TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a transfer system, a transfer method, and a transfer apparatus.

BACKGROUND

In the related art, a transfer system is known in which a robot with a hand for holding a substrate is disposed inside a transfer chamber which is brought into a decompressed atmosphere transferring a substrate to/from a processing chamber provided on the side wall of the transfer chamber.

For example, a substrate processing apparatus has been proposed in which a movable robot configured to move in a transfer chamber by being driven by a linear motor transfers a substrate to/from a plurality of processing chambers provided on the side wall of the transfer chamber (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2008-028179).

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a transfer system includes: a transfer chamber having a side wall provided thereon with a plurality of processing chambers in which a processing is performed on a substrate under a decompressed atmosphere, and configured such that the substrate is transferred under the decompressed atmosphere; a plurality of robots fixed in the transfer chamber and configured to transfer the substrate; and a movable buffer configured to hold the substrate and move in a horizontal direction along the side wall between the side wall and the robots in the transfer chamber. The robots exchange the substrate between the movable buffer and the processing chambers in cooperation with a movement of the movable buffer.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a transfer method includes: providing a transfer chamber having a side wall provided thereon with a plurality of processing chambers in which a processing is performed on a substrate under a decompressed atmosphere, and configured such that the substrate is transferred under the decompressed atmosphere, a plurality of robots fixed in the transfer chamber and configured to transfer the substrate, and a movable buffer configured to hold the substrate and move in a horizontal direction along the side wall between the side wall and the robots in the transfer chamber; and operating the robots in cooperation with a movement of the movable buffer, to exchange the substrate between the movable buffer and the processing chambers.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a transfer apparatus includes: a plurality of robots fixed in a transfer chamber and configured to transfer a substrate, the transfer chamber having a side wall provided thereon with a plurality of processing chambers in which a processing is performed on the substrate under a decompressed atmosphere, and configured such that the substrate is transferred under the decompressed atmosphere; a movable buffer configured to hold the substrate and move in a horizontal direction along the side wall between the side wall and the robots in the transfer chamber; and a controller configured to operate the robots in cooperation with a movement of the movable buffer to exchange the substrate between the movable buffer and the processing chambers.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

