Title:
SUBSTRATE PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2014/006804
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The objective of the present invention is to reduce the number of discarded wafers (W) by enabling the processing of substrates to continue without stopping the operation of the equipment when a processing module becomes unusable. The present invention is equipped with a row of wafer transfer mechanisms (3), which receive and hand off wafers (W) in a transfer chamber, and rows of process modules (PMs), which are arranged on the left and the right of this row of wafer transfer mechanisms, and perform processes on the wafers (W). The rows of process modules (PMs) are constructed such that each process in the series of processes can be performed by at least two of the process modules (PMs). Therefore, if one of the process modules (PMs) becomes unusable, the wafers (W) can be transferred quickly to another process module (PM) that performs the same process as the process in question. Accordingly, the processing of the wafers (W) can continue without stopping the operation of the equipment even when one of the process modules (PM) becomes unusable, and thus the number of discarded wafers (W) is reduced.
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Inventors:
GOMI ATSUSHI (JP)
MIYASHITA TETSUYA (JP)
FURUKAWA SHINJI (JP)
MAEDA KOJI (JP)
HARA MASAMICHI (JP)
SUZUKI NAOYUKI (JP)
MIKI HIROSHI (JP)
HIRATA TOSHIHARU (JP)
MIYASHITA TETSUYA (JP)
FURUKAWA SHINJI (JP)
MAEDA KOJI (JP)
HARA MASAMICHI (JP)
SUZUKI NAOYUKI (JP)
MIKI HIROSHI (JP)
HIRATA TOSHIHARU (JP)
Application Number:
PCT/JP2013/002889
Publication Date:
January 09, 2014
Filing Date:
April 30, 2013
Export Citation:
Assignee:
TOKYO ELECTRON LTD (JP)
International Classes:
H01L21/677; B65G49/07; C23C14/56
Foreign References:
| JPS64500072A | 1989-01-12 | |||
| JP2000100922A | 2000-04-07 | |||
| JP2009071214A | 2009-04-02 | |||
| JP4473343B2 | 2010-06-02 |
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
INOUE, TOSHIO (JP)
Toshio Inoue (JP)
Toshio Inoue (JP)
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