Tokyo Electron Limited

Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited

Yasushi Hayashida

Shinichi Hayashi

Nobuaki Matsuoka

Yoshitaka Hara

Masami Akimoto

Issei Ueda

Yoshio Kimura

Hikaru Ito

Katsuhiro Tsuchiya

Takahiro Hashimoto

Yuichi Yamamoto

Akira Miyata

Tomohiro Kaneko

Noriyuki Anai

Osamu Hirakawa

Michiaki Matsushita

Yasuhiro Sakamoto

Masashi Moriyama

Keisuke Shigaki

Kensei Yamamoto

An application and development apparatus has a plurality of vertically stacked blocks directed to coating film formation on a substrate. This plurality of blocks includes first processing units, a first substrate transportation region, and a first transportation unit for transporting substrates between the first processing units within the first transportation region. A development process block also is vertically stacked with the blocks directed to coating film formation to constitute a layered block as the process block. The development process block also includes second processing units and a second transportation unit for transporting substrates between the second processing units within the second transportation region. The application and development apparatus further has a shelf-type delivery stage group, a vertical transportation unit and a substrate inspection unit such that a substrate input into the inspection unit passes through the delivery stage group from the vertical transportation unit.

Apparatus and method of application and development

A coating/developing device includes a processing block having a plurality of coating unit blocks stacked and a developing unit block stacked on the coating unit blocks. Each of the unit blocks is provided with a liquid processing unit for coating a liquid chemical on a substrate, a heating unit for heating the substrate, a cooling unit for cooling the substrate and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the units. The liquid processing unit is provided with a coating unit for coating a resist liquid on the substrate, a first bottom antireflection coating (BARC) forming unit for coating a liquid chemical for a BARC on the substrate before the resist liquid is coated thereon, and a second BARC forming unit for coating a liquid chemical for the BARC on the substrate after the resist liquid is coated thereon.

Coating/developing device and method

A coating and developing system and control method is provided. The system and control method curtails the amount of time for which a substrate is held with no purpose while improving the throughput of the coating and developing system. An inspection station through which a substrate processed in a processing station is transferred to a carrier station includes a plurality of different inspection modules respectively taking different inspection times, a buffer unit for temporarily holding a substrate and a substrate carrying means controlled by a controller. When the inspection module is engaged in inspecting a substrate, the substrate carrying means carries another substrate to be inspected by the same inspection module to the buffer unit and the substrate is held in the buffer unit. Thus, the holding of wafers in the inspection modules can be suppressed and the throughput can be improved.

Coating and developing system control method of controlling coating and developing system

A coating and developing apparatus is provided which requires a smaller occupation space even when it incorporates a substrate inspection unit, while eliminating a disadvantageous layout. A coating film forming part Bincluding a plurality of process units and transfer mechanisms Aand A, and a developing part Bincluding a plurality of process unitsand a transfer mechanism Aare vertically arranged in a process block S. There are disposed in the process block Son a side of a carrier block S, a plurality of vertically arranged transfer units TRS for transferring a substrate W between the same and transfer mechanisms for the respective parts, and a vertically movable transfer mechanism Dfor the transfer unit for transferring a substrate between these transfer units. At least one of the coating film forming part and the developing part includes a substrate inspection unitfor inspecting a substrate transferred by the transfer mechanism for the corresponding part.

Coating and developing apparatus, substrate processing method, and storage medium

Provided is a coating and developing apparatus composed of an assembly of plural unit blocks. A first unit-block stack and a second unit-block stack are arranged at different positions with respect to front-and-rear direction. Unit blocks for development, each of which comprises plural processing units including a developing unit that performs developing process after exposure and a transfer device that transfers a substrate among the processing units, are arranged at the lowermost level. Unit blocks for application, or coating, each of which comprises plural processing units including a coating unit that performs application process before exposure and a transfer device that transfers a substrate among the processing units, are arranged above the unit blocks for development. Unit blocks for application are arranged in both the first and second unit-block stacks. Unit blocks for application which a wafer goes through are determined depending on the layering positional relationship between an antireflective film and a resist film. An exposed wafer goes only through the unit block for development without going through any one of the unit blocks for application.

Coating and developing apparatus

A cassette waiting block is connected to a transfer in/out block of a coating and developing treatment system, and in the cassette waiting block, a cassette transfer in/out unit, a cassette waiting unit, a cassette delivery unit, and a substrate processing unit are provided. In the cassette waiting block, a cassette transfer unit for transferring the cassette between the cassette transfer in/out unit, the cassette waiting unit, and the cassette deliver unit, and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate between the cassette in the cassette waiting unit and the substrate processing unit are provided. Each cassette waiting unit has an opening mechanism for opening a port of the cassette.

Substrate processing system

A wet-processing apparatus includes module groups each including plural processing modules and a shared nozzle device to be used in common by the processing module of the module group. The wet-processing apparatus includes plural processing modules not less than four processing modules, for example, six processing modules. The six processing modules are divided into two module groups, namely, first and second module groups each of the three processing modules. Each of the first and the second module group is provided with a nozzle device for pouring a processing solution onto a wafer. The first wafer is delivered to the first processing module, the second wafer is delivered to the processing module of the second module group, the third wafer is delivered to the processing module of the first module group. Thus the successive wafers are delivered alternately to the first and the second module groups.

Wet-processing apparatus, wet-processing method and storage medium

Wafers Ato Aof a first lot A and wafers Bto Bof a second lot B are processed by a second heating unit at different temperatures, respectively. A wafer W is carried in a processing block included in coating and developing system along a route passing a temperature control unit CPL, a coating unit BCT, a heating unit LHP, a temperature control unit CPL, a coating unit COT, a heating unit LHP, and a cooling unit COL in that order. The process temperature of the heating unit LHPis changed after the last wafer Aof the first lot A has been processed by the heating unit LHP. The wafers of the second lot B are carried according to a carrying schedule such that carrying cycles succeeding a carrying cycle in which the first substrate Bof the second lot B is carried to the second temperature conditioning unit CPLcarry the substrates B of the second lot B succeeding the first substrate Band processed by a heating process by the heating unit LHPin due order to a buffer unit BF, and the wafers B held in the buffer unit BFare carried in due order to the downstream modules after the process temperature of the heating unit LHPhas been changed.

Coating and developing system, coating and developing method and storage medium

A coating and developing system includes processing blocks of the same construction each built by stacking up a plurality of unit blocks including a film forming unit block and a developing unit block in layers. The processing blocks are arranged longitudinally between a carrier block and an interface block. The number of processing blocks like the processing blocks arranged between the carrier block and the interface block is adjusted to adjust the throughput of the coating and developing system. Thus, a coating and developing system capable of achieving a desired throughput can be easily designed and manufactured.

Coating and developing system with a direct carrying device in a processing block, coating and developing method and storage medium

A substrate processing system processes a plurality of substrates in a single-substrate processing mode by a plurality of processes and provided with a plurality of modules respectively for carrying out processes. When a defect is found in a substrate, a defective processing unit that caused the defect can be easily found out. The substrate processing system and a substrate processing method to be carried out by the substrate processing system can suppress the reduction of throughput when a large number of substrates are to be processed. The substrate processing system is provided with a plurality of modules for processing a plurality of substrates (W) in a single-substrate processing mode by a plurality of processes and includes a substrate carrying means (A) for carrying a substrate (W) from a sending module to a receiving module, and a control means () for controlling the substrate carrying means (A) on the basis of one of at least two carrying modes each assigning receiving modules to sending modules. The control means () changes the carrying mode in effect for the other carrying mode upon the reception of a carrying mode change command while substrates are being processed and makes the substrate carrying means (A) carry substrates in the carrying mode newly brought into effect.

Substrate processing system and substrate processing method

A coating and developing system has a first processing block, a second processing block, and a transfer block interposed between the first and the second processing block. A first direct carrying means carries substrates from a carrier block to the transfer block. The transfer block distributes the substrates to respective film forming unit blocks of the first and the second processing block. Substrates on which films have been formed by the first and the second processing block are collected temporarily in the transfer block. A second direct carrying means carries the substrate collected in the transfer block from the transfer block to an interface block. Use of the first and the second processing block can improve the throughput of the coating and developing system. Since a carrying route from the carrier block to the first processing block, and a carrying route from the carrier block to the second processing block are the same, a carrying program is easy to create.

Disclosed herein is a development apparatus having a plurality of coating units and a development process unit stacked on each other in a layered direction in a process block which is connected at the rear side of the carrier block. A first transportation unit, which ascends and descends in the layered direction, is provided in the carrier block. Also, in the carrier block, the bottom of a substrate inspection unit is located above a highest position to which the first transportation unit is able to ascend in the layered direction.

A coating and developing system that includes two rotating members having parallel horizontal axes of rotation and disposed longitudinally opposite to each other, a carrying passage forming mechanism extended between the rotating members to form a carrying passage, and capable of moving along an orbital path to carry a wafer supported thereon, a sending-in transfer unit disposed at the upstream end of the carrying passage, a sending-out transfer unit disposed at the downstream end of the carrying passage, a developer pouring nozzle for pouring a developer onto the wafer, a cleaning nozzle for pouring a cleaning liquid onto the wafer, and a gas nozzle for blowing a gas against the wafer. The developer pouring nozzle, the cleaning nozzle, and the gas nozzle are arranged in a direction in which the wafer is carried along the carrying passage between the upstream and the downstream end of the carrying passage.

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Koshi, Japan

Yasushi Hayashida