JPH07321177A - Substrate transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide a substrate transfer device that neutralizes electric charges on the surface of a substrate during substrate processing with a simple structure. The transfer robot 20 transfers a substrate from one processing unit to another processing unit among a plurality of processing units of a substrate processing apparatus in which the transfer robot 20 is incorporated. The hands 22 and 23 place the substrates to be transported. The ionizer 24 discharges the ionized gas onto the surface of the substrate placed on the hands 22 and 23. Therefore, the electric charges accumulated on the substrate during the substrate processing in each processing unit can be sequentially discharged during the substrate transfer, so that the spark can be prevented easily and at low cost.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to heating, cooling, resist coating, adhesion strengthening agent coating, cleaning of glass substrates for liquid crystal display panels, semiconductor wafers, mask substrates for semiconductor production, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate"). The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device incorporated in a substrate processing device that performs various processes such as development, and more particularly to a substrate transfer device that can sequentially transfer substrates while exchanging substrates between respective processing units constituting the substrate processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 5A shows the units 2a to 2 by the substrate transfer device 4 that circulates between the respective processing units (hereinafter simply referred to as "units") 2a to 2g constituting the substrate processing apparatus.
5 shows a mechanism for sequentially circulating and transporting the substrate shown in FIG.
(B) shows adjacent units 12a to 12a of the substrate processing apparatus.
Substrates in each of the units 12a to 12g are moved to the adjacent unit 1 by a dedicated substrate transfer device 14 fixed between 12g.
The mechanism which conveys to 2a-12g sequentially is shown.

[0003]

However, in the substrate transfer apparatus 4, 14 as shown in FIG. 5, each of the units 2a-2g, 1
The substrate is gradually charged with static electricity due to peeling and charging when the substrate is unloaded from the processing unit after finishing the processing of 2a to 12g.

Since such static electricity is gradually accumulated on the substrate during processing, each unit 2a to 2g, 1
Even if the charge amount in each 2a to 12g is not large enough to spark, it is accumulated every time when it is sequentially conveyed, and if the total charge amount exceeds a certain critical value, it will be separated from the adjacent metal member. Therefore, sparks are likely to occur.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the occurrence of such a spark. In the figure, reference numeral a indicates units 2a and 12a, and other reference numeral b.
The same applies to ~ g. The same applies to FIG. 2 described later. Units 2a-2e, 12a-1
By the processing up to 2e, the total charge amount gradually increases, and the unit 2
Since f and 12f reach the critical value Ec and exceed the critical value Ec, the accumulated electric charge is discharged to a metal member arranged nearby to generate a spark.

Such a spark is generated by the substrate transfer device 4,
It acts on the control circuit 14 and the like to cause the malfunction thereof. In addition, this spark results in the application of a high voltage to the surface of the substrate, causing a dielectric breakdown in the wiring pattern, etc. formed on the substrate, and a breakdown or malfunction of the element formed on the substrate. It may cause it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer device which neutralizes electric charges on the surface of a substrate during the substrate processing with a simple structure.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a substrate for transferring a substrate from a processing section to a processing section between a plurality of processing sections of the substrate processing apparatus. A transfer device, comprising: a substrate mounting means on which a substrate is mounted during transportation; and a gas discharge means for discharging ionized gas onto the surface of the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting means. And

A substrate transfer apparatus according to a second aspect is the apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising a fixing means for fixing the gas discharging means above the substrate mounting means.

A substrate transfer apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the apparatus of the first aspect, further comprising a housing for accommodating the substrate mounting means and the gas discharge means, the gas discharge means being fixed to an upper portion of the housing It is characterized in that the substrate placed by the substrate placing means can be carried in and out of the housing.

[0011]

According to the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention, since the gas ejecting means for ejecting the ionized gas is provided on the surface of the substrate placed on the substrate placing means, it is possible to perform the substrate processing in each processing section. The electric charges accumulated on the substrate can be sequentially discharged when the substrate is transported, and the occurrence of sparks can be prevented easily at low cost.

According to the substrate transfer device of the second aspect,
Since the fixing means for fixing the gas discharging means above the substrate mounting means is further provided, it is possible to effectively supply the ionized gas from above to the substrate surface during transfer, and to perform patterning or the like on the substrate surface. In the case where there is a spark, the generation of sparks on the surface can be effectively suppressed.

According to the substrate transfer device of claim 3,
Further, a housing for accommodating the substrate mounting means and the gas discharging means is further provided, and the gas discharging means is fixed to the upper part of the housing, and the substrate mounted by the substrate mounting means can be carried in and out of the housing. It is possible to effectively supply the ionized gas from above to the surface of the substrate being transported, and it is possible to effectively suppress the occurrence of sparks on the surface of the substrate when the substrate is patterned or the like. Further, even if a turbulence of the air flow occurs outside the housing due to the presence of the housing, the surface of the substrate being transported is unlikely to be affected, so that defective substrate processing is less likely to occur.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a transfer robot 20 which is a substrate transfer device of the first embodiment. This transfer robot 20
Are arranged in a substrate transfer area in a substrate processing apparatus (not shown), and the rectangular substrates to be processed are sequentially processed between the substrate processing units (not shown) provided around the transfer area. Circulation transportation for transfer is performed. By repeating such circulating transportation, the substrate to be processed can be transferred to each unit in an appropriate order, and the substrate can be processed under desired conditions and procedures. Each of the above-mentioned units accommodates a substrate to be processed and performs various processes such as heating, cooling, resist coating, adhesion strengthening agent coating, cleaning, and development.

The main body 21 of the transfer robot 20 is horizontally reciprocated by a mechanism (not shown) along a rail formed in a substrate transfer area in the substrate processing apparatus, and its vertical position is adjusted at a desired position to make a horizontal plane. It is configured to rotate at a desired angle inside, and the substrate can be delivered to and from each unit. The upper part 21a of this body 21
A pair of upper and lower hands 2 on which substrates to be processed are placed
2, 23 are movably mounted in a horizontal plane. The pair of hands 22 and 23 reciprocate between an advanced position extending toward the front surface 21b of the main body 21 and a retracted position retracted rearward. Further, since the hands 22 and 23 are separated from each other in parallel with each other and are movable in the vertical direction, it is possible to appropriately adjust the mutual vertical spacing. Four tabs 22a, 23 provided on each hand
a is for supporting four edges of the substrate to be processed.

Above the pair of upper and lower hands 22 for mounting the substrate, a DC voltage is alternately applied at a predetermined time interval to a pair of positive and negative emitters for ejecting ionized gas downward, and the respective emitters are ejected. A pulse DC type ionizer 24 that alternately generates positive and negative ions and blows gas around the respective emitters to blow out the ionized gas in a predetermined direction is arranged.
It is fixed relatively to the main body 21 via. A pair of nozzles 24a formed at the bottom of each ionizer 24
A stream of ionized gas from is supplied downward in the drawing (on the surface of the substrate). That is, this ionized gas flow uniformly hits the surface of the substrate (not shown) on the hand 23 in the retracted position to uniformly neutralize the charges on this surface.

To the ionizer 24, pure water and air or nitrogen gas containing no impurities are supplied under pressure through a pipe (not shown) attached to the fixing member 25. When such air or nitrogen gas is jetted downward from the nozzle 24a, it is ionized by the discharge effect of an electrode (not shown) attached to it. Since the ionizer 24 itself is a known device, its detailed description is omitted.

The operation of the transfer robot 20 of the first embodiment will be described. First, the transfer robot 20 is moved to the front of a desired unit, both hands 22 and 23 are advanced and inserted into the substrate processing position inside the unit. afterwards,
The distance between the two hands 22 and 23 is close to or away from each other, and the substrate to be processed placed on one of the hands (for example, the hand 22) is placed on the substrate holding mechanism in this unit, and the other hand ( Here, the processed substrate is placed on the hand 23). This replaces the processed and unprocessed substrates for this unit. The method of exchanging the substrate is as described in the specification and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 5-151160 previously filed by the applicant of the present application, and thus its details are omitted.

Next, both hands 22 and 23 are retracted out of the unit to take out the processed substrate out of the unit. At the same time, the ionizer 24 is activated to supply the ionized gas to the surface of the processed substrate on the other hand (the hand 23 in this case) described above, and the charge removal processing on this substrate surface is started.

The operation of the ionizer 24 is stopped after a lapse of a predetermined time or more while the ionizer 24 is operating.
As a result, the static elimination process is completed for the substrate processed by this unit.

After that, the transfer robot 20 is moved to the front of the next unit, both hands 22 and 23 are advanced and inserted into the processing position inside the unit, and the processed substrate and the previous unit in this unit are Substrates that have been processed but are not processed in this unit are replaced.

By repeating the above-described operation, the substrates are sequentially transferred in the order of the units corresponding to the processing procedure, the substrate transfer apparatus is circulated within the substrate processing apparatus, and the cycle of such cyclic transfer is repeated. The substrate can be processed with desired contents. At this time, since the charge removal processing is performed every time the substrate is transported, the electric charges accumulated in the substrate during the processing in each unit can be sequentially discharged during the subsequent transportation to prevent the occurrence of sparks. . Therefore, a high voltage is applied to the surface of the substrate to cause dielectric breakdown in a wiring pattern or the like formed on the substrate, or damage or malfunction of an element formed on the surface of the substrate. Does not occur.

FIG. 2 is a graph schematically showing the charged state of the substrate accumulated on the substrate circulated and transported by this substrate transport device. The horizontal axis represents the position of the units in the processing order, and the vertical axis represents the charge amount of the substrate being processed. As shown in the figure, since the electric charges generated in each of the units a to g are sequentially eliminated by the substrate transfer apparatus of the first embodiment, they may be accumulated and exceed the critical value (dotted line) Ec, and spark may occur. Absent. In addition, since the substrate is kept almost in the neutralized state at all times, it is possible to reduce the probability of particles adhering to the surface of the substrate during transportation or during loading / unloading to / from the unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a transfer robot 220 which is the transfer device of the second embodiment. This transfer robot 22
0 is also arranged in the substrate transfer area within the substrate processing apparatus (not shown) as in the case of the first embodiment, but is provided only on one side around the transfer area for processing the substrate. Circular transfer is performed by sequentially transferring the rectangular substrates W to be processed between the units (not shown).

The moving base 221 of the transfer robot 220 is
It horizontally reciprocates along a rail formed in a substrate transfer area in the substrate processing apparatus. A vertical movement arm mechanism 252 is attached to an upper portion of a pair of columns 251 which are vertically supported by the movement base 221. The vertical moving arm mechanism 252 supports the housing 250 that accommodates the substrate to be processed, and the mechanism (not shown) reciprocates the housing 250 in the vertical direction while maintaining its posture. The housing 250 is a movable base 2.
21 is a hollow cylinder that is open at both ends in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction, and has a horizontal arm mechanism 260 housed in the lower side of the housing 250 and an ionized air flow fixed to the upper inner wall side of the housing 250 inside. And a pair of ionizers 224 that discharge the gas downward.

The housing 250 prevents particles from adhering to the substrate W during transportation. That is, particles are prevented from re-floating and adhering to the substrate W by the clean air being down-flowed from above the substrate processing apparatus being rewound upward. The housing 250 itself is Japanese Patent Application No. 5-25 previously filed by the applicant of the present application.
Since it is as described in the specification and the drawing of No. 4819, detailed description will be omitted.

Horizontal arm mechanism 26 in housing 250
One end of 0 is fixed to the inner wall side of the lower part of the housing 250,
A pair of upper and lower hands 222 and 223 for mounting a substrate to be processed are connected to the tip side of the other end. The pair of hands 222 and 223 are used for the horizontal arm mechanism 260.
The housing 250 while maintaining its posture by
It reciprocates between an extended position extending outward and a retracted position retracted in the housing 250. A pair of hands 222, 2
The vertical spacing of 23 is appropriately adjusted by the inter-hand drive unit 270 located behind it. Pair of hands 22
As in the case of the first embodiment, it is possible to replace the substrate in each unit by one operation of separating or approaching 2, 223 in the vertical direction.

Since the pair of ionizers 224 housed in the housing 250 are the same as those in the first embodiment, their description will be omitted.

The operation of the transfer robot 220 of the second embodiment is as described in the specification and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 5-151160 previously filed by the applicant of the present application, and will be briefly described below. First, the housing 250 of the transfer robot 220 is moved to the front of a desired unit, both hands 222, 223 are advanced and inserted into the substrate processing position inside the unit. After that, the hands 222 and 223 are made close to or apart from each other, and the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate are exchanged for this unit.

Next, both hands 222 and 223 are retracted outside the unit, and the processed substrate W is taken out of the unit. At the same time, the ionizer 224 is operated for a predetermined time, and the ionized gas is supplied to the surface of the processed substrate W on the hands 222 and 223 for a predetermined time, so that the surface of the substrate W is discharged.

Thereafter, the housing 250 of the transfer robot 220 is moved to the front of the next unit, and both hands 2 are moved.
2, 23 are advanced and inserted into the substrate processing position inside the unit, and the substrate W processed for this unit and the unprocessed substrate W in this unit are exchanged.

By repeating the above operation, the substrates are sequentially transferred in the order of the units corresponding to the processing procedure, the transfer device is circulated within the substrate processing device, and the cycle of such cyclic transfer is repeated. The substrate can be processed as desired. At this time, since the charge removal processing is performed every time the substrate is transported, the electric charges accumulated in the substrate during the processing in each unit can be sequentially discharged during the subsequent transportation to prevent the occurrence of sparks. . Therefore, there is no inconvenience that a high voltage is applied to the surface of the substrate and the wiring patterns and elements formed on the surface of the substrate are destroyed or malfunctions occur.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a transfer robot 320 which is a substrate transfer device of the third embodiment. Unlike the cases of the first and second embodiments, the transfer robot 320 is fixedly arranged laterally between adjacent units of each unit arranged in series in the substrate processing apparatus (not shown). . (See the substrate transfer device 14 in FIG. 5B.) Each transfer robot 320 sequentially transfers the rectangular substrate W to be processed in the order of arrangement of the units.

The base 321 of the transfer robot 320 is located on one side in the lateral direction of the unit row arranged in series in the substrate processing apparatus and is fixed to the joint portion of the adjacent unit. A head 390 is supported on the base 321 via a rotating mechanism 380 including a crank and the like and an up-and-down mechanism 352 including a ball screw and the like. Rotating mechanism 38
0 rotates the head 390 in the horizontal plane,
The substrate mounting mechanism 322 extending from 0 is reciprocated between a pair of upper positions of a pair of adjacent units. Vertical mechanism 3
Reference numeral 52 vertically moves the head 390, and vertically reciprocates the substrate mounting mechanism 322 extending from the head 390 at a position above each unit.

The pair of long hand members 322a, 322b constituting the substrate mounting mechanism 322 are synchronously displaced in the horizontal plane to open and close each other. In addition, the substrate mounting mechanism 322
Of the other pair of short hand members 322c, 322
Also in d, they are displaced synchronously in the horizontal plane and are opened and closed mutually.
Each of the hand members 322a to 322d includes an arm 322f extending downward from its tip and a substrate holding member 322h attached to the lower end of the arm 322f. In addition, the support rods 322k are respectively provided between the head 390 side and the portions near the tips of the long hand members 322a, 322b.
Maintain stable operation of 322b. In addition, each substrate holding member 3
The upper and lower positions of 22h can be finely adjusted by a screw mechanism, and a rotatable roller for mounting the substrate W prevents particles from being generated from the substrate W.

An ionizer 324 is attached to the head 390 via a rod-shaped fixing member 325 so as to be sandwiched by the substrate mounting mechanism 322. Ionizer 324
Discharges the ionized gas onto the upper surface of the substrate W placed on the substrate placing mechanism 322 at the lower position thereof. The ionizer 324 itself is the same as that in the first and second embodiments, and therefore its explanation is omitted.

The operation of the transfer robot 320 of the third embodiment will be described. First, the head 3 of the transfer robot 320
90 is rotated to move the substrate mounting mechanism 322 to a position above the upstream unit. Here, the substrate mounting mechanism 3
Each of the 22 hand members 322a to 322d is displaced to the outside and kept in the open state.

Next, the substrate mounting mechanism 322 is moved to the head 390.
Along with this, the substrate holding member 322h is aligned with the height of the processed substrate W at the substrate processing position in the unit. Then, the respective hand members 322a to 322d are displaced inward to be in a closed state, and the four corners of the processed substrate W in the unit are held by the substrate holding members 322h.

After that, by raising the head 390, the substrate mounting mechanism 322 is moved together with the processed substrate W.
Raise.

After that, the ionizer 324 is operated for a predetermined time, the ionized gas is supplied to the surface of the processed substrate W for a predetermined time, and the surface of the substrate W is discharged.

Then, by rotating the head 390, the substrate mounting mechanism 322 is moved to a position above the downstream unit together with the substrate W which has been processed by the upstream unit.

Then, the substrate placing mechanism 322 is lowered,
With respect to this unit, an unprocessed substrate W is set at a substrate processing position in this unit, and each hand member 322a ...
The 322d is displaced to the outside to bring it into an open state. Then, by raising the head 390, the substrate placing mechanism 322 on which the substrate W is not placed is raised.

By carrying out the above operation from the downstream side of the transfer robot 320 arranged along the units arranged in series, the substrate in each unit is transferred to the unit on the downstream side. You can Furthermore, by repeating such a transfer cycle,
The substrate can be processed as desired. At this time, since the charge removal processing is performed every time the substrate is transported, the electric charges accumulated in the substrate during the processing in each unit can be sequentially discharged during the subsequent transportation to prevent the occurrence of sparks. . Therefore, a high voltage is applied to the surface of the substrate,
There is no inconvenience such as destruction of wiring patterns or elements formed on the substrate or malfunction.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.
For example, in the above embodiment, the pulse DC type ionizer was used, but it has a pair of bars facing each other and a large number of emitters are embedded in each bar. DC type ionizer that applies positive voltage to generate positive and negative ions from the emitter of each bar, and the emitter is placed in the center of the grounded grid and an AC voltage is applied to the emitter between the grid and the emitter. An AC type ionizer that ionizes the air can also be used. In addition, D
When a C-type or pulse DC-type ionizer is used, the distance from the ionizer to the substrate to be subjected to static elimination treatment is set to be sufficiently large so that the positive and negative ionized gases are evenly diffused and are evenly distributed on the substrate surface. Try to disperse. This enables uniform charge removal on the substrate.

Further, the position of the ionizer may be either below or on the side of the substrate to be subjected to the static elimination processing during the transportation. When the ionized gas is discharged from the side, the effect of static elimination can be enhanced by providing a means for deflecting the flow of the ionized gas toward the upper surface or the lower surface of the substrate.

Also, the number and capacity of the ionizers can be appropriately set according to the area and material of the substrate. For example, for a large-sized substrate, three or more ionizers are appropriately arranged above the mounting position of the substrate to be transported,
Can be fixed.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the static elimination process is performed immediately before the transfer of the substrate, but the static elimination process may be performed during the transfer of the substrate.

[0048]

According to the substrate transfer apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the processing means comprises the gas discharging means for discharging the ionized gas on the surface of the substrate placed on the substrate placing means. The charges accumulated on the substrate during substrate processing can be discharged sequentially when the substrate is transported, and the charges accumulated on the substrate can be easily and inexpensively compared to the configuration in which each unit is provided with an ionizer. Can be harmonized.

According to the substrate transfer device of the second aspect,
Further, since the gas discharging means is further provided with a fixing means for fixing the gas discharging means above the substrate placing means, the ionized gas can be effectively supplied from above to the substrate surface during transportation, and the occurrence of sparks is effectively suppressed. can do.

According to the substrate transfer device of claim 3,
Further, a housing for accommodating the substrate mounting means and the gas discharging means is further provided, and the gas discharging means is fixed to the upper part of the housing, and the substrate mounted by the substrate mounting means can be carried in and out of the housing. It is possible to effectively supply the ionized gas from above to the surface of the substrate being transported, and to effectively suppress the generation of sparks. Further, even if the airflow is turbulent outside the housing due to the presence of the housing, the surface of the substrate is hardly affected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a substrate transfer device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating the operation of the substrate transfer device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a substrate transfer device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a substrate transfer device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus and substrate transfer apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating that a spark is generated in the conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20, 220, 320 Transfer robot 22, 23, 222, 223 Hand 322 Substrate placement mechanism 24, 224, 324 Ionizer 25, 325 Fixing member 250 Housing

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate transfer device for transferring a substrate from one processing part to another processing part between a plurality of processing parts of the substrate processing device, wherein the substrate mounting means mounts a substrate during the transfer, and the substrate mounting device. A substrate transfer apparatus, comprising: a gas ejecting unit that ejects ionized gas onto the surface of the substrate placed on the placing unit. 2. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising fixing means for fixing the gas discharging means above the substrate placing means. 3. A housing for accommodating said substrate mounting means and said gas discharging means is further provided, said gas discharging means being fixed to the upper part inside said housing, said substrate mounting means being the mounted substrate. 2. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer device can be carried in and out of the housing.