Substrate Processing Recovery Using Relief Rinse and Dry Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
In substrate processing systems, when an abnormality occurs during chemical liquid processing, the substrate may be contaminated, and existing methods do not effectively recover the substrate without excessive chemical liquid usage or subsequent processing interruptions.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing system with a controller that transfers the substrate to a relief processing unit, executing a complementary processing process based on specific recipe information to recover the substrate, including rinsing and drying steps, thereby avoiding further chemical liquid usage and ensuring proper recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the substrate is discharged manually or by machine during the process when an abnormality occurs, then the substrate can be removed from the processing unit, but the substrate may be contaminated with chemical liquid and cannot be properly recovered
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary rinsing with pure water immediately when an abnormality is detected, before the substrate is fully contaminated or removed. This preliminary action prevents the need for subsequent complex recovery processes and ensures the substrate can be properly recovered without excessive chemical liquid contamination
Solution Approach 2:
Pure water is introduced as an intermediary substance between the chemical liquid process and the substrate. This intermediary rinsing liquid removes chemical liquid contaminants from the substrate surface, enabling proper substrate recovery without direct contact between the substrate and excessive chemical liquid
2Reliability
If the rinsing process is performed using pure water and the substrate is dried by rotating when an abnormality occurs, then the substrate can be recovered, but excessive chemical liquid may have already adhered to the substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously monitors the processing state and detects abnormalities in real-time. When an abnormality is detected, the system provides feedback by immediately interrupting the chemical liquid supply and initiating the rinsing process, preventing excessive chemical liquid from adhering to the substrate in the first place
Solution Approach 2:
When an abnormality is detected, the system skips the remaining chemical liquid process steps and rushes through the rinsing and drying processes immediately. This prevents excessive chemical liquid usage by interrupting the process at the optimal moment and quickly transitioning to recovery operations
3Loss of substance
If the process is interrupted when an abnormality occurs, then further chemical liquid usage can be avoided, but the substrate processing cannot be completed
Solution Approach 1:
The system discards the incomplete original process and recovers the substrate through an alternative rinsing and drying process. This allows the substrate to be salvaged and potentially reused without wasting chemical liquid on an unfinishable process, maintaining both substance efficiency and productivity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively recovers the substrate by executing a complementary processing process, ensuring minimal chemical liquid usage and preventing further processing interruptions, thus maintaining substrate quality and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a substrate holding mechanism configured to rotatably hold the substrate received from the substrate transfer device
Implementation Method 2
a processing fluid supply part configured to supply a processing fluid to the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism
Implementation Method 3
a substrate drying process of drying the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing system includes: a substrate transfer device; processing units each having a substrate holding mechanism for rotatably holding a substrate received from the substrate transfer device and a processing fluid supply part for supplying a processing fluid to the substrate; and a controller for controlling the substrate transfer device and the processing units according to processing recipe information so as to execute the substrate processing process. When an abnormality in a certain unit of the processing units occurs in the substrate processing process for the substrate to be processed, the controller controls the substrate transfer device and a relief processing unit according to complementary recipe information so that the complementary processing process for a relief substrate is executed in the relief processing unit by transferring the relief substrate to the relief processing unit different from the certain processing unit.