Substrate misalignment detection method, substrate position abnormality determination method, substrate transfer control method, and substrate misalignment detection device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11715657-B2
Application number	US-202117141830-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 5, 2021
Priority date	Jan 7, 2020
Publication date	Aug 1, 2023
Grant date	Aug 1, 2023

Abstract

A substrate misalignment detection method includes: acquiring first image information or first position information of a substrate held to a stage by suction at a first height position; delivering the substrate from the stage to a holder in a state in which the suction of the substrate is released and causing the holder to hold the substrate at the first height position; acquiring second image information or second position information of the substrate held at the first height position; and detecting misalignment of the substrate by comparing the first image information with the second image information or by comparing the first position information with the second position information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate misalignment detection method, comprising:
acquiring first image information or first position information of a substrate held to a stage by suction at a first height position;
delivering the substrate from the stage to a holder in a state in which the suction of the substrate is released and causing the holder to hold the substrate at the first height position;
acquiring second image information or second position information of the substrate held at the first height position; and
detecting misalignment of the substrate by comparing the first image information with the second image information or by comparing the first position information with the second position information.

2. The substrate misalignment detection method of claim 1 , further comprising:
raising the stage on which the substrate is placed and moving the stage to the first height position,
wherein the acquiring the first image information or the first position information of the substrate includes acquiring the first image information or the first position information of the substrate placed on and held by suction to the stage moved to the first height position.

3. The substrate misalignment detection method of claim 2 , wherein the delivering the substrate from the stage to the holder in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released and causing the holder to hold the substrate at the first height position includes lowering the stage to a second height portion lower than the first height position in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released, and causing the holder to hold the substrate at the first height position.

4. The substrate misalignment detection method of claim 1 , wherein the delivering the substrate from the stage to the holder in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released and causing the holder to hold the substrate at the first height position includes lowering the stage to a second height portion lower than the first height position in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released, and causing the holder to hold the substrate at the first height position.

5. A substrate position abnormality determination method, comprising:
the substrate misalignment detection method of claim 1 ; and
determining whether or not the position of the substrate is abnormal based on the misalignment of the substrate.

6. The substrate position abnormality determination method of claim 5 , further comprising:
determining whether or not the position of the substrate is correctable, when the position of the substrate is determined to be abnormal in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is abnormal; and
notifying that the position of the substrate is abnormal, when the position of the substrate is determined to be uncorrectable in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is correctable.

7. A substrate transfer control method, comprising:
the substrate position abnormality determination method of claim 5 ;
receiving, by a transfer mechanism, the substrate held by the holder, when the position of the substrate is determined to be correctable in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is correctable;
correcting, by a correction device, the misalignment of the substrate received by the transfer mechanism; and
storing, by the transfer mechanism, the substrate having the corrected misalignment in a storage part.

8. A substrate transfer control method, comprising:
the substrate position abnormality determination method of claim 5 ;
receiving, by a transfer mechanism, the substrate held by the holder, when the position of the substrate is determined not to be abnormal in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is abnormal; and
storing the substrate received by the transfer mechanism in a storage part.

9. A substrate misalignment detection method, comprising:
acquiring first image information or first position information of a substrate held to a stage by suction at a first height position;
delivering the substrate from the stage to a holder in a state in which the suction of the substrate is released, and causing the holder to hold the substrate;
receiving, by a transfer mechanism, the substrate held by the holder;
acquiring second image information or second position information of the substrate held at the first height position by the transfer mechanism; and
detecting misalignment of the substrate by comparing the first image information with the second image information or by comparing the first position information with the second position information.

10. The substrate misalignment detection method of claim 9 , further comprising:
raising the stage on which the substrate is placed and moving the stage to the first height position,
wherein the acquiring the first image information or the first position information of the substrate includes acquiring the first image information or the first position information of the substrate placed on and held by suction to the stage moved to the first height position.

11. The substrate misalignment detection method of claim 10 , wherein the delivering the substrate from the stage to the holder in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released and causing the holder to hold the substrate includes lowering the stage to a second height portion lower than the first height position in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released, and causing the holder to hold the substrate.

12. The substrate misalignment detection method of claim 9 , wherein the delivering the substrate from the stage to the holder in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released and causing the holder to hold the substrate includes lowering the stage to a second height portion lower than the first height position in the state in which the suction of the substrate is released, and causing the holder to hold the substrate.

13. A substrate position abnormality determination method, comprising:
the substrate misalignment detection method of claim 9 ; and
determining whether or not the position of the substrate is abnormal based on the misalignment of the substrate.

14. The substrate position abnormality determination method of claim 13 , further comprising:
determining whether or not the position of the substrate is correctable, when the position of the substrate is determined to be abnormal in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is abnormal; and
notifying that the position of the substrate is abnormal, when the position of the substrate is determined to be uncorrectable in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is correctable.

15. A substrate transfer control method, comprising:
the substrate position abnormality determination method of claim 13 ;
correcting, by a correction device, the misalignment of the substrate received by the transfer mechanism, when the position of the substrate is determined to be correctable in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is correctable; and
storing, by the transfer mechanism, the substrate having the corrected misalignment in a storage part.

16. A substrate transfer control method, comprising:
the substrate position abnormality determination method of claim 13 ; and
storing, by the transfer mechanism, the substrate in a storage part, when the position of the substrate is determined not to be abnormal in the determining whether or not the position of the substrate is abnormal.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Watanabe Shinjiro
• Aramaki Koji

Classifications

• H10P74/203

  Structural properties, e.g. testing or measuring thicknesses, line widths, warpage, bond strengths or physical defects · CPC title

• H10P72/3302

  Mechanical parts of transfer devices · CPC title

• H10P72/78

  using vacuum or suction, e.g. Bernoulli chucks · CPC title

• H10P72/0606 Primary

  Position monitoring, e.g. misposition detection or presence detection · CPC title

• H10P72/7612

  characterised by lifting arrangements, e.g. lift pins · CPC title