Substrate processing system, substrate transfer method and storage medium
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorTomohiro Kaneko
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A substrate processing system 10 includes a multiple number of substrate processing units 40A and 40B having substrate processing modules 40a and 40b, respectively; substrate buffers 30a and 30b which respectively correspond to the substrate processing units 40A and 40B; and a first substrate transfer device 50 configured to take out substrates W from substrate receptacles 20 on substrate mounting tables 25 into substrate buffers 30a and 30b. When a second substrate transfer device 60b of the substrate processing unit 40B is broken down, a substrate W remaining in the substrate buffer 30b corresponding to the substrate processing unit 40B is delivered into the substrate buffer 30a corresponding to the substrate processing unit 40A by a substrate delivery device 35.
Claims16
A substrate processing system comprising:
- a plurality of substrate processing units each including multiple substrate processing modules configured to perform a process on a substrate;
- a substrate mounting table configured to mount thereon a substrate receptacle accommodating therein substrates;
- substrate buffers, which respectively correspond to the substrate processing units, each being configured to temporarily accommodate therein substrates;
- a first substrate transfer device configured to take out substrates from the substrate receptacle on the substrate mounting table and transfer the substrates into at least one substrate buffer;
- a second substrate transfer device provided in each substrate processing unit and configured to transfer a substrate between the substrate buffer and the substrate processing module;
- and
- an inter-buffer delivery device configured to deliver a substrate between the substrate buffers,
- wherein when one substrate processing unit is incapable of performing a process on a substrate, an unprocessed substrate within the substrate buffer corresponding to the one substrate processing unit is delivered into the substrate buffer corresponding to another substrate processing unit by the inter-buffer delivery device, and
- when one substrate processing unit is incapable of performing a substrate process, the first substrate transfer device is configured to transfer the substrate completely processed by the one substrate processing unit into the substrate receptacle from the substrate buffer corresponding to the one substrate processing unit, and to return substrates, which are delivered into the substrate buffer corresponding to another substrate processing unit by the inter-buffer delivery device and then completely processed by the another substrate processing unit, back into the substrate receptacle from the substrate buffer corresponding to the another substrate processing unit one by one.
A substrate transfer method comprising:
- mounting a substrate receptacle accommodating therein multiple substrates on a substrate mounting table;
- taking out substrates from the substrate receptacle on the substrate mounting table by a first substrate transfer device and transferring the substrates into a substrate buffer corresponding to one of substrate processing units each including multiple substrate processing modules;
- and
- transferring a substrate within the substrate buffer of each substrate processing unit into a substrate processing module within the substrate processing unit by a second substrate transfer device,
- wherein when one substrate processing unit is incapable of performing a substrate process, an unprocessed substrate within the substrate buffer corresponding to the one substrate processing unit is delivered into the substrate buffer corresponding to another substrate processing unit by an inter-buffer delivery device, and
- when one substrate processing unit is incapable of performing a substrate process, the first substrate transfer device is configured to transfer the substrate completely processed by the one substrate processing unit into the substrate receptacle from the substrate buffer corresponding to the one substrate processing unit, and to return substrates, which are delivered into the substrate buffer corresponding to another substrate processing unit by the inter-buffer delivery device and then completely processed by the another substrate processing unit, back into the substrate receptacle from the substrate buffer corresponding to the another substrate processing unit one by one.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.