# US 11,908,710 B2 · Apparatus and method for processing substrate

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- Number: US 11,908,710 B2
- Document ID: US11908710B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/520,826
- Filed: 2021-11-08
- Published: 2022-06-30
- Granted: 2024-02-20
- Earliest claimed: 2020-12-29
- Assignees: Semes Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Semes Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Jin Woo Jung; Do Hyeon Yoon; Yong Hee Lee
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11908710B2

## CPC

- H10P 72/0406: {for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like}
- H10P 72/0408: {for drying}
- H10P 70/80: {Cleaning only by supercritical fluids}
- H10P 72/0414: {using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles}
- H10P 72/0432: {mainly by conduction}
- H10P 72/0462: {characterised by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers}
- H10P 72/0602: {Temperature monitoring}
- H10P 72/33: {into and out of processing chamber}
- H10P 72/3302: {Mechanical parts of transfer devices}
- H10P 72/3304: {characterised by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices}
- H10P 72/7612: {characterised by lifting arrangements, e.g. lift pins}
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate cleaning unit cleaning a substrate, a substrate drying unit drying the substrate, and a transfer robot transferring the substrate between the substrate cleaning unit and the substrate drying unit. The substrate drying unit includes a substrate processing container having a substrate processing space accommodating the substrate, and the transfer robot includes a surface temperature measurement sensor measuring a surface temperature of the substrate processing container.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A substrate processing method of processing a substrate by using a substrate processing apparatus that comprises a substrate cleaning unit configured to clean the substrate and a substrate drying unit configured to dry the substrate and comprising a substrate processing container accommodating the substrate, the substrate processing method comprising:
detecting whether a precedent substrate exists in the substrate processing container;
measuring a surface temperature of the substrate processing container, wherein, when the precedent substrate exists in the substrate processing container, the measuring the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is performed during a time when the precedent substrate is taken out of the substrate processing container;
determining whether the surface temperature of the substrate processing container deviates from a preset reference temperature range;
transferring, in response to the determining that the surface temperature is within the preset reference temperature range, the substrate from the substrate cleaning unit to the substrate processing container of the substrate drying unit; and
performing, in response to the determining that the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is out of the present reference temperature range, a drying prevention process on the substrate by spraying a chemical liquid to the substrate in the substrate cleaning unit.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The substrate processing method of claim 1, further comprising:
controlling, in response to the determining that the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is out of the preset reference temperature range, the surface temperature of the substrate processing container.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The substrate processing method of claim 1,
wherein the substrate processing apparatus comprises a plurality of substrate processing containers,
wherein the measuring the surface temperature and the determining the surface temperature are performed for the plurality of substrate processing containers, and
wherein the transferring the substrate is performed by loading the substrate into a substrate processing container, among the plurality of substrate processing containers, having a surface temperature within the preset reference temperature range.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The substrate processing method of claim 3, further comprising:
controlling, in response to a surface temperature of a first substrate processing container, among the plurality of substrate processing containers, being out of the preset reference temperature range, the surface temperature of the first substrate processing container.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The substrate processing method of any one of claim 1,
wherein the substrate processing apparatus comprises:
a transfer robot comprising a first hand, a second hand, and a third hand,
wherein the substrate processing method further comprises:
taking the substrate out of the substrate drying unit by the first hand;
loading the substrate into the substrate cleaning unit by the second hand; and
taking the substrate out of the substrate cleaning unit and then loading the substrate into the substrate drying unit by the third hand, and
wherein the measuring the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is performed by a surface temperature measurement sensor provided in the first hand.

### Claim 6

A substrate processing method of processing a substrate by using a substrate processing apparatus that comprises a substrate cleaning unit configured to clean the substrate, and a substrate drying unit configured to dry the substrate and comprising a substrate processing container accommodating the substrate, the substrate processing method comprising:
taking the substrate out of the substrate cleaning unit;
measuring surface temperature of the substrate processing container;
determining whether the surface temperature of the substrate processing container deviates from a preset reference temperature range;
transferring, in response to the determining that the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is within the preset reference temperature range, the substrate to the substrate drying unit; and
in response to the determining that the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is out of the preset reference temperature range, loading back the substrate into the substrate cleaning unit and performing a drying prevention process on the substrate by spraying a chemical liquid to the substrate.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The substrate processing method of claim 6, further comprising:
controlling, in response to the determining that the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is out of the preset reference temperature range, the surface temperature of the substrate processing container.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The substrate processing method of claim 6, further comprising:
before the measuring the surface temperature of the substrate processing container, detecting whether a precedent substrate exists in the substrate processing container,
wherein, when the precedent substrate exists in the substrate processing container, the measuring the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is performed after taking the precedent substrate out of the substrate processing container.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The substrate processing method of claim 6, further comprising:
supplying a chemical liquid to the substrate loaded into the substrate cleaning unit in the loading the substrate so as to prevent a surface of the substrate from drying.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The substrate processing method of claim 6,
wherein the substrate processing apparatus comprises a plurality of substrate processing containers,
wherein the measuring the surface temperature and the determining the surface temperature are performed for the plurality of substrate processing containers, and
wherein the transferring the substrate is performed by loading the substrate into a substrate processing container, among the plurality of substrate processing containers, having a surface temperature within the preset reference temperature range.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The substrate processing method of claim 10, further comprising:
controlling, in response to a surface temperature of a first substrate processing container, among the plurality of substrate processing containers, being out of the preset reference temperature range, the surface temperature of the first substrate processing container.

### Claim 12 (depends on 6)

The substrate processing method of any one of claim 6,
wherein the substrate processing apparatus comprises a transfer robot comprising a first hand, a second hand, and a third hand,
wherein the substrate processing method further comprises:
taking the substrate out of the substrate drying unit by the first hand;
loading the substrate into the substrate cleaning unit by the second hand; and
taking the substrate out of the substrate cleaning unit and then loading the substrate into the substrate drying unit by the third hand, and
wherein the measuring the surface temperature of the substrate processing container is performed by a surface temperature measurement sensor provided in the first hand.