Photography – Fluid-treating apparatus – Fluid application to one side only of photographic medium
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-03
2001-10-09
Rutledge, D. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Fluid-treating apparatus
Fluid application to one side only of photographic medium
C414S935000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06299363
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 11-190320, filed Jul. 5, 1999, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, for example, for performing coating processing of a resist solution, developing processing, and the like for a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, or the like.
In photolithography in a semiconductor device fabricating process, a resist is applied to the front face of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), the applied resist is subjected to exposure processing in accordance with a predetermined pattern and then developing processing, whereby the predetermined pattern of resist film is formed. Such a series of processing is performed by a system in which an aligner is connected to a coating and developing apparatus.
FIG. 12
is a plan view showing a conventional example of such an apparatus, and a cassette C housing
25
substrates, for example, semiconductor wafers is carried into a cassette stage
1
in a cassette station A
1
. On this occasion, the cassette C housing, for example,
25
wafers W is carried into the cassette stage
1
by an automatic transfer robot, and a transfer path
10
for the automatic transfer robot is formed along the cassette stage
1
outside and near the cassette station A
1
.
A processing station A
2
is connected to the cassette station A
1
, and an aligner A
4
is connected to the processing station A
2
with an interface station A
3
between them. The processing station A
2
includes, for example, two coating units
11
each for coating the wafer W with a resist solution and, for example, two developing units each for developing the exposed wafer W, and these units are arranged with two tiers each with two units perpendicularly to the direction of arrangement of the cassettes C placed in the cassette station A
1
(In this example, the developing units are arranged at the lower tier).
This station A
2
also includes, for example, three shelf units
12
,
13
, and
14
, in which the wafers W are mounted at multiple tiers, and respective shelves of these units
12
,
13
, and
14
are structured as heating sections, cooling sections, delivery sections for the wafer W, and the like. The wafer W is transferred between the coating units
11
, the developing units, and the shelf units
12
,
13
, and
14
by a wafer transfer means
15
.
In such a system, the wafer W in the cassette C on the cassette stage
1
is taken out by a delivery arm
16
, sent to the coating unit
11
via the delivery section of the shelf unit
12
, and coated with the resist there. The wafer W is then transferred through the wafer transfer means
15
, the delivery section of the shelf unit
13
, the interface station A
3
, and the aligner A
4
so as to be exposed to light. The exposed wafer W is transferred to the processing station A
2
by the reverse route, and after being developed in the developing unit which is not illustrated but provided at the bottom of the coating unit
11
, the wafer W is transferred through the wafer transfer means
15
, the delivery section of the shelf unit
12
, and the cassette C. Incidentally, the numeral
17
is a delivery arm for delivering the wafer W between the processing station A
2
and the aligner A
4
.
In the aligner A
4
, however, exposure of a circuit forming area is shifted and thereby the shape of a pattern deteriorates if the aligner vibrates during processing. Accordingly, a foundation is provided at the lower end side of the aligner, and the aligner is placed on this foundation, thereby preventing the vibration of the aligner.
Meanwhile, in the aforesaid coating and developing apparatus, when it is thought to increase the numbers of the coating units
11
and the developing units in order to improve a throughput, it is common to add units in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the arrangement of the cassette C in the cassette station A
1
. Also, there is the thought that only the coating units
11
are disposed in the processing station A
2
and that a processing station including developing units is added at the next tier.
In such methods, however, if systems are added in any case, the distance between the transfer path
10
for the automatic transfer robot and the aligner A
4
is lengthened. Hence, when the systems are added, the transfer path for the automatic transfer robot needs to be formed again in a different area, which causes a disadvantage that construction work increases in addition to work for the addition of the units and the processing station, resulting in a lot of trouble.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made under these circumstances, and its object is to provide a substrate processing apparatus in which the length of a processing station in a direction orthogonal to the direction of arrangement of substrate cassettes does not change even if processing sections are added.
To this end, a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a cassette station including a mounting section for mounting a cassette housing substrates thereon and delivery means for receiving and sending the substrate from/to the cassette mounted on the mounting section; and a processing station, connected to the cassette station, for processing the substrate transferred by the delivery means, the processing station including a plurality of processing sections arranged in a direction parallel to the direction of arrangement of the cassettes mounted on the mounting section.
In the aforesaid structure, since processing sections are added in the direction parallel to the direction of arrangement of the cassettes, the length of the processing station in a direction orthogonal to the direction of arrangement of the cassettes does not change even if the processing sections are added. Thus, the processing sections can be added without changing the location of a transfer path for an automatic transfer robot for carrying the cassette into/out of the mounting section.
In the above case, the processing station is structured to include a plurality of substrate transfer means for receiving and sending the substrate from/to the processing sections and a shelf section in which a plurality of pre- and post-processing sections for performing pre-processing and/or post processing for processing in the processing sections are vertically arranged. More specifically, the shelf section is arranged on the cassette station side in a direction parallel to the direction of arrangement of the processing sections, the processing sections are arranged to face the shelf section on the opposite side to the cassette station side, and the substrate transfer means arranged to face the shelf section and the processing sections between the shelf section and the processing sections. In this case, at least one of the substrate transfer means is structured to be allowed to receive and send the substrate from/to both of the adjacent two processing sections.
Further, in the substrate processing apparatus in the present invention, when two or less substrate transfer means are provided, it is preferable that the shelf section includes an input delivery section for delivering the substrate from the cassette station to the processing station and an output delivery section for delivering the substrate from the processing station to the cassette station separately, and when three or more substrate transfer means are provided, it is preferable that one of the shelf sections on both sides as seen from the cassette station includes an input delivery section for delivering the substrate from the cassette station to the processing station and that the other shelf section includes an output delivery section for delivering the substrate from the processing station to the cassette station. In the aforesaid structu
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Rutledge D.
Tokyo Electron Limited
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