Patent ID: 8747949
Filing Date: 2014-06-10
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
1. A coating and developing system control method of controlling a coating and developing system comprising: a cassette station for holding cassettes each containing a plurality of substrates, the cassette station including a transfer means configured to take out one or more of the plurality of substrates from the cassette station and return the one or more plurality of substrates to the cassette station; a processing station provided with a plurality of processing modules, each processing module configured to carry out a process for forming a resist film on a surface a substrate of the plurality of substrates taken out from the cassette, a process for developing the resist film and processes to be carried out before and after the process for developing the resist film, and a first substrate carrying means for carrying one or more substrates of the plurality of substrates on a circulation route in a predetermined cycle time; and an inspection station provided with a plurality of inspection modules for inspecting a group of inspection substrates by different inspections requiring different inspection times, respectively, and a second substrate carrying means, the group of inspection substrates being a part of the plurality of substrates already processed in the processing station or a plurality of external substrates delivered to the cassette station from an external system to the coating and developing system for inspection, each inspection substrate of the group of inspection substrates being beforehand assigned to be inspected by any of the plurality of inspection modules, the second substrate carrying means configured to carry a substrate of the plurality of substrates to be processed from the cassette station to the processing station, and carry a substrate of the plurality of substrates already processed from the processing station to the cassette station, the second substrate carrying means configured to carry an inspection substrate of the group of inspection substrates to be inspected from the cassette station to the inspection module, and carry an inspection substrate already inspected from the inspection module to the cassette station; said coating and developing system control method comprising the steps of; making the second substrate carrying means carry either of a substrate to be processed or a substrate already processed, preferentially between the cassette station and the processing station rather than carrying an inspection substrate to and from the inspection modules, when a ready signal indicating the completion of preparation for carrying a substrate to be processed to the processing station from the cassette station is provided or a ready signal indicating the completion of preparation for carrying a substrate already processed to the cassette station from the processing station is provided; making the second substrate carrying means carry each inspection substrate of the group of inspection substrates to be inspected from the cassette station to the inspection modules in order of ordinal numerals assigned to each substrate; and making the second substrate carrying means carry out each inspection substrate already inspected from the inspection modules to the cassette station regardless of the order of the ordinal numerals assigned to each substrate.