Vertical-type heat processing apparatus and method of controlling transfer mechanism in vertical-type heat processing apparatus

• US 7,905,700 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2007
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Oyama, Katsuhiko, Takahashi, Kiichi, Asari, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Fox; Charles A
• Application Number:
  US11/723,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20070248439A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,457 Days
• Field of Search: 414/148, 414/161, 414/172, 414/940, 414/937, 414/5, 414/744.5, 414/804, 901/34, 901/35
• US Class Current: 414/804
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67098 Apparatus for thermal treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67766 Mechanical parts of transfer devices robots in general in B25J
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67781 Batch transfer of wafers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68707 the wafers being placed on a robot blade, or gripped by a gripper for conveyance

Abstract

The present invention is a vertical-type heat processing apparatus comprising: a heat processing furnace; a holder capable of being loaded into the heat processing furnace and unloaded therefrom, with holding therein a plurality of objects to be processed at predetermined vertical intervals in a tier-like manner; a transfer mechanism including a base table capable of vertically moving and rotating, and a substrate supporter capable of horizontally moving on the base table; and a controller for controlling the transfer mechanism; wherein the transfer mechanism is adapted to transfer an object to be processed between a container containing a plurality of objects to be processed at predetermined intervals, and the holder; the substrate supporter includes a to-and-fro driving part for driving the substrate supporter in the horizontal direction, and a pitch-change driving part for changing a pitch at which the objects to be processed are supported; the controller is adapted to monitor at least one information of position, velocity and current fed back to a motor for driving the transfer mechanism; and the controller is adapted to judge, by comparing the monitored information with predetermined information corresponding to a normal drive, that the transfer mechanism is abnormally driven, and then is adapted to stop the drive of the transfer mechanism.

Claims

1. A vertical-type heat processing apparatus comprising:

a heat processing furnace;

a holder, that is loaded into the heat processing furnace and unloaded therefrom, for holding therein a plurality of objects to be processed at predetermined vertical intervals in a tier-like manner;

a transfer mechanism including a base table that vertically moves and rotates, and a substrate supporter that horizontally moves on the base table;

a motor for moving the transfer mechanism;

a motor driver for controlling the motor, the motor driver including a position loop, a velocity loop, and a current loop; and

a controller for monitoring position information from the position loop, velocity information from the velocity loop, and current information from the current loop, and controlling the transfer mechanism by comparing the monitored information with predetermined information corresponding to a normal drive to judge whether the transfer mechanism is abnormally driven, the controller stopping drive of the transfer mechanism if it determines that the transfer mechanism is abnormally driven, wherein

the transfer mechanism transfers an object to be processed between a container containing a plurality of objects to be processed at predetermined intervals, and the holder, and

the substrate supporter includes a to-and-fro driving part for driving the substrate supporter in the horizontal direction, and a pitch-change driving part for changing a pitch at which the objects to be processed are supported.

2. The vertical-type heat processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the controller judges that the transfer mechanism is abnormally driven, the controller notifies an operator of the occurrence of the abnormal drive.

3. The vertical-type heat processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the controller judges that the transfer mechanism is abnormally driven while the substrate supporter of the transfer mechanism is moved forward, the controller stops the drive of the transfer mechanism such that the controller immediately moves the substrate supporter rearward and then stops the substrate supporter.

4. The vertical-type heat processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the motor driver includes a position instructing part, an adjusting part for position control, a velocity instructing part, an adjusting part for velocity control, a current instructing part, an adjusting part for current control, a current detecting part, and a current limiting part connected to the motor, and

wherein the position loop provides position feed-back to the position instructing part, the velocity loop provides velocity feed-back to the velocity instructing part, and the current loop provides current feed-back to the current instructing part.

5. The vertical-type heat processing apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the apparatus further comprises an encoder connected to the motor,

wherein the motor driver further comprises an interface connecting the encoder with the position instructing part and the velocity instructing part to provide each of the position loop and the velocity loop, and

wherein the current detecting part is connected to the current instructing part to provide the current feed-back loop.

6. A method of controlling a transfer mechanism in a vertical-type heat processing apparatus including a heat processing furnace;

a holder, that is loaded into the heat processing furnace and unloaded therefrom, for holding therein a plurality of objects to be processed arranged at predetermined vertical intervals therebetween in a tier-like manner;

a transfer mechanism including a base table that vertically moves and rotates, and a substrate supporter that moves horizontally on the base table;

a motor for moving the transfer mechanism; and

a motor driver having a position loop, a velocity loop, and a current loop for controlling the motor, wherein the transfer mechanism transfers an object to be processed between a container containing a plurality of objects to be processed at predetermined intervals, and the holder, said controlling method comprising the steps of;

monitoring position information, velocity information and current information from the position loop, the velocity loop and the current loop, respectively;

comparing the monitored information with predetermined information corresponding to a normal drive to judge whether the transfer mechanism is driven abnormally; and

stopping the drive of the transfer mechanism if the transfer mechanism is determined to be driven abnormally.

7. The controlling method according to claim 6, wherein in the stopping step, a notification of the occurrence of the abnormal drive is issued.

8. The controlling method according to claim 6, wherein in the stopping step, the drive of the transfer mechanism is stopped such that the substrate supporter is immediately moved rearward and then stopped.