Substrate transport apparatus and substrate transport method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9960063-B2
Application number	US-201514969529-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2015
Priority date	Dec 24, 2014
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

An apparatus for transporting a substrate includes a base, a holding device which retracts relative to the base and holds multiple substrates in multiple stages, respectively, a detection device including three detection components such that the three detection components are positioned to detect peripheries of the substrates held by the holding device from different positions, respectively, and a control device including circuitry which estimates a position of the substrates based on detection result of the detection device, calculates an amount of shifting between a base position and an estimated position of the substrates, determines whether a calculated amount of shifting is within a threshold value, and executes transport of the substrates held by the holding device when the calculated amount of shifting is determined to be within the threshold value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for transporting substrates, comprising:
a base;
a holding device configured to retract relative to the base and hold a plurality of substrates in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction, respectively;
a temporary loading device configured to store the plurality of substrates held by the holding device;
a detection device comprising three detection components such that the three detection components are positioned to detect peripheries of the substrates from different positions, respectively, while the substrates are being held in the stages in the vertical direction by the holding device; and
a control device comprising circuitry configured to estimate a position of the substrates held in the stages in the vertical direction based on detection result of the detection device, calculate an amount of shifting in a horizontal direction between a base position and the position of the substrates held in the stages in the vertical direction, determine whether the amount of shifting is within a threshold value, and execute transport of the substrates held by the holding device when the amount of shifting is determined to be within the threshold value,
wherein the circuitry of the control device is configured to control the holding device such that when the amount of shifting exceeds the threshold value, the holding device holds one of the substrates and the temporary loading device stores the other substrates and that the detecting device detects the periphery of the one of the substrates held by the holding device, calculate an amount of shifting of the one of the substrates from the base position based on detection result of the detecting device, and control the holding device such that the holding device changes a position based on the amount of shift to match a position of the one of the substrates with the base position.

2. An apparatus for transporting substrates according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry of the control device is configured to estimate a first center position of the substrates for the position of the substrates based on detection result of two adjacent detection components of the detection device, calculate an amount of shifting in the horizontal direction between a center position set as the base position and the first center position of the substrates, estimate a second center position of the substrates for the position of the substrates based on detection result of different two adjacent detection components of the detection device, calculate an amount of shifting in the horizontal direction between the center position set as the base position and the second center position of the substrates by the different two adjacent detection components, and determine whether the amounts of shifting are within the threshold value.

3. An apparatus for transporting substrates according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry of the control device is configured to control the holding device such that after changing the position based on the calculated amount of shift to match the position of the one of the substrate with the base position, the holding device stores the one of the substrates in the temporary loading device and takes another one of the substrates from the temporary loading device, calculate an amount of shifting of the other one of the substrates from the base position based on detection result of the detecting device control the holding device such that the holding device changes a position based on the amount of shift to match a position of the other one of the substrates with the base position, and control the holding device such that the holding device holds the substrates stored in the temporary loading device after matching positions of all of the substrates with the base position through repetitions.

4. An apparatus for transporting substrates according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry of the control device is configured to determine whether the amount of shifting is within the threshold value after determining a position of the peripheries of the substrates is within detection ranges of the detection components.

5. An apparatus for transporting substrates according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry of the control device is configured to determine whether the amount of shifting is within the threshold value after determining a position of the peripheries of the substrates is within detection ranges of the detection components and determining the position of the peripheries of the substrates is within a predetermined range in the detection ranges of the detection components.

6. An apparatus for transporting substrates according to claim 1 , wherein each of the detection components comprises a linear image sensor.

7. An apparatus for transporting substrates according to claim 6 , wherein the linear image sensor comprises a plurality of light receiving elements and is positioned such that the plurality of light receiving elements is arrayed on an imaginary straight line extending through the base position.

8. An apparatus for transporting substrates according to claim 6 , wherein the linear image sensor of each of the detection components is positioned on the base.

9. A substrate processing system, comprising:
a substrate transport apparatus comprising a base, a holding device configured to retract relative to the base and hold a plurality of substrates in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction, respectively, a temporary loading device configured to store the plurality of substrates held by the holding device, a detection device comprising three detection components such that the three detection components are positioned to detect peripheries of the substrates from different positions, respectively, while the substrates are being held in the stages in the vertical direction by the holding device; and
a control device comprising circuitry configured to estimate a position of the substrates held in the stages in the vertical direction based on detection result of the detection device, calculate an amount of shifting in a horizontal direction between a base position and the position of the substrates held in the stages in the vertical direction, determine whether the amount of shifting is within a threshold value, and execute transport of the substrates held by the holding device when the amount of shifting is determined to be within the threshold value
wherein the circuitry of the control device is configured to control the holding device such that when the amount of shifting exceeds the threshold value, the holding device holds one of the substrates and the temporary loading device stores the other substrates and that the detecting device detects the periphery of the one of the substrates held by the holding device, calculate an amount of shifting of the one of the substrates from the base position based on detection result of the detecting device, and control the holding device such that the holding device changes a position based on the amount of shift to match a position of the one of the substrates with the base position.

10. A method for transporting substrates, comprising:
holding a plurality of substrates such that a holding device configured to retract relative to the base holds the plurality of substrates in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction, respectively;
detecting peripheries of the substrates held by the holding device such that a detection device comprising three detection components detects the peripheries of the substrates from different positions, respectively, while the substrates are being held in the stages in the vertical direction by the holding device;
estimating a position of the substrates held in the stages in the vertic

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Hayashi Tokutaro

Classifications

• H10P72/3412

  Batch transfer of wafers · CPC title

• H10P72/3402

  Mechanical parts of transfer devices · CPC title

• H10P72/0606 Primary

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

• H10P72/50

  for positioning, orientation or alignment · CPC title

• H10P72/30 Primary

  for conveying, e.g. between different workstations · CPC title