Coating and developing system, coating and developing method and storage medium

A coating and developing system for forming coating films including a resist film on a substrate carried to a carrier block by a carrier by one or a plurality of coating film forming unit blocks stacked one on top of another, carrying the substrate through an interface block to an exposure system after the coating films including the resist film have been formed on the substrate, processing the substrate returned through the interface block from the exposure system by a developing process by a developing unit block put on top of the stacked coating film forming unit blocks, and transferring the substrate processed in the developing unit block to the carrier block,

• each of the unit blocks comprising a plurality of modules in which the substrate is placed, and a substrate carrying means for carrying the substrate among the modules, the substrate carrying means repeating a carrying cycle in which substrates are carried according to a predetermined carrying schedule to transfer the substrates in due order from the upstream modules to the downstream modules such that the substrates of lower numbers are in the modules of higher ordinal numbers than the substrates of higher numbers, said coating and developing system comprising:
• temperature control modules for controlling the temperature of the substrate, wet processing modules for coating the substrate with a coating solution, and heating and cooling modules for heating the substrate and cooling the heated substrate installed in the coating film forming unit blocks;
• buffer modules each capable of holding a number of substrates greater by n than the number of the wet processing modules;
• and
• a controller capable of controlling the substrate carrying means of each of the unit blocks, upon the occurrence of trouble in the exposure system, to carry a substrate in the coating film forming unit block along a carrying route passing the temperature control module, the wet processing module, the heating and cooling module and the buffer module in that order such that the number of substrates placed in the modules on the downstream side of the temperature control module is greater by n than the number of the modules between the temperature control module and the buffer module on the carrying route and the carrying means of each of the unit blocks carries substrates processed normally by the coating film forming unit block to the buffer module, and of providing a control command inhibiting sending out a substrate from and carrying a substrate into the unit block.

A coating and developing method comprising the steps of:

• forming coating films including a resist film on a substrate carried to a carrier block by a carrier by one coating film forming unit block or by a plurality of coating film forming unit blocks stacked one on top of another;
• carrying the substrate through an interface block to an exposure system after the coating films including the resist film have been formed on the substrate;
• and
• processing the substrate returned through the interface block from the exposure system by a developing process by a developing unit block put on top of the coating film forming unit block and transferring the substrate to the carrier block;
• the unit block including a plurality of modules in which the substrate is placed, and a substrate carrying means for carrying the substrate among the modules, the substrate carrying means repeating a carrying cycle in which substrates are carried according to a predetermined carrying schedule to transfer the substrates in due order from the upstream modules to the downstream modules such that the substrates of lower ordinal numbers are in the modules of higher ordinal numbers than the substrates of higher ordinal numbers;
• wherein the coating film forming unit block includes temperature control modules for controlling the temperature of the substrate, wet processing modules for applying a coating solution to the substrate, heating and cooling modules for heating the substrate and cooling the heated substrate, and a buffer module capable of holding a number of substrates greater than by n than the number of the wet processing modules, the substrate is carried in the coating film forming unit block along a carrying route extending between the temperature control module to the buffer module and passing the temperature control module, the wet processing module, the heating and cooling module and the buffer module in that order, and the substrate carrying means carries substrates such that the number of substrates placed in the modules on the downstream side of the temperature control module is greater by n than the number of the modules between the temperature control module and the buffer module on the carrying route when a processing rate at which the exposure system processes substrates is lower than that at which the coating film forming unit block processes substrates.

A coating and developing method of forming coating films including a resist film on a substrate carried to a carrier block by a carrier by one coating film forming unit block or by a plurality of coating film forming unit blocks stacked one on top of another, carrying the substrate through an interface block to an exposure system after the coating films including the resist film have been formed on the substrate, and processing the substrate returned through the interface block from the exposure system by a developing process by a developing unit block put on top of the coating film forming unit block and transferring the substrate to the carrier block;

• the unit block including a plurality of modules in which the substrate is placed, and a substrate carrying means for carrying the substrate among the modules, the substrate carrying means repeating a carrying cycle in which substrates are carried according to a predetermined carrying schedule to transfer the substrates in due order from the upstream modules to the downstream modules such that the substrates of lower ordinal numbers are in the modules of higher ordinal numbers than the substrates of higher ordinal numbers, the coating film forming unit block including temperature control modules for controlling the temperature of the substrate, wet processing modules for applying a coating solution to the substrate, heating and cooling modules for heating the substrate and cooling the heated substrate, and a buffer module capable of holding a number of substrates greater by n than the number of the wet processing modules;
• said coating and developing method comprising the steps of:
• carrying the substrate in the coating film forming unit block along a carrying route extending from the temperature control module to the buffer module and passing the temperature control module, the wet processing module, the heating and cooling module and the buffer module in that order, and carrying substrates by the substrate carrying means along the carrying route in order of the temperature control module, the wet processing module, the heating and cooling module and the buffer module such that the number of substrates placed in the modules on the downstream side of the temperature control module is greater by n than the number of the modules between the temperature control module and the buffer module on the carrying route, and the substrate carrying means carries substrates in the unit block to the buffer module after the substrates have been processed in the unit block;
• inhibiting sending out a substrate from the coating film forming unit block;
• and
• inhibiting carrying a substrate into the coating film forming unit block to be executed.