HEAT TREATMENT APPARATUS, HEAT TREATMENT METHOD, AND COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

Abstract
In the present invention, a plurality of heat treatment units are arranged side by side in a linear form and a substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate between the heat treatment units is provided in a heat treatment apparatus. The substrate is sequentially heat-treated in the arrangement order, whereby one heat treatment as a whole is dividedly and successively performed in the plurality of heat treatment units. This allows substrates to be heat-treated along the same route and uniforms the thermal history among the substrates. At the time when heat-treating a plurality of substrates the present invention causes less variation in thermal history among the substrates as compared to the case of parallel heat treatments.
Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS


FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of a configuration of a coating and developing treatment system incorporating a heat treatment apparatus according to the present embodiment;



FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developing treatment system;



FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating and developing treatment system;



FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the outline of a configuration of the heat treatment apparatus;



FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a base and a heat treatment plate;



FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a transfer member;



FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a base for explaining transfer of a wafer from a first heat treatment plate to a second heat treatment plate;



FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the base for explaining transfer of the wafer from the second heat treatment plate to a third heat treatment plate;



FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the base for explaining transfer of the wafer from the third heat treatment plate to a fourth heat treatment plate;



FIG. 10 is a plan view of the heat treatment apparatus in the case in which the positions of the transfer members are changed;



FIG. 11 is a plan view of the heat treatment apparatus in which a plurality of grooves are provided;



FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the inside of the heat treatment apparatus in the case using transfer members having wire portions;



FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of a transverse section showing a configuration inside a holding portion of the transfer member;



FIG. 14 is a plan view of the heat treatment apparatus;



FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view of the base and the heat treatment plate for explaining transfer of the wafer from the first heat treatment plate to the second heat treatment plate;



FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the heat treatment apparatus in the case in which the heat treatment plate is divided;



FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the heat treatment apparatus showing division patterns of the heat treatment plates; and



FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the heat treatment apparatus showing division patterns of the heat treatment plates.


Claims
  • 1. A heat treatment apparatus for performing a predetermined heat treatment for a substrate, comprising: a plurality of heat treatment units for dividedly performing the predetermined heat treatment; anda substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate to said plurality of heat treatment units in a predetermined order, and capable of successively transferring a plurality of substrates in said plurality of heat treatment units,wherein said plurality of heat treatment units heat-treat the substrate at the same temperature.
  • 2. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said heat treatment unit is a heat treatment plate for mounting and heat-treating the substrate thereon.
  • 3. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 2wherein said plurality of heat treatment plates are arranged side by side in a linear form in the horizontal direction, andwherein said substrate transfer mechanism has a transfer member moving along an arrangement direction of said heat treatment plates while supporting the substrate to transfer the substrate between said heat treatment plates.
  • 4. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said transfer member is provided for each zone between adjacent heat treatment plates.
  • 5. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein said transfer member is different in position within the substrate to support the substrate for each zone between the adjacent heat treatment plates.
  • 6. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said plurality of heat treatment plates are provided side by side in a linear form on a horizontal base,wherein said base has a groove formed thereon along the arrangement direction of said heat treatment plates and passing through said heat treatment plates, andwherein said transfer member includes a slider portion moving in said groove and a pin portion provided at the slider portion for supporting a lower surface of the substrate and raising and lowering the substrate.
  • 7. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said transfer member has a plurality of wire portions formed along a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of said heat treatment plates for supporting a lower surface of the substrate, a horizontal drive portion for moving said wire portion in the arrangement direction of said heat treatment plates, and a raising and lowering portion for raising and lowering said wire portion.
  • 8. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein each of said heat treatment plates is provided with a raising and lowering pin for raising and lowering the substrate, andwherein said plurality of wire portions are capable of opening/closing right and left to allow the substrate supported on said raising and lowering pin to pass therebetween in the vertical direction.
  • 9. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of heat treatment plates is divided into a plurality of regions so that the temperature is controllable for each region of said each heat treatment plate.
  • 10. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein the temperature of each region of said each heat treatment plate is controlled so that a thermal history of the substrate transferred to all of said heat treatment plates becomes uniform within the substrate.
  • 11. The heat treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein at least one of said plurality of heat treatment plates is different in division pattern of the regions.
  • 12. A heat treatment method of performing a predetermined heat treatment for a substrate, comprising the step of: sequentially transferring the substrate in a predetermined order to a plurality of heat treatment units for dividedly performing the predetermined heat treatment at the same temperature to thereby perform the predetermined heat treatment.
  • 13. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program when performing a predetermined heat treatment method for a substrate using a heat treatment apparatus, wherein said heat treatment method is performed by sequentially transferring the substrate in a predetermined order to a plurality of heat treatment units for dividedly performing the predetermined heat treatment at the same temperature to thereby perform the predetermined heat treatment.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
2006-032709 Feb 2006 JP national