Substrate Processing Apparatus and Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Recording Medium

• US 20140222187A1
• Filed: 02/06/2014
• Published: 08/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kokusai Electric Corp.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Kokusai Electric Incorporated (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shirakawa, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 9,818,629 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/121
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34365 After interrupt of operation, do other task and go on - resume operation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67201 characterized by the construction of the load-lock chamber

Abstract

Provided is a substrate processing apparatus capable of efficiently resuming processing of unprocessed substrates after an error occurs during processing of substrates. In the substrate processing apparatus that executes a recipe defining an order of processing substrates and manages process status of the substrates, the process status are changed to a processing state so as to execute the recipe, are changed to a paused state when unprocessed substrates are present among the substrates to be processed according to the recipe, due to an error occurring during the execution of the recipe, and are changed from the paused state to the processing state to resume the execution of the recipe so as to process the unprocessed substrates when the error is canceled and a operation is performed to resume the execution of the recipe.

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

a control unit configured to control an execution of a recipe defining an order of processing a substrate and manage a process status of the substrate; and

a manipulation unit configured to receive a resume command instructing to resume a stopped operation,

wherein the control unit changes the process status to a processing state so as to control an execution of the recipe, and changes the process status to a pause state in case that an unprocessed substrate is present among substrates to be processed according to the recipe, when the execution of the recipe is stopped due to an error occurring during the execution of the recipe,

wherein the manipulation unit transmits the resume command to the control unit when the resume command is received after the error is canceled and an operation for resuming the execution of the recipe is performed, and

wherein the control unit changes the process status from the pause state to the processing state, and resumes the execution of the recipe so as to process the unprocessed substrate when receiving the resume command.

2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the manipulation unit transmits a hold command instructing not to resume the execution of the recipe to the control unit when the hold command is received, and

wherein the control unit changes the process status from the paused state to an aborted state so as to terminate the execution of the recipe when receiving the hold command.

3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the process status represents at least one of a process status of a process job, a process status of a control job, a process status of a substrate storage container, a process status of a substrate and a process status of the substrate processing apparatus.

4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control job is associated with the process job, and synthetically controls each substrate process.

5. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control job is associated with source carrier information defining a substrate storage container accommodating the substrates to be processed, target carrier information defining a substrate storage container accommodating processed substrates and information regarding the process status of the control job.

6. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the process status of the control job comprises a queue state, an execution state and a process completion state.

7. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the recipe comprises a process recipe defining the order of processing the substrate, and the process job is generated for each process recipe and comprises information for controlling a substrate processing.

8. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the process job is associated with information about material in use of the substrates to be processed, information about recipe used for the substrate processing, a process status information about the process job and a variable parameter information.

9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the process status of the process job is selected from a queue state, a setup state, a processing state, a process completion state, a pause standby state, a paused state and an aborted state.

10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the process status of the substrate storage container is associated with the control job, and the process status of the substrate is associated with the process job.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer of a substrate processing apparatus to perform a control sequence for controlling an execution of a recipe defining an order of processing a substrate and managing a process status of the substrate, the control sequence comprising:

(a) changing the process status to a processing state so as to perform a process according to the recipe;

(b) changing the process status to an aborted state in case an unprocessed substrate is not present among substrates to be processed according to the recipe when the process according to the recipe is stopped due to an error occurring during the execution of the recipe; and

(c) changing the process status to a paused state in case the unprocessed substrate is present among the substrates to be processed according to the recipe when the process according to the recipe is stopped due to the error occurring during the execution of the recipe.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 11, wherein the control sequence further comprises (d) changing the process status from the paused state to the processing state and resuming the execution of the recipe so as to process the unprocessed substrate when a command instructing to resume a stopped process is received.

13. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

a control unit configured to control an execution of a recipe defining an order of processing a substrate and manage a status of a substrate processing apparatus; and

a manipulation unit configured to receive a command,

wherein the control unit changes the status of the substrate processing apparatus from a running state to an abnormal termination state when an error occurs during the execution of the recipe,

wherein the manipulation unit transmits an instruction to change the status of the substrate processing apparatus to the control unit when receiving a predetermined command, and

wherein the control unit changes the status of the substrate processing apparatus from the abnormal termination state to an idle state when receiving the command from the manipulation unit, and changes the status of the substrate processing apparatus from the idle state to a standby state and then to the running state so as to resume the execution of the recipe when the error is canceled and a recovery operation for resuming the execution of the recipe is performed.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a control program for causing a computer of a substrate processing apparatus to control an execution of a recipe defining an order of processing a substrate and manage a status of the substrate processing apparatus, the control program comprising:

(a) changing the status of the substrate processing apparatus from a processing state to an abnormal termination state when an error occurs during the execution of the recipe;

(b) changing the status of the substrate processing apparatus from the abnormal termination state to an idle state when a predetermined command is received; and

(c) changing the status of the substrate processing apparatus from the idle state to a standby state and then to the processing state so as to resume the execution of the recipe when the error is canceled and a recovery operation for resuming the execution of the recipe is performed.