Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Specific application of temperature responsive control system
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-11
2003-11-25
Picard, Leo (Department: 2125)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Specific application of temperature responsive control system
C374S045000, C219S444100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06654668
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus provided in an apparatus for performing resist coating and developing processing for a substrate, specially a semiconductor wafer or a substrate for an LCD, for example, or the like, for properly performing heat processing for the substrate, a processing system, a distinguishing method, and a detecting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In this kind of coating and developing system, generally, after being coated with a resist, a substrate is transferred to an aligner, and the exposed substrate is received from the aligner to undergo developing processing. Before or after the exposure, heat processing or cooling processing is performed for the substrate.
FIG. 23
is a schematic front view of a heat processing unit for performing heat processing for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to only as “a wafer”).
In
FIG. 23
, “
101
” denotes a hot plate for performing heat processing for a wafer W. A proximity pin
102
and proximity sheets
102
′ both for holding the wafer W while lifting it off the hot plate
101
are disposed on the hot plate
101
, and a plurality of guides
105
each having a slant face
104
toward a wafer mounting position
103
nearly at the center of the hot plate
101
are provided to surround the wafer mounting position
103
.
In this unit, a rise-and-fall pin (not illustrated) for receiving and sending the wafer W from/to a transfer device for transferring the wafer W in the system is disposed to freely protrude from and retract into the front face of the hot plate
101
. The rise-and-fall pin receives the wafer W from the transfer device while protruding from the front face of the hot plate
101
, and thereafter descends and retracts into the front face of the hot plate
101
. Thus, the wafer W is mounted on the front face of the hot plate
101
.
At this time, unless the transfer device delivers the wafer W to the rise-and-fall pin at an accurate position, the wafer W can not be mounted at an accurate mounting position of the wafer mounting position
103
. Therefore, the guides
105
are provided as described above, whereby the wafer W is guided to the accurate mounting position of the wafer mounting position
103
by means of the guides
105
even when the transfer device delivers the wafer W to the rise-and-fall pin at a position slightly deviated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, when a position at which the transfer device delivers the wafer W to the rise-and-fall pin is considerably deviated, the wafer W is stranded on the guide
105
, whereby heat processing is not precisely performed, thus causing occurrence of product defects. The above occurrence of defects is usually detected in an inspection process as a post-process. The positional deviation in the transfer of the wafer W from the transfer device to the rise-and-fall pin often arises continuously instead of accidentally. As a result, when a defect is detected, a considerable number of defects already occur, thus causing huge damage.
The present invention is made to eliminate the above disadvantage, and an object of the present invention is to provide an art capable of quickly detecting a state in which a substrate transferred onto a processing plate is not accurately mounted at a substrate mounting position and holding defects in heat processing or cooling processing to a minimum.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an art capable of quickly detecting a position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate and performing quick and accurate control.
To attain the above objects, a processing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including a processing plate, on the front face of which a substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate, provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a temperature sensor disposed at a predetermined position on the processing plate, and means for judging that abnormality occurs when a temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate does not change by not less than a predetermined range.
When the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is stranded on the guiding member and thereby deviated from the substrate mounting position, the substrate is lifted off the processing plate only because an edge of the substrate on the opposite side to a position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member touches the front face of the processing plate. Meanwhile, in the processing plate for heating the substrate, for example, when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate, the processing plate is deprived of heat by the substrate, whereby the temperature of the processing plate once drops. When the substrate is lifted off the processing plate, a drop in temperature when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate decreases as compared with a case where the substrate is accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position. In the present invention, in view of this respect, when the temperature of the processing plate detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate does not change by not less than a predetermined range, it is judged that the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position, whereby a state in which the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is not accurately mounted at the substrate mounted position is quickly detected. Consequently, according to the present invention, defects in heat processing or cooling processing can be held to a minimum.
A processing apparatus of the present invention includes a processing plate, on the front face of which a substrate is mounted, for heating or cooling the mounted substrate, a guide member for guiding the substrate, provided on the processing plate to surround a substrate mounting position on the processing plate, a temperature sensor disposed at a position at a predetermined distance from the center of the substrate mounting position on the processing plate, and means for assuming a position deviated from the substrate mounting position of the substrate transferred onto the processing plate based on a temperature detected by the temperature sensor when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate.
When the substrate transferred onto the processing plate is stranded on the guiding member and thereby deviated from the substrate mounting position, the substrate is lifted off the processing plate only because the edge of the substrate on the opposite side to the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member touches the front face of the processing plate. Meanwhile, in the processing plate for heating the substrate, for example, when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate, the processing plate is deprived of heat by the substrate, whereby the temperature of the processing plate once drops. When the substrate is lifted off the processing plate, a drop in temperature when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate decreases as compared with the case where the substrate is accurately mounted at the substrate mounting position, and moreover such a drop in temperature differs depending on positions on the processing plate. For example, a position near the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member and a position on the opposite side to the above position (near the position at which the edge of the substrate on the opposite side to the position at which the substrate is stranded on the guide member touches the processing plate) are different in temperature drop when the substrate is mounted on the processing plate. Specifically, the space between the substrate and the processing plate in the vicinity of the position at which the substrate is stranded on the
Harada Koji
Nakayama Hisakazu
Ookura Jun
Garland Steven R.
Picard Leo
Rader & Fishman & Grauer, PLLC
Tokyo Electron Limited
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