Automated semiconductor wafer salvage during processing

A recovery processing method to be adopted in a substrate processing apparatus equipped with a processing unit constituted with a plurality of chambers including at least a plurality of processing chambers where substrates are processed, a transfer unit connected to the processing unit, which includes a transfer chamber where said substrates are transferred to/from a substrate storage container for storing said substrates, a transfer unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said transfer unit to carry said substrates into/out of the processing unit and a processing unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said processing unit to carry said substrates into/out of said processing chambers, to restore said substrate processing apparatus to an operating state after correcting an abnormality having occurred in said substrate processing apparatus in operation and having resulted in an operation stop, comprising:

• a substrate retrieval step in which substrate salvage processing is executed for said substrates left in said processing unit and/or said transfer unit of said substrate processing apparatus in correspondence to the extents to which said substrates have been processed at the time of the operation stop and then said substrates are retrieved into said substrate storage container by engaging said processing unit-side transfer mechanism and/or said transfer unit-side transfer mechanism in operation;
• and
• an apparatus internal state restoration step in which the states inside said processing unit and said transfer unit of said substrate processing apparatus are restored.

A recovery processing method to be adopted in a substrate processing apparatus equipped with a transfer unit that includes a transfer chamber where the substrates are transferred to/from a substrate storage container for storing said substrates, a processing unit that includes a plurality of processing chambers where said substrates are processed connected around a common transfer chamber and a load-lock chamber that connects said common transfer chamber to said transfer chamber of said transfer unit;

• a transfer unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said transfer chamber of said transfer unit to carry said substrates into/out of said load-lock chamber;
• and
• a processing unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said common transfer chamber of said processing unit to carry said substrates between said load-lock chamber and said processing chambers, to restore said substrate processing apparatus to an operating state after correcting an abnormality having occurred in said substrate processing apparatus in operation and having resulted in an operation stop, comprising:
• a substrate retrieval step in which substrate salvage processing is executed for substrates left in individual chambers in said processing unit and/or said transfer unit of said substrate processing apparatus in correspondence to the extents to which said substrates have been processed at the time of the operation stop and then said substrates are retrieved into said substrate storage container by engaging said processing unit-side transfer mechanism and/or said transfer unit-side transfer mechanism in operation;
• and
• an apparatus internal state restoration step in which the states inside said chambers in said substrate processing apparatus are restored.

A substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates, comprising:

• a processing unit constituted with a plurality of chambers including at least a plurality of processing chambers where said substrates are processed;
• a transfer unit connected to said processing unit, which includes a transfer chamber where said substrates are transferred to/from a substrate storage container for storing said substrates;
• a transfer unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said transfer unit to carry said substrates into/out of said processing unit;
• a processing unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said processing unit to carry said substrates into/out of said processing chambers;
• and
• a control means for restoring said substrate processing apparatus to an operating state after correcting an abnormality, wherein:
• said control means includes a substrate retrieval means for retrieving said substrates left in said processing unit and/or said transfer unit of said substrate processing apparatus into said substrate storage container via said processing unit-side transfer mechanism and/or the transfer unit-side transfer mechanism after executing substrate salvage processing on said substrates in correspondence to the extents to which said substrates have been processed at the time of the operation stop and an apparatus internal state restoration means for restoring the states inside said processing unit and said transfer unit of said substrate processing apparatus.

A substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates, comprising:

• a transfer unit that includes a transfer chamber where said substrates are transferred to/from a substrate storage container for storing said substrates;
• a processing unit that includes a plurality of processing chambers where the substrates are processed connected around a common transfer chamber and a load-lock chamber that connects said common transfer chamber to said transfer chamber of said transfer unit;
• a transfer unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said transfer chamber of said transfer unit to carry said substrates into/out of said load-lock chamber;
• a processing unit-side transfer mechanism disposed inside said common transfer chamber of said processing unit to carry said substrates between said load-lock chamber and said processing chambers;
• and
• a control means for restoring said substrate processing apparatus to an operating state after correcting an abnormality having occurred in said substrate processing apparatus in operation and having resulted in an operation stop, wherein:
• said control means includes a substrate retrieval means for retrieving substrates left in individual chambers in said processing unit and/or said transfer unit of said substrate processing apparatus into said substrate storage container via said processing unit-side transfer mechanism and/or said transfer unit-side transfer mechanism after executing substrate salvage processing on said substrates in correspondence to the extents to which the substrates have been processed at the time of the operation stop and an apparatus internal state restoration means for restoring the states inside said chambers of said substrate processing apparatus.