Substrate processing system, substrate processing method, and control program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12062559-B2
Application number	US-202117522402-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 9, 2021
Priority date	Nov 10, 2020
Publication date	Aug 13, 2024
Grant date	Aug 13, 2024

Abstract

A substrate processing system for performing processing on a plurality of substrates. The substrate processing system comprises: a processing unit comprising a plurality of processing modules each configured to perform a predetermined process; a transfer unit having a transfer device configured to transfer a substrate to each of the plurality of processing modules; a loading/unloading unit configured to hold a plurality of substrates and load/unload a substrate to/from the processing unit; and a controller configured to control the processing unit, the loading/unloading unit, and the transfer unit. The controller controls the transfer unit to transfer to the plurality of processing modules in a serial manner a plurality of substrates that are sequentially loaded from the loading/unloading unit to the processing unit, the controller further comprises a standby mode setting unit configured to set a standby period of the substrate at an appropriate timing depending on a content of the process.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate processing system for performing processing on a plurality of substrates, comprising:
a processing unit comprising a plurality of processing modules each configured to perform a predetermined process;
a transfer unit having a transfer device configured to transfer a substrate to each of the plurality of processing modules;
a loading/unloading unit configured to hold a plurality of substrates and load/unload a substrate to/from the processing unit; and
a controller configured to control the processing unit, the loading/unloading unit, and the transfer unit,
wherein the controller controls the transfer unit to transfer to the plurality of processing modules in a serial manner a plurality of substrates that are sequentially loaded from the loading/unloading unit to the processing unit, the controller further comprises a standby mode setting unit configured to select any one of multiple standby modes in which a standby period is set at an appropriate timing depending on the content of the process of the processing module, and
wherein the multiple standby modes comprise a post-processing standby mode in which the substrate stands by in the processing module after the substrate is processed in the processing module, a pre-processing standby mode in which the substrate stands by in the processing module before the substrate is processed in the processing module, and a no-standby mode in which the substrate does not stand by in the processing module.

2. The substrate processing system of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a standby time setting unit configured to set a standby time for each processing module.

3. The substrate processing system of claim 2 , wherein the standby time setting unit sets the standby time such that a period of time in which the substrate stays in the processing module becomes constant for the plurality of processing modules.

4. The substrate processing system of claim 2 , wherein the controller comprises an error time detection/correction unit having a function of detecting an error time with respect to a schedule of processing and/or transfer of the substrate for each processing modules and correcting the error time.

5. The substrate processing system of claim 4 , wherein the error time detection/correction unit corrects the error time by shortening or extending the standby time depending on the error time of the processing module.

6. The substrate processing system of claim 4 , wherein when the error time is not correctable in a processing module, the error time detection/correction unit corrects the error time via a transfer device that unloads a substrate from the processing module or via the next processing module.

7. The substrate processing system of claim 4 , wherein when the processing time of a certain substrate is extended in the processing module which cannot correct the error of the processing time, the error time detection/correction unit stands by the next substrate for a period of time corresponding to the extended amount of the processing time when loading the next substrate into the processing module.

8. A substrate processing system for processing a plurality of substrates, comprising:
a processing unit having a plurality of processing modules each configured to perform a predetermined process;
a transfer unit configured to transfer a substrate to each of the plurality of processing modules;
a loading/unloading unit configured to hold a plurality of substrates and load/unload the substrate to/from the processing unit; and
a controller configured to control the processing unit and the transfer unit,
wherein the transfer unit comprises a transfer chamber and a plurality of transfer devices arranged in a row in the transfer chamber,
the plurality of processing modules are connected to both sides of the transfer chamber, and
wherein the controller controls the transfer unit to sequentially transfer to the plurality of processing modules in a serial manner a plurality of substrates unloaded from the loading/unloading unit to the processing unit, wherein the controller further controls the transfer unit such that series of transfers of the plurality of substrates to the plurality of processing modules are divided into a plurality of transfer phases, each being a basis of transfer, and the transfer timing is shifted to each transfer phase, and
wherein the controller controls the transfer unit to transfer the substrate loaded from the loading/unloading unit into the processing unit in a U shape from a processing module at one end of the transfer chamber to a processing module at the other end of the transfer chamber, and sets, as the plurality of transfer phases, a row of processing modules on one side of the transfer chamber, a row of processing modules on the other side of the transfer chamber, and a row of intermediate processing modules.

9. The substrate processing system of claim 8 , wherein the controller comprises a standby mode setting unit configured to set a standby time of a substrate at an appropriate timing depending on a content of the process for each of the plurality of processing modules, and a standby time setting unit configured to set the standby time,
wherein the standby time setting unit is configured to set the standby time such that a period of time in which the substrate stays in the processing module becomes constant for the plurality of processing modules.

10. The substrate processing system of claim 8 , wherein the controller comprises a standby mode setting unit configured to set a standby time of a substrate at an appropriate timing depending on the content of the process for each of the plurality of processing modules, and a standby time setting unit configured to set the standby time,
wherein the standby time setting unit is configured to set the standby time such that the period of time in which the substrate stays in the processing modules other than the intermediate processing modules becomes constant and such that the period of time in which the substrate stays in the intermediate processing modules becomes shorter than the period of time in which the substrate stays in the other processing modules by the amount of transfer shift.

11. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate in a substrate processing system comprising a processing unit having a plurality of processing modules each configured to perform a predetermined process, a transfer unit having a transfer device configured to transfer a substrate to each of the plurality of processing modules, and a loading/unloading unit configured to hold a plurality of substrates and load/unload a substrate to/from the processing unit, the method comprising:
selecting any one of multiple standby modes in which a standby period is set at an appropriate timing depending on the content of the process of the processing module;
sequentially loading the plurality of substrates from the loading/unloading unit to the processing unit; and
sequentially transferring the plurality of substrates that are sequentially loaded into the processing unit to the plurality of processing modules in a serial manner and processing the substrates,
wherein the multiple standby modes comprise a post-processing standby mode in which the substrate stands by in the processing module after the substrate is processed in the processing module, a pre-processing standby mode in which the substrate stands by in the processing module before the substrate is processed in the processing module, and a no-standby mode in which the substrate does not stand by in the processing module.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Matsuhashi Takafumi
• Hirata Toshiharu
• Nagasawa Minoru
• Takano Kunio

Classifications

• H10P72/33

  into and out of processing chamber · CPC title

• H10P72/32

  between different workstations · CPC title

• H10P72/0612 Primary

  Production flow monitoring, e.g. for increasing throughput · CPC title

• H10P72/3311

  Horizontal transfer of a batch of workpieces · CPC title

• H10P72/3208 Primary

  Changing the direction of the conveying path · CPC title