Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Robot control
Reexamination Certificate
2003-01-17
2003-11-04
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A (Department: 3661)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Robot control
C700S265000, C700S248000, C700S249000, C700S259000, C700S260000, C700S261000, C700S262000, C700S263000, C700S264000, C701S023000, C369S053190, C414S730000, C414S217000, C414S777000, C414S757000, C414S941000, C250S206100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06643564
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of determining a retreat permission position of a carrier arm after the delivery of a thin plate substrate (hereinafter, simply referred to as a substrate) such as, for example, a semiconductor wafer and a glass substrate for liquid crystal to a plurality of supporting pins when the substrate is to be delivered to a mounting table in a processing unit or the like via the supporting pins from the carrier arm and to a device for teaching the retreat permission position.
2. Description of the Related Art
In semiconductor wafer fabricating steps, a photolithography technique is generally used for forming a resist pattern over a surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and an LCD substrate. This photolithography technique includes a resist coating step of coating the surface of the substrate with a resist solution, an exposure processing step of exposing a circuit pattern on the formed resist film, and a developing treatment step of supplying a developing solution to the substrate after the exposure processing.
Between the above steps, various kinds of heat processing are carried out, such as, heat processing (prebake), which is carried out, for example, between the resist coating step and the exposure processing step, for improving adhesiveness between the substrate and the resist film by evaporating a residual solvent in the resist film, heat processing (post-exposure bake (PEB)), which is carried out between the exposure processing step and the developing treatment step, for preventing the occurrence of fringe or inducing an acid catalyst reaction in a chemically amplified resist (CAR), and, heat processing (post-bake), which is carried out after the developing treatment step, for removing a residual solvent in the resist and a rinse agent taken into the resist during the developing to remedy infiltration at the time of wet etching.
As a heat processing unit for use in the heat processing, a unit as shown in FIG.
8
and
FIG. 9
has been conventionally used. This unit has a mounting table
25
provided with a heater
26
and capable of heating a semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer W) as a substrate to be processed up to a predetermined temperature, proximity pins
70
for supporting the wafer W with a slight spaced interval being kept from the mounting table
25
at the time of the heat processing, and a plurality of, for example, three ascendable/descendible supporting pins
80
passing through supporting pin guiding through holes arranged in and concentrically with the mounting table
25
at a plurality of, for example, three positions at equal spaced intervals. The wafer W is supported by tips of the supporting pins
80
, and the descent of the supporting pins
80
causes the wafer W to be placed on the mounting table
25
, more precisely, on the proximity pins
70
.
The wafer W is delivered to this heat processing unit in such a manner that a carrier arm
28
of a substrate transfer mechanism
21
holds a peripheral portion of the substrate to be processed (wafer W) to carry this wafer W to a position above the mounting table
25
, and then either the carrier arm
28
is descended or the supporting pins
80
are ascended to place the wafer W on the supporting pins
80
, and thereafter, the supporting pins
80
descend to place the wafer W on the mounting table
25
after the carrier arm
28
moves back to retreat outside the mounting table
25
.
In such delivery, it is necessary to prevent the carrier arm
28
from obstructing the delivery step of the wafer W based on a height position at the time when the tips of, for example, three supporting pins
80
abut against a lower surface of the wafer W, namely, a position at which the supporting pins
80
support the wafer W. This means that it is necessary that appropriate determination has been made in advance on a retreat permission position from which the carrier arm
28
is to start retreating outside the mounting table
25
after delivering the wafer W to the supporting pins
80
. When this position is not appropriate, the following problem occurs. For example, in the case when the carrier arm
28
is lowered to deliver the wafer W to the supporting pins
80
, a lower limit position of the descent of the carrier arm
28
, in other words, the timing of returning the carrier arm
28
becomes inappropriate so that the carrier arm
28
is returned with the wafer W being left placed thereon. In the case when the supporting pins
80
is hoisted to deliver the wafer W onto the supporting pins
80
, an upper limit position of the ascent of the supporting pins
80
, in other words, the timing of returning the carrier arm
28
becomes inappropriate so that the carrier arm
28
is returned with the wafer W being left placed thereon.
Further, in such delivery of the substrate, position adjustment of the carrier arm
28
in a horizontal plane is also important in order to prevent position deviation of the wafer W when the wafer W is delivered to the supporting pins
80
.
For this purpose, an operation of teaching the carrier arm of a substrate carrier the retreat permission position of the carrier arm and a substrate delivery position (transfer teaching) has been conventionally performed by an operator prior to the actual transfer of the wafer W. Specifically, a position apart from a height position at which the tips of the aforesaid three supporting pins
80
abut against the lower surface of the wafer W, by a predetermined amount in a height direction (namely, the retreat permission position of the carrier arm) has been conventionally calculated based on operator's gauge measurement, an operation amount of a robot arm of the substrate carrier is determined based on the retreat permission position of the carrier arm, and an arm operation is taught through manual input.
However, the operation of determining the retreat permission position of the carrier arm by the gauge measurement is difficult for the operator and also involves a safety problem. Therefore, the provision of a means for automatically determining and teaching the carrier arm the retreat permission position and so on of the carrier arm is expected.
Further, for this kind of substrate carrier provided with the aforesaid carrier arm, also expected is the provision of a method capable of teaching the carrier arm the adjustment of the extent of carrier arm forward movement in a depth direction in the horizontal plane and the fine adjustment in a right-left direction for the purpose of determining the position of the substrate, which is to be delivered to the supporting pins, in the horizontal plane.
It is an object of this invention to provide a technique of automatically determining and teaching the carrier arm the retreat permission position of the carrier arm after delivering the substrate to the supporting pins and further to provide a technique of facilitating the judgment of the substrate delivery position of the carrier arm.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method of the present invention is a method of determining a retreat permission position of a carrier arm when the carrier arm is moved back to retreat outside a mounting table after the carrier arm carries a substrate to a position above the mounting table while holding a peripheral portion of the substrate, to thereby place the substrate on a plurality of ascendable/descendible supporting pins passing through the mounting table, the method comprising the following. Namely, preparing a disk substantially equal in size to the substrate; and providing the disk with a sensor capable of detecting whether the supporting pin exists or not, for at least one insertion hole among a plurality of insertion holes formed to allow the plural supporting pins to be inserted therethrough. Further, carrying the disk to the position above the mounting table while holding the peripheral portion of the disk by the carrier arm, and relatively moving the carrier arm and the supporting pins in a vertical direc
Iida Naruaki
Kataoka Yukinori
Kozawa Seiji
Cuchlinski, Jr. William A
Marc McDieunel
Tokyo Electron Limited
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