US 6,742,977 B1Granted

Substrate processing device, substrate conveying device, and substrate processing method

AssigneeKokusai Electric Corporation

InventorsSatohiro Okayama, Motoichi Kanazawa, Takeshige Ishida, Tomohiko Takeda, Yukio Akita, Satoru Ichimura, Kazunori Suzuki, Teruo Yoshino, Tokunobu Akao, Yasunobu Nakayama

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Abstract

An unprocessed substrate is conveyed to a film-processing chamber at the same time a processed substrate is conveyed to a substrate preparation chamber, reducing the substrate processing cycle, thereby increasing the yield per unit time. The substrate preparation chamber has a two-tiered structure for receiving processed substrates and unprocessed substrates. A two-tiered transfer robot allows the substrates to be removed or placed into the preparation and process chambers at the same time, thus decreasing the cycle time for processing a substrate.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A substrate processing device, comprising:

a substrate processing chamber for subjecting a substrate to prescribed processing;
a substrate storage chamber for storing an unprocessed substrate scheduled to undergo the prescribed processing in said substrate processing chamber, and a processed substrate that has undergone the prescribed processing therein;
and
a substrate conveying device disposed between said substrate processing chamber and said substrate storage chamber and for conveying the unprocessed substrate from said substrate storage chamber to said substrate processing chamber, and conveying the processed substrate from said substrate processing chamber to said substrate storage chamber;
wherein said substrate conveying device comprises:
a first substrate conveying unit conveying the substrate between said substrate storage chamber and said substrate processing chamber;
a second substrate conveying unit conveying the substrate between said substrate storage chamber and said substrate processing chamber;
and
an operating unit to operate said first and second substrate conveying units in such a manner that the substrates conveyed with said first and second substrate conveying units are put in vertical two tiers so as to be laid on top of one another above a drive shaft of said first and second substrate conveying units, so that said first and second substrate conveying units are operated in opposite directions along the arrangement direction of said substrate processing chamber, said substrate storage chamber and said substrate conveying device, and so that said first and second substrate conveying units are operated in such a manner that the processed substrate is conveyed from said substrate processing chamber to said substrate storage chamber with either one substrate conveying unit out of said first and second substrate conveying units, while the unprocessed substrate is conveyed from said substrate storage chamber to said substrate processing chamber with the other substrate conveying unit.

6 more elements

A substrate processing device, comprising:

a substrate conveying device disposed between a first substrate mounting position for mounting the substrate thereon and a second substrate mounting position for mounting another substrate thereon, and for conveying the substrates between said first substrate mounting position and said second substrate mounting position;
and
a substrate processing chamber for subjecting the substrate conveyed with the substrate conveying device to prescribed processing,
wherein said substrate conveying device, comprises:
a first substrate conveying unit conveying the substrate between said first substrate mounting position and said second substrate mounting position;
a second substrate conveying unit conveying aforementioned another substrate between said first substrate mounting position and said second substrate mounting position;
and
an operating unit to operate said first and second substrate conveying units in such a manner that the substrates conveyed with said first and second substrate conveying units are put in vertical two tiers so as to be laid on top of one another above a drive shaft of said first and second substrate conveying units, so that said first and second substrate conveying units are operated in opposite directions along the arrangement direction of said first substrate mounting position, said second substrate mounting position and said substrate conveying device, and so that said first and second substrate conveying units are operated in such a manner that the substrate is conveyed from said first substrate mounting position to said second substrate mounting position with either one substrate conveying unit out of said first and second substrate conveying units, while the aforementioned another substrate is conveyed from said second substrate mounting position to said second substrate mounting position with the other substrate conveying unit.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.