Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Apparatus – Sequential work treating receptacles or stations with means...
Patent
1998-10-30
2000-10-31
Stinson, Frankie L.
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Apparatus
Sequential work treating receptacles or stations with means...
134153, 134147, 134902, B08B 302
Patent
active
061386952
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus which performs predetermined processing on substrates for semiconductor device fabrication and substrates for use in fabrication of electronic parts such as liquid crystal display (which are referred simply as "substrates" hereinafter) and which transports a plurality of substrates between a cassette capable of receiving therein a plurality of substrate and processing means for performing predetermined processing on substrates.
BACKGROUND ART
Typically, a cassette which accommodates a plurality of substrates arranged in parallel is used when substrates are transported into and out of a substrate processing apparatus. Historically, in the case of a substrate processing apparatus which collectively takes out a plurality of substrates from a cassette to handle the substrates, a substrate transport robot of the substrate processing apparatus grasps and transports a plurality of substrates as one substrate group, with the pitch (spacing of arranged substrates) of the substrates which are received in the cassette maintained as it is.
FIG. 33 is a perspective view of parts of a substrate transport robot which hold substrates in a prior art substrate processing apparatus. In the substrate transport robot shown in FIG. 33(a), two rod-shaped members 635 are swingably provided to freely change the spacing therebetween. The two rod-shaped members 635 have grooves 635A cut at a predetermined pitch. The substrates are held by fitting the sides of the outer peripheries of the substrates to be transported into the grooves 635A while the spacing between the pair of rod-shaped members 635 is reduced.
On the other hand, the substrate transport robot shown in FIG. 33(b) includes two plate-shaped members 535 each of which is rotatable on a shaft 534. Each of the two plate-shaped members 535 has grooves 535A formed on opposite surfaces thereof at a predetermined pitch. The substrates are held by fitting the sides of the outer peripheries of the substrates to be transported into the grooves 535A while the pair of plate-shaped members 535 are rotated.
Therefore, the substrate transport robot shown in FIG. 33(a) has one area for holding the substrates, and the substrate transport robot shown in FIG. 33(b) has two such areas provided respectively in front and back surfaces of the plate-shaped members 535.
In a substrate processing apparatus which employs predetermined processing liquids stored in a plurality of processing baths to sequentially repeat the steps of dipping substrates in the processing liquids to perform a series of processes, the states of the substrates to be transported change in a step-by-step manner. When the substrate transport robot shown in FIG. 33(a), for example, is used in such a substrate processing apparatus, the substrates which have not yet been cleaned, the substrates being cleaned, and the substrates which have already been cleaned are held by the one area. Thus, for example, if the substrates transported into the apparatus are contaminated with particles and the like, the contamination is transferred to the substrates being cleaned or the cleaned substrates. Further, droplets of cleaning fluid deposited on the substrates being subjected to cleaning processing are sometimes deposited on the cleaned substrates. This results in the contamination of the substrates which have already been subjected to the cleaning processing to cause the problem of reduction in yield of the substrates in the cleaning processing.
The use of the substrate transport robot shown in FIG. 33(b) which has the two areas for holding the substrates slightly alleviates such a problem but still does not solve the problem of the contamination of the substrates which have already been subjected to the cleaning processing.
In some cases, it is desired to use a cassette having a pitch different from a conventional pitch in accordance with the number and types of substrates to be processed. However, since the pitch of the substrates that the substrate tr
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Hasegawa Koji
Osaki Toshiyuki
Shibao Takuya
Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co,. Ltd.
Stinson Frankie L.
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