Substrate Transfer Robot Warpage Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current semiconductor manufacturing processes face challenges in accurately transferring substrates between process chambers due to warpage caused by heating, leading to potential position shifts during transfer, which affects transfer efficiency and productivity.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing system that includes a vacuum transfer robot controlled by a controller reading transfer information corresponding to process information, allowing for variable setting of transfer speeds and accelerations based on the expected warpage from the process information, ensuring precise and efficient substrate transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a substrate is heated in a process chamber, then the substrate undergoes necessary thermal processing, but the substrate experiences warpage causing position shifts during transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The system reads process information from the memory device before transfer and determines the heating temperature in advance. Based on this preliminary knowledge of the substrate's thermal state, the transfer robot pre-adjusts transfer parameters (speed, acceleration, position) to compensate for expected warpage, thereby maintaining position accuracy despite thermal processing
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer parameters (speed, acceleration, position) are dynamically changed based on the substrate's heating temperature. The system adjusts these parameters according to the degree of warpage caused by thermal processing, allowing optimal transfer conditions for each thermal state of the substrate
2Productivity
If the transfer robot uses fixed transfer parameters, then the transfer process is simple and fast, but position accuracy deteriorates when substrate warpage varies
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer parameters are made dynamic rather than fixed. The system continuously adapts transfer speed, acceleration, and position based on real-time process information about substrate heating, allowing the transfer robot to optimize for both speed and accuracy depending on the substrate's thermal state
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses process information stored in the memory device as feedback about substrate heating conditions. This information feeds back into the transfer parameter determination, creating a closed-loop system where transfer parameters are continuously optimized based on substrate thermal state
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 suppresses substrate position shifts during transfer and improves transfer efficiency by adapting transfer conditions to the anticipated warpage, optimizing the substrate processing and manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
performing a heating process on a substrate in a process chamber
Implementation Method 2
transferring the substrate between the process chamber and a load lock chamber connected to a vacuum transfer chamber by a transfer robot
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a technique that includes (a) performing a heating process on a substrate in a process chamber, (b) transferring the substrate between the process chamber and a load lock chamber connected to a vacuum transfer chamber by a transfer robot installed in the vacuum transfer chamber connected to the process chamber, and (c) reading transfer information corresponding to process information applied to the substrate from a memory device in which plural pieces of the process information on a process content of the substrate and plural pieces of the transfer information of the transfer robot corresponding to the plural pieces of the process information are recorded, and controlling the transfer robot to transfer the substrate based on the read transfer information.