Shared Pre-Alignment Adjusting Device for Cluster Substrate Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing substrate processing apparatus with a cluster structure faces challenges in balancing footprint size and pre-alignment precision, particularly when the number of processing devices increases, as each processing device requires a pre-alignment unit, leading to increased installation area and cost, while a single adjusting device for multiple processing devices can result in long conveyance routes and positional errors.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a conveying device and an adjusting device arranged on the conveyance path between the farthest and closest processing devices, where the adjusting device performs pre-alignment of substrates before they are conveyed to the processing devices, and offset determination processing is used to minimize alignment errors by calculating and applying offset values for each processing device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a pre-alignment unit is arranged in each processing device, then pre-alignment precision is improved, but the installation area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates pre-alignment functionality from multiple processing devices into a single shared adjusting device located on the conveyance path. This single adjusting device serves multiple processing devices, reducing the total number of pre-alignment units while maintaining alignment precision through centralized control and offset determination processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjusting device is designed with universal functionality to serve multiple processing devices. It performs pre-alignment for substrates destined for different processing devices by determining and applying specific offset values for each target device, making a single device perform the function previously requiring multiple dedicated units.
2Area of stationary object
If a single adjusting device is used for multiple processing devices, then the footprint is reduced, but the conveyance route length increases causing alignment errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces offset values as adjustable parameters to compensate for the increased conveyance route length. The offset determination processing calculates specific offset values for each processing device based on their positions, and the adjusting device applies these offsets to pre-align substrates, thereby compensating for positional errors introduced by longer conveyance paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through offset determination processing that measures and calculates the necessary compensation values. By determining offsets based on actual conveyance routes and applying corrective adjustments, the system compensates for alignment errors that would otherwise result from the extended conveyance path.
3Productivity
If the number of processing devices is increased, then throughput is improved, but the installation area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pre-alignment functions of multiple processing devices into a single shared adjusting device. This allows the system to accommodate multiple processing devices (increasing throughput) without proportionally increasing the installation area, as the pre-alignment capability is consolidated rather than replicated for each device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent relocates the adjusting device from within each processing device to a position on the conveyance path between processing devices. This spatial reorganization allows multiple processing devices to share a common pre-alignment resource, enabling increased device density and throughput while controlling the overall footprint through efficient space utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus including a plurality of processing devices each of which processes a substrate is provided. The apparatus comprises a conveying device including a conveyance path and conveys, to one of the plurality of processing devices, a substrate conveyed into one end of the conveyance path from an outside of the substrate processing apparatus, and an adjusting device configured to perform adjustment of a pre-alignment state of the substrate conveyed from the one end and to be conveyed into one of the plurality of processing devices, wherein the adjusting device is arranged on the conveyance path and between a processing devices of the plurality of processing devices, farthest from the one end, and a processing device, of the plurality of processing devices, closest to the one end.