open opposite each other. The wafers 1 are held in a horizontally aligned position with their centers aligned within the boat 25 by inserting their outer peripheral edges between the multiple holding grooves of each holding member.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the cassette transport device 17 includes a CZ drive unit 171 that moves the robot arm 18 up and down (Z1-Z2 direction) and a CS drive unit 172 that moves the CZ drive unit 171 left and right (Y2-Y1 direction). This allows the robot arm 18 to access a cassette at any position by moving back and forth, laterally, and vertically. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the laser sensor 101 is mounted at the base of the robot arm 18, facing in the X1 direction, a predetermined distance (d) away from the wafer 1. Alternatively, the laser sensor 101 may be mounted on the robot hand 173 and be movable forward and backward. The wafers 1 stored in the cassette 2 placed on the cassette stage device 13 are horizontal. Therefore, by moving the laser sensor 101 laterally and vertically, it can be moved in front of the access opening of the cassette 2 in the arrangement direction of the stored wafers 1 (Z1-Z2 direction), as shown in FIG. 3. The predetermined distance d may vary depending on the diameter of the wafer, but the range of variation is sufficiently smaller than d and is within the operating range of the laser sensor 101. This allows the laser sensor 101 to be commonly used for wafers of different diameters, improving versatility.

[0020] The laser sensor 101 is a reflective sensor that emits a laser beam (reference beam) substantially parallel to the main surface of the wafer 1 in the forward direction (X1 direction) and receives the laser beam reflected from the edge of the wafer 1. The laser sensor 101 includes, for example, a light-projecting circuit, a light-projecting element controlled by the light-projecting circuit, a light-receiving element that receives the reflected light, and a light-receiving circuit that outputs the amount of received light. The laser sensor 101 is preferably a limited reflective sensor having a detection area that extends flat within a single plane and a predetermined distance. By installing the laser sensor 101 so that the "single plane" is approximately parallel to the main surface of the wafer 1, erroneous detection due to reflected light from sources other than the wafer 1 can be prevented. Furthermore, the diameter or thickness of the laser beam when it extends flat is preferably 5 times or less (e.g., 3.5 mm or less) the thickness of the wafer to be detected, and more preferably converged so that the half-width is 0.1 mm or less. This provides a sharp intensity distribution, making it possible to determine the thickness of the wafer. Note that although a reflective sensor has been described as an example of the sensor attached to the robot arm 18, a transmissive sensor that irradiates a reference light in the Y2-Y1 direction and detects the light that is not blocked by the wafer 1 may also be used. The trigger sensor 104 detects that the laser sensor 101 has reached a reference position. The reference position is, for example, a position where the height of the center of the laser light or detection area is the same as the bottom surface of the cassette 2 when the wafer is in a horizontal position.

[0021] The sub-control unit 100 included in the processing device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0022] The sub-controller 100 is configured as a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 100a, a storage device 100b, an I / O unit 100c, and a communication unit 100d. The sub-controller 100 can be implemented by an industrial PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).

[0023] A control program for controlling the operation of the mapping device and the like are stored in the storage device 100b in a readable manner. The storage device 100b is configured as a computer-readable tangible recording medium.

[0024] The I / O unit 100c includes an analog input unit, a contact input unit, etc., which are connected to the laser sensor 101, the trigger sensor 104, etc. The communication unit 100d is a device that communicates with the main control unit 120 provided in the processing device 10.

[0025] The output (current value) of the laser sensor 101 is input to the I / O unit 100c via an amplifier 102 and a cable 103. The output of a trigger sensor 104 of the cassette transport device 17 is also input to the I / O unit 100c. The sub-controller 100, the laser sensor 101, and the cassette transport device 17 form a second mapping device.

[0026] The main control unit 120 will now be described. The main control unit 120 is configured as a computer including a CPU 121, a main storage device 122, and the like.

[0027] The main control unit 120 is configured to perform processing based on the recipe by having the CPU 121 read and execute a program, recipe, and WAP (Web Application Programming Application) described below from the auxiliary storage device 123 into the main storage device 122, and to control the rotation of the mounting table 44, the wafer attitude alignment device 14, the operation control of the robot arm 18 of the cassette transport device 17, the rotation and elevation control of the wafer transfer device 19, the elevation control of the boat elevator 22, and the sub-control unit 100 via the communication unit 124 and I / O unit 125. A recipe is prepared for each type of processing performed by the processing device. The main control unit 120 can be communicably connected to a host control device (not shown) that manages the semiconductor device manufacturing process. The auxiliary storage device 123 can include a recording medium such as an optical disk or a USB memory.

[0028] The main control unit 120 can operate the processing apparatus 10 in one mode selected from multiple modes. In this example, the modes include a high-temperature mode (material restriction mode), a low-temperature mode (material-free mode), and an automatic mode (material selection mode). The high-temperature mode prevents wafers with usable temperatures lower than the processing temperature from being introduced into the processing apparatus. The low-temperature mode is a mode that does not discriminate between materials. The automatic mode is a mode in which the processing apparatus recognizes the material and places it in the appropriate slot on the boat. In the high-temperature mode, assuming mixed operation of Si and SiC wafers, all wafers in the processing apparatus 10 must be SiC wafers, while in the low-temperature mode, all wafers in the processing apparatus 10 may be either SiC or Si. As an example, the high-temperature mode and low-temperature mode can be automatically switched depending on whether the processing temperature is higher or lower than the upper limit of the usable temperature for Si wafers. The usable temperature refers to a temperature at which the wafers and the processing chamber 32 can be used without being damaged when placed in the processing chamber 32 and subjected to the desired processing.

[0029] The operation mode can be automatically selected according to the processing temperature or WAP set in the main controller 120, or can be manually set through the HMI (Human Machine Interface) 126 regardless of the processing temperature. If a cassette containing Si wafers made of prohibited materials is loaded during operation in the high temperature mode, the main controller 120 controls the processing apparatus 10 to eject the cassette.

[0030] The cassette transfer unit 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0031] A frame 43 is formed by fixing a front plate 41 on the X1 direction side and a rear plate (not shown) on the X2 direction side to the lower part of a left side plate 38 on the Y2 direction side and a right side plate 39 on the Y1 direction side, and the lower part of the frame 43 is shaped like a square tube.

[0032] Two hinge members 35, one above the other, are fixed to the outer surface of the right side plate 39 at the end on the front plate 41 side. Two hinge members 36 are fixed to the front side (X1 direction side) of the housing 11 shown in Figure 1 and are connected to the corresponding hinge members 35. The cassette stage device 13 is rotatably supported relative to the housing 11 by the hinge members 35, which are rotatable around axes in the Z1-Z2 direction.

[0033] The rotary shaft 49 supports the mounting table 44 on the left and right plates 38 and 39 so that it can rotate around the CY axis. The mounting table 44 includes a pair of rotary plates 45a and 45b, an internal transfer stage 46, an external transfer stage 47, and a lower plate 48. The rotary plates 45a and 45b are fixed to the rotary shaft 49 on the CY axis and rigidly connected to each other by the lower plate 48. The mounting table 44 is rotatable around the rotary shaft 49. The internal transfer stage 46 is fixed to the rotary plates 45a and 45b and / or the lower plate 48. The external transfer stage 47 is attached to the horizontally positioned rotary plates 45a and 45b via multiple guides 51 that allow movement in only one direction so that the cassette can move up and down in a vertical position. An air cylinder 52 is provided between the internal transfer stage 46 and the external transfer stage 47 and drives the external transfer stage 47 up and down. Two cassettes 2 can be placed on the internal transfer stage 46 and the external transfer stage 47 .

[0034] Two wafer alignment holes 53 are provided at a predetermined interval in the external transfer stage 47. Below the wafer alignment holes 53, the wafer attitude adjustment device 14 is provided on the lower plate 48.

[0035] A drive unit 65 that rotates the rotation shaft 49 is attached to the outer surface of the right side plate 39. The drive unit 65 includes, for example, an AC servo motor, a worm gear box, a position sensor, etc., and is configured to be able to rotate the cassette 2 on the mounting table 44 by 90 degrees between a horizontal position and a vertical position.

[0036] An example of the wafer position adjusting device 14 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0037] The wafer posture alignment device 14 includes a support table 141, a pair of rollers 142a and 142b rotatably mounted horizontally on the support table 141, a rotation drive device 143, and a stopper 144 provided adjacent to the roller 142b. The pair of rollers 142a and 142b extend in the alignment direction (X1-X2 direction) of the group of wafers 1 stored in the cassette 2. The rotation drive device 143 synchronously rotates the rollers 142a and 142b in the same direction. The wafer posture alignment device 14 is configured to be able to move up and down relative to the cassette 2 placed on the mounting table 44. During alignment, the wafer position alignment device 14 is raised so that the multiple wafers 1 inside the cassette 2 placed on the cassette stage device 13 come into contact with the rollers 142a and 142b, and the wafers 1 are rotated in the same direction by both rollers 142a and 142b, thereby aligning the orientation flats of the multiple wafers 1 to a specific location. In other words, orientation flat alignment is performed mechanically by rotating the rollers 142a and 142b so that the wafers 1 rotate at least one full rotation, and when the orientation flats are aligned, the rotation is restricted by stopper 144, causing the rollers 142a and 142b to idle. Notch alignment is also achieved by a similar mechanism.

[0038] The wafer posture alignment device 14 also includes a comb sensor 111 that detects the presence or absence of wafers 1 of a predetermined material in the cassette 2 before wafer posture alignment (when the wafers 1 are vertical). The comb sensor 111 is installed in the cassette stage device 13 so as not to mechanically interfere with the cassette 2. The comb sensor 111 is attached to the side of the support base 141 on the roller 142a side (Y2 side) so as to be movable up and down relative to the cassette 2. The comb sensor 111 can move between a detection position and a retracted position to detect wafers of all sizes included in the detection parameters described below. This allows the comb sensor 111 to be used commonly for wafers of different diameters, improving versatility. Wafer mapping using the comb sensor 111 is performed with the cassette 2 in a different posture than that used for wafer mapping using the laser sensor 101. This allows the comb sensor 111 to be installed in a different position from the laser sensor 101.

[0039] The comb sensor 111 is configured in a comb shape with a plurality of pairs of transmission-type photoelectric sensors, each consisting of a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element, arranged in the direction in which the wafers 1 are arranged, the number of which corresponds to the number of wafers 1 that can be accommodated in the cassette 2. The light-emitting element and the light-receiving element facing each other detect the presence or absence of each wafer 1 on the optical path between them. The light-emitting element is configured, for example, by a near-infrared or visible light-emitting diode, and the light-receiving element is configured, for example, by a phototransistor.

[0040] The light-emitting unit is disposed in the wafer placement area, i.e., on one side of the storage area (slot) for each wafer 1 in the cassette 2 in this example. The light-receiving unit is disposed on the incident optical path of light from the light-emitting unit, facing the light-emitting unit across the storage area for the wafer 1. When the external receiving stage 47 is lowered, the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting unit faces the first surface of the wafer 1, and the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving unit faces the second surface of the wafer 1 opposite the first surface. In other words, the comb sensor 111 is configured to be movable relative to the cassette 2 on the cassette stage device 13 between a detection position where it can detect a substrate and a retracted position. The detection position can be a position that can be commonly applied to wafers of all sizes. The comb sensor 111 and the air cylinder 52 constitute a first mapping device. The first mapping device and the second mapping device are collectively referred to as mapping devices.

[0041] The comb sensor 111 is a transmission sensor that irradiates the wafer 1 with reference light and detects the light transmitted through the wafer 1. If the wafer 1 is a non-transparent wafer (e.g., a silicon wafer), the light-receiving unit receives (detects) the light emitted from the light-emitting unit (reference light) when the wafer 1 is not present, but does not receive (detect) the light emitted from the light-emitting unit (reference light) when the wafer 1 is present. This allows the presence or absence of the wafer 1 to be detected. The presence or absence of the wafer 1 is actually determined by threshold processing of the amount of received light designed for silicon wafers, which have a transmittance of zero reference light. Note that if the wafer 1 is a transparent wafer (e.g., a quartz wafer), the amount of transmitted light exceeds the threshold, making it impossible to determine the presence or absence of the wafer. Furthermore, detection of SiC wafers, which have transmittance between that of silicon and quartz, is not guaranteed. Furthermore, the opening at the bottom of the cassette does not have enough space to accommodate a comb sensor designed for SiC wafers.

[0042] In this embodiment, the presence or absence of a wafer and its type are determined by combining the detection of comb sensor 111 and laser sensor 101. Wafer mapping using laser sensor 101 will be described below with reference to FIG. 6 and Tables 1 to 3. Wafer mapping in the following description is performed under the control of main control unit 120 and sub control unit 100.

[0043] (Step S10) The main control unit 120 prepares, as setting information, information regarding the cassette type and the presence / absence and type of wafers in each slot for the inserted cassette. This information, which will be described in detail later, is either notified each time by the upper control device of the processing device 10, preset in the device as WAP (wafer placement parameters), or manually input when the cassette is inserted. This identifies the size and material of each wafer 1 in the cassette 2, and the corresponding master data is read from the tables shown in Tables 1 and 2. The master data is a parameter required for detecting wafers from the sensor output obtained in time series by the lifting and lowering operation of the laser sensor 101. It is empirically created based on the sensor output and detection results of previous successful detections, and is registered for each size and material combination. This makes it possible to configure a general-purpose sensor system simply by replacing the master data.

[0044] The master data consists of a cassette table shown in Table 1 and a detection parameter table shown in Table 2. First, the cassette table will be explained. As shown in Table 1, the cassette table specifies the specifications of cassettes, which differ for each wafer size. "Cassette" in the first column is a name that identifies the cassette, and is listed here from A to D. The second column holds the number of slots. "Slot spacing" in the third column is the width of the slot (also called pitch), in units of 0.05 mm. For example, 127 means 6.35 mm. "Reference slot height" is the height of the lowest slot from the bottom end of cassette 2, in units of 0.05 mm.

[0045]

[0046] (Step S11) The main control unit 120 appropriately moves the robot arm 18 to a position slightly below the trigger sensor 104 and instructs the sub-control unit 100 to prepare for scanning. The robot arm 18 is then raised at a constant speed. The sub-control unit 100 turns on the light emission of the laser sensor 101 and begins sampling the received light intensity of the laser sensor 101 when the trigger sensor 104, such as a dog sensor, detects that the laser sensor 101 has passed the reference position. Since the laser sensor 101 is a reflective sensor, the received light intensity (amount of received light) is high where the wafer 1 is present and low where the wafer 1 is not present. This is acquired as scan data. In this example, the minimum drive unit, elevation speed, and sampling rate of the CZ drive unit are designed so that received light intensity data can be obtained at 0.05 mm intervals. This allows a height position resolution of 0.05 mm to be achieved, as described below.

[0047] (Step S12) The main control unit 120 performs threshold processing (binarization processing) on ​​the scan data acquired from the sub-control unit 110, and extracts the section where the scan data continuously exceeds the threshold as detection data. The detection data corresponds to the thickness of the wafer 1. The threshold used here is common to all combinations of substrate size and material. This is because the reflection intensity from the edge surface has relatively low dependency on the substrate size and material.

[0048] (Step S13) The position of each slot is calculated by referring to the cassette table of the master data shown in Table 1, and the detection data obtained in step S12 is applied to each slot. To be precise, the cassette is first identified by referring to the master data shown in Table 2, and then the cassette table is referred to.

[0049] (Step S14) From the detection data for each slot, the presence (ON) / absence (OFF) / abnormality of wafer 1 is determined for each slot by referencing the detection parameter table of the master data shown in Table 2. If there is no detection data for a slot, it is determined that there is no wafer 1. If there is multiple pieces of detection data for a slot or if the detection data does not fall within the allowable value range of the detection parameter table, it is determined to be an abnormal slot.

[0050]

[0051] As shown in Table 2, the detection parameter table holds parameters for each wafer type, i.e., for each combination of material and size. The "Registration No." in the first column uniquely identifies the wafer type. The parameters are quantitatively determined from the pattern of received light intensity obtained by repeating step S11 for a known wafer 1 properly stored in a slot in cassette 2. The standard received light pattern can be obtained, for example, by averaging multiple scan data of received light intensity. In the pattern, the wafer-below reference value (slightly lower value) is defined as the position where the received light intensity increases and crosses the threshold, i.e., the bottom edge of wafer 1. The wafer-on reference value (slightly upper value) is defined as the position where the received light intensity decreases and crosses the threshold, i.e., the top edge of wafer 1. The peak intensity can be defined as the maximum received light intensity between the slightly lower and upper values. The "intermediate position offset" can be defined as the distance from the cassette 2 slot position that the intermediate position of the interval where the received light intensity exceeds the threshold.

[0052] The fifth column of the detection parameter table, "Slightly upper-lower interval (min)," is the lower limit of the difference between the slightly upper and lower values ​​for each type of wafer. The sixth column, "Slightly upper-lower interval (max)," is the upper limit of the difference. These are calculated and registered based on the average and standard deviation of the pattern.

[0053] The "Peak Intensity (min)" in the seventh column and the "Peak Intensity (max)" in the eighth column are the lower and upper limits of the peak intensity for each type of wafer, and are calculated and registered based on the average value, standard deviation, or measured minimum and maximum values.

[0054] The "intermediate position offset (min)" in the ninth column and the "intermediate position offset (max)" in the tenth column are the lower and upper limits of the intermediate position offset for each type of wafer, and are calculated and registered based on the average value, standard deviation, or the measured minimum and maximum values. The intermediate position offset may include half the wafer thickness as a factor that biases it positively, and the amount of wafer warpage as a factor that biases it negatively.

[0055] The "peak center deviation (max)" in the 11th column is a value indicating the upper limit of the difference (absolute value) between the position of the peak intensity and the midpoint of the interval where the received light intensity exceeds the threshold for each type of wafer, and is calculated and registered based on the average value, standard deviation, etc. The peak appears when the optical axis of the laser sensor 101 is perpendicular to the edge of the wafer. For wafers with edges of a typical shape, this difference is distributed around 0. A deviation exceeding the peak center deviation (max) suggests an abnormality such as wafer tilt.

[0056] As shown in Table 2, the registered detection parameter table includes "material," "size," and "cassette" in addition to the above. Here, "material" is the material of the wafer 1, such as silicon (Si) or silicon carbide (SiC). "Size" is the diameter of the wafer 1, expressed in mm.

[0057] Note that the values ​​in units of 0.05 mm are given for "micro-upper-lower interval (min)," "micro-upper-lower interval (max)," "peak intensity (min)," "peak intensity (max)," "intermediate position offset (min)," "intermediate position offset (max)," and "peak center shift (max)." For example, "11" is 11 x 0.05 = 0.55 mm.

[0058] The above-mentioned detection parameters are acquired in advance for multiple combinations of wafer size and material, and cassette, and are stored in the memory device of the main control unit 120 or the memory device 100b of the sub-control unit 100 in the data structure shown in Table 2.

[0059] Returning to FIG. 6 , step S14 refers to the cassette type and the wafer type information for each slot acquired in S11, and while appropriately switching detection parameters for each slot, determines whether the detected data is within the tolerance range of the detection parameters. If one or more items are outside the tolerance range, the sub-controller 100 determines that the slot is abnormal and issues a warning. Note that the level of the warning may be varied depending on the items that are outside the tolerance range and the number of items. Furthermore, while the detection parameters are basically those corresponding to the setting information, if an abnormality is detected, the detection may be judged using the detection parameters for a wafer of the same size and material, and if they are present (ON), the value may be set as the final value.

[0060] (Step S15) The material (type) of the wafer is determined for each slot using the determination table shown in Table 3. If the wafer mapping by laser sensor 101 determines the signal to be ON and the wafer mapping by comb sensor 111 determines the signal to be ON, the material of wafer 1 is determined to be Si. If the wafer mapping by laser sensor 101 determines the signal to be ON and the wafer mapping by comb sensor 111 determines the signal to be OFF, the material of wafer 1 is determined to be SiC. If the wafer mapping by laser sensor 101 determines the signal to be OFF and the wafer mapping by comb sensor 111 determines the signal to be OFF, it is determined that wafer 1 is not present.

[0061]

[0062] If the wafer size is known, the thickness of the wafer 1 may be determined from the detection data extracted in step S12, and the material of the wafer 1 may be determined by referring to information correlating the thickness of the wafer 1 with the material of the wafer 1 (detection parameter data shown in Table 2). Also, in the example shown in Table 2, the material can be determined based on peak intensity alone, but this may be difficult to determine. If the material can be determined based on the wafer thickness or peak intensity, the comb sensor 111 is not essential, and the presence or absence and material of the wafer 1 may be determined using only the laser sensor 101.

[0063] Before describing the processing steps, the types of wafers and cassettes (called carrier types) according to their intended use will be explained.

[0064] In batch processing equipment, in addition to product wafers, which are wafers from which actual product devices are obtained, several wafers for specific purposes are placed in the boat at the same time. For example, there are dummy wafers placed above and below the product wafers, and monitor wafers placed in the center or at the edge of the product wafers to inspect the film formation results. Dummy wafers can include dummy wafers in the strict sense, which must be placed, as well as fill dummies that fill boat slots in place of product wafers when regularly processing product wafers that are fewer than the maximum number that can be placed, and adjustment dummies that are temporarily used when there are even fewer product wafers.

[0065] Cassettes can be either specific-purpose carriers, which store only wafers for one of the above-mentioned purposes, or mixed carriers, which store wafers for different purposes that are to be placed together in a boat for a single batch process. Assuming that only specific-purpose carriers are used, a single batch process requires, for example, four product wafer cassettes (P01, P02, and P03) containing three carrier types, one dummy wafer cassette (S01), and one monitor wafer cassette (M01). These are called virtual carriers or logical carriers, and are defined as alias information associated with carrier types such as "product," "dummy," and "monitor." The main control unit 120 associates the virtual carriers with information indicating the type and material of the wafers, assuming that they store only wafers of a single material, and stores the alias information.

[0066] When a mixed carrier is used, a virtual carrier is similarly defined by associating it with a carrier type corresponding to the type of wafers in the majority of the carriers. Furthermore, a slot map indicating which slots contain which wafers for which purposes and materials, is defined for each virtual carrier, and the main control unit 120 associates the alias information with the slot map and stores it. The slot map may be specified based on mapping by the processing device itself, without prior information.

[0067] The alias information and slot map may be stored in advance in the main control unit 120 as part of the information constituting the WAP, or may be notified from a higher-level control device of the processing apparatus 10. The WAP depends on the content of the substrate processing. In other words, a WAP is linked to each recipe.

[0068] (2) Substrate Processing Step Next, a substrate processing method using the reaction tube 31 of the processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. In the substrate processing method described here, the reaction tube 31 of the processing apparatus 10 is used to describe one step in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, for example, a film formation process for forming a film on a wafer 1, as an example. In the following description, the operation of each component of the processing apparatus 10 is controlled by the main control unit 120.

[0069] (Cassette insertion: S20) A cassette 2 loaded with unprocessed wafers 1 is placed on the cassette stage device 13 of the cassette transfer unit 12 with the help of an external transfer device (not shown) or a person. The wafers 1 in the cassette 2 are in a vertical position. At this time, information indicating which virtual carrier the placed cassette corresponds to or the material of each stored wafer is provided by a higher-level control device or a person.

[0070] (First wafer mapping: S21) First, the cassette 2 is placed on the cassette stage device 13, and then wafer mapping is performed by the comb sensor 111. At this time, the wafers 1 in the cassette 2 are in a vertical position. Note that if the wafer material can be identified in the second wafer mapping (S24), this step is unnecessary.

[0071] (Wafer Alignment: S22) Thereafter, the wafer 1 is aligned by the wafer orientation alignment device 14 using an orientation flat or the like.

[0072] (First stage rotation: S23) Next, the cassette stage device 13 rotates 90 degrees, causing the cassette 2 to rotate backward by 90 degrees. The wafers 1 in the cassette 2 become horizontal.

[0073] (Second Wafer Mapping: S24) Next, when the wafer 1 is in a horizontal position in the cassette stage device 13, steps S10 to S15 shown in FIG. 6 are performed. The main control unit 120 updates and stores this result (material information) as the first information, thereby making it possible to grasp the materials of all wafers in all cassettes currently in the processing device 10. In other words, no matter how the cassette is subsequently moved to the cassette shelf 15, the material information acquired in S24 is linked so as to be referenceable. If the cassette is a mixed carrier without a slot map, the material information in S24 becomes the slot map for this cassette.

[0074] (Abnormality Determination: S25) When the processing apparatus 10 is operating in high-temperature mode, if the wafer determined in S24 contains a prohibited material (Si), it is determined to be abnormal, and the process branches to step S36. Furthermore, if there is a slot in which the wafer material and presence / absence identified from the virtual carrier information provided in S20 do not match the wafer material and presence / absence determined in S24, it is determined to be abnormal, and the process branches to step S37. Otherwise, it is determined to be normal, and the process proceeds to S26. S25 can also be said to determine whether the substrate in the carrier (corresponding carrier) loaded into the processing apparatus as corresponding to the virtual carrier is made of a material that satisfies the substrate placement information when transferred to the substrate holder based on the map information. Note that when the operating mode is low-temperature mode, S24 may be omitted, and an abnormality may be determined by comparing only the presence / absence of the wafer based on the results of S21.

[0075] (First cassette movement: S26) Next, the cassette 2 is held by the robot arm 18, and the cassette 2 is transferred by the robot arm 18 to the cassette shelf 15 or the spare cassette shelf 16, where it is temporarily stored. A cassette associated with a virtual carrier may be stored at a position such as the cassette shelf 15 that is fixedly assigned to that virtual carrier.

[0076] (Second cassette movement: S27) When a batch process is started, the main control unit 120 controls the robot arm 18 to sequentially move the cassettes associated with each virtual carrier from the cassette shelf 15 or the spare cassette shelf 16 to a transfer shelf located opposite the wafer transfer device 19 of the cassette shelf 15.

[0077] (First wafer transfer: S28) The wafers 1 in the cassettes 2 placed on the transfer shelf are sequentially transferred to the boat 25 by the wafer transfer device 19. At this time, the main control unit 120 controls the wafer transfer device 19 by referring to a boat MAP, which is map information indicating which slot of which virtual carrier a wafer should be transferred from for each slot of the boat. The boat MAP can be defined in advance by direct specification or can be dynamically generated based on the WAP. The boat MAP and WAP constitute substrate placement information.

[0078] When the main control unit 120 is instructed to display the boat map, it displays a map such as that shown in Figure 8 on the HMI 126. The left column shows boat slot numbers and icons of the wafers to be placed side by side. The center column is information specifying the transfer source, showing the name (identifier) ​​of the virtual carrier and the slot number of that carrier. The right column shows the material of the wafer to be transferred. Note that the wafer icon is displayed filled with a color or pattern corresponding to the type of virtual carrier and the wafer material, and is not displayed if there is no wafer to be placed. It can be seen from Figure 8 that the boat map uniquely corresponds to one of the slots of multiple virtual carriers that are the transfer source.

[0079] The virtual carrier referenced by the substrate placement information and the information on the material of the wafers contained in that virtual carrier are linked by alias information, etc. Furthermore, since it is confirmed in S25 that the material information matches the first information, the substrate placement information and the first information are ultimately linked. In other words, wafer transfer is performed with the material correctly identified. WAP is a general term for parameters that conceptually define the relationship between the wafer type and the boat slot to be placed in, rather than directly specifying it. Using WAP, remaining wafers in a cassette that were not used in the previous batch process can be dynamically determined as the wafer to be transferred. It is sufficient for WAP to identify the wafer type; it is not necessary to identify the material. Similarly, instead of storing a cassette slot map as data corresponding one-to-one to slots, it can be stored as CAP (cassette placement information) that collectively defines wafer types for multiple consecutive slots.

[0080] (Boat Lifting: S29) Next, the boat 25 is loaded into the reaction tube 31 by the boat elevator 22.

[0081] (Film formation process: S30) After the boat 25 has been loaded into the reaction tube 31, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 32 is controlled to maintain a predetermined pressure inside the processing chamber 32. The heater is also used to control the temperature inside the processing chamber 32 to maintain a predetermined temperature, and a source gas and a reactive gas, for example, are supplied into the processing chamber 32 to form a film on the wafer 1.

[0082] (Boat Lowering: S31) After the film formation process, the boat 25 is removed from the reaction tube 31 by the boat elevator 22 (unloading).

[0083] (Second wafer transfer: S32) Next, the processed wafers 1 in the boat 25 are transferred one by one into the cassettes 2 on the transfer shelf by the wafer transfer device 19. Usually, by referring to the boat MAP used in S28, the wafers are returned to the slots of the cassette in which they were originally stored before being removed.

[0084] (Third cassette movement: S33) Next, the cassette 2 on the transfer shelf is moved by the robot arm 18 to the cassette shelf 15 or the spare cassette shelf 16 in sequence.

[0085] (Fourth Cassette Movement: S34) When the cassette 2 is to be carried out of the processing device 10, the cassette 2 is transferred by the robot arm 18 from the cassette shelf 15 or the spare cassette shelf 16 to the cassette stage device 13 of the cassette transfer unit 12.

[0086] (Second Stage Rotation: S35) Next, the cassette 2 is rotated by 90 degrees by the cassette stage device 13 so that the access opening faces upward.

[0087] (Removing the cassette: S36) Thereafter, the cassette 2 is transported outside the housing 11 by the external transport device.

[0088] (Determining prohibited material: S37) If the processing apparatus 10 is operating in high temperature mode and contains wafers made of prohibited material (Si), it is determined that the cassette identified in S24 needs to be removed, and the process branches to S39.

[0089] (Determining the type of abnormality: S38) Depending on whether the abnormality is a material mismatch, missing wafers, or other (excess wafers, etc.), an appropriate response is selected. Specifically, if a WAP is directly specified and there is a material mismatch or missing wafers, it is determined that the current batch processing cannot continue, and the process proceeds to S39. If a WAP is not directly specified, in other words, if dynamic placement is possible, it is determined that the current batch processing can continue, and the process returns to S26. In this case, the boat MAP is modified so that wafers or cassettes that are missing due to a mismatch or other reason are replaced with wafers or cassettes of the same type. If there are insufficient replacement wafers or cassettes, an alarm is sounded to prompt the insertion of cassettes, and processing may be suspended until a sufficient number is inserted.

[0090] (Cassette Removal: S39) If a cassette 2 is determined to be a prohibited material in S37 or if it is determined that processing cannot continue in S37, the corresponding cassette is removed. Specifically, the cassette stage device 13 is controlled to rotate the cassette 2 90 degrees so that the access opening faces upward, making the cassette 2 removable. An alarm or other signal is sounded, prompting an external transport device or other device to remove the cassettes on the cassette stage device 13 from the housing 11. The cassettes to be removed are either the cassette determined to be abnormal in S25 alone, or the entire set of cassettes scheduled to be used in the corresponding batch processing, including the abnormal cassette. The alarm is not cleared until the affected cassette is removed or some kind of reset operation is performed. However, even during the alarm, if the entire set of cassettes to be used in the next batch processing is already stored on the cassette shelf 15, the next batch processing can be continued. Furthermore, if a cassette of the same type as the removed cassette is designated or inserted as a replacement, the current batch processing can be continued.

[0091] Since cassette shelf 15 or the like can store two batches of cassettes 2, in actual operation of the equipment, cassettes 2 from the previous batch that have been processed during the current batch are removed before cassettes 2 from the next batch are loaded. Wafer mapping is performed when cassettes 2 from the next batch are loaded, and if an abnormality is detected, an alarm is sounded to advise the removal of cassettes 2, but the batch currently being processed continues. Furthermore, the time required to remove and reload cassettes 2 overlaps with the processing time of the current batch, so there is no impact on productivity.

[0092] Furthermore, the dispensing of S39 can be postponed. That is, the cassettes may be temporarily stored in the cassette shelf 15 or the like after being made unavailable for selection in batch processing by, for example, canceling the association with the virtual carrier. This makes it possible to avoid interfering with the loading of subsequent cassettes. Furthermore, the abnormality determination of S25 can be postponed until the mapping of virtual carriers (S24) for one batch processing is all completed.

[0093] According to this aspect, one or more of the following effects can be obtained.

[0094] (a) During operation in the high temperature mode (material restriction mode), it is possible to ensure that no wafers made of prohibited materials are present within the processing apparatus 10 except on the cassette stage device 13, and it is possible to reliably prevent damage to the wafers and the processing chamber 32 that would result from wafers made of prohibited materials being loaded into and processed in the processing chamber 32. For example, in a processing chamber that processes SiC wafers at high temperatures of 1500° C. or higher, the Si wafers will melt, so it is necessary to avoid mixing SiC wafers and Si wafers within the cassette 2.

[0095] (b) When operating in automatic mode (material selection mode), wafer materials can be recognized and transported from the processing equipment I / O port to the boat, allowing the equipment to be operated flexibly and efficiently using specific-purpose carriers containing wafers of a single material or mixed carriers containing wafers of multiple materials. For example, wafers provided by a virtual carrier can be transferred to the appropriate slots in the boat, making the equipment compatible with multiple wafer materials.

[0096] (c) During operation in low-temperature mode (material-specific mode), full backward compatibility with material-agnostic WAPs and recipes is maintained. In other words, mixed operation is possible by preparing a cassette containing wafers of different materials correctly and setting the processing temperature correctly for the material with the lowest usable temperature limit. It is also desirable to provide an interlock during low-temperature mode that prevents the execution of recipes that exceed a typical usable temperature limit (e.g., 1400°C).

[0097] (d) It is possible to distinguish between SiC wafers and Si wafers for side dummy stored in a single cassette 2. This makes it possible to operate a mixed carrier. In other words, as long as the processing temperature is below the usable temperature, bare Si wafers (wafers without patterns formed thereon), which are cheaper than SiC wafers, can be used for some or all of the side dummy wafers placed on the upper and lower ends of the boat 25. As a result, the processing equipment can be operated economically.

[0098] (e) In an apparatus that switches between multiple recipes, a WAP is selected according to the recipe, and the material of the wafers to be transferred to the boat is identified by the WAP, making it possible to automatically switch the operation mode based on the material and processing temperature. For example, if there is a recipe for processing only Si wafers and a recipe for processing only SiC wafers, the former will operate in low-temperature mode and the latter in high-temperature mode. This allows the apparatus to be used for both SiC and Si, further improving the apparatus's operating rate.

[0099] (f) The laser sensor 101 is a scanning type and can detect boards regardless of their material because it compares them with master data. This makes it possible to detect the positions of multiple types of boards without changing the hardware. In other words, software can handle differences in board size and cassette pitch.

[0100] (g) Since the data is compared with the master data, it is possible to detect abnormalities such as deformation of the cassette as well as the substrate.

[0101] (h) Since the laser sensor 101 can be provided on the robot arm 18 that can move up and down in the cassette transport device 17, there is no need to add a separate motion axis for wafer mapping.

[0102] (i) The laser sensor 101 uses an end face reflection type sensor, so it is possible to detect the presence or absence of a substrate with a single end face reflection type sensor even for a substrate with high transmittance (e.g., a quartz wafer), a transparent substrate whose transmittance changes due to film formation (e.g., a SiC wafer), or a substrate with low transmittance (a Si wafer).

[0103] (j) Since the thickness of the substrate can be measured from the intensity of light received by the reflective sensor, it is possible to distinguish the substrate material from differences in the substrate thickness.

[0104] (k) Because a reflective sensor is used, it is not necessary to insert the sensor above, inside, or below the cassette during detection, which means there are no restrictions on the size of the sensor head.

[0105] (l) Two types of wafer mapping (a reflective laser sensor and a transmissive comb sensor) can distinguish between substrate materials (Si wafers and SiC wafers, or Si wafers and quartz wafers). This eliminates the need to prepare dedicated comb sensors for each substrate material. This also helps prevent the cassette stage from becoming too large.

[0106] Another embodiment of the processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 10 . The laser sensor 101 is fixed to the housing 11 on the front side (X1 side) of the processing apparatus 10 relative to the cassette conveying device 17. In other words, the laser sensor 101 is fixed to the housing 11 on the opposite side of the cassette shelf 15 relative to the cassette conveying device 17. As indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 10 , the optical axis of the laser sensor 101 is fixed horizontally, and a reference beam is emitted in the X2 direction. The laser sensor 101 emits the reference beam onto the cassette 2 on the robot arm 18 of the cassette conveying device 17. The cassette conveying device 17 raises and lowers the cassette 2, thereby mapping the wafers in the cassette 2. This embodiment also provides the same effects as the above embodiment.

[0107] In the above-described embodiment, the wafer 1 is fixed and the laser sensor 101 is movable up and down, but in this embodiment, the laser sensor 101 is fixed and the wafer 1 is movable up and down. That is, the laser sensor 101 is movable relative to the wafers 1 stored in the cassette 2 along the arrangement direction of the wafers 1.

[0108] In the above-described embodiment, wafer mapping by the laser sensor 101 is performed when the cassette 2 is in the cassette stage device 13, but in this embodiment, it is performed when the cassette 2 is in the cassette transport device 17. In either case, wafer mapping by the laser sensor 101 is performed when the cassette 2 is in a location that cannot be accessed by the wafer transfer device 19, that is, when the cassette 2 is in a location other than the transfer shelf. This allows wafer mapping to be performed without occupying the transfer shelf or transfer device 17, so there is no delay in wafer transfer. Furthermore, in this embodiment, wafer mapping can be performed without occupying the cassette stage device 13, so there is no delay in loading or unloading the cassette.

[0109] In the above-described embodiments, examples have been described in which the laser sensor 101 detects reflection from the edge of a wafer in wafer mapping, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. For example, a reflector may be placed outside the opening at the bottom of the cassette, and light that passes through the gap between adjacent wafers and makes one round trip may be detected. In this case, the same as the above-described embodiments are possible, except that the intensity of the received light level is reversed.

[0110] In some of the above-described embodiments, the laser sensor 101 irradiates the reference light toward the center of the wafer at the lateral center, which is the closest point to the edge of the wafer, that is, detects reflection from the edge perpendicular to the reference light. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, it is also possible to perform scans at multiple different positions in the left-right direction (Y2-Y1 direction) and combine the results to determine the presence or type of a wafer, or to determine the tilt of the wafer based on the difference in detected positions.

[0111] In some of the above-described embodiments, examples of batch-type substrate processing apparatuses that process multiple substrates at a time have been described. The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can also be applied to, for example, single-wafer-type substrate processing apparatuses that process one or several substrates at a time. Although a single-wafer-type apparatus may not have a cassette shelf or a cassette transport device, it is possible to perform mapping with material identification as disclosed herein using a substrate transfer device or other mapping means within a load port or vacuum load lock chamber.

[0112] When using these substrate processing apparatuses, each process can be performed under the same process procedures and conditions as in the above-described embodiment, and the same effects as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0113] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1... wafer (substrate), 2... cassette, 100... sub-controller, 101... laser sensor, 111... comb sensor, 120... main controller

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a mapping device that identifies the material of a substrate stored in a carrier and loaded into the substrate processing apparatus; and a control unit that is configured to update and retain first information on the material of the substrate loaded into the substrate processing apparatus, and to control the substrate processing apparatus to eject a carrier storing a substrate that does not satisfy a specified condition for a current operation mode among conditions defined for each of a plurality of operation modes.

2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mapping device is configured to be capable of distinguishing between a first material and a second material having a lower upper usable temperature limit than the first material, the plurality of operating modes include a high-temperature mode in which a condition is defined that all substrates in the substrate processing apparatus are made of the first material, and a low-temperature mode in which a condition is defined that all substrates may be made of either the first material or the second material, and the control unit controls the substrate processing apparatus to eject a carrier containing a substrate made of the second material when the substrate is loaded into the substrate processing apparatus during operation in the high-temperature mode.

3. A substrate processing apparatus as described in claim 1, further comprising: a shelf for storing the loaded substrate in the carrier used for loading; and a transfer machine for transferring the substrate between the carrier used for loading and a substrate holder for holding the substrate being processed, wherein the control unit holds, as the first information, material information obtained for each slot of each carrier in the substrate processing apparatus, and stores, for each of a plurality of slots in which the substrate holder holds the substrate, substrate arrangement information that directly or indirectly defines the type of substrate to be transferred, and controls the transfer machine to transfer the substrate between one of the carriers in the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate holder by associating the first information with the substrate arrangement information.

4. The control unit of the substrate processing apparatus described in claim 1 retains or generates map information that uniquely corresponds, for each slot of the substrate holder, to one of a plurality of slots of a virtual carrier that is the source of movement, and determines whether a substrate in a corresponding carrier that is brought into the substrate processing apparatus as corresponding to the virtual carrier is made of a material that satisfies the substrate placement information when transferred to the substrate holder based on the map information.

5. A substrate processing apparatus as described in claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of virtual carriers is assumed to store only substrates of either the first material or the second material, and the map information includes the substrate placement information.

6. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control unit stores alias information that associates a plurality of virtual carriers assumed to store only substrates made of either the first material or the second material with a substrate type, and the substrate placement information that directly defines the substrate type, generates map information from the alias information and the substrate placement information, and transfers substrates based on the map information.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the types of substrates handled by the substrate placement information include at least two of a product substrate, a monitor substrate, a side dummy substrate, a supplementary dummy substrate, and an adjustment dummy substrate.

8. A substrate processing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein one of the first material and the second material is transparent and the other is not translucent, and the mapping device is configured to be capable of determining the material of the substrate stored in the carrier on a stage that transfers the carrier between the inside and outside of the substrate processing apparatus.

9. A substrate processing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein the mapping device comprises: a sensor that irradiates a reference light onto a substrate stored in a carrier and detects the light transmitted through or reflected by the substrate; a drive unit that enables the sensor to move relatively to the substrates stored in the carrier along the arrangement direction of the substrates; and a control unit that holds master data based on light receiving patterns previously obtained from properly stored substrates for a plurality of combinations of substrate sizes and materials, and is configured to be able to check the storage status of a substrate to be checked using the corresponding master data.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the sensor is a reflective sensor that irradiates an edge surface of the substrate with laser light perpendicular to the edge surface and parallel to a main surface of the substrate, and receives the laser light reflected from the edge surface.

11. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a transmission sensor that irradiates a reference light onto a substrate stored in the carrier and detects the light that has passed through the substrate, and the control unit is configured to be able to determine the presence or absence and the material of a substrate from the output results of both the transmission sensor and the reflective sensor.

12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to select master data for each substrate in the carrier based on a size and material designation for each substrate in the carrier for each job, and to be able to confirm the storage state of the substrates.

13. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to detect the light receiving level of the reflective sensor while moving the reflective sensor along the substrate loading direction of the carrier, determine the thickness of the substrate, and distinguish the material of the substrate by referring to information that corresponds to the thickness of the substrate and the material of the substrate.

14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to distinguish between a SiC substrate and a Si substrate housed in the carrier.

15. A substrate processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 3, wherein the master data holds one or more sets of substrate diameter, carrier reference slot height, slot spacing and number of slots, and further holds a threshold value of the light receiving level for each substrate material.

16. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reflective sensor is a limited reflective sensor having a detection area that extends flatly within a predetermined distance range along a single plane, and is positioned so that the distance to the substrate stored in the carrier is within the distance range.

17. A mapping device comprising: (a) a sensor that irradiates a reference light onto a substrate stored in a carrier and detects the light transmitted through or reflected by the substrate; (b) a drive unit that enables the sensor to move relatively to the substrate stored in the carrier along the arrangement direction of the substrate; and (c) a control unit that holds master data based on light receiving patterns previously obtained from properly stored substrates for multiple combinations of substrate sizes and materials, and is configured to be able to check the storage status of the substrate to be checked using the corresponding master data.

18. A substrate processing method comprising: a step of determining, by a mapping device, the material of a substrate stored in a carrier and transported into a substrate processing apparatus; a step of updating first information indicating the material of the transported substrate stored in the substrate processing apparatus; and a step of removing a carrier storing a substrate that does not satisfy the specified conditions when the first information does not satisfy conditions defined for each of a plurality of operation modes.

19. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the substrate processing method according to claim 16.

20. A program that causes a substrate processing apparatus to execute, by a computer, the following steps: determining the material of a substrate stored in a carrier and loaded into the substrate processing apparatus using a mapping device; updating first information indicating the material of the loaded substrate stored in the substrate processing apparatus; and, when the first information does not satisfy conditions defined for each of a plurality of operation modes, removing a carrier storing a substrate that does not satisfy the specified conditions.

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