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US 12,119,246 B2Granted
Method, device, and non-transitory computer readable medium for determining timing of removing substrate from cassette in substrate processing device, and substrate processing device
AssigneeEbara Corporation
InventorHidetatsu Isokawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Provided is a method, device, and program for determining a timing of removing a substrate from a cassette in substrate processing device, and substrate processing device. In the method, a tentative removal time point of each substrate is calculated by adding a transfer time to a tentative removal time point of the one previous substrate, wherein the transfer time is required from the start of an action of removing a substrate from the cassette to the end of an action of delivering the substrate to an exchanger.
Claims24
A method, for determining a timing of removing a substrate from a cassette in a substrate processing device,
- wherein the substrate processing device comprises:
- a polishing portion comprising a first polishing unit, a second polishing unit, and a transfer robot which distributes substrates into the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit, wherein each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit comprises two polishing devices, two pushers which are respectively arranged at two substrate transfer positions for each of the two polishing devices and move up and down, and an exchanger having stages that horizontally move between a standby position for delivering a substrate to the transfer robot and the two substrate transfer positions;
- a loading/unloading portion comprising a transfer robot which removes a substrate before polishing from the cassette and is assembled independently;
- and
- a transfer portion comprising a slide stage which transfers a substrate between the loading/unloading portion and the transfer robot and is assembled independently;
- wherein a tentative removal time point of each substrate is calculated by adding a transfer time to a tentative removal time point of one previous substrate, wherein the transfer time is required from start of an action of removing a substrate from the cassette in the loading/unloading portion to end of an action of delivering the substrate to the exchanger by the transfer robot,
- a tentative time point A at which a lowering action of each of the pushers of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit for delivering a Xth (X is an arbitrary natural number) substrate after polishing from each of the polishing devices of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit to the exchanger is completed is compared with a tentative time point B at which a delivery action of the transfer robot for delivering a (X+5)th substrate before polishing from the transfer portion to the exchanger is completed,
- when A≤B, the tentative removal time point of each substrate is adopted as an actual removal time point, and
- when A>B, an actual removal time point of a (10+4i)th (i is an integer greater than or equal to 0) substrate is calculated by adding the transfer time and further adding at least A−B to an actual removal time point of the one previous substrate, and an actual removal time point of the other substrates is calculated by adding the transfer time to the actual removal time point of the one previous substrate, and the method comprising:
- controlling the timing of removing the substrate from the cassette based on the actual removal time point in the polishing portion, the loading/unloading portion, and the transfer portion associated with each substrate.
7 more elements
A device, which determines a timing of removing a substrate from a cassette in a substrate processing device,
- wherein the substrate processing device comprises:
- a polishing portion comprising a first polishing unit, a second polishing unit, and a transfer robot which distributes substrates into the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit, wherein each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit comprises two polishing devices, two pushers which are respectively arranged at two substrate transfer positions for each of the two polishing devices and move up and down, and an exchanger having stages that horizontally move between a standby position for delivering a substrate to the transfer robot and the two substrate transfer positions;
- a loading/unloading portion comprising a transfer robot which removes a substrate before polishing from the cassette and the loading/unloading portion is assembled independently;
- and
- a transfer portion comprising a slide stage which transfers a substrate between the loading/unloading portion and the transfer robot and the transfer portion is assembled independently;
- wherein the device comprises:
- a memory which stores an instruction;
- and
- at least one processor configured to execute the instruction, which is for:
- calculating a tentative removal time point of each substrate by adding a transfer time to a tentative removal time point of one previous substrate, wherein the transfer time is required from start of an action of removing a substrate from the cassette in the loading/unloading portion to end of an action of delivering the substrate to the exchanger by the transfer robot;
- comparing a tentative time point A at which a lowering action of each of the pushers of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit for delivering a Xth (X is an arbitrary natural number) substrate after polishing from each of the polishing devices of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit to the exchanger is completed with a tentative time point B at which a delivery action of the transfer robot for delivering a (X+5)th substrate before polishing from the transfer portion to the exchanger is completed;
- when A≤B, adopting the tentative removal time point of each substrate as an actual removal time point;
- and
- when A>B, calculating an actual removal time point of a (10+4i)th (i is an integer greater than or equal to 0) substrate by adding the transfer time and further adding at least A−B to an actual removal time point of the one previous substrate, and calculating an actual removal time point of the other substrates by adding the transfer time to the actual removal time point of the one previous substrate;
- and
- controlling the timing of removing the substrate from the cassette based on the actual removal time point in the polishing portion, the loading/unloading portion, and the transfer portion associated with each substrate.
13 more elements
A non-transitory computer readable medium, storing a program, for determining a timing of removing a substrate from a cassette in a substrate processing device,
- wherein the substrate processing device comprises:
- a polishing portion comprising a first polishing unit, a second polishing unit, and a transfer robot which distributes substrates into the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit, wherein each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit comprises two polishing devices, two pushers which are respectively arranged at two substrate transfer positions for each of the two polishing devices and move up and down, and an exchanger having stages that horizontally move between a standby position for delivering a substrate to the transfer robot and the two substrate transfer positions;
- a loading/unloading portion comprising a transfer robot which removes a substrate before polishing from the cassette and the loading/unloading portion is assembled independently;
- and
- a transfer portion comprising a slide stage which transfers a substrate between the loading/unloading portion and the transfer robot and the transfer portion is assembled independently,
- wherein the program causes a computer to execute:
- calculation of a tentative removal time point of each substrate by adding a transfer time to a tentative removal time point of one previous substrate, wherein the transfer time is required from start of an action of removing a substrate from the cassette in the loading/unloading portion to end of an action of delivering the substrate to the exchanger by the transfer robot;
- comparison of a tentative time point A at which a lowering action of each of the pushers of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit for delivering a Xth (X is an arbitrary natural number) substrate after polishing from each of the polishing devices of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit to the exchanger is completed with a tentative time point B at which a delivery action of the transfer robot for delivering a (X+5)th substrate before polishing from the transfer portion to the exchanger is completed;
- adoption of the tentative removal time point of each substrate as an actual removal time point when A≤B;
- and
- calculation of an actual removal time point of a (10+4i)th (i is an integer greater than or equal to 0) substrate by adding the transfer time and further adding at least A−B to an actual removal time point of the one previous substrate, and calculation of an actual removal time point of the other substrates by adding the transfer time to the actual removal time point of the one previous substrate when A>B;
- and
- controlling the timing of removing the substrate from the cassette based on the actual removal time point in the polishing portion, the loading/unloading portion, and the transfer portion associated with each substrate.
10 more elements
A substrate processing device, comprising:
- a polishing portion comprising a first polishing unit, a second polishing unit, and a transfer robot which distributes substrates into the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit, wherein each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit comprises two polishing devices, two pushers which are respectively arranged at two substrate transfer positions for each of the two polishing devices and move up and down, and an exchanger having stages that horizontally move between a standby position for delivering a substrate to the transfer robot and the two substrate transfer positions;
- a loading/unloading portion comprising a transfer robot which removes a substrate before polishing from a cassette and the loading/unloading portion is assembled independently;
- a transfer portion comprising a slide stage which transfers a substrate between the loading/unloading portion and the transfer robot and the transfer portion is assembled independently;
- and
- a control panel which controls a timing of removing a substrate from the cassette based on a timetable in which a processing end time point or a scheduled processing end time point in the polishing portion, the loading/unloading portion, and the transfer portion is associated with each substrate;
- wherein in the timetable,
- between a time point A at which a lowering action of each of the pushers of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit for delivering a Xth (X is an arbitrary natural number) substrate after polishing from each of the polishing devices of each of the first polishing unit and the second polishing unit to the exchanger is completed, and a time point B at which a delivery action of the transfer robot for delivering a (X+5)th substrate before polishing from the transfer portion to the exchanger is completed, there is a relationship of A>B, and
- a removal time point of a (10+4i)th (i is an integer greater than or equal to 0) substrate is a time point obtained by adding a transfer time, which is required from start of an action of removing a substrate from the cassette in the loading/unloading portion to end of an action of delivering the substrate to the exchanger by the transfer robot, and further adding at least A−B to a removal time point of one previous substrate, and a removal time point of the other substrates is a time point obtained by adding the transfer time to the removal time point of the one previous substrate.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.