JPH01132766A - Substrate attaching/detaching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To mount a substrate by robot handling to a substrate holder by inserting the finger parts provided to hand parts into the notches formed to the circumferential edges of caps and expanding the finger parts, thereby holding the substrate from the inside. CONSTITUTION:A cap 10 in a cap housing body 7 is sucked by means of a vacuum chuck 35 of a 1st robot 15. The finger parts 36-38 are inserted into the notches 22-24 formed to the circumferential edge of the cap 10. Arms 31-33 and the hand parts 34 are turned to the position G and the cap 10 is fitted to the aperture of the substrate 2a in an untreated substrate housing body 1 while the cap 10 is kept sucked and held. The substrate 2a is held from the inside by expanding the finger parts 36-38 and while the substrate 2a and the cap 10 are kept held, the arms 31-33 and the hand parts 34 are turned to the position H, where the substrate 2a is mounted on the substrate holder 6 on a conveyor 5. The holding of the substrate 2a is released by closing the finger parts 36-38 and the holding of the cap 10 is released by removing the vacuum chuck 35.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a substrate attachment/detachment device, which includes a substrate having an opening in the center, a cap for closing the opening of the substrate, and a vacuum chamber in which the substrate is attached. The substrate holders carried into the chamber are respectively placed at predetermined positions on the manufacturing line and used in the sputtering process.

(Conventional technology) FIG. 5 shows a typical sputtering process.

In the figure, a is a substrate, b is a substrate holder, C5d is a target disposed opposite to each other with the substrate a in between, and e is a conveyor for moving the substrate a in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper.

In this way, when sputtering both sides of substrate a simultaneously using two independent targeters (c and d) in a vacuum chamber,
A substrate holder b is arranged around the entire circumference of the substrate a to partition the substrate a so that the spanner plasmas from the targets c and d do not affect each other.

By the way, if the substrate a itself has a hole f, a center mask g is attached to the hole f, as shown in FIG. This center mask g is made by cutting one place on the periphery of a disk to the center, and bending both sides of this cut in the same direction to form a knob piece i.
This knob piece.

The center mask g is brought into contact with the periphery of the hole f by inserting it into the hole r of the substrate a by grasping it with the hand and releasing the hand within the hole f, thereby closing the hole f.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, when the substrate a is handled by a robot in order to be mounted on the substrate holder b, the substrate a is usually grasped from the inside of the 6F, and at this time, the center mask g
There was a problem that robot handling could not be performed because the robot was in the way.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A substrate attachment/detachment device of the present invention includes a substrate having an opening in the center, a camp for closing the opening of the substrate, and a device for loading the substrate and transporting the substrate into a vacuum chamber. In a sputtering process in which a substrate holder is placed at a predetermined position on a production line, the cap is held and fitted into the opening of the substrate, and in this state, the substrate and the camp are held and the substrate is removed. The holder is provided with a hand portion for mounting the substrate, and the cap has a plurality of notches formed at its peripheral edge, and a groove portion that fits into the opening peripheral edge of the substrate at the lower peripheral edge, On the other hand, the hand part is provided with a suction part on the tip thereof to attract and hold the cap, and a finger part inserted into a notch formed in the peripheral edge of the camp corresponds to the notch. The finger portions are provided in such number as to hold the periphery of the opening of the substrate from the inside by expanding outward.

(Function) The suction part provided in the hand part holds the cap almost in the center by suction. At this time, the finger portion provided on the hand portion is inserted into the notch formed in the peripheral portion of the cap. In this state, the hand portion is moved so that the cap faces the opening of the substrate, and is loosely fitted into the opening. Then, by expanding the finger portion outward, the substrate is held from inside the opening, and with the substrate and camp held in this manner, the hand portion is moved to mount the substrate on the substrate holder. Next, close the expanded finger section to release the contact between the opening and the finger section, and then release the suction operation of the suction section to fit the concave groove of the cap to the lower periphery of the opening on the board. and close the opening with a cap.

(Example) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a part of the sputtering process using the substrate attachment/detachment apparatus of the present invention. Although illustration of the entire process is omitted, this example shows an example applied to an in-line sputtering apparatus.

In the same figure, 1.1... is the substrate 2 before sputtering treatment.
Unprocessed substrate storage body containing a large number of a, 2a..., 3
, 3... are treated substrate storage bodies that sequentially store sputtered substrates 2b, 2b...; 4 is a belt conveyor that conveys empty unprocessed substrate storage bodies 1.1...; Reference numeral 5 denotes a belt conveyor in which substrate holders 6, 6, . A cap storage body 8 stores a large number of caps 10 and 10, and a cap storage body 8 stores a substrate 2a attached to a substrate holder 6 in a sputtering tank (vacuum tank:
9 is a supply traverser for supplying the substrate 2b that has been subjected to the sputtering process, and a recovery traverser 1.15 is a substrate attachment/detachment device (hereinafter referred to as (referred to as the 10th bot),
Reference numeral 16 denotes a substrate attachment/detachment device (hereinafter referred to as the 20th bot) for recovering the processed substrate 2b from the substrate holder 6. That is, in this example, two robots are used to attach and detach the substrate.

The unprocessed substrate storage body 1. 1... is formed into a box-like body with an open top surface, and insertion openings 1a and 1a, which are cut out in semicircular arc shapes from the top edge, are formed on both front and rear sides. This insertion hole 1a is inserted into the board 2a when the board 2a is housed therein.
It is provided so that the opening 12 (see FIG. 3) of a is exposed. These unprocessed substrate storage bodies 1.1... are sequentially conveyed in the direction of arrow P1 on the drawing, and then are conveyed in the direction of arrow P2.
direction, and one unprocessed substrate storage body 1 is carried out onto the belt conveyor 4. The carried-out unprocessed substrate storage body 1 remains at this position A until all the stored substrates 2a are taken out by the 10th bot 15, and is conveyed in the empty state on the belt conveyor 4 in the direction of arrow P3. It is made to be done.

The processed substrate storage bodies 3.3 are formed to have the same shape as the unprocessed substrate storage bodies 1.1.

The processed substrate storage bodies 3, 3, . . . are arranged in two rows along the belt conveyor 4. Then, in the drawing, the upper row is conveyed sequentially from the direction of arrow Q and the force direction, and at position B, the conveyance direction is changed from the upper row to the lower row, and then it is transported in the direction of arrow Q2, reaching position C, and this position At point C, the processed substrates 2b are stopped until they are fully stored in the 20th bottle 16, and then they are conveyed again in the direction of arrow Q2.

The belt conveyor 5 continuously repeats an intermittent operation in which it moves a distance M1 in the direction of arrow R, stops once, and after a certain period of time moves again a distance l in the direction of arrow R and stops once. Here, the distance l is the distance from one substrate holder 6 on the belt conveyor 5 to the next adjacent substrate holder 6, and the stopping position of the substrate holder 6 is the distance between the substrate holder 6 and the next substrate holder 6 on the belt conveyor 5. This is a device E in which the substrate 2b is configured from the substrate holder 6 by the position D where it is mounted on the substrate holder 6 and the 20th bot 16. Note that these positions E are detected by position detectors 9a and 9b, respectively. However, when the belt conveyor 5 is driven at a constant speed, the 10th bot 15 and the 20th bot 16 are
The substrates 2a and 'lb may be attached and detached while being moved to follow this.

As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate holder 6 is formed into a plate large enough to partition targets (not shown) placed opposite each other in a sputtering tank, and has a substrate 2a in the center thereof.
A circular opening 40 having a diameter slightly larger than the outer shape is provided. This circular opening 40 has a crescent-shaped groove 41 for fitting and holding the peripheral edge of the substrate 2a (or 2b) formed in the lower half of the opening periphery, and further has a crescent-shaped groove 41 in the upper half of the opening periphery. A crescent-shaped abutment piece 42 for abutting the peripheral edge of the substrate 2a (or 2b) is formed on the negative side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cap 10 has a camp main body 21 formed in a disc shape that almost fits into the opening 12 of the substrate 2a (or 2b), and has semicircular arc-shaped notches at three locations on the periphery thereof. 22, 23, and 24 are formed. Further, in the lower half of the peripheral portion, a crescent-shaped recessed groove portion 26 that fits into the peripheral portion of the opening 12 of the substrate 2a is provided in the notches 23, 24.
Furthermore, in the upper half of the peripheral portion, a crescent-shaped abutment piece 27 is provided on the side of the notch 22.
It is formed except for the part. Note that the cap storage body 7 that stores such a cap 10 is also formed in the same shape as the unprocessed substrate storage body l.

The first robot 15 and the twentieth robot 16 each include a first arm 31 that is rotatable in the horizontal direction and movable up and down in the vertical direction about the robot main body 30, and a distal end portion of the first arm 31. a second arm 32 that is attached to and is rotatable in the horizontal direction about the tip;
A third arm 33 is attached to the tip of the second arm 32 and is also rotatable in the horizontal direction about the tip, and a third arm 33 is attached laterally to the tip of the third arm 33 and has a horizontal axis. 0 (also refer to FIG. 2), and a hand portion 34 that is rotatably provided around 0 (also refer to FIG.
A vacuum chuck 35 for suctioning is provided, and three finger portions 36°, 37, and 38 are provided surrounding the vacuum chuck 35. These finger parts 36, 37, 38 are provided so as to be expandable in a direction away from the axis O of the hand part 34.

Next, each process of a manufacturing line using the substrate attachment/detachment device having the above configuration will be sequentially explained.

One unprocessed substrate storage body l is placed at a position i on the belt conveyor 4.
It is stopped at A. In this example, a state is shown in which the last substrate 2a is stored in the unprocessed substrate storage body 1. In this state, first, each arm 31, 32, 33 and hand portion 34 of the tenth bot 15 are
It is located at IF as indicated by the dotted chain line, and the cap lα in the front row in the cap storage body 7 is sucked by the vacuum chuck 35.

At this time, the finger parts 36, 37, 38 are inserted into the respective notches 22, 23, 24 formed at the peripheral edge of the camp 10, as shown in FIG.

While holding this cap 10 by suction, each arm 31
, 32, 33 and the hand portion 34 are indicated by two-dot chain lines.
The cap 10 is fitted into the opening 12 of the substrate 2a stored in the unprocessed substrate storage body l. The state at this time is shown in FIG. That is, the concave groove 26 of the cap 10 is opposed to the peripheral edge of the opening 12 of the substrate 2a, and the contact piece 27 is brought into contact with one side of the substrate 2a.

In this state, each finger portion 36, 37, 38 is expanded and brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the opening 12, thereby holding the substrate 2a.

Next, while holding the board 2a and the cap IO, each arm 31, 32, 33 and hand part 34 are horizontally rotated to position H shown by a solid line, and the held board 2a is moved to the belt conveyor 5. It is attached to the board holder 6 located at the upper position. FIG. 4 shows a state in which this installation is completed. That is,
The lower part of the periphery of the substrate 2a is opposed to the groove 41 formed in the circular opening 40, and the upper part of the periphery of the substrate 2a is brought into contact with the contact piece 42 formed in the circular opening 40, and in this state, the substrate 2a Then, lower the camp 10 slightly downward, fit the lower peripheral edge of the substrate 2a into the groove 41, and remove the substrate 2.
Complete the installation of a.

After this, the three finger parts that had expanded 36°37.
38 to release the holding of the substrate 2a, then remove the vacuum chuck 35 to release the holding of the cap 10, operate each arm 31, 32, 33 to retreat the hand part 34,
Remove the fingers 36, 37° 38 from the cutouts 22, 23, 24 of the camp 10. As a result, the groove portion 26 of the cap 10 engages with the lower peripheral edge of the opening 12 of the substrate 2a, and the contact piece 27 contacts the upper peripheral edge of the opening 12.

Thereafter, the substrate 2a mounted on the substrate holder 6 is conveyed to the supply traverser 8, fed into a sputtering bath, and subjected to sputtering treatment.

On the other hand, the sputtered substrate 2b is recovered from the sputtering tank by the recovery traverser 9 and conveyed to a recovery position E on the belt conveyor 5. And the 20th
The bot 16 performs an operation opposite to the above-described mounting operation to collect the processed substrate 2b. In other words, each arm 31, 32, 33 and hand part 34 of the 20th bot 16 are shown by solid lines at position J (i.e., recovery position E of the board 2b).
The vacuum chuck 35 attracts the cap 10, and the finger portions 36, 37, 38 are expanded to hold the opening 12 of the substrate 2b from the inside. And in this state,
After rotating each arm 31, 32, 33 and hand part 34 to position K shown by the two-dot chain line and storing the substrate 2b in the processed substrate storage body 3, the finger parts 36, 37, 38 are closed and the substrate 2b, and remove only the cap 10 from the substrate 2b. After this, each arm 31, 32゜3
3 and the hand part 34 are rotated to the position shown by the dashed line, and the cap 7 is stored in the rearmost part of the cap storage body 7, thereby completing the recovery operation of the substrate 2b.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the substrate attachment/detachment device of the present invention,
The operation of fitting the cap into the opening of the substrate and the operation of mounting the substrate on the substrate holder with the cap fitted can be performed by robot handling.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the cap and the hand part, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the hand part fits the cap onto the substrate before processing;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state in which a substrate fitted with a cap is attached to a substrate holder, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an example of sputtering processing, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional cap. . 1... Unprocessed substrate storage bodies 2a, 2b... Substrate 3... Processed substrate storage bodies 4.5... Belt conveyor 6... Substrate holder 7... Cap storage body 12... Opening portion 15.16... Board attachment/detachment device 22.23.24... Notch portion 26... Concave groove portion 30... Robot body 34... Hand portion 36.37.38... Finger portion

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A substrate having an opening in the center, a cap for closing the opening of the substrate, and a substrate holder to which the substrate is mounted and carried into a vacuum chamber are each placed at a predetermined position on a production line. In the sputtering process disposed in The cap has a plurality of notches formed at its peripheral edge, and a grooved groove that fits around the opening of the substrate at its lower peripheral edge, while the hand part has a distal end thereof. is provided with a suction portion that suctions and holds the cap, and is provided with a number of finger portions that are inserted into notches formed in a peripheral portion of the cap, the number of which corresponds to the number of the notches; 1. A substrate attachment/detachment device, characterized in that the portion is expanded outward to hold the periphery of the opening of the substrate from the inside.