Substrate transfer method and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10128138-B2
Application number	US-201715448882-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2017
Priority date	Dec 25, 2012
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A substrate transfer method is provided. The substrate transfer method comprises: loading the transfer container to a load port, and separating the cover body from the container main body; detecting an accommodation status of the substrate in the container main body by a detection unit; correcting, by a correction device, the accommodation status of the substrate in the container main body in which the accommodation status of the substrate detected by the detection unit is abnormal; and allowing a substrate transfer device to enter the container main body in which the accommodation status of the substrate is corrected, and unloading the substrate from the container main body.

First claim

We claim:

1. A substrate transfer method of unloading a substrate from a transfer container in which a cover body airtightly closes a substrate unloading opening formed at a front surface of a container main body and multiple substrates are accommodated in the form of shelves, the substrate transfer method comprising:
loading the transfer container to a load port, and separating the cover body from the container main body;
detecting an accommodation status of at least one of the substrates in the container main body by a detection unit;
correcting, by a correction device, the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates in the container main body in which the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates detected by the detection unit is abnormal;
putting a substrate transfer device into the container main body in which the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates is corrected, and unloading the substrate from the container main body,
determining a number of substrates of which accommodation status is detected to be abnormal; and
determining whether the correcting of the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates is performed by using an opening/closing door in order to correct the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates in a lump or is performed by using the substrate transfer device in order to correct the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates individually for each of the substrates according to the number of substrates of which accommodation status is detected to be abnormal.

2. The substrate transfer method of Claim 1 ,
wherein the correction device is configured to correct at least one of an inclination angle of the at least one of the substrates and a depth position of the at least one of the substrates in the container main body.

3. The substrate transfer method of Claim 1 , further comprising:
holding, by the opening/closing door, the cover body separated from the container main body; and
moving the cover body held by the opening/closing door back and forth with respect to the substrate unloading opening of the container main body,
wherein the correction device includes the opening/closing door configured to open and close a transfer opening for the at least one of the substrates in the load port and configured to engage the cover body with the container main body and separate the cover body from the container main body, and
the correcting of the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates includes controlling the cover body held by the opening/closing door to push the at least one of the substrates toward an inside of the container main body.

4. The substrate transfer method of Claim 1 ,
wherein the correction device includes the substrate transfer device, and
the correcting of the accommodation status of the at least one of the substrates includes adjusting, by the substrate transfer device, a position of the at least one of the substrates with respect to a supporting member that is provided in the container main body and configured to support the at least one of the substrates.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a substrate transfer apparatus to perform a substrate transfer method as claimed in Claim 1 .

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Morikawa Katsuhiro
• Sunaka Ikuo
• Nakano Seiji
• Kuratomi Kazunori
• Shimazu Toshio

Classifications

• H10P72/3411

  involving loading and unloading of wafers · CPC title

• H10P72/3406

  involving removal of lid, door or cover · CPC title

• H10P72/0608 Primary

  of substrates stored in a container, a magazine, a carrier, a boat or the like · CPC title

• B65G2201/0297

  Wafer cassette · CPC title

• H01L21/67778

  Electricity · mapped topic