Substrate processing apparatus and method

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus and method. The substrate processing apparatus comprises an equipment front-end module (100), a process station (200), and an interface station (300) sequentially arranged in a first horizontal direction. The process station (200) comprises a coating unit (210), a developing unit (220), and a thermal processing unit (230). The thermal processing unit (230) is configured to perform thermal processing on substrates and comprises a plurality of thermal processing modules (231) and a plurality of movable transfer units (2321). At least one movable transfer unit (2321) is stacked with a thermal processing module (231) in a vertical direction, and the at least one movable transfer unit (2321) is configured to transfer substrates in the first horizontal direction. The technical effect of improving the overall operating efficiency of the apparatus is achieved.

Description

Substrate processing equipment and methods Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and further to a substrate processing apparatus and method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, the inline setup for photolithography consists of a coating and developing machine and an exposure machine. The general process of photolithography is as follows: after the substrate is coated in the coating and developing machine, it is sent to the exposure machine for exposure. After exposure, the substrate is returned to the coating and developing machine for development.

[0003] Patent application number 202110963138.1 discloses a coating and developing apparatus, which includes a front-end module, a process station, and an interface station connected in sequence. The process station includes a coating unit, a developing unit, at least one moving transfer unit for laterally transferring a substrate between the front-end module and the interface station, and at least one side robot. The moving transfer unit is vertically stacked with the coating robot and the developing robot, respectively. By separately configuring the moving transfer unit and the side robot, this coating and developing apparatus is responsible for transferring the substrate after processing in the coating or developing unit between the front-end module and the interface station, thereby reducing the operating load of the coating robot and the developing robot and improving the output rate of the coating and developing apparatus.

[0004] However, due to the design requirements of the overall height of the equipment, the number of the moving transport unit, coating robot, and developing robot in the above-mentioned coating and developing equipment is limited, which limits the overall efficiency of substrate transport in the moving transport unit, and thus limits the output rate of the coating and developing equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the purpose of this application is to improve the overall operating efficiency of coating and developing equipment.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides a substrate processing apparatus and method.

[0007] In some embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus includes a front-end module, a process station, and an interface station arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction. The process station includes: a coating unit for coating the substrate; a developing unit for developing the substrate, wherein the coating unit and the developing unit are arranged sequentially along the first horizontal direction; and a heat treatment unit arranged opposite to the coating unit and the developing unit for heat treatment of the substrate. The heat treatment unit includes a plurality of heat treatment modules and at least one moving transmission unit. The moving transmission unit is stacked with the heat treatment modules in the vertical direction, and the moving transmission unit is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

[0008] In some embodiments, the substrate processing method includes: Step S10: Loading a substrate into the equipment front-end module and transferring the substrate to the process station; Step S20: The process station performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, and the substrate after coating and heat treatment is transferred by the moving transport unit towards the interface station; Step S30: The interface station transfers the substrate after coating and heat treatment to an exposure machine for exposure treatment; Step S40: The interface station loads the substrate after exposure treatment and transfers it to the process station; Step S50: The process station performs development and heat treatment on the substrate after exposure treatment, and the substrate after development and heat treatment is transferred by the moving transport unit towards the equipment front-end module; Step S60: Unloading the substrate after development and heat treatment from the equipment front-end module.

[0009] In some embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus includes a front-end module, a process station, and an interface station arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction. The process station includes: a coating and developing unit for coating and developing the substrate; and a heat treatment unit arranged opposite to the coating and developing unit for heat treating the substrate. The heat treatment unit includes a plurality of heat treatment modules and at least one moving transmission unit. The moving transmission unit is stacked with the heat treatment modules in the vertical direction, and the moving transmission unit is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

[0010] Compared with the prior art, this application stacks the mobile transmission unit and the heat treatment module in the vertical direction, so that the mobile transmission unit no longer occupies the vertical space of the coating robot and the developing robot. Therefore, under the same design requirements for the total height of the equipment, the number of mobile transmission units in the equipment can be increased, as well as the number of coating robots and developing robots, thereby improving the substrate transmission efficiency in the substrate processing equipment and improving the overall operating efficiency of the substrate processing equipment.

[0011] Overview of the attached figures

[0012] The features and performance of this application are further described by the following embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of this application;

[0014] Figure 2 is a top view of Figure 1;

[0015] Figure 3 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of one embodiment of the example shown in Figure 2, cut along the cc line;

[0016] Figure 4 is a three-dimensional structural diagram of Figure 3 after the coating robot and developing robot have been removed.

[0017] Figure 5 is a planar schematic diagram of Figure 4 viewed along the y-direction;

[0018] Figure 6 is a three-dimensional structural diagram of another embodiment of the example shown in Figure 2, cut along the cc line;

[0019] Figure 7 is a three-dimensional structural diagram of Figure 6 after the coating robot and developing robot have been removed.

[0020] Figure 8 is a planar schematic diagram of Figure 7 viewed along the y-direction;

[0021] Figures 9a and 9b are schematic diagrams of two embodiments of the mobile transmission unit of this application;

[0022] Figure 10 is a step diagram of a substrate processing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 11 is a top view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 12 is a front view of Figure 11;

[0025] Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 11 along the AA direction;

[0026] Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view along the BB direction of one embodiment of the embodiment shown in Figure 11;

[0027] Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view along the BB direction of another embodiment of the example shown in Figure 11;

[0028] Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view along the BB direction of another embodiment of the embodiment shown in Figure 11;

[0029] Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view along the BB direction of another embodiment of the example shown in Figure 11.

[0030] Preferred embodiments of this application

[0031] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the specific implementation methods of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings and other implementation methods can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0032] To keep the drawings concise, each figure only schematically shows the parts relevant to the invention, and these do not represent the actual structure of the product. Furthermore, to facilitate understanding, in some figures, only one of components with the same structure or function is schematically depicted, or only one is labeled. In this document, "one" not only means "only one," but can also mean "more than one."

[0033] In this document, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0034] Furthermore, in the description of this application, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0035] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a substrate processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of this application is disclosed, including a front-end module 100, a process station 200 and an interface station 300 arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction x.

[0036] Specifically, the process station 200 includes a coating unit 210, a developing unit 220, and a heat treatment unit 230. The coating unit 210 is used to coat the substrate. The developing unit 220 is used to develop the substrate, and the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220 are arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction x. The heat treatment unit 230 is arranged opposite to the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220 along a second horizontal direction y. Referring to FIG4, the heat treatment unit 230 includes a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 and at least one moving and transporting unit 2321.

[0037] Several heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in an array along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z, respectively, for heat treatment of the substrate. The moving and transporting unit 2321 is stacked with the heat treatment modules 231 in the vertical direction z, and the moving and transporting unit 2321 is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction x, for transporting the substrate toward the interface station 300 or the device front-end module 100. Specifically, it is used to transport the substrate after coating and heat treatment toward the interface station 300, or the substrate after developing and heat treatment toward the device front-end module 100.

[0038] Compared to the prior art where the moving transmission unit is vertically stacked with the coating robot 212 and the developing robot 222, in this embodiment the moving transmission unit 2321 and the heat treatment module 231 are stacked in the vertical z direction. The moving transmission unit 2321 no longer occupies the vertical space of the area where the coating robot 212 and the developing robot 222 are located. Therefore, under the condition that the design requirements of the total height of the equipment are the same, the number of moving transmission units 2321 in the equipment can be increased, as can the number of coating robots 212 and developing robots 222, thereby improving the substrate transfer efficiency in the substrate processing equipment 10 and improving the overall operating efficiency of the substrate processing equipment 10.

[0039] Preferably, as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5, the mobile transmission unit 2321 is configured to transmit the substrate between the device front-end module 100 and the interface station 300. In this embodiment, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in a plurality of columns along the first horizontal direction x, and the mobile transmission unit 2321 and each column of heat treatment modules 231 are stacked in the vertical direction z.

[0040] Specifically, referring again to Figure 1, the coating unit 210 includes a plurality of coating modules 211, which are arranged in an array along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. The developing unit 220 includes a plurality of developing modules 221, which are arranged in an array along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. It should be noted that in the embodiments shown in Figures 1 and 2, the heat treatment unit 230 is only schematically shown with six columns of heat treatment modules 231, the coating unit 210 is only schematically shown with two columns of coating modules 211, and the developing unit 220 is only schematically shown with two columns of developing modules 221, and the two columns of coating modules 211 and the two columns of developing modules 221 correspond to three columns of heat treatment modules 231 respectively. In practical applications, the number of columns of the heat treatment module 231, coating module 211 and developing module 221 can be reasonably adjusted according to the production capacity requirements. For example, the heat treatment module 231 can be increased to eight columns, the coating module 211 and the developing module 221 can be increased to three columns respectively, and the three columns of coating module 211 and the three columns of developing module 221 correspond to four columns of heat treatment module 231 respectively.

[0041] Preferably, as shown in FIG3, the process station 200 further includes a plurality of coating robots 212 and a plurality of developing robots 222. The coating robots 212 are arranged sequentially along the vertical direction z between the coating unit 210 and the heat treatment unit 230, for transferring the substrate between the coating unit 210 and the heat treatment unit 230. The developing robots 222 are arranged sequentially along the vertical direction z between the developing unit 220 and the heat treatment unit 230, for transferring the substrate between the developing unit 220 and the heat treatment unit 230.

[0042] Preferably, a plurality of coating robots 212 and a plurality of developing robots 222 are one-to-one in the first horizontal direction x, and are arranged in at least two layers in the vertical direction z, with the coating robots 212 and developing robots 222 located in the same layer corresponding to at least one moving transmission unit 2321.

[0043] Preferably, referring again to Figures 1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus 10 further includes a plurality of first side robotic arms 241 and a plurality of second side robotic arms 242. The first side robotic arms 241 are disposed between the process station 200 and the equipment front-end module 100, and are used to load substrates after coating and heat treatment onto the moving transport unit 2321, or to unload substrates after developing and heat treatment from the moving transport unit 2321. The second side robotic arms 242 are disposed between the process station 200 and the interface station 300, and are used to load substrates after developing and heat treatment onto the moving transport unit 2321, or to unload substrates after coating and heat treatment from the moving transport unit 2321.

[0044] Preferably, the first side-mounted robot 241 is disposed between the heat treatment unit 230 and the front-end module 100, and the second side-mounted robot 242 is disposed between the heat treatment unit 230 and the interface station 300. The substrate processing apparatus 10 also includes a plurality of first buffer sections 251 and a plurality of second buffer sections 252 for temporarily storing and transferring substrates. The first buffer sections 251 are located between the coating robot 212 and the front-end module 100, and are used to transfer substrates between the first side-mounted robot 241 and the coating robot 212; the second buffer sections 252 are located between the developing robot 222 and the interface station 300, and are used to transfer substrates between the second side-mounted robot 242 and the developing robot 222. The first buffer sections 251 and 252 can accommodate multiple substrates along the vertical direction z and hold the substrates. The first side-mounted robot 241 and 242 can move back and forth along the vertical direction z to pick up and place substrates at different heights in the first buffer sections 251 and 252, respectively.

[0045] Preferably, the process station 200 further includes a plurality of first auxiliary processing modules 261 and a plurality of second auxiliary processing modules 262. The first auxiliary processing modules 261 are located between the heat treatment unit 230 and the equipment front-end module 100, or between the coating unit 210 and the equipment front-end module 100, and are used to preheat the substrate before coating treatment. The second auxiliary processing modules 262 are located between the heat treatment unit 230 and the interface station 300, or between the developing unit 220 and the interface station 300, and are used to clean the substrate after coating and heat treatment are completed.

[0046] Preferably, the substrate processing apparatus 10 further includes a plurality of third-side robotic arms 243, a plurality of fourth-side robotic arms 244, and a plurality of fifth-side robotic arms 245. The third-side robotic arms 243 are disposed between the coating unit 210 and the front-end module 100. The third-side robotic arms 243 can adjust the height of the substrate within the first buffer section 251 in the vertical direction z, facilitating the first-side robotic arms 241 and the coating robotic arm 212 in handling the substrate within the first buffer section 251 and increasing substrate transfer efficiency. The fourth-side robotic arms 244 are disposed between the developing unit 220 and the interface station 300. The fourth-side robotic arms 244 can adjust the height of the substrate within the second buffer section 252 in the vertical direction z, facilitating the second-side robotic arms 242 and the developing robotic arm 222 in handling the substrate within the second buffer section 252 and increasing substrate transfer efficiency. The fifth-side robotic arms 245 are disposed between the second buffer section 252 and the interface station 300 for transferring the substrate between the second buffer section 252 and the interface station 300.

[0047] Preferably, as shown in FIG9a, the moving transmission unit 2321 includes a first slide rail 23211, a second slide rail 23212, and a substrate transmission box 23213. The first slide rail 23211 and the second slide rail 23212 are parallel to each other and parallel to the first horizontal direction x. The substrate transmission box 23213 is slidably disposed on the first slide rail 23211 and the second slide rail 23212 to carry the substrate 20 and transmit the carried substrate 20 along the first horizontal direction x. In addition, a first pick-and-place port 23214 is provided on the side of the substrate transfer box 23213 near the front-end module 100 of the device. The first side robot 241 can load the substrate after coating and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23213 through the first pick-and-place port 23214, or take the substrate after developing and heat treatment out of the substrate transfer box 23213. A second pick-and-place port 23215 is provided on the side of the substrate transfer box 23213 near the interface station 300. The second side robot 242 can load the substrate after developing and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23213 through the second pick-and-place port 23215, or take the substrate after coating and heat treatment out of the substrate transfer box 23213.

[0048] In practical applications, the substrate to be processed is first loaded onto the front-end module 100 of the equipment. The front-end module 100 then transports the substrate to the first buffer section 251 (the first side robot 241 or the third side robot 243 transports the substrate to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to process requirements, and then transports the preheated substrate back to the first buffer section 251). The substrate is then transferred to the coating unit 210 by the coating robot 212. The substrate undergoes coating in the coating unit 210 and is then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the coating robot 212 for heat treatment. The coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate has completed both coating and heat treatment. The substrate that has undergone coating and heat treatment is transported to the first buffer unit 251 by the coating robot 212. Then, the first side robot 241 loads the coated and heat-treated substrate into the moving transport unit 2321. The moving transport unit 2321 transports the coated and heat-treated substrate from the end near the front-end module 100 to the end near the interface station 300. The second side robot 242 then unloads the coated and heat-treated substrate from the moving transport unit 2321 and transports it to the second buffer unit 252 (the second side robot 242 or the fourth side robot 244 transports the substrate to the corresponding second auxiliary processing module 262 for cleaning according to process requirements, and then transports the cleaned substrate back to the second buffer unit 252). Finally, the fifth side robot 245 transports it to the interface station 300. The coated and heat-treated substrate is then transported from the interface station 300 to an exposure machine (not shown) for exposure treatment.

[0049] The substrate that has undergone exposure processing is loaded into the interface station 300, and then transferred to the second buffer unit 252 by the fifth side robot 245. The developing robot 222 then transfers the substrate to the developing unit 220. The substrate undergoes developing processing in the developing unit 220, and is then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the developing robot 222 for heat treatment. The developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate has completed both developing and heat treatment. The substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment is transported to the second buffer unit 252 by the developing robot 222. The substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment is loaded into the moving and transporting unit 2321 by the second side robot 242. The moving and transporting unit 2321 transports the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment from one end of the moving and transporting unit 2321 near the interface station 300 to one end of the moving and transporting unit 2321 near the front-end module 100 of the device. Then, the substrate is unloaded from the moving and transporting unit 2321 by the first side robot 241 and transported to the first buffer unit 251. Finally, the front-end module 100 of the device unloads the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment from the first buffer unit 251.

[0050] As shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8, in another embodiment of this application, the mobile transmission unit 2322 is configured to transport the substrate between the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220. In this embodiment, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in a plurality of columns along a first horizontal direction x. The mobile transmission unit 2322 crosses the junction of the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220 along the first horizontal direction x, and the length of the mobile transmission unit 2322 along the first horizontal direction is less than or equal to the length of the heat treatment unit 230 along the first horizontal direction. That is, the mobile transmission unit 2322 is stacked with only a portion of the columns of heat treatment modules 231 in the vertical direction z. In other words, at least one column of heat treatment modules 231 separates the mobile transmission unit 2322 from the device front-end module 100, or at least one column of heat treatment modules 231 separates the mobile transmission unit 2322 from the interface station 300.

[0051] Specifically, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in multiple columns along the first horizontal direction x, including a first column of heat treatment modules 2311 near the front-end module 100 and a last column of heat treatment modules 2312 near the interface station 300. The mobile transmission unit 2322 is at least separated from the front-end module 100 by the first column of heat treatment modules 2311, and / or the mobile transmission unit 2322 is at least separated from the interface station 300 by the last column of heat treatment modules 2312. That is, the mobile transmission unit 2322 is not stacked with the first column of heat treatment modules 2311 and / or the last column of heat treatment modules 2312 along the vertical direction z.

[0052] Preferably, as shown in FIG9b, the moving and transferring unit 2322 includes a first slide rail 23221, a second slide rail 23222, and a substrate transfer box 23223. The first slide rail 23221 and the second slide rail 23222 are parallel to each other and parallel to the first horizontal direction x. The substrate transfer box 23223 is slidably disposed on the first slide rail 23221 and the second slide rail 23222 to carry the substrate 30 and transfer the carried substrate 30 along the first horizontal direction x. Furthermore, a third pick-and-place port 23224 is provided on the side of the substrate transfer box 23223 near the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220. The coating robot 212 can load the substrate after coating and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23223 through the third pick-and-place port 23224, or take the substrate after developing and heat treatment out of the substrate transfer box 23223; the developing robot 222 can load the substrate after developing and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23223 through the third pick-and-place port 23224, or take the substrate after coating and heat treatment out of the substrate transfer box 23223.

[0053] In practical applications, the substrate to be processed is first loaded onto the front-end module 100 of the equipment. The front-end module 100 then transports the substrate to the first buffer section 251 (the first side robot 241 or the third side robot 243 transports the substrate to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to process requirements, and then transports the preheated substrate back to the first buffer section 251). The substrate is then transferred to the coating unit 210 by the coating robot 212. The substrate undergoes coating in the coating unit 210 and is then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the coating robot 212 for heat treatment. This coating and heat treatment process is repeated until the substrate has completed both coating and heat treatment. Finally, the substrate, after coating and heat treatment, is loaded onto the moving transport section 2322 by the coating robot 212. The mobile transport unit 2322 transports the substrate from one end of the mobile transport unit 2322 near the front-end module 100 to the other end of the mobile transport unit 2322 near the interface station 300. Then, the substrate is unloaded from the mobile transport unit 2322 by the developing robot 222 and transported to the second buffer unit 252. Finally, the fifth side robot 245 transports the substrate to the interface station 300. The substrate is then transported from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine for exposure processing.

[0054] The substrate that has undergone exposure processing is loaded into the interface station 300 and transferred to the second buffer unit 252 by the fifth side robot 245. Then, the developing robot 222 transfers the substrate to the developing unit 220. The substrate undergoes developing in the developing unit 220 and is then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the developing robot 222 for heat treatment. This developing and heat treatment process is repeated until the substrate has completed both processes. The substrate after developing and heat treatment is loaded into the moving transport unit 2322 by the developing robot 222. The moving transport unit 2322 transports the substrate from the end near the interface station 300 to the end near the front-end module 100. It is then unloaded from the moving transport unit 2322 by the coating robot 212 and transported to the first buffer unit 251. Finally, the front-end module 100 removes and unloads the substrate from the first buffer unit 251.

[0055] Compared to the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, the moving transmission unit 2322 only transfers the substrate between the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220. At least one row of heat treatment modules 231 (e.g., the first row of heat treatment modules 2311 and the last row of heat treatment modules 2312) is spaced between the moving transmission unit 2322 and the device front-end module 100 or the interface station 300. Therefore, the first side robot 241 cannot directly transfer the substrate between the moving transmission unit 2322 and the first buffer unit 251, and requires the coating robot 212 to transfer the substrate between the moving transmission unit 2322 and the first buffer unit 251; the second side robot 242 cannot transfer the substrate between the moving transmission unit 2322 and the second buffer unit 252, and requires the developing robot 222 to transfer the substrate between the moving transmission unit 2322 and the second buffer unit 252. Consequently, in this embodiment, the workload of the coating robot 212 and the developing robot 222 is higher than in the previous embodiment. However, this embodiment reduces the space occupied by the moving transport unit 2322 in the heat treatment unit 230, thereby increasing the number of heat treatment modules 231 installed and improving the substrate heat treatment efficiency. Moreover, compared to the prior art where the moving transport unit is vertically stacked with the coating robot and the developing robot respectively, this embodiment can also increase the number of moving transport units 2322, coating robots 212, and developing robots 222. For example, under the same height conditions, if the substrate processing equipment in the prior art is equipped with two layers of coating robots and two layers of developing robots respectively, and two layers of moving transport units are stacked in the vertical direction of the two layers of coating robots and two layers of developing robots, then the substrate processing equipment has a total of two coating robots, two developing robots, and two moving transport units. In this embodiment, the moving and transporting unit 2322 is provided in the heat treatment unit 230, so that the substrate processing equipment 10 is equipped with a three-layer coating robot 212, a three-layer developing robot 222 and a three-layer moving and transporting unit 2322, for a total of three coating robots 212, three developing robots 222 and three moving and transporting units 2322, thereby improving the overall operating efficiency of the substrate processing equipment 10.

[0056] In an alternative embodiment of the above-described implementation, the mobile transmission unit is separated from the device front-end module 100 by at least one row of heat treatment modules 231, but there is no heat treatment module 231 separating the mobile transmission unit from the interface station 300. In this embodiment, the coating robot 212 is used to load the substrate after coating and heat treatment onto the end of the mobile transmission unit near the device front-end module 100, or to unload the substrate after developing and heat treatment from the end of the mobile transmission unit near the device front-end module 100. The second side robot 242 is used to load the substrate after developing and heat treatment onto the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300, or to unload the substrate after coating and heat treatment from the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300. That is, the loading or unloading of the substrate at the end of the mobile transmission unit near the device front-end module 100 is handled by the coating robot 212, and the loading or unloading of the substrate at the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300 is handled by the second side robot 242.

[0057] In another alternative embodiment described above, the mobile transmission unit is separated from the interface station 300 by at least one row of heat treatment modules 231, but there is no heat treatment module 231 separating the mobile transmission unit from the device front-end module 100. In this embodiment, the developing robot 222 is used to load the substrate after developing and heat treatment onto the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300, or to unload the substrate after coating and heat treatment from the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300. The first side robot 241 is used to load the substrate after coating and heat treatment onto the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300, or to unload the substrate after developing and heat treatment from the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300. That is, the loading or unloading of the substrate at the end of the mobile transmission unit near the device front-end module 100 is handled by the first side robot 241, and the loading or unloading of the substrate at the end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station 300 is handled by the developing robot 222.

[0058] As shown in FIG10, this application also discloses a substrate processing method, which is applicable to the substrate processing apparatus 10 of any of the above embodiments.

[0059] Specifically, the substrate processing method includes:

[0060] Step S10: Load the substrate into the front-end module 100 of the equipment and transfer the substrate to the process station 200;

[0061] Step S20: The process station 200 performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate. After the coating and heat treatment are completed, the substrate is transferred to the interface station 300 by the moving transfer unit 2321 or the moving transfer unit 2322.

[0062] Step S30: The interface station 300 transfers the substrate after coating and heat treatment to the exposure machine for exposure treatment;

[0063] Step S40: The interface station 300 loads the substrate that has completed the exposure process and transfers it to the process station 200;

[0064] Step S50: The process station 200 performs development and heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process. The substrate after development and heat treatment is transferred by the moving transmission unit 2321 to the front end module 100 of the equipment.

[0065] Step S60: Unload the substrate after development and heat treatment in the front-end module 100 of the equipment.

[0066] Preferably, in conjunction with Figures 3, 4, and 5, the substrate processing apparatus 10, i.e., the mobile transmission unit 2321, is configured to transmit the substrate between the device front-end module 100 and the interface station 300, then step S20 includes:

[0067] Step S211: After the process station 200 performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating and heat treatment is loaded into the moving and transporting unit 2321 by the first side robot 241 configured between the process station 200 and the equipment front-end module 100.

[0068] Step S212: The mobile transmission unit 2321 transfers the substrate after coating and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit 2321 near the front-end module 100 of the device to the other end of the mobile transmission unit 2321 near the interface station 300;

[0069] Step S213: The substrate after coating and heat treatment is unloaded from the moving and transporting unit 2321 by the second side robot 242 configured between the process station 200 and the interface station 300, and then transported to the interface station 300.

[0070] In addition, step S50 includes:

[0071] Step S511: After the process station 200 performs development and heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process, the substrate after development and heat treatment is loaded into the moving and transporting unit 2321 by the second side robot 242.

[0072] Step S512: The mobile transmission unit 2321 transfers the substrate after development and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit 2321 near the interface station 300 to the other end of the mobile transmission unit 2321 near the device front-end module 100;

[0073] Step S513: The first side robot 241 unloads the substrate after development and heat treatment from the moving and transporting unit 2321 and transports it to the front-end module 100 of the equipment.

[0074] Preferably, in conjunction with the substrate processing apparatus 10 shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8, the moving transport unit 2322 is configured to transport the substrate between the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220, then step S20 includes:

[0075] Step S221: After the process station 200 performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating and heat treatment is loaded into the moving transport unit 2322 by the coating robot 212 arranged between the coating unit 210 and the heat treatment unit 230.

[0076] Step S222: The moving and transporting unit 2322 transports the substrate after coating and heat treatment from the coating unit 210 to the developing unit 220;

[0077] Step S223: The substrate after coating and heat treatment is unloaded from the moving and transporting unit 2322 by the developing robot 222 arranged between the developing unit 220 and the heat treatment unit 230, and transferred to the interface station 300.

[0078] In addition, step S50 includes:

[0079] Step S521: After the process station 200 performs development and heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process, the substrate after development and heat treatment is loaded into the moving and transporting unit 2322 by the development robot 222.

[0080] Step S522: The moving and transporting unit 2322 transports the substrate after development and heat treatment from the developing unit 220 to the coating unit 210;

[0081] Step S523: The coating robot 212 unloads the substrate after development and heat treatment from the moving and transporting unit 2322 and transfers it to the front-end module 100 of the equipment.

[0082] Figures 11 and 12 illustrate another substrate processing apparatus 30 according to an embodiment of this application. This embodiment has a similar overall structure to the previous embodiment, both employing a technique of stacking the moving transmission units 2323 and 2324 with the heat treatment module 231 in the vertical z-direction. The main difference lies in that this embodiment adjusts the arrangement and quantity of the coating module 211, developing module 221, heat treatment module 231, coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215, and developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225 to meet the requirement of increasing substrate production capacity from 300WPH to 400WPH.

[0083] Specifically, the substrate processing equipment 30 includes a front-end module 100, a process station 200, and an interface station 300 arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction x. The process station 200 includes a coating and developing unit 260 and a heat treatment unit 230. The coating and developing unit 260 is used to perform coating and developing processes on the substrate. The heat treatment unit 230 is arranged opposite to the coating and developing unit 260 along a second horizontal direction y. Referring to Figures 11 and 14, the heat treatment unit 230 includes a plurality of heat treatment modules 231, and also includes at least one of motion transmission units 2323 and 2324.

[0084] As shown in Figure 14, the mobile transmission units 2323 and 2324 are stacked with the heat treatment module 231 in the vertical direction z, and the mobile transmission units 2323 and 2324 are configured to transmit the substrate along the first horizontal direction x, for transmitting the substrate to the interface station 300 or the device front-end module 100.

[0085] Preferably, referring again to FIG12, the coating and developing unit 260 is arranged as follows: at least one column of coating modules C1 and C2 and at least one column of developing modules C5 and C6. Coating modules C1 and C2 include a plurality of coating modules 211 stacked in the vertical direction z, and developing modules C5 and C6 include a plurality of developing modules 221 stacked in the vertical direction z.

[0086] Preferably, the coating and developing unit 260 is arranged to further include at least one column of mixing modules C3 and C4, wherein the mixing modules C3 and C4 include a plurality of coating modules 211 and a plurality of developing modules 221 stacked in the vertical direction z.

[0087] Preferably, a plurality of coating modules C1 and C2, a plurality of mixing modules C3 and C4, and a plurality of developing modules C5 and C6 are arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction x. Furthermore, mixing modules C3 and C4 also include a reserved empty module 270, which is used to install coating modules 211, developing modules 221, or to place glue bottles and glue pumps (not shown in the figure) according to actual needs. For example, if the substrate processing time of developing module 221 is greater than that of coating module 211, the number of developing modules 221 can be increased by installing developing modules 221 in the reserved empty module 270, thereby accelerating the overall substrate developing efficiency of the coating and developing unit 260.

[0088] It should be noted that in the embodiments shown in Figures 11 and 12, only two columns of coating modules C1 and C2, two columns of mixing modules C3 and C4, and two columns of developing modules C5 and C6 are schematically depicted. Each column of coating modules C1 or C2 includes six coating modules 211, each column of mixing modules C3 or C4 includes, from top to bottom, two coating modules 211, two reserved blank modules 270, and two developing modules 221, and each column of developing modules C5 or C6 includes six developing modules 221. In practical applications, the number of columns and layers of coating modules C1 and C2, mixing modules C3 and C4, and developing modules C5 and C6 can be reasonably adjusted according to production capacity and equipment size requirements. For example, coating modules C1 and C2, mixing modules C3 and C4, and developing modules C5 and C6 can be increased to three columns, with each column increasing to eight layers. Furthermore, the arrangement of the coating module 211, the reserved blank module 270, and the developing module 221 in the hybrid modules C3 and C4 is not limited to the embodiments shown in Figures 11 and 12. For example, in other embodiments of this application, the reserved blank module 270 may be disposed above the coating module 211 and the developing module 221, or the developing module 221 may be disposed above the reserved blank module 270 and the coating module 211. All of the above embodiments are within the protection scope of this application.

[0089] Preferably, the heat treatment unit 230 further includes a plurality of control modules 232, which are stacked with the heat treatment module 231 in the vertical direction z, and are used to control the heat treatment module 231.

[0090] Referring to Figures 12 and 13, process station 200 also includes several coating robots 212, 213, 214, and 215 and several developing robots 222, 223, 224, and 225. The coating robots 212, 213, 214, and 215 are arranged between several coating modules 211 and heat treatment units 230 for transferring substrates between the coating modules 211 and heat treatment units 231. The developing robots 222, 223, 224, and 225 are arranged between several developing modules 221 and heat treatment units 230 for transferring substrates between the developing modules 221 and heat treatment units 231.

[0091] It should be noted that, in the embodiment shown in FIG12, a robot arm 271 is provided between the reserved blank module 270 and the heat treatment unit 230 (refer to FIG11). The robot arm 271 is configured to: when the reserved blank module 270 is equipped with the coating module 211, the robot arm 271 operates as a coating robot arm to transfer the substrate between the coating module 211 and the heat treatment module 231; when the reserved blank module 270 is equipped with the developing module 221, the robot arm 271 operates as a developing robot arm to transfer the substrate between the developing module 221 and the heat treatment module 231.

[0092] Preferably, a plurality of coating robots 212, 213, 214, and 215 correspond to at least two adjacent coating modules 211 in the first horizontal direction x, and a plurality of developing robots 222, 223, 224, and 225 correspond to at least two adjacent developing modules 221 in the first horizontal direction x. Furthermore, the coating robots 212, 213, 214, and 215 and the developing robots 222, 223, 224, and 225 located on the same layer correspond to at least one of the moving transport units 2323 and 2324.

[0093] Preferably, the moving transfer units 2323 and 2324 are configured to transfer substrates between coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 and / or developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225. Several coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 are also configured to load and / or unload the substrates into the moving transfer unit 2323, and several developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225 are also configured to load and / or unload the substrates into the moving transfer unit 2324.

[0094] Referring to Figure 13, in the embodiment shown in Figure 14, several heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in 9 columns and 12 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. Among them, three moving transmission units 2323 are respectively disposed in the 2nd, 6th and 10th layers of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and disposed in the 3rd to 4th columns of the heat treatment unit 230 along the first horizontal direction x. They are used to transfer the substrate between the coating robot 215 and the developing robot 223, between the coating robot 214 and the robot 271, and between the coating robot 212 and the coating robot 213. Three moving transfer units 2324 are respectively disposed in the 2nd, 6th and 10th layers of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and disposed in the 6th to 7th columns of the heat treatment unit 230 along the first horizontal direction x. They are respectively used to transfer the substrate between the developing robot 223 and the developing robot 225, between the robot 271 and the developing robot 224, and between the coating robot 213 and the developing robot 222.

[0095] In practical applications, referring to Figures 11 and 12, the substrate to be processed is first loaded into the front-end module 100 of the equipment. The robot 101 in the front-end module 100 transports the substrate to be processed to the first buffer section 251 (the first side robot 241 transports the substrate to be processed to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to the process requirements, and then transports the preheated substrate back to the first buffer section 251).

[0096] The substrate to be processed in the first buffer section 251 is then transferred to the coating modules C1 and C2 by coating robots 212, 214, and 215. The substrate is coated in the coating modules C1 and C2, and then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by coating robots 212, 214, and 215 for heat treatment. The above coating and heat treatment process is repeated until the substrate has completed the coating and heat treatment. After the substrate has completed the coating and heat treatment, it is loaded into the corresponding moving transport section 2323 by coating robots 212, 214, and 215. The moving transport unit 2323 transports the substrate from one end near the front-end module 100 to the other end near the interface station 300. Then, a corresponding coating robot 213, robot 271, or developing robot 223 transfers the substrate to the next moving transport unit 2324. The moving transport unit 2324 transports the substrate from one end near the front-end module 100 to the other end near the interface station 300. The substrate is then unloaded from the moving transport unit 2324 by corresponding developing robots 222, 224, and 225 and transferred to the second buffer unit 252. Finally, a fifth side robot 245 transfers the substrate to the interface station 300. The substrate is then transferred from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine for exposure processing.

[0097] For coating robots that cannot directly obtain the substrate to be processed from the first buffer unit 251, such as coating robot 213, the substrate to be processed can be obtained by means of the moving transfer unit 2323. Specifically, the coating robot 212 transfers the substrate to be processed in the first buffer unit 251 to the corresponding moving transfer unit 2323. The moving transfer unit 2323 transports the substrate to be processed from the end of the moving transfer unit 2323 near the device front-end module 100 to the end of the moving transfer unit 2323 near the interface station 300. Then, the coating robot 213 transports the substrate to be processed to the coating module 211 in the hybrid modules C3 and C4 for coating processing, and then transports it to the heat treatment unit 230 for heat treatment. This process is repeated. The above coating and heat treatment processes continue until the substrate completes the coating and heat treatment. After the coating and heat treatment are completed, the substrate is loaded by the coating robot 213 into the corresponding moving transport unit 2324. The moving transport unit 2324 transports the substrate from one end near the front-end module 100 to the other end near the interface station 300. Then, the substrate is unloaded from the moving transport unit 2324 by the developing robot 222 and transferred to the second buffer unit 252. Finally, the fifth side robot 245 transfers the substrate to the interface station 300. The substrate is then transferred from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine for exposure treatment.

[0098] The substrate that has completed the exposure process is loaded by the interface station 300 and transferred to the second buffer section 252 by the fifth side robot 245 (the second side robot 242 transports the substrate to the corresponding second auxiliary processing module 262 for cleaning according to the process requirements, and then transports the cleaned substrate back to the second buffer section 252).

[0099] The substrates that have undergone exposure processing are then transferred from the second buffer unit 252 to the developing modules C5 and C6 by developing robots 222, 224, and 225. The substrates undergo development processing in the developing modules C5 and C6, and are then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the corresponding developing robots 222, 224, and 225 for heat treatment. The above developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrates have completed both development and heat treatment. The substrates that have completed development and heat treatment are then loaded into the corresponding moving transport units 2324 by the developing robots 222, 224, and 225. The mobile transmission unit 2324 transports the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit 2324 near the interface station 300 to the other end of the mobile transmission unit 2324 near the device front-end module 100. Then, the substrate is transported to the next mobile transmission unit 2323 by the corresponding coating robot 213, robot 271, or developing robot 223. The mobile transmission unit 2323 transports the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit 2323 near the interface station 300 to the other end of the mobile transmission unit 2323 near the device front-end module 100. Then, the substrate is unloaded from the mobile transmission unit 2323 by the corresponding coating robots 212, 214, and 215 and transported to the first buffer unit 251. Finally, the robot 101 in the device front-end module 100 takes the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment out of the first buffer unit 251 and unloads it.

[0100] For developing robots that cannot directly retrieve the exposed substrate from the second buffer unit 252, such as developing robot 223, the exposed substrate can be retrieved by means of the moving transport unit 2324. Specifically, the developing robot 225 transfers the exposed substrate from the second buffer unit 252 to the moving transport unit 2324. The moving transport unit 2324 then transports the exposed substrate from one end of the moving transport unit 2324 near the interface station 300 to the other end of the moving transport unit 2323 near the device front-end module 100. The developing robot 223 then transports the exposed substrate to the developing module 221 in the hybrid modules C3 and C4 for developing, and then to the corresponding heat treatment unit 230 for heat treatment. The developing and heat treatment processes are repeated. The substrate undergoes a series of processes until it completes the developing and heat treatment. After the developing and heat treatment, the substrate is loaded by the developing robot 223 into the moving transport unit 2323. The moving transport unit 2323 transports the substrate from one end of the moving transport unit 2323 near the interface station 300 to the other end of the moving transport unit 2323 near the front-end module 100 of the equipment. Then, the substrate is unloaded from the moving transport unit 2323 and transported to the first buffer unit 251 by the corresponding coating robot 215. Finally, the robot 101 in the front-end module 100 of the equipment takes the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment out of the first buffer unit 251 and unloads it.

[0101] In the embodiment shown in FIG15, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 in the heat treatment unit 230 are arranged in 9 columns and 12 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. Among them, three moving transmission units 2325 are respectively disposed in the 2nd, 6th and 10th layers of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and are disposed in the 3rd to 7th columns of the heat treatment modules 231 along the first horizontal direction x. They are respectively used to transfer the substrate between the coating robot 215 and the developing robot 225, between the coating robot 214 and the developing robot 224, and between the coating robot 212 and the developing robot 222. Compared to the previous embodiment, this embodiment increases the length of the moving transmission unit 2325, eliminating the need for the coating robot 213, or robot 271, or developing robot 223 to transfer the substrate between the moving transmission unit 2323 and the moving transmission unit 2324, thereby reducing the load on the coating robot 213, robot 271 and developing robot 223, and increasing the transmission efficiency of the moving transmission unit 2325.

[0102] In practical applications, the substrate to be processed is first loaded into the front-end module 100 of the equipment. The robot 101 in the front-end module 100 transports the substrate to be processed to the first buffer section 251 (the first side robot 241 transports the substrate to be processed to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to the process requirements, and then transports the preheated substrate back to the first buffer section 251).

[0103] The substrate to be processed in the first buffer section 251 is then transferred to the coating modules C1 and C2 by coating robots 212, 214, and 215. The substrate undergoes coating in the coating modules C1 and C2, and is then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by coating robots 212, 214, and 215 for heat treatment. This coating and heat treatment process is repeated until the substrate has completed both coating and heat treatment. After coating and heat treatment, the substrate is loaded by coating robots 212, 214, and 215 into the corresponding moving transfer section 2325. The moving transfer section 2325 transports the substrate from the end near the front-end module 100 to the end near the interface station 300. The substrate is then unloaded from the moving transfer section 2325 by corresponding developing robots 222, 224, and 225 and transferred to the second buffer section 252, and finally transferred to the interface station 300 by the fifth side robot 245. The substrate is transferred from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine for exposure processing.

[0104] For coating robots that cannot directly obtain the substrate to be processed from the first buffer unit 251, such as coating robot 213, the substrate can be obtained by means of a moving transfer unit 2325. Specifically, coating robot 212 transfers the substrate to be processed in the first buffer unit 251 to the corresponding moving transfer unit 2325. Moving transfer unit 2325 transports the substrate to be processed from one end of moving transfer unit 2325 near the front end module 100 to the middle of moving transfer unit 2325. Then, coating robot 213 transports the substrate to be processed to the coating module 211 in the hybrid modules C3 and C4 for coating processing, and then transports it to the heat treatment unit 230 for heat treatment via coating robot 213. The above coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate has undergone coating and heat treatment. After coating and heat treatment, the substrate is loaded by the coating robot 213 into the corresponding moving transport unit 2325. The moving transport unit 2325 transports the substrate from the middle of the moving transport unit 2325 to the end of the moving transport unit 2325 near the interface station 300. Then, the developing robot 222 unloads the substrate from the moving transport unit 2325 and transfers it to the second buffer unit 252. Finally, the fifth side robot 245 transfers it to the interface station 300. The substrate is then transferred from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine for exposure treatment.

[0105] The substrate that has completed the exposure process is loaded by the interface station 300 and transferred to the second buffer section 252 by the fifth side robot 245 (the second side robot 242 transports the substrate to the corresponding second auxiliary processing module 262 for cleaning according to the process requirements, and then transports the cleaned substrate back to the second buffer section 252).

[0106] The substrates that have undergone exposure processing are then transferred from the second buffer unit 252 to the developing modules C5 and C6 by developing robots 222, 224, and 225. The substrates undergo development processing in the developing modules C5 and C6, and are then transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the corresponding developing robots 222, 224, and 225 for heat treatment. The above developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrates have completed both development and heat treatment. The substrates that have completed development and heat treatment are then loaded by the developing robots 222, 224, and 225 into the corresponding moving transport units 2325. The mobile transmission unit 2325 transports the substrate that has completed the development and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit 2325 near the interface station 300 to the other end of the mobile transmission unit 2325 near the device front-end module 100. Then, the corresponding coating robots 212, 214 and 215 unload the substrate from the mobile transmission unit 2325 and transport it to the first buffer unit 251. Finally, the robot 101 in the device front-end module 100 takes the substrate that has completed the development and heat treatment out of the first buffer unit 251 and unloads it.

[0107] For developing robots that cannot directly retrieve the exposed substrate from the second buffer 252, such as developing robot 223, the exposed substrate can be retrieved by means of a moving transport unit 2325. Specifically, the developing robot 225 transfers the exposed substrate from the second buffer 252 to the corresponding moving transport unit 2325. The moving transport unit 2325 transports the exposed substrate from one end of the moving transport unit 2325 near the interface station 300 to the middle of the moving transport unit 2325. Then, the developing robot 223 transports the exposed substrate to the developing module 221 in the hybrid modules C3 and C4 for developing, and then to the corresponding heat treatment unit 230 for heat treatment. The above developing and heat treatment process is repeated. The substrate undergoes a series of processes until it completes the developing and heat treatment. After the developing and heat treatment, the substrate is loaded by the developing robot 223 into the moving transport unit 2325. The moving transport unit 2325 transports the substrate from the middle of the moving transport unit 2325 to one end of the moving transport unit 2325 that is close to the front-end module 100 of the equipment. Then, the substrate is unloaded from the moving transport unit 2325 by the corresponding coating robot 215 and transported to the first buffer unit 251. Finally, the robot 101 in the front-end module 100 takes the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment out of the first buffer unit 251 and unloads it.

[0108] In the embodiment shown in Figure 16, several heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in 9 columns and 9 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. Three mobile transmission units 2326 are respectively disposed between the 1st and 2nd layers, the 4th and 5th layers, and the 7th and 8th layers of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and in the 1st to 9th columns of the heat treatment modules 231 along the first horizontal direction x, for transmitting the substrate between the device front-end module 100 and the interface station 300. Compared to the previous embodiment, this embodiment further increases the transmission efficiency of the mobile transmission units 2326 by increasing their length.

[0109] Preferably, referring to Figures 11 and 16, the substrate processing apparatus 10 further includes a plurality of first side robotic arms 241 and a plurality of second side robotic arms 242. The first side robotic arms 241 are disposed between the process station 200 and the equipment front-end module 100 for loading and / or unloading substrates into the motion transfer unit 2326. The second side robotic arms 242 are disposed between the process station 200 and the interface station 300 for loading and / or unloading substrates into the motion transfer unit 2326. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first side robotic arms 241 can replace the coating robotic arms 212, 214, and 215 for loading or unloading substrates at the end of the motion transfer unit 2326 near the equipment front-end module 100; and the second side robotic arms 242 can replace the developing robotic arms 222, 224, and 225 for loading or unloading substrates at the end of the motion transfer unit 2326 near the interface station 300, thereby reducing the load on the coating robotic arms 212, 214, and 215 and the developing robotic arms 222, 224, and 225.

[0110] In the embodiment shown in Figure 17, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in 9 columns and 12 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. The mobile transmission unit 2327 is respectively disposed below the first layer, between the fourth and fifth layers, and between the eighth and ninth layers of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and disposed in the first to ninth columns of the heat treatment modules 231 along the first horizontal direction x, for transmitting the substrate between the device front-end module 100 and the interface station 300. Compared to the previous embodiment, this embodiment increases the number of heat treatment modules 231 by increasing the number of layers, thereby increasing the number of heat treatment modules 231, and thus increasing the heat treatment efficiency of the substrate while ensuring the transmission efficiency of the mobile transmission unit 2327.

[0111] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that, It includes a front-end equipment module, a process station, and an interface station arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction, wherein the process station includes: A coating unit is used to coat a substrate. A developing unit is used to develop the substrate, and the coating unit and the developing unit are arranged sequentially along the first horizontal direction; A heat treatment unit, arranged opposite to the coating unit and the developing unit, is used to heat treat the substrate. The heat treatment unit includes several heat treatment modules and at least one moving and transporting unit. The moving transmission unit and the heat treatment module are stacked in the vertical direction, and the moving transmission unit is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The moving transmission unit is configured to transmit the substrate between at least the coating unit and the developing unit.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The mobile transmission unit is configured to transmit the substrate between the device front-end module and the interface station.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The process station also includes: Several coating robots are arranged vertically between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit to transfer substrates between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit, and to load substrates after coating and heat treatment onto the end of the moving transfer unit near the front end module of the equipment, or to unload substrates after developing and heat treatment from the end of the moving transfer unit near the front end module of the equipment. Several developing robots are arranged vertically between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit to transfer substrates between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit, and to load substrates after developing and heat treatment onto the end of the moving transport unit near the interface station, or to unload substrates after coating and heat treatment from the end of the moving transport unit near the interface station.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The plurality of coating robots and the plurality of developing robots correspond one-to-one in the first horizontal direction and are arranged in at least two layers along the vertical direction. The coating robots and developing robots located in the same layer correspond to at least one of the moving transmission units.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The process station also includes several coating robots and several second-side robots; wherein... The plurality of coating robots are arranged vertically between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit, for transferring the substrate between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit, and for loading the substrate after coating and heat treatment onto the end of the moving transmission unit near the front end module of the device, or for unloading the substrate after developing and heat treatment from the end of the moving transmission unit near the front end module of the device. The plurality of second-side robotic arms are configured between the process station and the interface station for loading the substrate after development and heat treatment into the moving transport unit, or unloading the substrate after coating and heat treatment from the moving transport unit. Alternatively, the process station may also include several developing robots and several first-side robots; wherein, The plurality of developing robots are arranged vertically between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit for transferring substrates between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit, and for loading substrates after developing and heat treatment onto the end of the moving transport unit near the interface station, or for unloading substrates after coating and heat treatment from the end of the moving transport unit near the interface station. The plurality of first-side robotic arms are configured between the process station and the front-end module of the equipment, for loading the substrate after coating and heat treatment onto the moving and transporting unit, or unloading the substrate after developing and heat treatment from the moving and transporting unit.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, Also includes: A plurality of first-side robotic arms are configured between the process station and the front-end module of the equipment for loading substrates after coating and heat treatment into the moving and transporting unit, or unloading substrates after developing and heat treatment from the moving and transporting unit. Several second-side robotic arms are disposed between the process station and the interface station for loading substrates after development and heat treatment into the moving transport unit, or unloading substrates after coating and heat treatment from the moving transport unit.

8. A substrate processing method, characterized in that, The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 comprises: Step S10: Load the substrate onto the front-end module of the equipment and transfer the substrate to the process station; Step S20: The process station performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, and the substrate after coating and heat treatment is transferred by the moving transmission unit to the interface station; Step S30: The interface station transfers the substrate after coating and heat treatment to the exposure machine for exposure treatment; Step S40: The interface station loads the substrate that has completed the exposure process and transfers it to the process station; Step S50: The process station performs development and heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process. The substrate after development and heat treatment is then transported by the moving transmission unit to the front-end module of the equipment. Step S60: Unload the substrate after development and heat treatment completed in the front-end module of the equipment.

9. The substrate processing method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The mobile transmission unit is configured to transmit the substrate between the device front-end module and the interface station, and step S20 includes: Step S211: After the process station performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating and heat treatment is loaded into the moving transmission unit by a first side robot arm configured between the process station and the front end module of the equipment. Step S212: The mobile transmission unit transfers the substrate, after coating and heat treatment, from one end of the mobile transmission unit near the front-end module of the device to the other end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station; Step S213: The substrate after coating and heat treatment is unloaded from the moving transfer unit by a second side robot configured between the process station and the interface station and transferred to the interface station.

10. The substrate processing method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Step S50 includes: Step S511: After the process station performs development and heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process, the substrate after development and heat treatment is loaded into the moving and transporting unit by the second side robot. Step S512: The mobile transmission unit transfers the substrate after development and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit near the interface station to the other end of the mobile transmission unit near the front-end module of the device; Step S513: The first side robot unloads the substrate after development and heat treatment from the moving transfer unit and transfers it to the front-end module of the device.

11. The substrate processing method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The moving transport unit is configured to transport the substrate between the coating unit and the developing unit, and step S20 includes: Step S221: After the process station performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating and heat treatment is loaded into the moving transport unit by a coating robot configured between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit; Step S222: The moving transmission unit transfers the substrate, after coating and heat treatment, from the coating unit to the developing unit; Step S223: The substrate after coating and heat treatment is unloaded from the moving transport unit by the developing robot disposed between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit and transferred to the interface station.

12. The substrate processing method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Step S50 includes: Step S521: After the process station performs development and heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process, the substrate after development and heat treatment is loaded into the moving transport unit by the development robot. Step S522: The moving transmission unit transfers the substrate, after development and heat treatment, from the developing unit to the coating unit; Step S523: The coating robot unloads the substrate after development and heat treatment from the moving transmission unit and transfers it to the front-end module of the equipment.

13. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that, It includes a front-end equipment module, a process station, and an interface station arranged sequentially along a first horizontal direction, wherein the process station includes: The coating and developing unit is used for coating and developing the substrate. A heat treatment unit, arranged opposite to the coating and developing unit, is used to heat treat the substrate. The heat treatment unit includes several heat treatment modules and at least one moving and transporting unit. The moving transmission unit and the heat treatment module are stacked in the vertical direction, and the moving transmission unit is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that, The coating and developing unit includes: At least one column of hybrid modules, the hybrid modules comprising a plurality of coating modules and a plurality of developing modules stacked in a vertical direction.

15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that, The coating and developing unit further includes: At least one column of coating modules, the coating module comprising a plurality of coating modules stacked in a vertical direction; At least one column of developing modules, the developing module comprising a plurality of developing modules stacked in a vertical direction.

16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The process station also includes: Several coating robots are arranged between the several coating modules and the heat treatment unit for transferring substrates between the several coating modules and the heat treatment unit; Several developing robots are arranged between the developing modules and the heat treatment unit for transferring substrates between the developing modules and the heat treatment unit.

17. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that, The moving transmission unit is configured to transfer the substrate between the coating robot and / or the developing robot; The plurality of coating robots are also configured to load and / or unload the substrate onto the moving transport unit; The plurality of developing robots are also configured to load and / or unload the substrate onto the moving transport unit.

18. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that, Also includes: A plurality of first-side robotic arms are disposed between the process station and the equipment front-end module for loading and / or unloading the substrate into the moving transport unit; A plurality of second-side robotic arms are disposed between the process station and the interface station for loading and / or unloading the substrate into and / or from the moving transport unit.

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