Substrate transfer apparatus and substrate transfer method
An apparatus for transferring a substrate to a substrate processing chamber is provided. The apparatus includes: a substrate transfer chamber having a floor provided with a first magnet and a sidewall connected to the substrate processing chamber and having an opening through which a substrate is loaded into and unloaded from the substrate processing chamber; a substrate transfer module including a substrate holder configured to hold the substrate and a second magnet having a repulsive force against the first magnet, and configured to move in the substrate transfer chamber by magnetic levitation using the repulsive force; and a heating device configured to heat the substrate transfer module to release contaminants adhered to a surface of the substrate transfer module.
1 . An apparatus for transferring a substrate to a substrate processing chamber for processing a substrate, comprising:
a substrate transfer chamber having a floor provided with a first magnet and a sidewall connected to the substrate processing chamber and having an opening through which a substrate is loaded into and unloaded from the substrate processing chamber;
a substrate transfer module including a substrate holder configured to hold the substrate and a second magnet having a repulsive force against the first magnet, and configured to move in the substrate transfer chamber by magnetic levitation using the repulsive force; and
a heating device configured to heat the substrate transfer module to release contaminants adhered to a surface of the substrate transfer module.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating device is a heating light source that irradiates a surface of the substrate transfer module with heating light.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating device is an induction coil that heats the substrate transfer module made of a metal by induction heating.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating device is a heat exchange mechanism including a contact surface to be in contact with the substrate transfer module, a channel formed in a member forming the contact surface and through which a temperature control fluid flows, and a heat medium supply device configured to supply a heat medium that is the temperature control fluid to the channel.
5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the heat exchange mechanism includes a coolant supply device configured to supply a coolant, instead of the heat medium, as the temperature control fluid that cools the heated substrate transfer module to a use temperature.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating device is an internal heating mechanism including a resistance heating element disposed in the substrate transfer module, and a power supply device configured to supply a power to the resistance heating element.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a cooling device configured to cool the substrate transfer module heated by the heating device to a use temperature.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the cooling device is a heat exchange mechanism including a contact surface to be in contact with the substrate transfer module, a channel formed in a member forming the contact surface and through which a temperature control fluid flows, and a coolant supply device configured to supply a coolant that is the temperature control fluid to the channel.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a contaminant removal device configured to remove contaminants released from the surface of the substrate transfer module by the heating.
10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the contaminant removal device is an exhaust device configured to exhaust an atmosphere in which the substrate transfer module is heated by the heating device.
11 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the contaminant removal device is a contaminant collecting member having a collecting surface that is controlled to a temperature lower than a temperature of the substrate transfer module heated by the heating device and collects the contaminants by a thermophoretic force.
12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating device is configured to heat the substrate transfer module in the substrate transfer chamber.
13 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a load-lock chamber in which a pressure is switched to load/unload a substrate between the substrate transfer chamber and another substrate transfer chamber having a pressure different from a pressure in the substrate transfer chamber,
wherein the heating device is configured to heat the substrate transfer module in the load-lock chamber.
14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the substrate transfer chamber is configured as a vacuum substrate transfer chamber for transferring the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, and
said another substrate transfer chamber is an atmospheric transfer chamber having a floor provided with the first magnet and configured to transfer the substrate in an atmospheric atmosphere.
15 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the substrate transfer chamber is a first vacuum substrate transfer chamber configured to transfer the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, and
said another substrate transfer chamber is a second vacuum substrate transfer chamber configured to transfer the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere having a vacuum level different from a vacuum level of the first vacuum substrate transfer chamber, said another substrate transfer chamber having a floor provided with a first magnet, and a sidewall connected to another substrate processing chamber configured to perform substrate processing different from substrate processing performed in the substrate processing chamber connected to the first vacuum substrate transfer chamber, the sidewall having an opening through which the substrate is loaded into and unloaded from said another substrate processing chamber.
16 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a movement controller configured to perform movement control of the substrate transfer module by changing the repulsive force between the first magnet and the second magnet;
a position detector configured to detect a position of the substrate transfer module moving on the floor;
a displacement amount detector configured to detect a positional displacement amount between a target position and an actual position of the substrate transfer module detected by the position detector in case of moving the substrate transfer module to the target position by performing the movement control using the movement controller, the positional displacement amount being caused by thermal demagnetization of a magnetic force of the second magnet due to the heating performed by the heating device; and
a correction device configured to correct the repulsive force controlled by the movement controller to offset the displacement amount detected by the displacement amount detector.
17 . A method for transferring a substrate in a substrate processing chamber, comprising:
transferring a substrate using a substrate transfer module accommodated in a substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber having a floor provided with a first magnet and a sidewall connected to the substrate processing chamber and having an opening through which the substrate is loaded into and unloaded from the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer module including a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate and a second magnet having a repulsive force against the first magnet, the substrate transfer module being configured to move in the substrate transfer chamber by magnetic levitation using the repulsive force; and
heating the substrate transfer module to release contaminants adhered to a surface of the substrate transfer module.