US 8,078,311 B2 · Substrate processing apparatus and substrate transfer method adopted in substrate processing apparatus

Abstract

In a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, wafer transfer timing with which wafers are to be transferred to individual processing chambers from a cassette container is determined in correspondence to each processing chamber, based upon the lengths of time required to process a single wafer in the processing chambers. Then, wafers are transferred from the cassette container in conformance to the transfer timing thus determined. By setting the wafer transfer timing with which wafers are transferred from the cassette container in coordination with the lengths of processing time at the individual processing chambers, the operation rates in the processing chambers are improved and ultimately, the throughput of the apparatus is improved.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

a processing unit that includes a plurality of processing chambers where substrates undergo a specific type of processing;
a transfer unit connected to said processing unit;
a transfer unit-side transfer mechanism disposed in said transfer unit, which transfers the substrates stored in a substrate storage container to said processing unit;
a processing unit-side transfer mechanism disposed at said processing unit, which transfers the substrates having been transferred from said transfer unit into said processing chambers;
and
a control means for transferring out the substrates to be processed from said substrate storage container toward said processing chamber with substrate transfer timing determined in advance for each of said processing chambers in correspondence with a transfer ratio and a transfer frequency with which the substrates are transferred from said storage container and based upon a total processing time required to process a new substrate in said respective processing chamber.

3 more elements

A substrate transfer method adopted in a substrate processing that includes a processing unit having a plurality of processing chambers where substrates undergo a specific type of processing, a transfer unit connected to said processing unit, a transfer unit-side transfer mechanism disposed at said transfer unit, which transfers the substrate stored in a substrate storage container to said processing unit and a processing unit-side transfer mechanism disposed at said processing unit, which transfers the substrates having been transferred from said transfer unit into said processing chambers, comprising:

transferring the substrates from said substrate storage container toward said processing chambers with substrate transfer timing determined in advance for each of said processing chambers in correspondence with a transfer ratio and a transfer frequency with which the substrates are transferred from said substrate storage container and based upon a total processing time required to process a new substrate in said respective processing chamber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate transfer method adopted in substrate processing apparatus

Life of this patent

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate transfer method adopted in substrate processing apparatus

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims8