Substrate Transport Mechanism for High-Throughput Semiconductor Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing substrate treating apparatus has inefficiencies in transferring wafers between transfer arms and main arms, leading to reduced throughput and a large footprint due to the need for additional transport mechanisms, such as the transfer arm (30), which increases installation area requirements.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treating apparatus with an indexer division that includes a carrier rack and a transport device capable of performing feeding, retrieving, and inter-story transporting operations, allowing direct transfer between the carrier and the treating section, eliminating the need for separate inter-story transport mechanisms and reducing the apparatus' footprint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a separate transfer arm (30) is added to transport wafers between modules of the shelf unit, then the throughput is improved, but the footprint and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The main arms (A1-A6) are designed to perform multiple functions: they can access modules at their own height positions and also access modules at height positions of other stories. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for a separate transfer arm (30), as the main arms can directly transport wafers between any modules, thereby improving throughput without increasing footprint
Solution Approach 2:
The transport function between shelf unit modules and the main transport function are merged into a single mechanism (the main arms). Instead of having separate transfer arms for inter-module transport and main arms for module-to-treating-section transport, the main arms perform both functions by accessing modules at multiple height positions
2Productivity
If multiple main arms are provided to access different modules, then the throughput is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each main arm (A1-A6) is designed with universal access capability to modules at its own height position and at height positions of other stories. This reduces device complexity by eliminating the need for separate transfer arms, while maintaining high throughput through parallel operations of multiple main arms
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses vertical stacking of stories with modules at different height positions. Main arms can access modules both at their own height and at other heights, utilizing the vertical dimension to reduce the number of arms needed while maintaining throughput
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate treating apparatus includes an indexer division, stories, and a controller. Each of the stories includes a first rack, a treating section, and a main transport mechanism. The indexer division includes a carrier rack and a transport device. The transport device performs a feeding operation for transporting substrates from a carrier placed on the carrier rack to the first rack. The transport device further performs an inter-story transporting operation for transporting the substrates between two first racks provided for different stories.