Substrate processing device and transport plan creation method

Abstract

A substrate processing device 100 includes a vacuum-side resource for handling substrates in a vacuum environment, an atmospheric-side resource for handling substrates in an atmospheric environment, and an operation control unit 101 that controls the transport of substrates. The operation control unit creates a transport profile that is a permutation of any of a plurality of predefined transport operations that include a vacuum robot load-lock chamber loading operation, a vacuum robot load-lock chamber unloading operation, a vacuum robot load-lock chamber exchange operation, an atmospheric robot load-lock chamber loading operation, an atmospheric robot load-lock chamber unloading operation, and an atmospheric robot load-lock chamber exchange operation.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and method for creating transport plans

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a method for creating a transport plan.

[0002] A substrate processing apparatus is equipped with a small number of processing chambers, into which wafers (also called substrates) are loaded for processing. To improve the throughput of substrate processing, it is necessary to load and unload wafers into the processing chambers in a way that minimizes the waiting time for the resources of the substrate processing apparatus. Patent documents 1 and 2 are known as prior art documents that address this issue.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a transport operation in which an unprocessed wafer and a processed wafer are exchanged in a load lock chamber using a vacuum robot having two wands. Patent Document 2 also discloses a transport operation in which wafers are exchanged using two opposing robots separated by a buffer.

[0004] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-245127 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-69707

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses the transfer of wafers between a load lock chamber and a processing chamber using a vacuum robot, but it does not disclose the transfer of wafers between the load port, where the substrate processing device receives the wafers, and the load lock chamber.

[0006] The inventors found that by applying the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 to the transport between the load port and the load lock chamber using an air robot, and by considering the load lock chamber as a buffer disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is possible to create a wafer transport plan with high transport efficiency. However, especially in lines where many types of semiconductor devices are mixed, the time required for product processing in the processing chamber differs depending on the semiconductor device. Therefore, if the substrate processing apparatus operates a fixed wafer transport plan with high transport efficiency, waiting time will occur in the wafer transport resources, reducing the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0007] To minimize such waiting times, it is necessary to create a transport plan that reduces the waiting time that may occur in transport resources, depending on the wafers being loaded into the substrate processing equipment. However, regarding the load lock room, which is a bottleneck in transport resources, it is difficult to evaluate the waiting time in the load lock room by focusing only on the loading and unloading of wafers in the load lock room.

[0008] A substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a vacuum-side resource that handles substrates in a vacuum environment, comprising a load lock chamber whose interior is kept at atmospheric pressure or in a vacuum state, a plurality of processing chambers, and a vacuum robot that transports substrates between any of the processing chambers and the load lock chamber, each equipped with a first wand and a second wand for holding substrates; an atmospheric-side resource that handles substrates in an atmospheric environment, comprising a plurality of load ports, and a plurality of third wands and a fourth wand for holding substrates, each equipped with a load robot that transports substrates between any of the load ports and the load lock chamber; and an operation control unit that controls the transport of substrates, wherein the operation control unit creates a transport profile as a permutation of any of a plurality of predefined transport operations, and controls the operation of the vacuum-side resource and the atmospheric-side resource based on a transport plan in which the transport profile is assigned to the vacuum-side resource and the atmospheric-side resource. The transport operations include: a vacuum robot loading a substrate from one of the processing chambers and placing it into the load lock chamber; a vacuum robot removing a substrate from the load lock chamber and placing it into one of the processing chambers; a vacuum robot replacing a substrate using a first wand to remove a substrate from one of the processing chambers, then using a second wand to remove a substrate from the load lock chamber and place the substrate held by the first wand into the load lock chamber, and then placing the substrate held by the second wand into one of the processing chambers; and an atmospheric robot... The atmospheric robot's load lock chamber loading operation includes: the atmospheric robot taking a substrate from one of the load ports and loading it into the load lock chamber; the atmospheric robot's load lock chamber discharge operation includes: the atmospheric robot taking a substrate from the load lock chamber and loading it into one of the load ports; and the atmospheric robot's load lock chamber replacement operation includes: the atmospheric robot using a third wand to take a substrate from one of the load ports, then using a fourth wand to take a substrate from the load lock chamber and load the substrate held by the third wand into the load lock chamber, and then storing the substrate held by the fourth wand in one of the load ports.

[0009] This invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and a method for creating a transport plan that facilitates the creation of highly efficient transport plans, even when substrates with different processing times are mixed together in the processing chamber. Other challenges and novel features will become apparent from the description and accompanying drawings herein.

[0010] This is an example of the schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus. This is the processing flow of the substrate processing apparatus. This is an example of a Gantt chart representing a wafer transport plan. This is an example of a wafer transport plan. This is an example of a wafer transport plan. This is a functional block diagram of the motion control unit. This is an example of the hardware configuration of the motion control unit. This is a flowchart of the wafer transport control process. This is a flowchart of the transport profile selection process. This is a flowchart of the transport profile draft generation process. This is a flowchart of the simulation process. This is an example of operation time data. This is an example of transport operation definition data. This is an example of transport profile draft data. This is an example of wafer status data. This is an example of operation sequence data. This is an example of simulation evaluation data. This is an example of wafer destination data. This is an example of equipment status data. This is a diagram showing how a transport profile draft is generated. This is a diagram to explain the significance of the transport operation definition in this embodiment. This is a diagram to explain the significance of the transport operation definition in this embodiment. This is a flowchart of the wafer transport control process (modified version).

[0011] Figure 1 shows a schematic example of the substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus 100 is broadly divided into resource groups that handle wafers in an atmospheric environment (atmospheric resource group) and resource groups that handle wafers in a vacuum environment (vacuum resource group). The atmospheric resource group includes the load port LP and the atmospheric robot AR. The vacuum resource group includes the load lock chamber LL, the vacuum robot VR, and the processing chamber PU. Here, the load lock chamber LL, which is a component that can switch between atmospheric pressure and vacuum states, is classified as part of the vacuum resource group. The operation control unit 101 controls the atmospheric resource group and the vacuum resource group to perform wafer processing. When multiple resources are used to distinguish them, they are indicated by subscripts (see Figure 1). The substrate processing apparatus 100 processes wafers one at a time. That is, wafer loading / unloading to the load port LP is performed one wafer at a time, and processing in the processing chamber PU is also performed one wafer at a time.

[0012] The atmospheric resource group will now be described. The load port LP is the wafer entrance and exit point in the substrate processing apparatus 100, where unprocessed wafers are brought in from the outside and processed wafers are discharged to the outside. Figure 1 shows an example with four load ports LP, but the number is not limited to this. The atmospheric robot AR transfers unprocessed wafers brought into the load port LP to the load lock chamber LL, or transfers processed wafers placed in the load lock chamber LL to the load port LP. The atmospheric robot AR is equipped with multiple (at least two) wands for holding wafers.

[0013] The vacuum-side resource group will now be described. The load lock chamber LL can be kept in an atmospheric pressure or vacuum state, and is a device that handles wafer handling while maintaining the atmospheric environment of the atmospheric resource and the vacuum environment of the vacuum resource, respectively. One or more load lock chambers LL are provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100. The processing chamber PU is a device that performs predetermined processing (product processing) on ​​the wafer. For example, plasma etching is performed on the wafer. Multiple processing chambers PU are provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100. Also, the processing does not have to be plasma etching. The vacuum robot VR transfers unprocessed wafers that have been placed in the load lock chamber LL to the processing chamber PU, or transfers processed wafers that have been processed in the processing chamber PU to the load lock chamber LL. The vacuum robot VR, like the atmospheric robot AR, is equipped with multiple wands for holding wafers.

[0014] Figure 2A shows the processing flow of each resource from the time an unprocessed wafer is loaded into the substrate processing apparatus 100 until it is unloaded from the substrate processing apparatus 100 as a processed wafer. The atmospheric robot AR takes the unprocessed wafer from the load port LP (Sa01), holds the unprocessed wafer with a wand, moves from the load port LP to the load lock chamber LL (Sa2), and loads the unprocessed wafer into the load lock chamber LL (Sa03). At this time, the load lock chamber LL is under atmospheric pressure.

[0015] Subsequently, the load lock chamber LL is evacuated (Sv01), the vacuum robot VR removes the unprocessed wafer from the load lock chamber LL (Sv02), moves to the designated processing chamber PU (Sv03), and loads the unprocessed wafer into the processing chamber PU (Sv04). The processing chamber PU, into which the unprocessed wafer has been loaded, performs product processing on the wafer (Sv05). Once the product processing on the wafer is complete, the vacuum robot VR removes the processed wafer from the processing chamber PU (Sv06). After that, cleaning is performed inside the processing chamber PU (Sv07). Once the cleaning inside the processing chamber PU is complete, the processing chamber PU becomes ready to accept the next wafer. Meanwhile, the vacuum robot VR moves to the load lock chamber LL (Sv08) and loads the processed wafer into the load lock chamber LL (Sv09). The processed wafer is heated inside the load lock chamber LL to degas the wafer (Sv10).

[0016] Subsequently, the load lock chamber LL draws in air (Sa11) to return the chamber to atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric robot AR removes the processed wafer from the load lock chamber LL (Sa12), moves it to a designated load port LP (Sa13), and stores the processed wafer in the load port LP (Sa14).

[0017] The substrate processing apparatus 100 performs the processing flow shown in Figure 2A in parallel for each unprocessed wafer brought into the load port LP. At this time, in order to minimize the waiting time of resources (components) within the substrate processing apparatus 100, the operation control unit 101 needs to determine the transport operations and their execution order (transportation profile) performed by the atmospheric robot AR and the vacuum robot VR. To visually show the transport profiles executed in parallel for multiple unprocessed wafers, a Gantt chart shown in Figure 2B is used. The Gantt chart has time on the horizontal axis and is a chart that shows which wafer each resource is performing which processing on at each time period. Figure 2B shows two processing chambers PU １ , PU ２ An example of a wafer transport plan that uses parallel processing for wafers A and B is shown in a Gantt chart.

[0018] In the Gantt chart in Figure 2B, the resource with the lowest processing capacity is the processing room PU. To maximize the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus 100, the operation control unit 101 determines the order in which transport operations are performed so that waiting time is minimized for the equipment with the lowest processing capacity. For example, in the example of the Gantt chart in Figure 2B, the processing room PU １ If the transport plan allows for the immediate input of unprocessed wafer C, throughput will improve.

[0019] In this embodiment, the transport operations performed in the substrate processing apparatus 100 are defined as wafer exchange operations by an atmospheric robot AR and wafer exchange operations by a vacuum robot VR. Figure 3 shows a wafer transport plan employing a transport profile that alternately repeats these operations. The symbols A to F in the wafer transport plan are symbols that identify the wafer.

[0020] Wafer exchange operation by atmospheric robot AR refers to the operation in which atmospheric robot AR takes an unprocessed wafer from one of the load ports LP, holds it in a first wand, takes a processed wafer from the load lock chamber LL with a second wand, loads an unprocessed wafer into the load lock chamber LL with the first wand, holds the retrieved processed wafer in the second wand, and loads it into one of the load ports LP. Wafer exchange operation by vacuum robot VR refers to the operation in which vacuum robot VR takes a processed wafer from one of the processing chambers PU, holds it in a first wand, takes an unprocessed wafer from the load lock chamber LL with a second wand, loads a processed wafer into the load lock chamber LL with the first wand, holds the retrieved unprocessed wafer in the second wand, and loads it into one of the processing chambers PU. By sequentially performing wafer exchange operations 201 by the atmospheric robot AR, 211 by the vacuum robot VR, 202 by the atmospheric robot AR, 212 by the vacuum robot VR, and 203 by the atmospheric robot AR, the wafer transport plan in Figure 3 achieves maximum throughput.

[0021] In other words, in this wafer transport plan, there is no waiting time in the load lock room LL, and it is not possible to transport wafers any more frequently. The processing room PU is the resource that takes the longest time to process one wafer (product processing time + cleaning time), but by having multiple processing rooms PU, the processing capacity of the processing rooms increases in proportion to the number of units, while each transport resource (robot AR, VR and load lock room LL) is almost always in operation. Thus, when the number of the smallest resources among the robots AR, VR and load lock room LL is small compared to the number of processing rooms PU, the transport resources may become a bottleneck in improving throughput.

[0022] For example, in a manufacturing line where wafers of different semiconductor devices are mixed (mix-run), the processing time required for each wafer differs because the processing content and conditions vary for each wafer. Furthermore, since wafers are processed in processing chambers (PUs) with predefined processing content and conditions, they cannot be processed in any processing chamber other than the designated one. Figure 3 shows the wafer transport plan for the processing chambers. ２ This is an example where the unprocessed wafer can be loaded at timing T1, but for example, if the loading of the unprocessed wafer is possible at timing T2, the throughput of the wafer transport plan in Figure 3 will decrease. This is because, in the wafer exchange operation 211 by the vacuum robot VR, the wand holding wafer B cannot be released until timing T2 has elapsed, so the wafer exchange operation 212 by the vacuum robot VR and the wafer exchange operation 203 by the atmospheric robot AR cannot be started, and as a result, in the load lock chamber LL, the processing chamber PU of the unprocessed wafer D ３ This is because there will be a waiting period for input to be processed.

[0023] This decrease in throughput occurs because of the processing chamber PU ２ This is because wafer B, which has a later loading timing, was loaded into the load lock chamber LL too early. To avoid this, processing chamber PU, which processes wafer B, should be used. ２Based on the estimated completion time of processing, it is determined whether a waiting period for loading the unprocessed wafer into the processing chamber PU will occur if the atmospheric robot AR is started to perform the wafer exchange operation. If this occurs, the loading of wafer B into the load lock chamber LL should be delayed to free up space in the load lock chamber LL. By using the freed load lock chamber LL to remove processed wafers from the processing chamber PU earlier, it is also possible to suppress an increase in the waiting time for the processing chamber PU.

[0024] An example of such a wafer transport plan is shown in Figure 4. The wafer transport plan in Figure 4 includes, in addition to wafer exchange operations by the atmospheric robot AR or vacuum robot VR, operations by the atmospheric robot AR to remove unprocessed wafers from the load port LP and load them into the load lock chamber LL (LL loading operation), operations by the atmospheric robot AR to remove processed wafers from the load lock chamber LL and store them in the load port LP (LL discharge operation), operations by the vacuum robot VR to remove processed wafers from the processing chamber PU and load them into the load lock chamber LL (LL loading operation), and operations by the vacuum robot VR to remove unprocessed wafers from the load lock chamber LL and load them into the processing chamber PU (LL discharge operation).

[0025] In the wafer transport plan shown in Figure 4, the LL discharge operation 301 is performed first by the atmospheric robot AR. This creates space in the load lock chamber LL, so the LL loading operation 311 is performed by the vacuum robot VR. In the wafer transport plan shown in Figure 4, compared to the wafer transport plan shown in Figure 3, the processing of wafer C in the load lock chamber LL is performed first, which delays the timing of loading wafer B into the load lock chamber LL, thus delaying the processing chamber PU ２ Even if the unprocessed wafers are loaded at timing T2, a wafer transport plan can be realized that causes almost no waiting time in the load lock chamber LL.

[0026] The following describes the operation control unit 101, which creates a wafer transport plan and issues operation instructions to each resource of the substrate processing apparatus 100 based on the created wafer transport plan. Figure 5A shows a functional block diagram of the operation control unit 101, and Figure 5B shows an example of the hardware configuration of the operation control unit 101. The operation control unit 101 is implemented by a computer that mainly includes a processor (CPU) 431, memory 432, storage device 433, input interface (I / F) 434, output I / F 435, communication I / F 436, and bus 437, as shown in Figure 5B. The processor 431 functions as a functional unit (functional block) that provides predetermined functions by executing processing according to a program loaded into the memory 432. The storage device 433 stores data and programs used by the functional unit. For example, a non-volatile storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) is used for the storage device 433. The input interface 434 is an interface for connecting input devices 438 such as a keyboard and pointing device, and the output interface 435 is an interface for connecting a display device 439. The communication interface 436 enables communication with other information processing devices, such as a host computer 102, via the network 103. These are connected to each other via a bus 437. The operation control unit 101 may be implemented using multiple computers, and some functions of the operation control unit 101 may be implemented as a cloud application.

[0027] The operation control unit 101 includes a processing unit 401 that executes processing according to a program, and a storage unit 402 that stores data used by the processing unit 401 or data created by the processing unit 401. The processing unit 401 includes a data acquisition unit 411, a transport profile selection unit 412, and an operation instruction unit 415. The operation control unit 101 is also connected to a host computer 102 via a network 103, and acquires wafer information and the like that to be processed by the substrate processing device 100 from the host computer 102 and stores it in the storage unit 402.

[0028] In this embodiment, the motion control unit 101 creates one or more proposed transport profiles when planning wafer transport and selects the optimal transport profile through simulation. The process of the motion control unit 101 will be explained using the flowcharts shown in Figures 6 to 9.

[0029] The operation control unit 101 periodically performs the wafer transport control processing flow shown in Figure 6. The data acquisition unit 411 is a functional unit that acquires data necessary for wafer transport control processing from the host computer 102 and reads and updates data stored in the storage device 433.

[0030] The data acquisition unit 411 acquires operation time data 421 from the storage unit 402 (S01). An example of operation time data 421 is shown in Figure 10. The operation time data 421 registers the operations performed by each resource and the operation time required for each operation. The operation time may be predetermined as a specification or measured. Next, the data acquisition unit 411 acquires wafer destination data 428 from the host computer 102 and stores it in the storage unit 402 (S02). An example of wafer destination data 428 is shown in Figure 16. The wafer destination data 428 registers which processing room PU will perform product processing for each wafer that is brought into the substrate processing apparatus 100. In this example, the processing room PU to which the wafer is headed is determined according to the type of wafer being mixed-run, and it is assumed that if the wafer type is different, the time required for product processing in the processing room PU will also be different. The data acquisition unit 411 acquires equipment status data 429 from the storage unit 402 (S03). An example of equipment status data 429 is shown in Figure 17. The equipment status data 429 registers the resource (component) holding the wafer that was brought into the substrate processing apparatus 100 at the final stage of the wafer transport plan at that time, and the date and time when the processing of the wafers that are currently in progress according to the wafer transport plan at that time is completed and the resource becomes available for processing wafers for which a transport plan will be made from now on.

[0031] Subsequently, the transport profile selection unit 412 selects a transport profile to be added to the wafer transport plan (S04). The transport profile selection process (S04) will be explained using Figure 7. The data acquisition unit 411 acquires wafer status data 424 from the storage unit 402 at the final stage of the wafer transport plan at that time (S11). An example of wafer status data 424 is shown in Figure 13. The wafer status data 424 registers the status and location of each wafer that has been loaded into the substrate processing apparatus 100 and is not yet loaded. There are two types of status: "Processed," which indicates that the product has been processed by the processing room PU, and "Unprocessed," which indicates that the product is being processed by the processing room PU or is not yet processed. Based on the status and location, it can be determined whether or not a wafer is subject to transport. That is, unprocessed wafers in the load port LP and load lock room LL are subject to transport. Also, processed wafers in the processing room PU and load lock room LL are subject to transport. Next, the data acquisition unit 411 acquires transport operation data from the storage unit 402 (S12). The transport operation data includes transport operation definition data 422 as illustrated in Figure 11 and operation sequence data 425 as illustrated in Figure 14.

[0032] The transport operation definition data 422 (see Figure 11) registers the transport operations performed for transporting wafers and the conditions under which each transport operation becomes possible. In this embodiment, as described above, six types of wafer transport operations are defined as transport operations: wafer loading operation into the load lock chamber LL by the atmospheric robot AR (#1: AR loading into LL), wafer discharge operation from the load lock chamber LL (#2: AR discharge from LL), and wafer exchange operation in the load lock chamber LL (#3: AR exchange in LL); wafer loading operation into the load lock chamber LL by the vacuum robot VR (#4: VR loading into LL), wafer discharge operation from the load lock chamber LL (#5: VR discharge from LL), and wafer exchange operation in the load lock chamber LL (#6: VR exchange in LL).

[0033] The operation sequence data 425 (see Figure 14) registers the operation sequence of the defined transport operation, along with the actions performed by each resource and their execution order. Note that some actions included in the operation sequence may or may not be performed depending on the state of the resource. For such actions, further execution conditions are registered. For example, the first action in the transport operation "Loading LL of AR," "Moving LP of AR," is unnecessary if the atmospheric robot AR is already in the position to retrieve from the load port LP. Such execution conditions are added because the time required for the transport operation differs depending on whether or not an action is performed. Furthermore, the actions included in the operation sequence are the actions registered in the operation time data 421 (see Figure 10) mentioned above.

[0034] Using the above information, the transport profile generation unit 413 generates a transport profile (S13). Figure 8 shows the details of the transport profile generation process.

[0035] First, the transport profile generation unit 413 extracts feasible transport operations using wafer status data 424 and transport operation definition data 422 (S21). For example, wafer A is extracted as a wafer capable of "AR LL ejection," wafer B as a wafer capable of "AR LL insertion," wafers A and B as wafers capable of "AR LL replacement," and wafer C as a wafer capable of "VR LL insertion."

[0036] If there are no feasible transport operations (False in S22), the transport profile generation process ends, and the wafer transport control processing flow shown in Figure 6 also ends. On the other hand, if there are feasible transport operations (True in S22), the process of selecting one of the feasible transport operations (S23) and updating the wafer status (S24) is repeated until there are no more wafers to be transported, thereby recursively generating a transport profile (S25, S26). This process is shown in Figure 18. The transport profile data 423 generated by this process is shown in Figure 12. In the transport profile data 423, the transport operations to be performed and their execution order are registered for each transport profile identified by the transport profile ID.

[0037] Returning to the explanation of Figure 7, after the transport profile proposal generation process (S13), a simulation is performed to select the optimal transport profile proposal. First, one transport profile proposal is selected from the transport profile proposal data 423 (S14), and a simulation process is performed on the selected transport profile proposal (S15). Figure 9 shows the details of the simulation process performed by the simulation processing unit 414.

[0038] The simulation processing unit 414 first selects the transport operations included in the transport profile proposal in the order they will be performed (S31). For example, in transport profile ID = 1, the first transport operation selected is "AR LL discharge". Next, it obtains the operation sequence of the transport operations by referring to the operation sequence data 425 (S32), and performs operation assignment processing using the operation time data 421, wafer destination data 428, and equipment status data 429 (S33). This operation assignment processing (S33) is the process of fitting the transport profile proposal onto the time axis, thereby creating a Gantt chart based on each transport profile proposal.

[0039] Returning to the explanation of Figure 7, the transport profile selection unit 412 calculates evaluation indices to evaluate the transport profile proposals (S16). Figure 15 shows the simulation evaluation data 426, which registers the evaluation indices calculated for each transport profile proposal. In this example, the waiting time of the load lock chamber LL when each transport profile proposal is assigned an operation is calculated as an evaluation index. The evaluation index is not limited to this, and the transport profile proposals may also be evaluated using the waiting time of the processing chamber PU (the average time from when the cleaning of the processing chamber PU is completed until the next wafer is loaded) or throughput (here, throughput is defined as the average time from when one unprocessed wafer is loaded into the substrate processing apparatus 100 until one processed wafer is unloaded). Alternatively, the transport profile proposals may be evaluated using any combination of these.

[0040] Return to the description of FIG. 6. The data acquisition unit 411 updates the equipment status data 429 and the wafer status data 424 based on the transfer profile selected based on the evaluation index calculated in step S16 (S05). The operation instruction unit 415 gives an operation instruction to each resource based on the wafer transfer plan (S06).

[0041] In this embodiment, six transfer operations are defined to create a wafer transfer plan, and by using their permutations as transfer profiles, it is possible to uniquely specify the access order to the load lock chamber LL, the processing chamber PU, and the load port LP without causing constraint violations such as having no wafers to transfer or having no empty space in the resource (member) that is the transfer destination of the wafer. For example, in FIGS. 19A and 19B, if we focus on the load lock chamber LL, the order of taking out wafer A, loading wafer B, taking out wafer B, and loading wafer C is the same and indistinguishable. However, in the example of the transfer profile in FIG. 19A, a long waiting time occurs in the load lock chamber LL. Here, by using the transfer operations in this embodiment, the transfer profile in FIG. 19A is a transfer profile that sequentially performs the LL discharge 501 of AR, the LL loading 502 of AR, the LL discharge 503 of VR, and the LL loading 504 of VR. The transfer profile in FIG. 19B is a transfer profile that sequentially performs the LL exchange 511 of AR and the LL exchange 512 of VR, and the two can be distinguished. In order to evaluate the waiting time in the load lock chamber LL, it is necessary to evaluate including the access order of the atmospheric robot AR and the vacuum robot VR to the load port LP and the processing chamber PU. This embodiment enables this by defining six transfer operations.

[0042] (Modification example) In this modification example, attention is paid to the waiting time in the load lock chamber LL, and by analytically evaluating using the waiting time evaluation formula 427 of the load lock chamber LL, a transfer profile with a shorter waiting time is selected.

[0043] In this modification example, the operation control unit 101 periodically executes the wafer transfer control processing flow shown in FIG. 20. In the flow shown in FIG. 20, steps that overlap with this embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping explanations are omitted.

[0044] As shown in the Gantt chart of FIG. 3, when the atmospheric robot AR and the vacuum robot VR alternately perform the LL exchange operation, the waiting time of the load lock chamber LL can be minimized. However, as described above, the processing chamber PU ２ If the timing when an unprocessed wafer can be loaded into the processing chamber PU is timing T2, after the LL exchange operation 202 of the AR is executed, a waiting time occurs in the load lock chamber LL while holding the wafer D. On the other hand, as shown in the Gantt chart of FIG. 4, the waiting time that occurs in the load lock chamber LL when the LL discharge operation of the AR and the LL loading operation of the VR are executed is the time required for evacuating the load lock chamber LL that is executed after taking out the wafer A from the load lock chamber LL and before loading the wafer C into the load lock chamber LL. Therefore, when the waiting time that occurs when the atmospheric robot AR and the vacuum robot VR alternately perform the LL exchange operation is longer than the time required for evacuating the load lock chamber LL, a transfer profile that executes the LL discharge operation of the AR and the LL loading operation of the VR may be selected.

[0045] Thus, in the modified example, when the atmospheric robot AR and the vacuum robot VR alternately perform the LL exchange operation, a waiting time evaluation formula 427 for analyzing the date and time when the atmospheric robot AR loads the unprocessed wafer into the load lock chamber LL and the date and time when the vacuum robot VR takes it out of the load lock chamber LL is held (see FIG. 5A). Using the operation time data 421, the waiting time calculated by the waiting time evaluation formula 427 is compared with the waiting time of the load lock chamber LL when the LL discharge operation by the atmospheric robot AR and the LL loading operation by the vacuum robot VR are performed (= the evacuation time of the load lock chamber LL), and a transfer profile with a short waiting time is also selected for the load lock chamber LL (S41). An operation assignment process is performed according to the selected transfer profile (S42). The operation assignment process is the same as the process of step S33.

[0046] The above embodiments and modifications are described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment or modification with parts of another embodiment or modification, and it is also possible to add parts of other embodiments or modifications to the configuration of one embodiment or modification. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of each embodiment or modification with other configurations.

[0047] 100: Substrate processing device, 101: Operation control unit, 102: Host computer, 103: Network, 401: Processing unit, 402: Storage unit, 411: Data acquisition unit, 412: Transport profile selection unit, 413: Transport profile draft generation unit, 414: Simulation processing unit, 415: Operation instruction unit, 421: Operation time data, 422: Transport operation definition data, 423: Transport profile draft data, 424: Wafer status data, 425: Operation Sequence data, 426: Simulation evaluation data, 427: Waiting time evaluation formula, 428: Wafer destination data, 429: Equipment status data, 431: Processor, 432: Memory, 433: Storage device, 434: Input I / F, 435: Output I / F, 436: Communication I / F, 437: Bus, 438: Input device, 439: Display device, AR: Atmospheric robot, LL: Load lock room, LP: Load port, PU: Processing room, VR: Vacuum robot.

Claims

1. A vacuum-side resource for handling substrates in a vacuum environment, comprising: a load lock chamber whose interior is kept at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum; a plurality of processing chambers; and a vacuum robot equipped with a first wand and a second wand for holding substrates in each processing chamber, which transports substrates between any of the processing chambers and the load lock chamber; an atmospheric-side resource for handling substrates in an atmospheric environment, comprising: a plurality of load ports; and a plurality of third wands and a fourth wand for holding substrates in each load port, which transports substrates between any of the load ports and the load lock chamber; and an operation control unit for controlling the transport of substrates, wherein the operation control unit creates a transport profile as a sequence of any of a plurality of predefined transport operations, and controls the operation of the vacuum-side resource and the atmospheric-side resource based on a transport plan in which the transport profile is assigned to the vacuum-side resource and the atmospheric-side resource, wherein the transport operation includes: a load lock chamber loading operation by the vacuum robot, in which the vacuum robot takes a substrate out of any of the processing chambers and loads it into the load lock chamber; A vacuum robot's load lock chamber discharge operation, in which the vacuum robot removes a substrate from the load lock chamber and places it into one of the processing chambers; a vacuum robot's load lock chamber exchange operation, in which the vacuum robot uses the first wand to remove a substrate from one of the processing chambers, then uses the second wand to remove a substrate from the load lock chamber and places the substrate held by the first wand into the load lock chamber, and then places the substrate held by the second wand into one of the processing chambers; an atmospheric robot's load lock chamber loading operation, in which the atmospheric robot removes a substrate from one of the load ports and places it into the load lock chamber.A substrate processing apparatus comprising: an atmospheric robot load lock chamber discharge operation in which the atmospheric robot removes a substrate from the load lock chamber and loads it into one of the load ports; and an atmospheric robot load lock chamber exchange operation in which the atmospheric robot removes a substrate from one of the load ports using the third wand, then removes a substrate from the load lock chamber using the fourth wand and loads the substrate held by the third wand into the load lock chamber, and then stores the substrate held by the fourth wand into one of the load ports.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit periodically executes substrate transport control processing, the operation control unit creates a plurality of transport profiles in the substrate transport control processing, calculates evaluation indicators for the plurality of transport profiles, selects one transport profile based on the evaluation indicators to create the transport plan, and the evaluation indicators are the waiting time of the load lock chamber, the waiting time of the processing chamber, or throughput, or a combination thereof.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the operation control unit performs simulations for a plurality of transport profiles and calculates the evaluation index.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the motion control unit periodically performs substrate transport control processing, and in the substrate transport control processing, the motion control unit compares a first transport profile proposal which alternately repeats the load lock chamber replacement operation of the atmospheric robot and the load lock chamber replacement operation of the vacuum robot with a second transport profile proposal which performs the load lock chamber discharge operation of the atmospheric robot and the load lock chamber insertion operation of the vacuum robot, and selects the second transport profile proposal if the waiting time of the load lock chamber when the first transport profile proposal is adopted is longer than the waiting time of the load lock chamber when the second transport profile proposal is adopted.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a processing chamber for processing substrates brought into the load port is predetermined, and the time required for processing the substrates varies depending on the semiconductor devices formed on the substrate.

6. A method for creating a transport plan in a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a vacuum-side resource for handling substrates in a vacuum environment, which includes a load lock chamber whose interior is kept at atmospheric pressure or in a vacuum state, a plurality of processing chambers, and a vacuum robot which transports substrates between any of the processing chambers and the load lock chamber, each having a first wand and a second wand for holding substrates; an atmospheric-side resource for handling substrates in an atmospheric environment, which includes a plurality of load ports, and a plurality of third wands and fourth wands for holding substrates, each having a load port and the load lock chamber, each having a load robot which transports substrates between any of the load ports and the load lock chamber; and an operation control unit for controlling the transport of substrates, wherein the operation control unit creates a plurality of transport profiles as a sequence of any of a plurality of predefined transport operations, the operation control unit creates a transport plan by assigning the transport profile selected from the plurality of options to the vacuum-side resource and the atmospheric-side resource, and the transport operations include: a load lock chamber loading operation by the vacuum robot in which the vacuum robot takes a substrate out of any of the processing chambers and loads it into the load lock chamber; A vacuum robot's load lock chamber discharge operation, in which the vacuum robot removes a substrate from the load lock chamber and places it into one of the processing chambers; a vacuum robot's load lock chamber exchange operation, in which the vacuum robot uses the first wand to remove a substrate from one of the processing chambers, then uses the second wand to remove a substrate from the load lock chamber and places the substrate held by the first wand into the load lock chamber, and then places the substrate held by the second wand into one of the processing chambers; an atmospheric robot's load lock chamber loading operation, in which the atmospheric robot removes a substrate from one of the load ports and places it into the load lock chamber.A method for creating a transport plan, comprising: an air robot load lock chamber discharge operation in which the air robot removes a substrate from the load lock chamber and loads it into one of the load ports; and an air robot load lock chamber exchange operation in which the air robot uses the third wand to remove a substrate from one of the load ports, then uses the fourth wand to remove a substrate from the load lock chamber and loads the substrate held by the third wand into the load lock chamber, and then stores the substrate held by the fourth wand into one of the load ports.

7. The method for creating a transport plan according to claim 6, wherein the operation control unit calculates evaluation indicators for a plurality of transport profiles, selects one transport profile based on the evaluation indicators to create the transport plan, and the evaluation indicators are the waiting time of the load lock chamber, the waiting time of the processing chamber, or throughput, or a combination thereof.

8. The method for creating a transport plan, wherein the operation control unit performs simulations for multiple transport profiles and calculates the evaluation index.

9. The method for creating a transport plan in claim 6, wherein the operation control unit compares a first transport profile proposal that alternately repeats the load lock chamber replacement operation of the atmospheric robot and the load lock chamber replacement operation of the vacuum robot with a second transport profile proposal that performs the load lock chamber discharge operation of the atmospheric robot and the load lock chamber insertion operation of the vacuum robot, and selects the second transport profile proposal if the waiting time of the load lock chamber when the first transport profile proposal is adopted is longer than the waiting time of the load lock chamber when the second transport profile proposal is adopted.

10. A method for creating a transport plan in which a processing chamber for product processing is predetermined for substrates transported to the load port, and the time required for product processing differs depending on the semiconductor devices formed on the substrate.

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