MLchartDataset catalogue

Patent · US2006134330A1 · A1 · US

Cluster tool architecture for processing a substrate

(11) Publication number
US2006134330A1
(21) Application number
11/112,932
(22) Filing date
2005-04-22
(30) Priority date
2004-12-22
(43) Publication date
2006-06-22
(51) IPC
C23C 16/00
(52) CPC
  • H10P Generic processes or apparatus for the manufacture or treatment of devices covered by class H10: 72/0474, 72/0434, 72/0448, 72/0452, 72/0456, 72/0458, 72/0461, 72/0462, 72/0464, 72/3302, 72/3304, 72/3306, 72/3311, 72/72, 72/7602, 72/78, 74/238
  • G03B Apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs or for projecting or viewing them; apparatus or arrangements employing analogous techniques using waves other than optical waves; accessories therefor: 27/32
  • G03D Apparatus for processing exposed photographic materials; accessories therefor: 13/006
  • G03F Photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. for printing, for processing of semiconductor devices; materials therefor; originals therefor; apparatus specially adapted therefor: 7/40
  • G05B Control or regulating systems in general; functional elements of such systems; monitoring or testing arrangements for such systems or elements: 19/41825, 2219/40476, 2219/45031, 2219/49137
  • Y02P Climate change mitigation technologies in the production or processing of goods: 90/02
  • Y10S Technical subjects covered by former uspc cross-reference art collections [xracs] and digests: 414/135, 414/136
  • Y10T Technical subjects covered by former us classification: 29/53187, 29/5323
(73) Assignee
Applied Materials Inc
(72) Inventors
Tetsuya Ishikawa; Rick Roberts; Helen Armer; Leon Volfovski; Jay Pinson; Michael Rice; David Quach; Mohsen Salek; Robert Lowrance; William Weaver; Charles Carlson; Chongyang Wang; Jeffrey Hudgens; Harald Herchen; Brian Lue; John Backer
(54) Title
Cluster tool architecture for processing a substrate
(57) Abstract

Embodiments generally provide an apparatus and method for processing substrates using a multi-chamber processing system (e.g., a cluster tool) that has an increased system throughput, increased system reliability, substrates processed in the cluster tool have a more repeatable wafer history, and also the cluster tool has a smaller system footprint. In one embodiment, the cluster tool is adapted to perform a track lithography process in which a substrate is coated with a photosensitive material, is then transferred to a stepper/scanner, which exposes the photosensitive material to some form of radiation to form a pattern in the photosensitive material, which is then removed in a developing process completed in the cluster tool. In track lithography type cluster tools, since the chamber processing times tend to be rather short, and the number of processing steps required to complete a typical track system process is large, a significant portion of the time it takes to process a substrate is taken up by the processes of transferring the substrates in a cluster tool between the various processing chambers. In one embodiment of the cluster tool, the cost of ownership is reduced by grouping substrates together and transferring and processing the substrates in groups of two or more to improve system throughput, and reduces the number of moves a robot has to make to transfer a batch of substrates between the processing chambers, thus reducing wear on the robot and increasing system reliability. In one aspect of the invention, the substrate processing sequence and cluster tool are designed so that the substrate transferring steps performed during the processing sequence are only made to chambers that will perform the next processing step in the processing sequence. Embodiments also provide for a method and apparatus that are used to improve the coater chamber, the developer chamber, the post exposure bake chamber, the chill chamber, and the bake chamber process results. Embodiments also provide for a method and apparatus that are used to increase the reliability of the substrate transfer process to reduce system down time.

Full text
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Claims (12)

  1. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: inserting at least one substrate into each of two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a first processing rack using a first robot; processing the substrates in the two or more processing chambers in the first processing rack; removing the substrates from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the first rack substantially simultaneously using a second robot; simultaneously transferring the substrates to two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a second processing rack using the second robot; and depositing the substrates in the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the second processing rack using the second robot.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein the process performed in the processing chambers is selected from a group consisting of: a HMDS process, a PEB process, a BARC process, a photoresist coat process, a develop process, or an OEBR process.
  3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: removing a substrate from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the second processing rack using a third robot; and inserting the substrate in two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a third processing rack using the third robot.
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein simultaneously transferring the substrates to two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a second processing rack using the second robot comprises: positioning a robot base along a first direction by use of a slide assembly; and positioning a substrate positioned on a robot blade relative to the robot base by use of a 6-axis articulated robot.
  5. The method of claim 1, wherein removing the substrates from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the first rack substantially simultaneously using a second robot comprises: extending a first robot blade relative to a support by use of a robot blade actuator; extending a second robot blade relative to the support by use of a robot blade actuator; positioning a first substrate positioned in a first processing chamber on the first extended blade and a second substrate positioned in the second processing chamber on the second extended blade by positioning the support connected to the second robot; and retracting the first robot blade and the second robot blade.
  6. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: inserting at least one substrate in two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a first processing rack using a first robot; processing the substrates in the two or more processing chambers in the first processing rack; removing the substrates from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the first processing rack substantially simultaneously using a second robot, wherein removing the substrates further comprises: repositioning a robot blade connected to a support attached to the second robot to prevent the blade from accessing a first vertically stacked processing chamber; positioning a robot blade that is separately connected to the support in a second vertically stacked processing chamber; positioning a substrate positioned in the second vertically stacked processing chamber on the robot blade; and removing the robot blade from the second vertically stacked processing chamber; and transferring the substrate to a second set of two or more vertically stacked processing chambers using the second robot.
  7. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: inserting at least one substrate through a first side of two or more vertically stacked processing chambers positioned in a cluster tool using a first robot; processing the substrates in the processing chambers; removing two or more substrates through a second side of the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers substantially simultaneously using a second robot; simultaneously transferring the two or more substrates to a desired position using the second robot.
  8. The method of claim 7, wherein the process performed in the processing the substrates step is selected from a group consisting of: a HMDS process, a PEB process, a BARC process, a photoresist coat process, a develop process, or an OEBR process.
  9. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: removing a substrate from a cassette using a robot; inserting a first substrate in a first processing chamber adjacently positioned to a second processing chamber; isolating the first processing chamber from the second processing chamber by positioning a shutter between the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber; dispensing a processing fluid on the surface of the substrate positioned in the first processing chamber using a nozzle connected to a fluid dispensing system; inserting a second substrate in the second processing chamber; and dispensing a processing fluid on the surface of the second substrate positioned in the second processing chamber using the nozzle connected to the fluid dispensing system.
  10. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: positioning a substrate on a substrate exchanging device in a first processing chamber that is adjacently positioned to a second processing chamber; transferring the substrate from the substrate exchanging device in the first processing chamber to a substrate receiving surface of a chilled robot blade, wherein the substrate receiving surface is adapted to control the temperature of the substrate retained thereon; transferring the substrate to the second processing chamber using the chilled robot blade; and transferring the substrate to a third processing chamber using the chilled robot blade, wherein the third processing chamber is adjacent to the second processing chamber.
  11. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: positioning a substrate on a substrate exchanging device in a first processing chamber that is adjacently positioned to a second processing chamber; transferring the substrate from the substrate exchanging device in the first processing chamber to a substrate receiving surface of a chilled robot blade, wherein the substrate receiving surface is adapted to control the temperature of the substrate retained thereon; transferring the substrate to the second processing chamber using the chilled robot blade; heating the substrate in the second processing chamber to a desired temperature; transferring the substrate to a third processing chamber using the chilled robot blade, wherein the third processing chamber is adjacent to the second processing chamber; and cooling the substrate in the third processing chamber to a desired temperature.
  12. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: transferring a substrate from a cassette containing two or more substrates, wherein the cassette is retained in the cluster tool; completing a final processing step on a substrate in a processing chamber; transferring the substrate from the processing chamber to a chill chamber that is adapted to perform a chill process; and transferring the substrate from the chill chamber to the cassette.

Description

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to an integrated processing system containing multiple processing stations and robots that are capable of processing multiple substrates in parallel.

2. Description of the Related Art

The process of forming electronic devices is commonly done in a multi-chamber processing system (e.g., a cluster tool) that has the capability to sequentially process substrates, (e.g., semiconductor wafers) in a controlled processing environment. A typical cluster tool used to deposit (i.e., coat) and develop a photoresist material, commonly known as a track lithography tool, will include a mainframe that houses at least one substrate transfer robot which transports substrates between a pod/cassette mounting device and multiple processing chambers that are connected to the mainframe. Cluster tools are often used so that substrates can be processed in a repeatable way in a controlled processing environment. A controlled processing environment has many benefits which include minimizing contamination of the substrate surfaces during transfer and during completion of the various substrate processing steps. Processing in a controlled environment thus reduces the number of generated defects and improves device yield.

The effectiveness of a substrate fabrication process is often measured by two related and important factors, which are device yield and the cost of ownership (CoO). These factors are important since they directly affect the cost to produce an electronic device and thus a device manufacturer's competitiveness in the market place.

Citations (100)

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Record as JSON 
{
  "publication_number": "US2006134330A1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A1",
  "title": "Cluster tool architecture for processing a substrate",
  "abstract": "Embodiments generally provide an apparatus and method for processing substrates using a multi-chamber processing system (e.g., a cluster tool) that has an increased system throughput, increased system reliability, substrates processed in the cluster tool have a more repeatable wafer history, and also the cluster tool has a smaller system footprint. In one embodiment, the cluster tool is adapted to perform a track lithography process in which a substrate is coated with a photosensitive material, is then transferred to a stepper/scanner, which exposes the photosensitive material to some form of radiation to form a pattern in the photosensitive material, which is then removed in a developing process completed in the cluster tool. In track lithography type cluster tools, since the chamber processing times tend to be rather short, and the number of processing steps required to complete a typical track system process is large, a significant portion of the time it takes to process a substrate is taken up by the processes of transferring the substrates in a cluster tool between the various processing chambers. In one embodiment of the cluster tool, the cost of ownership is reduced by grouping substrates together and transferring and processing the substrates in groups of two or more to improve system throughput, and reduces the number of moves a robot has to make to transfer a batch of substrates between the processing chambers, thus reducing wear on the robot and increasing system reliability. In one aspect of the invention, the substrate processing sequence and cluster tool are designed so that the substrate transferring steps performed during the processing sequence are only made to chambers that will perform the next processing step in the processing sequence. Embodiments also provide for a method and apparatus that are used to improve the coater chamber, the developer chamber, the post exposure bake chamber, the chill chamber, and the bake chamber process results. Embodiments also provide for a method and apparatus that are used to increase the reliability of the substrate transfer process to reduce system down time.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: inserting at least one substrate into each of two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a first processing rack using a first robot; processing the substrates in the two or more processing chambers in the first processing rack; removing the substrates from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the first rack substantially simultaneously using a second robot; simultaneously transferring the substrates to two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a second processing rack using the second robot; and depositing the substrates in the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the second processing rack using the second robot.",
    "2. The method of claim 1, wherein the process performed in the processing chambers is selected from a group consisting of: a HMDS process, a PEB process, a BARC process, a photoresist coat process, a develop process, or an OEBR process.",
    "3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: removing a substrate from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the second processing rack using a third robot; and inserting the substrate in two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a third processing rack using the third robot.",
    "4. The method of claim 1, wherein simultaneously transferring the substrates to two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a second processing rack using the second robot comprises: positioning a robot base along a first direction by use of a slide assembly; and positioning a substrate positioned on a robot blade relative to the robot base by use of a 6-axis articulated robot.",
    "5. The method of claim 1, wherein removing the substrates from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the first rack substantially simultaneously using a second robot comprises: extending a first robot blade relative to a support by use of a robot blade actuator; extending a second robot blade relative to the support by use of a robot blade actuator; positioning a first substrate positioned in a first processing chamber on the first extended blade and a second substrate positioned in the second processing chamber on the second extended blade by positioning the support connected to the second robot; and retracting the first robot blade and the second robot blade.",
    "6. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: inserting at least one substrate in two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in a first processing rack using a first robot; processing the substrates in the two or more processing chambers in the first processing rack; removing the substrates from the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers in the first processing rack substantially simultaneously using a second robot, wherein removing the substrates further comprises: repositioning a robot blade connected to a support attached to the second robot to prevent the blade from accessing a first vertically stacked processing chamber; positioning a robot blade that is separately connected to the support in a second vertically stacked processing chamber; positioning a substrate positioned in the second vertically stacked processing chamber on the robot blade; and removing the robot blade from the second vertically stacked processing chamber; and transferring the substrate to a second set of two or more vertically stacked processing chambers using the second robot.",
    "7. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: inserting at least one substrate through a first side of two or more vertically stacked processing chambers positioned in a cluster tool using a first robot; processing the substrates in the processing chambers; removing two or more substrates through a second side of the two or more vertically stacked processing chambers substantially simultaneously using a second robot; simultaneously transferring the two or more substrates to a desired position using the second robot.",
    "8. The method of claim 7, wherein the process performed in the processing the substrates step is selected from a group consisting of: a HMDS process, a PEB process, a BARC process, a photoresist coat process, a develop process, or an OEBR process.",
    "9. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: removing a substrate from a cassette using a robot; inserting a first substrate in a first processing chamber adjacently positioned to a second processing chamber; isolating the first processing chamber from the second processing chamber by positioning a shutter between the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber; dispensing a processing fluid on the surface of the substrate positioned in the first processing chamber using a nozzle connected to a fluid dispensing system; inserting a second substrate in the second processing chamber; and dispensing a processing fluid on the surface of the second substrate positioned in the second processing chamber using the nozzle connected to the fluid dispensing system.",
    "10. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: positioning a substrate on a substrate exchanging device in a first processing chamber that is adjacently positioned to a second processing chamber; transferring the substrate from the substrate exchanging device in the first processing chamber to a substrate receiving surface of a chilled robot blade, wherein the substrate receiving surface is adapted to control the temperature of the substrate retained thereon; transferring the substrate to the second processing chamber using the chilled robot blade; and transferring the substrate to a third processing chamber using the chilled robot blade, wherein the third processing chamber is adjacent to the second processing chamber.",
    "11. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: positioning a substrate on a substrate exchanging device in a first processing chamber that is adjacently positioned to a second processing chamber; transferring the substrate from the substrate exchanging device in the first processing chamber to a substrate receiving surface of a chilled robot blade, wherein the substrate receiving surface is adapted to control the temperature of the substrate retained thereon; transferring the substrate to the second processing chamber using the chilled robot blade; heating the substrate in the second processing chamber to a desired temperature; transferring the substrate to a third processing chamber using the chilled robot blade, wherein the third processing chamber is adjacent to the second processing chamber; and cooling the substrate in the third processing chamber to a desired temperature.",
    "12. A method of processing a substrate in a cluster tool comprising: transferring a substrate from a cassette containing two or more substrates, wherein the cassette is retained in the cluster tool; completing a final processing step on a substrate in a processing chamber; transferring the substrate from the processing chamber to a chill chamber that is adapted to perform a chill process; and transferring the substrate from the chill chamber to the cassette."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "1. Field of the Invention\n\nEmbodiments of the invention generally relate to an integrated processing system containing multiple processing stations and robots that are capable of processing multiple substrates in parallel.\n\n2. Description of the Related Art\n\nThe process of forming electronic devices is commonly done in a multi-chamber processing system (e.g., a cluster tool) that has the capability to sequentially process substrates, (e.g., semiconductor wafers) in a controlled processing environment. A typical cluster tool used to deposit (i.e., coat) and develop a photoresist material, commonly known as a track lithography tool, will include a mainframe that houses at least one substrate transfer robot which transports substrates between a pod/cassette mounting device and multiple processing chambers that are connected to the mainframe. Cluster tools are often used so that substrates can be processed in a repeatable way in a controlled processing environment. A controlled processing environment has many benefits which include minimizing contamination of the substrate surfaces during transfer and during completion of the various substrate processing steps. Processing in a controlled environment thus reduces the number of generated defects and improves device yield.\n\nThe effectiveness of a substrate fabrication process is often measured by two related and important factors, which are device yield and the cost of ownership (CoO). These factors are important since they directly affect the cost to produce an electronic device and thus a device manufacturer's competitiveness in the market place.",
  "cpc": [
    "H10P 72/0474",
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    "H10P 72/0462",
    "H10P 72/0464",
    "H10P 72/3302",
    "H10P 72/3304",
    "H10P 72/3306",
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    "H10P 72/7602",
    "H10P 72/78",
    "H10P 74/238",
    "Y02P 90/02",
    "Y10S 414/135",
    "Y10S 414/136",
    "Y10T 29/53187",
    "Y10T 29/5323"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "C23C 16/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Applied Materials Inc"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Tetsuya Ishikawa",
    "Rick Roberts",
    "Helen Armer",
    "Leon Volfovski",
    "Jay Pinson",
    "Michael Rice",
    "David Quach",
    "Mohsen Salek",
    "Robert Lowrance",
    "William Weaver",
    "Charles Carlson",
    "Chongyang Wang",
    "Jeffrey Hudgens",
    "Harald Herchen",
    "Brian Lue",
    "John Backer"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2005-04-22",
  "publication_date": "2006-06-22",
  "priority_date": "2004-12-22",
  "application_number": "US-11293205-A",
  "family_id": "39193608",
  "cited_by_count": 58,
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