JP6430889B2 - Vacuum processing apparatus and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus that processes a sample in a processing chamber disposed inside a vacuum vessel, and an operation method thereof.

  As a prior art of a vacuum processing apparatus in which a plurality of vacuum containers are connected to a plurality of vacuum transport containers and a sample is sequentially transported by a robot arm in the vacuum transport container or an operation method thereof, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-195006 (Patent Document) As described in 1), a vacuum processing in which a plurality of vacuum transfer chambers are connected to a processing chamber inside a vacuum chamber, in which a sample on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is arranged and a vacuum processing chamber for processing the sample is connected. The device is known. This Patent Document 1 discloses a number determination for determining whether or not the number of wafers being transferred existing on a transfer path is less than a predetermined value before an arbitrary wafer is transferred from a FOUP (transfer container). Remaining process for determining whether the sum of the process and the remaining processing time of the wafer existing in the vacuum transfer container to be processed and the processing time of the wafer being transferred existing on the transfer path is equal to or less than a predetermined value If the conditions of the time determination process and the number of sheets determination process or the remaining processing time determination process are not satisfied, the number determination process and the remaining processing time determination process are performed on a wafer after any one wafer in the order of conveyance. First, a wafer that satisfies these process conditions is replaced with an arbitrary one wafer, and a transfer skip process is newly established for a wafer that is subsequently unloaded from the FOUP. Technique for improving the efficiency of the process is disclosed.

  Furthermore, as another prior art, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-12496 (Patent Document 2), a plurality of transfer robots are arranged in a transfer mechanism unit to which a processing module is connected, and a plurality of transfer robots are arranged. 2. Description of the Related Art A linear tool vacuum processing apparatus in which an object to be processed is transferred between robots is known. This Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for comparing the throughputs in the respective transfer routes, selecting and setting the highest transfer route when there are a plurality of routes for transferring an object to be processed such as a wafer.

JP 2014-195006 A JP 2011-12496 A

  The prior art described above has a problem because the following points are not sufficiently considered.

  That is, after the processing of the sample in the processing chamber in the vacuum vessel is completed and the sample is taken out, when performing cleaning without using the sample by forming plasma in the processing chamber, the sample to be processed next is You have to wait for delivery to this processing chamber. At this time, if the sample is held in a state where it is held by the robot in the vacuum transfer chamber, the operation of the robot is restricted, and the transfer of other samples is hindered, resulting in a decrease in throughput. On the other hand, if the sample is put on standby outside the vacuum transfer container, for example, stored in the FOUP, and the transfer is started at the start of cleaning, the cleaning ends if the cleaning time is shorter than the time required for transfer to the target processing chamber. It takes a long time from the start of sample processing to the start of sample processing, and there is a problem that throughput is lowered because the schedule for transporting other samples is delayed.

  The above prior art did not consider such points. An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum processing apparatus or an operating method thereof that can achieve high processing efficiency by suppressing a decrease in throughput even when performing cleaning without using a sample.

The above-mentioned object is an atmospheric transfer container in which a plurality of cassette stands on which a cassette capable of storing a plurality of objects to be processed is placed and arranged on the front side thereof, and the object to be processed is transferred in an internal space; A lock chamber arranged to be connected to the back side of the atmospheric transfer container, and a robot arranged to be connected to the rear of the lock chamber and carrying the workpiece on an arm are arranged in each of the lock chambers. A plurality of processes in which a plurality of vacuum transfer containers and the object to be processed, which are connected to the respective vacuum transfer containers and transferred to and disposed in a reduced-pressure processing chamber, are processed using plasma formed in the processing chamber. A container and a plurality of vacuum processing containers connected to each other, and at least one intermediate chamber provided with a space for storing the object to be processed therein; The unprocessed object to be processed transferred to the processing chamber is transferred to the processing chamber of the processing container through the predetermined at least one vacuum transfer chamber, and after being subjected to the processing, is unloaded from the processing chamber. A vacuum processing apparatus that is returned from the lock chamber to the original cassette through the original vacuum transfer chamber,
In the processing chamber in the processing container, after the object to be processed is unloaded from the processing chamber after processing, plasma is formed therein and cleaning is performed.
A control device for controlling the operation of carrying a plurality of the objects to be processed from the cassette in which they are stored into the predetermined processing container and from the processing chamber to being returned to the original cassette; And the control device pre-allocates time for operating the robot when the imaginary workpiece is carried into the processing chamber before the cleaning performed without the workpiece being placed in the processing chamber. This is achieved by a vacuum processing apparatus that controls the movement of the robot according to a set schedule to control the conveyance of the imaginary workpiece.

Also, the above object is to provide an atmospheric transfer container in which a plurality of cassette stands on which cassettes capable of storing a plurality of objects to be processed are placed and arranged on the front side thereof, and the objects to be processed are conveyed in the internal space. A lock chamber that is connected to the back side of the atmospheric transfer container, and a robot that is connected to the back of the lock chamber and that transports the workpiece on the arm. A plurality of vacuum transfer containers, and a plurality of the objects to be processed which are connected to the respective vacuum transfer containers and transferred to and disposed in the decompressed processing chamber are processed using plasma formed in the processing chamber. And a vacuum processing apparatus operating method comprising: a processing chamber; and at least one intermediate chamber provided with a space in which the processing objects are stored inside the plurality of vacuum processing containers connected to each other. In Te,
After the unprocessed object to be processed taken out from the cassette and transported to the lock chamber is transported to the processing chamber of the processing container through the at least one predetermined vacuum transport chamber and subjected to the processing, It is carried out by controlling the operation of transporting the object to be processed from the processing chamber until it is returned from the lock chamber to the original cassette through the original vacuum transport chamber,
In the processing chamber in the processing container, after the processing object is unloaded from the processing chamber after processing, a step of forming and cleaning plasma inside is performed,
According to a schedule assigned in advance to the time of operation of the robot when an imaginary object to be processed is carried into the processing chamber before the cleaning step performed in a state where the object to be processed is not arranged in the processing chamber. This is achieved by a method of operating a vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the operation of the robot is adjusted to control the conveyance of the imaginary workpiece.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an increase in the waiting time for transporting the next sample after cleaning without using a sample, so that it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput and continuously perform transport control close to optimum conditions. It becomes.

It is a top view which shows the outline of the whole structure of the vacuum processing apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the conveyance schedule of the wafer by the prior art at the time of implementing in-situ cleaning without a wafer in the same process chamber, and the conveyance schedule of the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is a time chart of a transfer schedule for each wafer when an imaginary wafer is transferred when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer in parallel processing using a plurality of vacuum processing chambers of the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations for setting a schedule for transporting a wafer in the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of discriminating and selecting a type of a wafer to be transferred in the transfer schedule shown in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is a linear tool vacuum processing apparatus for processing a sample (processing object) such as a semiconductor wafer used for manufacturing a semiconductor device in a processing chamber inside a vacuum vessel. FIG. 1 is a top view schematically showing the overall configuration of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  A vacuum processing apparatus 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes an atmosphere-side apparatus configuration 102, a vacuum-side apparatus configuration 103, and a control unit 104 that controls the operation thereof. The atmosphere-side device configuration 102 is a portion that carries out and carries in wafers from a FOUP (transfer container, cassette) that can store a plurality of wafers under atmospheric pressure, and the vacuum-side device configuration 103 is predetermined from the atmospheric pressure. This is a portion for carrying the wafer under a pressure reduced to a degree of vacuum and processing the wafer inside the vacuum processing chambers 113, 114, 118, and 119. The control unit 104 is a part that monitors the state of the entire vacuum processing apparatus and controls the operation of each station associated with wafer transfer and wafer processing.

  The atmosphere-side apparatus configuration 102 includes a load port (cassette table) 105 in which a FOUP capable of storing a plurality of wafers is placed, an atmosphere-side transfer robot 107 that performs wafer transfer under atmospheric pressure, and a rectangular atmosphere transfer container. 106, an aligner 108 for adjusting the orientation of the wafer and detecting the center position, and a save station 109, which is a temporary save location for the wafer.

  In the atmosphere-side apparatus configuration 102, the wafer to be processed is unloaded from the FOUP by the atmosphere-side transfer robot 107, and is loaded into the load lock chamber 110 connected to the vacuum-side apparatus configuration 103 via the aligner 108. Further, the wafer transferred from the vacuum side apparatus configuration 103 to the load lock chamber 110 is unloaded and stored in the FOUP. The load lock chamber 110 can perform depressurization to a predetermined vacuum pressure and pressurization to an atmospheric pressure. After the wafer is loaded from the atmosphere side apparatus configuration 102, the pressure is reduced and the same vacuum as the vacuum side apparatus configuration 103 is obtained. By setting the state, the wafer is carried into the vacuum side apparatus configuration 103. On the other hand, after the wafer is loaded from the vacuum side apparatus configuration 103, pressurization is performed and the inside of the load lock chamber 110 is brought into an atmospheric pressure state, so that the transfer to the atmosphere side apparatus configuration 102 can be performed.

  The vacuum side device configuration 103 includes vacuum side transfer robots 112 and 117 and vacuum transfer chambers 111 and 116 for transferring a wafer inside a vacuum vessel, a standby space 115 installed between a plurality of vacuum transfer chambers, and a wafer. It has vacuum processing chambers 113, 114, 118, and 119 having processing chambers for performing processing such as etching, ashing, and film formation performed on the inside. Note that gate valves are arranged between the vacuum containers constituting these components and are connected to each other, and are opened when a wafer is loaded and unloaded.

  The standby space 115 is provided with a space for placing a wafer, and the vacuum-side transfer robots 112 and 117 in the adjacent vacuum transfer chambers 111 and 116 can transfer the wafer. For example, the vacuum side transfer robot 112 in front of the vacuum processing apparatus 101 carries the wafer into the standby space 115, and the vacuum side transfer robot 117 behind the vacuum processing apparatus 101 carries out the wafer after the operation is completed. It is possible to transfer wafers between them.

  The control unit 104 controls the operation of each station associated with wafer transfer and wafer processing while monitoring the overall state of the vacuum processing apparatus 101, and instructs the setting of the wafer transfer schedule and the wafer transfer operation. A calculation unit 120 and a storage unit 121 that stores various types of information are included. In this control unit, the calculation unit 120 selects a transfer order of a plurality of wafers stored in a FOUP installed in the load port 105 and sets the transfer schedule processing part 122 according to the determined transfer order. A transfer control processing unit 123 that controls transfer processing, for example, controls the operation of devices such as a robot and a gate valve that transfer a wafer is provided.

  In addition, the storage unit 121 includes apparatus state information 124, processing chamber information 125, transfer path information 126, processing progress information 127, wafer transfer order information 128, and transfer limit number information 129, which are information necessary for arithmetic processing. ing. Furthermore, the control unit 104 is connected to the host 131 via the network 130, and can perform processing commands and state monitoring from the host 131 as necessary.

  The description of each processing unit included in the calculation unit 120 is as follows.

  In the transfer schedule processing unit 122, apparatus state information 124, processing room information 125, transfer route information 126, and processing progress information 127 stored in the storage unit 121 in accordance with an algorithm described in software stored in the storage unit 121 in advance. Is obtained via communication means, and the wafer transfer order information 128 is calculated from these pieces of information. The calculated wafer transfer order is transmitted and received by the transfer control processing unit 123.

  The transfer control processing unit 123 transfers the wafer to the vacuum processing apparatus 101 based on the wafer transfer order information 128 stored in the storage unit 121 and information set by the transfer schedule processing unit 122 and the transfer limit number information 129. A command signal for performing the above is calculated, and individual operations such as wafer loading / unloading / moving by the transfer robot, decompression / pressurization of the load lock chamber, processing of the processing module and opening / closing of the gate valve are controlled.

  The information included in the storage unit 121 and included in each information is as follows. The apparatus state information 124 includes information such as operation states and pressure values of a plurality of parts of the vacuum processing apparatus 101. The processing chamber information 125 stores data indicating the current state of the processing chamber in the vacuum processing chamber and the processing status.

  The above information changes with the progress of the operation of the vacuum side transfer robots 112 and 117 inside the vacuum processing apparatus 101 or the vacuum processing chambers 113, 114, 118, and 119 and the vacuum transfer chambers 111 and 116, It is periodically updated at predetermined time intervals and includes past data as well as the latest data. These are distinguished and stored as apparatus status information 124 or processing chamber information 125. The transfer route information 126 includes sequence information such as the transfer route and order of wafers at each location (station) where the wafer moves.

  The processing progress information 127 stores data indicating the progress of processing in the lot for a specific batch of wafers that are being processed in the vacuum processing apparatus 101. As an example, when a plurality of wafers, for example, 25, are stored in the FOUP and information is acquired at predetermined time intervals, the number of wafers in the given wafer processing order at an arbitrary time. Is stored, and information indicating which sequence in the processing instruction information (sequence recipe) of the corresponding wafer is being executed is stored.

  The wafer transfer order information 128 stores information indicating the transfer order for each of a plurality of wafers stored in the FOUP. This information is stored as a number indicating the transfer order of each wafer, a number indicating a slot in the FOUP in which each wafer is stored, and a number for the vacuum processing chambers 113, 114, 118, and 119 in which each wafer is processed. Has been.

  The transfer limit number information 129 is information for limiting the number of wafers being processed in the vacuum processing chamber and the number of wafers being transferred to a certain number or less in the vacuum processing apparatus 101 that is executing a lot. This is information for avoiding a state in which a wafer is blocked in a station in the vacuum processing apparatus due to simultaneous transfer of a large number of wafers, and the wafer cannot be transferred for a certain period of time.

  In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not a wafer that has not been unloaded from the FOUP can be unloaded using the transfer limit number information 129. When there is a cleaning process without a wafer, if a wafer is clogged in a station in the vacuum processing apparatus, deadlock occurs because it is necessary to create an empty state in which no wafer exists in the vacuum processing chamber to be cleaned. Since there is a case where the wafer is in a state, there is a condition for the transfer limit number for cleaning without a wafer. Based on the condition, a determination is made as to whether or not a wafer that has not been unloaded from the FOUP can be unloaded.

  The configuration of the vacuum processing apparatus 101 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1, and the number of load ports 105 may be less or more than five. Further, the vacuum side apparatus configuration 103 is not limited to the vacuum processing apparatus 101 having the four vacuum processing chambers 113, 114, 118, and 119, and may be less or more than four.

  Furthermore, the apparatus is not limited to an apparatus in which two vacuum processing chambers are connected to the vacuum transfer chambers 111 and 116, and may be smaller or larger than two. In this embodiment, for convenience, each of the vacuum processing chambers 113, 114, 118, and 119 having processing chambers for performing processing such as etching, ashing, and film formation performed on the wafer is provided as PU1, PU2. , PU3 and PU4.

  Here, a series of flow of the conveying operation in the vacuum processing apparatus 101 will be described below.

  The transfer path information 126 is information set in advance as a sequence recipe by a user for each wafer to be processed and registered in the storage unit 121 in the control unit 104 before processing. The transfer path information 126 is transferred from the FOUP containing an arbitrary wafer, transferred to any one of the vacuum processing chambers PU1, PU2, PU3, and PU4, processed, and then transferred again to be stored in the original FOUP. It is configured to include information about the station through which it is returned to the position, the route including the order, and processing information in the target vacuum processing chamber. Assuming that the vacuum processing chamber to be processed is PU3 and a series of transfer operations of the vacuum processing apparatus 101 for one wafer with respect to the processing target are listed and described in order with reference to FIG.

  First, a wafer is unloaded by an atmosphere-side transfer robot 107 from an arbitrary FOUP that can store a plurality of wafers installed in the load port 105. Next, the wafer carried out by the atmosphere-side transfer robot 107 is carried into the aligner 108, and wafer alignment is performed.

  The wafer after the alignment is unloaded by the atmosphere side transfer robot 107. After the inside of the load lock chamber 110 is pressurized to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve closing the gate communicating between the atmospheric transfer container 106 and the load lock chamber 110 is opened, and the atmospheric transfer robot 107 is operated. After the alignment is completed, the wafer that has been unloaded is loaded into the load lock chamber 110. Thereafter, the gate valve is closed and the inside is hermetically sealed.

  A gate valve that closes a gate connecting the load lock chamber 110 and the vacuum transfer chamber 111 after the inside of the sealed load lock chamber 110 is evacuated and the pressure is reduced from an atmospheric pressure state to a predetermined vacuum level. The vacuum-side transfer robot 112 enters the load lock chamber 110 and unloads the wafer disposed therein. Thereafter, the gate valve is hermetically closed.

  The vacuum-side transfer robot 112 rotates while holding the wafer, and then extends the arm to carry the wafer into the standby space 115. Thereafter, the vacuum-side transfer robot 117 disposed in the rear vacuum transfer chamber 116 unloads the wafer loaded into the standby space 115.

  The vacuum-side transfer robot 117 turns in a state where the wafer carried out from the standby space 115 is held on the holding portion at the tip of the arm, stops the PU 3 and the vacuum transfer chamber 116 after the arm tip is opposed to the PU 3. The gate valve for opening and closing the gate connecting the two is opened, and the arm of the vacuum transfer robot 117 extends to carry the wafer into the PU 3. After the wafer is delivered to the sample stage in PU3, the arm is contracted and retracted from inside PU3, the gate valve is closed, and the inside of PU3 is hermetically sealed.

  Thereafter, processing on the wafer is performed inside the PU 3. After the processing in the PU 3 is completed, the gate valve between the PU 3 and the vacuum transfer chamber 116 is opened, and the vacuum side transfer robot 117 extends the arm so that the tip portion enters the PU 3 to transfer the processed wafer. It is carried out into the chamber 116. Thereafter, the gate valve disposed between the PU 3 and the vacuum transfer chamber 116 is closed.

  Next, after the processed wafer is unloaded from the PU 3, the vacuum-side transfer robot 117 turns while holding the wafer at the tip of the arm, and then extends the arm to the standby space 115 to load the wafer into the standby space 115. Then, after placing it on the internal holding station, the arm is contracted to exit. Thereafter, the vacuum side transfer robot 112 disposed in the front vacuum transfer chamber 111 extends its arm and enters the standby space 115 to carry out the wafer from the inside.

  The vacuum-side transfer robot 112 turns while holding the processed wafer, and then the gate valve that closes the gate connecting the load lock chamber 110 and the vacuum transfer chamber 111 is opened, and the arm is extended to expand the wafer. Is loaded into the load lock chamber 110 and placed on the inner holding station, and then the arm is contracted to exit. Thereafter, the gate valve is closed, and the interior of the load lock chamber 110 is hermetically sealed.

  After the inside of the sealed load lock chamber 110 is pressurized to atmospheric pressure or a pressure value approximate to such an extent that it can be regarded as this, the gate connecting the atmospheric transfer container 106 and the load lock chamber 110 is closed. The gate valve is opened, and the atmosphere-side transfer robot 107 extends the arm and carries the wafer out of the load lock chamber 110 to the transfer space in the atmosphere transfer container 106. Thereafter, the gate valve is closed.

  The atmosphere-side transfer robot 107 transfers the processed wafer to the original slot of the original FOUP and stores it.

  In the series of transfer operations described here, when the target vacuum processing chamber is PU4, the other series of transfer operations are the same as described above except that the vacuum processing chamber into which the vacuum-side transfer robot 117 is loaded is changed to PU4. . Further, when the target vacuum processing chamber is PU1 or PU2, when the target vacuum processing chamber is transferred to the vacuum-side transfer robot 112, the transfer operation is performed to transfer the target vacuum processing chamber PU1 or PU2, and the flow of the transfer operation is large. There is no change. The transfer operation is for one wafer, but the vacuum processing apparatus 101 can handle a plurality of wafers simultaneously. The transfer operation is performed on each of the plurality of wafers. It is also possible to perform the above-described transport operation for a plurality of FOUPs.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the problems in the wafer transfer operation in the case of performing the conventional in-situ cleaning without a wafer, and the effect of the fictitious wafer transfer which is the proposed method of the present invention will be described. . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a wafer transfer schedule 201 according to the prior art when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer in the same processing chamber, and a transfer schedule 204 of the vacuum processing apparatus according to the embodiment shown in FIG. Hereinafter, problems that occur when a wafer is transferred according to the conventional technique will be described using a time chart of a transfer schedule in the case of the conventional technique in which an imaginary wafer is not transferred.

  In the transfer schedule of the conventional method 201 that does not transfer an imaginary wafer when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer, a series of flows on the transfer path from the wafer 202 being unloaded from the FOUP to being stored in the FOUP is as follows. Street.

  From the FOUP to the atmosphere-side transfer robot 208, aligner 209, atmosphere-side transfer robot 208, load lock chamber 210, vacuum-side transfer robot 211 in front of the vacuum processing apparatus, standby space 212, vacuum-side transfer robot 213 behind the vacuum processing apparatus, target Wafer in the order of vacuum processing chamber 214 (PU3), vacuum side transfer robot 213 behind the vacuum processing apparatus, standby space 212, vacuum side transfer robot 211 in front of the vacuum processing apparatus, load lock chamber 210, atmosphere side transfer robot 208, and FOUP. Is carried out. When the wafer is loaded into the target vacuum processing chamber 214 (PU3), the processing 215 is performed on the wafer inside the vacuum processing chamber, and when the wafer is unloaded from the target vacuum processing chamber 214 (PU3), the wafer is processed. None In-situ cleaning process 216 is performed.

  The in-situ cleaning process without wafer 216 starts cleaning when the wafer in the vacuum processing chamber is unloaded and no wafer exists in the target vacuum processing chamber. Due to the unloading timing of the next wafer to be processed from the FOUP after the cleaning is completed, the wafer waits on the vacuum robot adjacent to the target vacuum processing chamber until the cleaning is completed, thereby blocking the wafer path. Therefore, there is a possibility that the wafer cannot be transferred for a certain period of time. In order to avoid this state, when in-situ cleaning without a wafer is performed, the timing for unloading the next wafer from the FOUP based on the condition of the limited number of sheets when there is cleaning without a wafer using the transport limit number information 129 Is controlling.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the in-situ cleaning process without wafer 216 is shorter than the time required for transporting to the vacuum processing chamber as the destination, the next wafer 203 after the cleaning is finished is transferred according to the transport limit number information 129. Waiting inside the FOUP. For this reason, the target vacuum processing chamber waits for the transfer of the wafer for the next product processing despite the completion of the waferless in-situ cleaning processing 216, and waits for no processing. There arises a problem that a certain conveyance waiting time 217 becomes long. This lowers the utilization efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus. As a result, there arises a problem that the wafer cannot be continuously transported near the optimum condition where the utilization efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus is the highest.

  Conversely, even when the wafer-less In-situ cleaning process 216 is longer than the time taken to transport to the destination, the next product processing wafer arrives first in the standby space or the like and the wafer-less In-situ cleaning process 216 is performed. The next wafer is kept waiting at the same place until the cleaning process 216 is completed, the transfer path of other wafers is obstructed, the use efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus is lowered, and the use efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus is the highest. In some cases, it is not possible to continuously carry wafers close to high optimum conditions.

  In the conventional scheduling method, when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer, since there is no wafer to be transferred, scheduling is not performed, and whether or not the next wafer after cleaning can be carried out is determined based on the transfer limit number information 129. Was. However, due to the above-described problems, in this embodiment, when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer, wafer transfer scheduling is performed on the assumption that an imaginary wafer is transferred.

  In this embodiment, a transfer schedule 204 for transferring an imaginary wafer will be described. In the following, the flow of transferring an imaginary wafer 206 whose transfer destination vacuum processing chamber is PU3 will be described. The calculation of the transfer schedule in this example and the operation of each part or unit constituting the vacuum processing apparatus 101 along with the calculation are performed while receiving a command signal from the control unit 104 and being adjusted thereby.

  The fictitious wafer transfer path is from the atmosphere-side transfer robot 208 to the aligner 209, the atmosphere-side vacuum robot 208, the load lock chamber 210, the vacuum-side transfer robot 211 in front of the vacuum processing apparatus, the standby space 212, and the vacuum behind the vacuum processing apparatus. It becomes the side transfer robot 213 and the target vacuum processing chamber 214 (PU3). Note that an imaginary wafer arrives at the target processing chamber, is replaced with a wafer 205 that has undergone processing 215 for the wafer in the vacuum processing chamber, and the imaginary wafer 206 is loaded into the vacuum processing chamber. When there is no wafer in the room, a waferless in-situ cleaning process 218 is started.

  In this embodiment, when an imaginary wafer is transported, it is assumed that the wafer is transported using the same route as when a real wafer is transported to a destination. If the cleaning process without a wafer is set after the processing in the target vacuum processing chamber is completed, the wafer to be transferred next is set as an imaginary wafer.

  However, the atmosphere-side transfer robot and the vacuum-side transfer robots that transfer fictitious wafers are not controlled in the same way as real wafers, and transfer between stations when setting a wafer transfer schedule. The transport time required for is set at the shortest time. In addition, after the transfer of the imaginary wafer, the wafer for the next product processing is transferred according to the conventional transfer scheduling process.

  Further, in this embodiment, the transfer schedule of each imaginary wafer is only the path from the FOUP to the target processing chamber, and does not include the transfer path from the end of the wafer-less in-situ cleaning process 218 to the storage in the FOUP. And However, it is also possible to implement a transfer path schedule from the end of the waferless in-situ cleaning process 218 to the storage in the FOUP.

  Next, the effect of whether or not an imaginary wafer is transferred will be described. In the case of the proposed method 204 for transferring an imaginary wafer when there is in-situ cleaning without a wafer according to the present invention, the transfer limit number information 129 is based on the same conditions as when performing cleaning with a wafer. In order to determine whether or not the wafer 207 can be unloaded, the time for waiting for unloading of the next wafer 207 after completion of the in-situ cleaning without a wafer is reduced.

  The transfer waiting time 219 from the end of the wafer-less In-situ cleaning process 218 to the start of the process 215 for the wafer in the vacuum processing chamber of the next wafer 207 is the same as that in the case of performing the wafer-less In-situ cleaning. This is shorter than the transfer waiting time 217 for the next wafer after the end of cleaning in the case of the conventional method 201 in which an imaginary wafer is not transferred. That is, since the transfer waiting time is shortened, it is possible to suppress a decrease in processing efficiency when there is a cleaning process without a wafer by transferring an imaginary wafer.

  Next, referring to FIG. 3, in parallel processing using a plurality of vacuum processing chambers, a transfer schedule for each wafer and the inside of each vacuum processing chamber when an imaginary wafer is transferred when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer. A time chart in the process will be described. FIG. 3 shows the transfer schedule time for each wafer when an imaginary wafer is transferred when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer in parallel processing using a plurality of vacuum processing chambers of the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a chart.

  In addition, it is a conveyance schedule in the case of performing parallel processing using four vacuum processing chambers PU1, PU2, PU3, and PU4, and the conditions of the processing 322 for the wafer in the vacuum processing chamber and the in-situ cleaning processing 323 without a wafer are It is assumed that all PUs are common. In addition, it is assumed that in-situ cleaning without a wafer is performed for processing each wafer, and processing is continuously performed for a plurality of wafers. The wafer transfer operation is based on the premise that the transfer robot sequentially transfers the wafers in an exchange operation for loading and unloading the wafers.

  In this embodiment, the wafer transfer order is PU3, PU1, PU4, PU2, and when the transfer destination is PU3, a series of transfer paths of the wafers 301, 309 from the FOUP to the storage in the FOUP is performed. The flow is the same as that of the wafer 202 in FIG. In addition, a series of flows on the transfer path of the wafers 305 and 313 whose transfer target vacuum processing chamber is PU4 is the same flow as the wafer 202 in FIG.

  A series of flows on the transfer path of the wafers 303 and 311 from the time the wafer is transferred from the FOUP to the storage in the FOUP when the transfer destination is the vacuum processing chamber PU1 is shown below. From the FOUP, the atmosphere side transfer robot 317, the aligner 318, the atmosphere side transfer robot 317, the load lock chamber 319, the vacuum side transfer robot 320 in front of the vacuum processing apparatus, the target vacuum processing chamber 321 (PU1), and the vacuum in front of the vacuum processing apparatus. Wafers are transferred in the order of the side transfer robot 320, the load lock chamber 319, the atmosphere side transfer robot 317, and the FOUP. In the case of the wafers 307 and 315 in which the vacuum processing chamber to be transferred is PU2, the flow is similar to the above.

  A series of flows on the transfer path of the imaginary wafers 302 and 310 whose transfer destination is PU3 is the same as that of the imaginary wafer 206 in FIG. Further, the series of flows along the transfer path of the fictitious wafers 306 and 314 whose transfer destination is PU4 is the same as the wafer 206 in FIG.

  When the transfer destination is PU1, the transfer paths of the imaginary wafers 304 and 312 are from the atmosphere-side transfer robot 317 to the aligner 318, the atmosphere-side transfer robot 317, the load lock chamber 319, the vacuum-side transfer robot 320 in front of the vacuum processing apparatus, This is the target vacuum processing chamber 321 (PU1). The flow of the fictitious wafers 308 and 316 when the target vacuum processing chamber is PU2 is the same as described above.

  When performing parallel processing using a plurality of vacuum processing chambers as shown in FIG. 3, all wafers including the imaginary wafers are transferred by carrying the imaginary wafers when performing in-situ cleaning without a wafer. , The transport limit number information 129 for determining whether or not to carry out the FOUP is the same condition. For this reason, even when there is cleaning without a wafer, it is possible to prevent a decrease in throughput and continuously realize transfer control with high processing efficiency and near optimum conditions.

  Next, an operation flow for setting a wafer transfer schedule will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations for setting a schedule for transferring a wafer in the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG.

  In step S401, after acquiring JOB information, which is information about a route necessary for performing product processing on a wafer, and recipe information, which is information on processing in the vacuum processing chamber, in step S402, the acquired number of JOBs, The following steps are repeated.

  In step S403, it is determined whether all recipe information has been received. If there is no problem, in step S404, it is confirmed from the current state of each station of the vacuum apparatus whether the apparatus is in a transportable state. Thereafter, in step S405, it is confirmed whether the set transport path is transportable, and a job to be executed is set.

  When the repetitive step S402 is completed and the job to be executed is set, the process proceeds to step S406 to calculate the ratio of the number of wafers to be transferred to each vacuum processing chamber and set the ratio from the job information and recipe information. I do. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S407, where processing for determining the type of wafer to be transferred is performed, and then transfer of the wafer is started in step S408.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, in the process of selecting and setting the type of wafer to be transferred in step S407 of FIG. explain. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations for discriminating and selecting the type of wafer to be transferred in the transfer schedule shown in FIG. The dummy wafer can be stored in one FOUP (cassette).

  First, in step S501, it is checked whether the wafer can be transferred to the vacuum processing chamber. In step S502, it is checked whether there is a path for transferring the wafer to the vacuum processing chamber. Thereafter, in step S503, it is confirmed whether the transferred wafer is a product wafer.

  In this step, if it is a product wafer, the process proceeds to step S504, and the path information and the recipe information to be executed in the vacuum processing chamber are set for the wafer to be transferred. Next, in step S505, it is confirmed whether in-situ cleaning is set next to the product wafer to be transferred.

  If there is in-situ cleaning, the process proceeds to step S506, an instruction for in-situ cleaning is set, and in step S507, a wafer transfer path for performing in-situ cleaning next to the product wafer to be transferred. Scheduling. Thereafter, in step S508, the wafer type to be transferred this time is set to the product wafer.

  On the other hand, if there is no in-situ cleaning next to the product wafer transferred in step S505, the wafer type to be transferred this time is set to the product wafer in step S508.

  If the wafer transferred in step S503 is not a product wafer, it is determined that in-situ cleaning is to be performed. In step S509, it is determined that a wafer for in-situ cleaning is to be transferred. In S510, it is confirmed whether or not cleaning is performed with a wafer. If it is determined in this step that the cleaning is performed with a wafer, the process proceeds to step S511 to set the type of the wafer to be transferred to a dummy wafer for in-situ cleaning. If it is detected in step 510 that there is no wafer cleaning, the process proceeds to step 512, where the type of wafer to be transferred is set to an imaginary wafer.

  After the type of the wafer to be transferred is selected and set, the process proceeds to step S513, and when the determination of the types of all the wafers to be transferred has been completed, the processing ends and the determination of the wafer type remains. Returns to step S501 to confirm the next wafer.

  In the above steps, the type of wafer to be transferred is determined as one of a product wafer, a cleaning dummy wafer, and an imaginary wafer, and the wafer is transferred.

  In addition to in-situ cleaning, cleaning includes cleaning performed before lot processing and cleaning performed after lot processing. For cleaning before lot processing or after lot processing, there is a wafer or wafer. There is no cleaning process. The fictitious wafers may be transported not only in the in-situ cleaning without a wafer, but also in the cleaning process without a wafer before or after the lot processing.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent an increase in the waiting time for transferring the wafer for the next product processing after in-situ cleaning without a wafer, and to continue the transfer control with high processing efficiency and near the optimum condition. Therefore, even when there is in-situ cleaning without a wafer, a reduction in processing efficiency can be suppressed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Vacuum processing apparatus, 102 ... Atmosphere side apparatus structure, 103 ... Vacuum side apparatus structure, 104 ... Control part, 105 ... Load port, 106 ... Atmospheric transfer container, 107, 208, 317 ... Atmosphere side transfer robot, 108, 209 , 318 ... Aligner, 109 ... Retreat station, 110, 210, 319 ... Load lock chamber, 111, 116 ... Vacuum transfer chamber, 112, 117, 211, 213, 320 ... Vacuum side transfer robot, 113, 114, 118, 119 ... Vacuum processing chambers, 115, 212 ... Standby space, 120 ... Calculation unit, 121 ... Storage unit, 122 ... Transfer schedule processing unit, 123 ... Transfer control processing unit, 124 ... Device status information, 125 ... Processing chamber information, 126 ... Transfer route information, 127... Processing progress information, 128... Wafer transfer order information, 129. 0 ... network, 131 ... host, 215,322 ... processing to the wafer in the vacuum processing chamber section, 216,218,323 ... no wafer an In-situ cleaning process, 217, 219 ... transport latency.

Claims (10)

An atmospheric transfer container in which a plurality of cassette stands on which cassettes capable of storing a plurality of objects to be processed are placed are arranged side by side on the front side, and the object to be processed is transferred in an internal space, and the atmospheric transfer container A plurality of vacuum transfer units, each of which is connected to the back side of the lock chamber, and a robot that is connected to the back side of the lock chamber and in which each robot places and transfers the workpiece on an arm. A container, a plurality of processing containers connected to each vacuum transfer container and processed by using the plasma formed in the processing chamber, the processing object being transported and arranged in the decompressed processing chamber inside wherein and at least one intermediate chamber with a space for accommodating an object to be processed is taken out from the cassette is transported to the lock chamber between the pre Kisho barber unit together internally disposed connecting these Untreated least one is in the original of the vacuum transfer vessel is unloaded from the process chamber after the processing is conveyed is applied through the vacuum transfer chamber into the processing chamber of the processing chamber said object to be processed is predetermined in A vacuum processing device that is returned from the lock chamber to the original cassette through,
In the processing chamber in the processing container, after the object to be processed is unloaded from the processing chamber after processing, plasma is formed therein and cleaning is performed.
A control device for controlling the operation of carrying a plurality of the objects to be processed from the cassette in which they are stored into the predetermined processing container and from the processing chamber to being returned to the original cassette; wherein the control device, the advance the operation of the robot time when the object to be processed is carried into a fictitious object to be processed into the processing chamber prior to said cleaning being performed in a state that is not disposed in the processing chamber A vacuum processing apparatus that controls the movement of the robot in accordance with an assigned schedule to control the conveyance of the imaginary workpiece. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The order and time of the transport operation until the control device is transported from the cassette to the processing container before being removed from the cassette and processed and returned to the cassette for each of the plurality of objects to be processed. Adjusting the conveyance of the object to be processed according to a schedule to which is assigned. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the cleaning is performed after each of the plurality of objects to be processed. A vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one cassette accommodates a cleaning object when the cleaning object is disposed in the processing chamber during the cleaning. A vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The control device follows a schedule that is assigned in advance with the operation time of the robot when carrying out the imaginary workpiece from the processing chamber after the cleaning performed using the imaginary workpiece. A vacuum processing apparatus that controls the movement of the robot to control the transportation of the imaginary workpiece. An atmospheric transfer container in which a plurality of cassette stands on which cassettes capable of storing a plurality of objects to be processed are placed are arranged side by side on the front side, and the object to be processed is transferred in an internal space, and the atmospheric transfer container A plurality of vacuum transfer units, each of which is connected to the back side of the lock chamber, and a robot that is connected to the back side of the lock chamber and in which each robot places and transfers the workpiece on an arm. A container, a plurality of processing containers connected to each vacuum transfer container and processed by using the plasma formed in the processing chamber, the processing object being transported and arranged in the decompressed processing chamber inside a method of operating a vacuum processing apparatus having at least one intermediate chamber which these between the front Kisho hairdressing device together with a space for housing the object to be processed therein are arranged by connecting the,
The unprocessed object to be processed that has been taken out from the cassette and transferred to the lock chamber is transferred to the processing chamber of the processing container through the predetermined at least one vacuum transfer container , and then subjected to the processing. It is carried out by controlling the operation of transporting the object to be processed from the processing chamber until it is returned from the lock chamber to the original cassette through the original vacuum transport container ,
In the processing chamber in the processing container, a cleaning process is performed in which the object to be processed is removed from the processing chamber after processing and then cleaned by forming plasma therein,
Along the object to be processed is the cleaning preassigned scheduling the processing the behavior of the robot time for carrying the imaginary object to be treated in the room prior to the steps performed in a state that is not arranged in the processing chamber A method of operating a vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the operation of the robot is adjusted to control conveyance of the imaginary workpiece. An operation method of the vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 6,
A schedule in which the order and time of the transport operation are assigned until each of the plurality of objects to be processed is transported from the cassette to the processing container before being taken out of the cassette and processed and then returned to the cassette. A method of operating a vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the conveyance of the object to be processed is adjusted along the line. It is the operating method of the vacuum processing apparatus of Claim 6 or 7,
The method for operating a vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the cleaning step is performed after the processing of each of the plurality of objects to be processed. A method for operating a vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
One of the cassettes is a method for operating a vacuum processing apparatus, in which a cleaning object to be processed when a cleaning object is disposed in the processing chamber in the cleaning step is stored. A method for operating a vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
The robot operation time when the imaginary workpiece is unloaded from the processing chamber after the cleaning process performed using the imaginary workpiece is set according to a schedule assigned in advance. A method of operating a vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the operation of the vacuum processing apparatus is controlled by adjusting the operation.

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