KR19990028767A - Semiconductor Wafer Stacking System and Semiconductor Wafer Handling System - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, in a environment free of dust particles, the semiconductor wafers are collectively loaded from the movable carrier to the loading chamber, which is used for supporting and transferring the plurality of wafers in a stacked manner at a spaced interval. A system for this is provided. The conveyer is also supported in an adjacent loading chamber having an environment free of dust particles. The multi-layer end launcher associated with the loading chamber includes a plurality of spaced end launcher sets, each set adapted to support a wafer thereon and aligned to coincide in position within the carrier with the connected wafer supported thereon. . These wafers are bound and retrieved simultaneously into a group and placed in a loading chamber for continuous transfer at one time to an adjacent transfer chamber for distribution to a predetermined one of a plurality of processing positions of the cluster tool. Isolation sheaths or small enclosures hermetically isolate the interior of the carrier and the storage compartment from the surrounding atmospheres. After transferring the plurality of wafers from the conveying machine to the loading chamber, the conveying machine and the loading chamber are sealed and the loading chamber and the conveying chamber are vacuumed. As you lift the terminal executor set, move the carrier door and the luggage compartment door between the open and closed and closed positions to a standby position away from the area between the carrier and the luggage compartment. Various mechanisms are provided for moving. In addition, a mechanism is provided that moves as a unit to the standby position away from the area between the carrier and the load compartment and separately moves the carrier door and the load compartment door between a closed and closed position and an open position.

Description

Semiconductor Wafer Stacking System and Semiconductor Wafer Handling System

Suppression of dust particle contamination is an inevitable process for improving the manufacturing profitability, high-productivity and cost-effectiveness of VLSI circuits. As design practice increases the demand for smaller wiring and spaces, it is necessary to further suppress the number of dust particles and to make their diameter smaller.

Some dust particles make the etching incomplete in the spaces between the wires, resulting in unwanted electrical bridges. In addition to these physical defects, they also generate electrical defects that cause ionization or trapping areas in the gate dielectric or junctions.

The main source of dust particle contamination is the action of workers, equipment and chemicals. Dust particles falling from the operator's individual are transferred through the equipment and transferred to the wafer surface through physical contact. The operator is the main source of dust particles, for example due to peeling of the skin fragments, which are easily ionized and cause defects.

Modern treatment equipment is inevitably associated with dust particles ranging in size from less than 0.01 micrometers to 200 micrometers. Dust particles of this size can cause significant damage in semiconductor processing. Today's typical semiconductor processing uses geometries of one micrometer and less. Unwanted dust particles having a geometric size larger than 0.1 micrometers will essentially interfere with semiconductor devices having a geometric size of 1 micrometer. Of course, current trends call for smaller semiconductor processing geometries.

Until recently, "clean rooms" have been installed in an attempt to remove dust particles having a geometric size of 0.03 micrometers or more using filtering and other techniques. However, these methods need to improve the processing environment. Conventional "clean rooms" cannot be kept free of dust particles as desired. It is virtually impossible to maintain a conventional clean room free of particles below 0.01 micrometers. Although the clean room appearance reduces the release of particles, it is not possible to prevent complete release. By a fully adapted operator, it is confirmed that 6000 dust particles are released into the space of one adjacent cubic foot per minute.

In order to control contaminant dust particles, a recent trend is to equip clean rooms with precise (expensive) HEPA and ULPA recirculation air systems. Complete air exchange up to 10 per minute and filtration efficiency of 99.999% are required to achieve acceptable cleanliness.

Dust particles in equipment and chemicals are termed "processing defects". To minimize processing shortages, processing equipment manufacturers must ensure that machines that generate dust particles do not reach the wafer, and gas and liquid chemical feeders must provide cleaner products. Most importantly, the system must be designed to isolate the wafer from dust particles during loading, transport and transportation into the process chamber. The standard Mechanical Interface (SMIF) system already used is designed to reduce dust particle contamination by significantly reducing the flow of dust particles onto the wafer. This purpose ensures that the gas medium (air, nitrogen, etc.) surrounding the wafer remains stationary relative to the wafer during the conveyance, loading and processing of the wafer, and that dust particles from the surrounding environment to the adjacent internal wafer environment. This is accomplished by preventing entry.

The SMIF concept is based on the reality that the smallest volume of dust-free air, still without the internal source of dust particles, is the cleanest possible environment for wafers.

A typical SMIF system includes (1) a minimum volume dustproof box or conveyer for loading and conveying, (2) an open lathe wafer cassette and (3) a box designed to mate with doors on an interface port on processing equipment and Two doors are used that open simultaneously so that dust particles that may be present on the doors on the conveyer and on the outer door surface are caught (sanded) between the doors.

In a typical SMIF system, the box or carrier is located at the interface port, releasing and locking the box door and the port door simultaneously. With the cassette on top of the tower, the mechanical lift lowers the two doors. The implement raises the cassette and places it on the cassette port / elevator of the machine. Repeated operation is performed after the process.

The SMIF system has proved its effectiveness and this has been confirmed by experimenting with SMIF elements both inside and outside the clean room. The relative placement of SMIF improved the conventional manipulation of open cassettes in clean rooms to 10 layers.

Using a SMIF system, it is customary to transfer large numbers of wafers in boxes or carriers by supporting them in spaced relation by cassettes. Using this technique, the cassette is loaded with a supply of wafers, transferred to a box or carrier, and the wafers are then removed one by one from the cassette in the conveyor for replacement and transferred to a cluster tool or storage room at another subsequent processing location. . More recently, the cassettes have been replaced by more efficient equipment for quickly transferring a plurality of wafers at once, also in an environment free of dust particles.

The present invention is construed as a new alternative to the conventional art to which the present technology pertains. In particular, the present invention is a result of efforts to maintain the conditions of a clean room for a large number of wafers being transferred simultaneously, and by reducing the number of equipment to present a more compact and simple configuration, while reducing the initial cost, maintenance costs Improve throughput of items being processed.

Many of the foregoing have been directed to SMIF systems and the like for the purpose of controlling the atmosphere of where wafers are located during the manipulation process. However, the invention provided herein is widely applied to the material manipulation aspects of such systems, regardless of the environment in which the wafer is exposed.

The present invention relates to a standardized mechanical interface system for reducing contamination of dust particles, and more particularly, to an apparatus for preventing particle contamination using a closed container suitable for use in semiconductor processing equipment. In addition, the present invention provides a method for a semiconductor waiter between a load lock chamber and a transport container or a carrier having a control environment waiting for continuous transmission to a processing point such as a cluster tool. It relates to a system for efficient transmission. As a result, productivity of a manufacturing process can be improved significantly.

As used throughout this specification, the term "wafer" will be used consistently with planar substrates such as glassy plates and silicon wafers, but should be understood as intended to be applied to all types of substrates in a broad sense. do. Typically, such substrates are circular, with a diameter of 200 mm and a thickness of about 0.760 mm and recently extended even when a 300 mm diameter is selected for the same thickness.

1 is a schematic plan view of a wafer processing system using the present invention, having a lid removed from a transfer chamber;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view showing a portion in cross section, illustrating a portion shown in FIG. 1 in more detail; FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side elevation view showing a portion in cross section, for explaining in more detail a portion shown in FIG. 2, instructing the carrier door to be in a closed position; FIG.

FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3 in detail; FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a portion of FIG. 2, showing the carrier door in an open state; FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view in which a portion of FIG. 3 is enlarged in detail;

6 is a detailed side elevation view illustrating a part of FIG. 2;

7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 4,

8, 9, 10, and 11 are views similar to those of Fig. 4, which continuously show the relative positions of their components,

FIG. 12 is a perspective view for explaining a portion of FIG. 2 in more detail; FIG.

13 is a plan view showing an enlarged cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a detailed enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG. 13 illustrating a state in which components are placed at different positions; FIG.

FIG. 15 is a detailed perspective view of the portion shown in FIG. 14, showing a cross section. FIG.

According to the present invention, in a environment free of dust particles, the semiconductor wafers are collectively loaded from the movable carrier to the loading chamber, which is used for supporting and transferring the plurality of wafers in a stacked manner at a spaced interval. A system for this is provided. The conveyer is also supported in an adjacent loading chamber having an environment free of dust particles. The multilevel end effector associated with the load chamber comprises a set of end effectors arranged at a plurality of intervals, each set adapted to support a wafer thereon and positioned within a supported connected wafer and carrier. Is aligned to match. These wafers are bound and retrieved simultaneously into a group and placed in a loading chamber for continuous transfer at one time to an adjacent transfer chamber for distribution to a predetermined one of a plurality of processing positions of the cluster tool. An isolation sheath or mini-environment hermetically isolates the interior of the carrier and the load compartment from the surrounding atmospheres. After transferring the plurality of wafers from the conveyer to the load chamber, the transporter and the load chamber are sealed and the load chamber and the transport chamber are vacuumed. As you lift the terminal executor set, move the carrier door and the luggage compartment door between the open and closed and closed positions to a standby position away from the area between the carrier and the luggage compartment. Various mechanisms are provided for moving. In addition, a mechanism is provided that moves as a unit to the standby position away from the area between the carrier and the load compartment and separately moves the carrier door and the load compartment door between a closed and closed position and an open position.

The present invention allows the wafer carrier to be interfaced directly to the loading chamber while the clean environment of the substrate carrier is maintained. In effect, the present invention provides an integrated design that ensures fast operation and maximum yield of processed wafers while protecting the wafers from the external environment during the entire execution of the processing steps.

Although it functions as a cassette in the loading chamber, an elevator is not needed for the transportation of the wafer because the loading arm has a batch of end implements which do not have inherent limitations in the cassette configuration. Gaseous contaminants (typically polymers of offgas) from the cassette are also removed to improve the quality of wafer processing. In addition, since the arm assembly consists mainly of a metal that emits minimal gas, an improved vacuum level can be reached in a shorter time.

As a result of the present invention, a configuration is made integrating the purpose of the carrier and the cassette while eliminating the need for the cassette and the portion undesirably associated with its use. As in traditional SMIF loaders, where the cassette is lowered from the SMIF box and transferred to the loading chamber, the risk of the wafers appearing in the moving air being exposed to undesirable dust particle contamination is eliminated.

In the practice of the present invention, wafers are loaded in batch relative batches to reduce total processing time and also to have high tool productivity.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, as described above, the parts to be described below are only examples, and the descriptions thereof do not limit the features of the invention. The accompanying drawings constitute a part of the present invention as a part integrated with the present invention, and are for explaining the principles of the present invention together with the contents described in the text. Like reference numerals have been used for the same parts throughout the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 illustrates a processing system 20 that performs operations on planar silicon substrates such as wafers and flat panels. As will be appreciated, in all of the remainder of this disclosure the term "wafer" will be used for the purpose of maintaining consistency with the substrates described above, and is intended to be used in a broad sense for application to all substrates. The present invention is particularly useful for operating on new sizes of substrates.

The processing system 20 includes a loading chamber 22 to house a wafer to be processed for the first time and a plurality of single-wafer processing chambers 24 for surface manipulation such as imaging, plasma etching, and the like. Process chamber 24 is typically intended to be disposed around a closed curve, as indicated by dashed line 26 in the figure. The transfer chamber 28 is centered in the loading chamber 22 and the processing chamber 24 to convey the wafer to be processed singly and subsequently processed between the loading chamber 22 and one or more processing chambers 24. The plurality of isolation valves 30 are provided between several process chambers 24 and the boundary portions of the transfer chamber 28, and between the loading chamber 22 and the transfer chamber 28, respectively.

As mentioned above, it is known to use transportable SMIF boxes or containers, which are referred to herein as "carriers" and allow pieces of semiconductor wafers and the like to remain clean. This consists in ensuring that the carrier remains essentially free of dust particles as the wafers are transported or removed into the process chamber. As mentioned above, it is common to transfer a large number of wafers in a conveyer by allowing the wafers to be spaced by a cassette means (not shown) and supporting the wafers. By using this technique, the cassette is loaded by the supply of wafers and conveyed to the conveyer, and the wafers are subsequently removed from the cassette in the conveyer and placed in the loading chamber 22, or the wafer, SMIF box, etc. The wafers are transferred into clean Mini-Environments that exist between the processing equipment.

According to the present invention, in Figures 2 and 3, the improved moveable conveyer 32 supports and conveys a plurality of wafers 34 in a substantially spaced manner in an environment free of dust particles. The conveyer 32 generally installs a plurality of shelf sets that support the wafer horizontally at regular intervals in the vertical direction.

The carrier 32 includes a conveying port 38 that provides access to its interior 40. The conveyer door 42 of the conveyer is movable between a closed position (FIG. 3) overlying the conveyer port and an open position (FIG. 4) spaced from the conveyer port. The conveyer door 42 is generally described as including a rectangular plate 44 and includes a continuous transverse flange 46 extending around. A suitable seal 48 is placed between the flange 46 and the conveyer port 38, which insulates the interior of the conveyer from the surrounding atmosphere when the conveyer door is in a closed position.

At least one pair of opposing locking tabs 50 extends from the flange 46 toward the conveyer 32, with each locking tab having a hole 52 therethrough. The portion connecting with the locking tabs 50 may be made in the form of a solenoid for actuating the locking pin 56. As shown in particular in FIG. 5, the locking member is appropriately installed on the conveyer 32. When the locking pin 56 is engaged with the hole 52 to which it is connected, the conveyer door 42 remains closed with the flange 46 and is placed between the flange and the port to dust the interior 40 of the conveyer. It adheres firmly to the conveyer port 38 which has the seal 48 which keeps a particle free state. When the locking pin 56 is pulled out of the connected hole 52, the carrier door 42 is freed and removed from the conveyor as in the method described below.

In addition, according to the present invention, the enclosed sheath or small-exterior 58 (shown in particular in Fig. 2) shields the load chamber 22 and the carrier interior 40 from the surrounding atmosphere in a closed manner. The carrier is in a suitable form from a remote location and is part of the small-exterior 58 and is located on a platform 60 facing in the direction of protruding from the processing system 20. The upper surface 62 of the lifting table 60 has a plurality of recesses 64 formed therein to suitably receive the storage legs 66 protruding from the bottom of the conveyer. When the receiving leg 66 is fully engaged with the recess 64, the front face 68 of the conveyer 32 approaches the outer circumferential surface 70 of the small-cover 58.

The small-exterior 58 generally has holes 72 arranged at a distance to coincide with the loading chamber 22, and when the conveyer is placed on the platform 60, the conveyer door 42 closes the hole. It is configured to protrude through the interior of the small-exterior. The appropriate seal 74, when located on the platform, is located between the small-exterior 58 and the conveyer, and surrounds the conveyer port 38 and the small-exposed hole 72, Keep small-exterior interior and storage compartments away from the surrounding atmosphere. In the conveyer 32 located above the platform 60 as described with reference to FIG. 3, a plurality of clamps 300 (FIG. 3A) pivoted on the outer circumferential surface of the small-exterior 58 are operated strictly to convey the conveyer. Is engaged with a corresponding clamp groove 302 provided on the outer circumferential surface thereof. At each moment, the clamp actuator 304 extends or retracts an actuator rod 306 that pivotally engages the clamp 300 at an end distal from the portion that connects with the groove 302. With respect to the signal, the clamp actuator 304 effectively moves the clamp 300 from the solid line position connecting the groove 302 to the dotted line position separated from the groove. Assuming all clamps 300 are in solid line relative to the conveyor 32, the seal 74 will firmly squeeze between the conveyor and the small-exterior.

The loading chamber 22 defines an interior chamber 76 having an internal environment that is essentially free of dust particles and includes a loading chamber port 78 opened into the interior of the loading chamber. As noted above, the loading chamber 22 is located between the conveying machine 32 and the conveying chamber 28. The load chamber door 80 is properly installed on the load chamber and moves between a closed position placed to cover the load chamber port 78 and an open position spaced apart from them.

The loading arm 82 inside the loading chamber interior chamber 76 is allowed to move between an inoperative position away from the conveyer 32 (FIG. 2) and an operating position close to the conveyer (FIG. 3). This loading arm and its working mechanism Filed jointly and jointly transferred under the name "loading arm for loading room" It may be identical to that of the call (Perman & Green Specification No. 390-955938-NA). This publication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and incorporated herein.

With continued reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, as shown in FIG. 6, a multilayer end launcher 84 is installed on the loading arm 82. As shown in more detail in FIG. 6, the multi-layer end launcher 84 is upward from the loading arm 82, and more specifically from a pair of extending couplings 88 of articulated joints which are pivotally mounted onto the loading chamber. It includes an installation manifold 86 that protrudes. The end launcher set 92, which is installed at regular intervals vertically, is integral with the installation manifold and protrudes from the installation manifold in the direction of the outer conveyer to lie in parallel planes at distances at equal intervals.

The spacing between the end executors 92 is essentially larger than the thickness of the wafer 34, and the reason for this will become clearer in the future as the description proceeds. Each terminal executor set 92 includes a pair of parallel spaced end launcher fingers 94 (FIG. 7), which are generally suitable for supporting the wafer in a horizontal plane. Each of the plurality of spaced end executor sets 92 is a corresponding associated wafer 34 that is aligned to coincide in position with one of the sets of shelf members 36 when the loading arm is in the operating position and thus supported within the conveyor. ) And the positions are aligned. In order for the movement of the multi-layered end launcher 84 to be inward toward the conveyer 32 and start the movement in the manner as described above, the loading chamber door 80 and the conveyer door 42 are both opened, and FIG. 8 Should be moved to a remote location as shown.

When the loading arm is in the operating position, the multi-layer end launcher 84 then moves through the conveyer port 38 to the traveling position of the interior 40 of the conveyer 32 at the retracted position away from the wafer, As the wafers are simultaneously retrieved, they are joined. The loading arm 82 moves the multilayer end launcher 84 to the lower position of each of the terminal executor sets 92 and to the left (FIG. 9) with no coupling with the bonded wafer 34. Works. When the multi-layer end launcher 84 moves and reaches the far left, the loading arms with the multi-layer executor 84 are raised a distance sufficient to raise the wafers, and in a group, a set of spaced shelf members associated therewith. Place it. Then, while staying in the raised position, the loading arm 82, in turn, acts by moving the multilayer end launcher 84 to the right to move to the return position, whereby the multilayer end launcher ( 84 holds a group of wafers 34. See FIG. 11.

After a group of wafers 34 is positioned above the multi-layer end launcher 84 in the load chamber lining room 76, the transfer arm 96 in the transfer chamber 28 operates to multi-end the wafer 34 at one time. It may be operable to recover from the executor and distribute it to a particular one of the plurality of process chambers 24.

In order for the multi-layered moon runner 84 to operate in the manner described above, it is first necessary to combine the entrance of the conveyer door 42 and the load compartment door 80. The mechanism for achieving this connection operation will now be described. First, when the conveyer door is opened, the load compartment door is opened, and both doors move to a position far from the area between the inside of the conveyer and the load compartment inner compartment.

The conveyer door driving mechanism can be rigidly coupled with the conveyer door 42, and is located in a first position (FIG. 2) which is separated from the conveyer door and adjacent to the loading chamber door 80, and which is adjacent to the conveyer door. It is movable between a second position (FIG. 3) remote from the load compartment door. The first actuator 100 is located above the carrier door and allows the coupling device 98 to move between the first position and the second position via the drive rod 102. The coupling device has fastening mechanisms 104, 106 disposed axially in a pair of opposite positions with the coupling frame 103 installed on the drive rod and supported by and guided by the coupling frame. The fastening mechanisms 104, 106 include a fastening rod 108 disposed axially in the opposite position and guided by and guided by the engagement frame 103 to move between the holding position and the unholding position. In particular, each fastening mechanism 104, 106 has a finger 110 that traverses at its end, which is the peripheral rim 112 of the conveyer door 42 when the fastening mechanism is in the fastening position. )

Therefore, the finger can move between a release position (FIG. 3) that does not engage the carrier door 42 and a engagement position (FIG. 4), which is the position where the peripheral rim 112 is bitten. Fastening of the carrier door by the fastening mechanisms 104, 106 can only take place when the coupling device 98 is in the first position. The second actuator 114 on the engagement frame 103 is configured to move between the fastening position and the unpositioned position via the fastening rod 108 which holds the fastening mechanism 104, 106 properly.

According to the operating sequence of opening the conveyer door 42, the first actuator 100 moves the coupling device 98 to the left to position it near the conveyer door so that the finger 110 is positioned around the peripheral rim 112. The operation begins by placing it in the plane of. The second actuator 114 then immediately begins to move the fastening mechanism until the finger grips the peripheral rim. Then, the first actuator 100 starts to operate again, and moves the coupling device to the right to seal the end 116 of the inwardly facing flange 46 from the surrounding atmosphere, where the seal 48 has been maintained until now. Pull it out. By the drive rod 102, the coupling device 98 and the carrier door 42 move to the right and move to a position adjacent to the loading chamber door 80.

When the conveyer door 42 is positioned near the load compartment door 80, the load compartment door drive mechanism 118 operates to provide a unit including the load compartment door and coupling device 98 and the conveyer door 42. It moves from the closed position to the open position. In the closed position, the load compartment door 80 is maintained in a tightly sealed state toward the appropriate seal 120 between the load compartment door and the load compartment 22 to seal the load compartment interior chamber 76 from the atmosphere. (Figures 2 and 12). This is done, for example, by a guide channel 121 which is generally installed in a vertical direction, which is coupled to the opposite direction of the loading chamber at a distance and provided opposite the loading chamber door 80.

The loadroom door drive mechanism 118 includes a drive actuator 122 mounted over the proximal end 124 of the small-cover 58. The drive actuator is installed such that the actuator shaft 123, which is properly attached to the load compartment door 80, is placed vertically, so that it is opened up and away from the closed position in which it is raised and the area that mediates the carrier and the load compartment lining 76. Exercise between positions.

The operation of the multi-layer terminal executor 84 is only when the drive mechanism 118 is activated to complete the movement of the loader door, the coupling device 98 and the carrier door 42 all to the lower positions shown in FIG. Can be completed.

An additional drive mechanism 126 is provided to move the loading arm between the inoperative position (FIG. 11) and the operating position (FIG. 10). As mentioned above, the loading arm 82 and its actuation mechanism are conventionally transferred jointly Application No. filed together at It may consist of the configuration disclosed in the call.

The additional drive mechanism 126 preferably includes a suitable additional actuator 128 in the form of advancing the additional drive shaft 130 in a step of rapidly moving a relatively long distance in a large form or increasing in a small form. Therefore, as one mode of operation, the additional actuator has an operating position in which all of the end executor sets 92 are arranged in line with the associated shelf member set 36 in the interior 40 of the conveyer 42 (FIGS. 8-10). ) And all the end executor sets can move between the associated set of shelf members and the non-operational position (FIG. 11) not arranged in line. In the former example the clutch 132 is engaged and in the latter example the clutch is released.

The arm drive mechanism 134 includes a suitable rotary actuator 136 to move the loading arm 82 and with it to operate the multilayer end launcher 84 between forward and backward. The arm drive mechanism 134 further includes engageable clutch elements 132a, 132b that engage only when the additional drive mechanism moves the loading arm and the multi-layer end implement to the operating position. When engaged, end launcher 84 is advanced into the carrier as described above.

The transfer arm 96 operates in the transfer chamber 28 to recover the wafers one at a time from the multi-layer end executor and distribute them to specific ones of the plurality of processing chambers 24 as described above.

The additional drive mechanism 126 is also operated in an incremental manner to adjust the height of the particular end launcher set 92 having the robot end launcher finger 138 above the transfer arm 96 in the transfer chamber 28. In this way, with the released clutch elements 132a, 132b, the conveying arm 96 driven by the conveying actuator 140 retrieves the wafers one at a time, thereby removing the wafers from the multi-layer end executor 84 from the process chamber 24. Distribution to one. The transfer arm 96 and connected transfer actuator 40 may have a configuration disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,180,276, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and jointly assigned to "Hendrickson".

As mentioned above, a suitable isolation valve 30 is provided to be interposed between the load chamber interior chamber 76 and the transfer chamber 28. The isolation valves are large enough to allow passage through the robot end launcher finger supporting the wafer 34 and operate strictly to allow for the exchange of fluid between the load chamber and the transfer chamber as an example and the fluid interaction therebetween. Prevent the exchange. Of course, failure to enable fluid exchange between the chambers results in blocking the passage of the robot end launcher supporting the wafer 34. In addition, when an appropriate seal 142 is provided between the loading chamber and the conveying chamber, the isolation valve is placed in a position allowing fluid to be exchanged between the loading chamber and the conveying chamber, and from the surrounding atmosphere, the conveying chamber 28 and the loading chamber 22 are provided. ) To isolate between.

A source of vacuum 144 allows to empty the load chamber 760 and the transfer chamber 28. The conduit 146 extends between the vacuum source 144 and the load chamber and is strictly operable. The valve 148 in the conduit 146 interconnects the vacuum source and the loading chamber 76 when the loading chamber door 80 is closed, and disconnects the vacuum generating source from the loading chamber when the loading chamber door is open. In a similar manner, conduit 150 extends between vacuum source 144 and the transfer chamber, while valve 152, which is strictly operable within conduit 150, may be used when the transfer chamber is isolated from the ambient atmosphere. Connect the transfer room.

Hereinafter, another preferred embodiment of the carrier door driving mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. In this example, the carrier 162 is similar to the carrier 32 described above that supports and conveys a plurality of wafers 34 in a general relationship stacked over a certain space. As before, the carrier 162 has a carrier port 164 that provides access to its interior 166. There is also a small-exterior 168 for hermetically insulating the interior of the loading chamber and the conveyer from the surrounding atmosphere, and the conveyer 162 also has a conveyer door 170, which is provided with a conveyer port ( 164 is movable between a closed position to cover the interior 166 from the surrounding atmosphere and an open position away from the carrier port.

The load compartment door 172 above the load compartment can move as described above between a closed position that covers the load compartment port and seals the load compartment from the surrounding atmosphere and an open position disposed at some distance therefrom. The carrier door drive mechanism and its operation are also as described above.

Small-exterior 168 has holes arranged to generally coincide with the compartment port but at a distance from them, and includes platform 60 for use to support conveyer 162 thereon. Port 164 is close to the small-exterior hole 174. When the conveyer is supported on a platform, a suitable seal 176 is provided between the small-exterior and the conveyer to enclose the holes in the conveyer port and the small-exterior and thus the interior of the conveyer, the small-exterior interior and the loading compartment. Keep away from the surrounding atmosphere.

The conveyer door drive mechanism 160 is rigidly coupled to the conveyer door 170, and is located at a first position (indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 13) and away from the conveyer door and adjacent to the load compartment door. Includes a coupling structure 178 that is movable between a second position (indicated by a solid line in FIG. 13) adjacent and remote from the load compartment door. The first actuator 180 includes a drive rod 182 installed on the load compartment door 172 and moving the coupling structure 178 between the first position and the second position.

The conveyer door 170 is formed with a groove as indicated by reference numeral 184 (FIGS. 14 and 15). The engagement structure 178 includes a door fastening plate 188 installed on the drive rod 182 and is formed to be receivable with the carrier port 164 when the engagement structure is in the above-described second position. The door fastening rod 190, which is above the second actuator 192 and is again installed on the door fastening plate 188, has a pair of fingers 194 whose ends are bent, and a fastening slot in the carrier door 170. 186 and a fastening position which is a position to engage in a fastening form and a release position to disengage from them.

In addition, a latch structure is provided above the carrier door to ensure tight coupling with the carrier so that the carrier door is securely attached to the carrier. For this purpose, the carrier 162 includes a latch groove 198 in the carrier port 164 (FIG. 14). By engaging the latch groove, the latch structure 196 includes a latch 200 pivotally engaged at 201 on the carrier door 170 between the latch engagement position engaged with the latch groove and the latch release position separated from the latch groove. Try to exercise. The locking pin 202 is pivotally connected to the latch at a first end 204 in the groove 184, and a second rotating end 206 is provided opposite the first end. The rotating end 206 is receivable in the slot 208 between the pair of bent fingers 194 and is engageable with the door fastening bar 190.

The compression spring 210 surrounds the locking pin 202 and is properly supported in the groove 184 to bias the latch 200 to the latching position.

At its left end (shown in FIGS. 14 and 15), the spring is provided with opposing shoulder members 212 protruding toward the groove from the opposite wall of the groove 198 in the conveying door. The right end of the spring 210 abuts the C-clamp fixed to the locking pin 202 at an appropriate distance from the shoulder member 212. In this configuration, as shown in FIGS. 13-15, the locking pin and the second rotated end 206 are forced to the right.

In this way, the spring 210 effectively holds the latch 200 in its normal closed position to engage in the latch groove 198. However, the movement of the door fastening bar 190 to move the pair of bent fingers 194 to the fastening position that engages the fastening slot 186 in a fastening position releases the latch fastening, which releases the latch from the latch groove. Effective for simultaneously moving the latch to the position. With the continuous operation of the actuator 192 (as shown in FIG. 14) to hold the bent finger 194 in engagement with the fastening slot 186 and to hold the latch 200 oscillating in the open position, the carrier The door 170 and the door fastening plate 188 operate integrally and can be moved by the actuator 180 to the open state shown by dotted lines in FIG. 13.

Although more preferred embodiments of the present invention have not been disclosed in detail, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains have various purposes within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims and described in the specification. Modifications may be made.

Claims (53)

A loading compartment defined by an interior space including a conveyance port provided to be accessible internally, a loading compartment port having an environment essentially free of dust particles and which is open to the inside; A semiconductor wafer having an isolation enclosure that encapsulates the atmosphere and which is generally stacked, comprising a movable carrier for supporting and conveying a plurality of wafers arranged in a space in an essentially dust free environment. In combinations with batch loading systems, A conveyer door on the conveyer that is movable between a closed position covering the conveyer port and an open position having a predetermined space from the conveyer port so that the inside of the conveyer is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere; A load compartment door on the load compartment that is movable between a closed position covering the load compartment port and an open position having a predetermined space therefrom so that the load compartment is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere; A conveyer door drive mechanism on the stowage door to move the conveyer door in the closed and open positions; A hole which is generally aligned with a position of the storage compartment port but arranged to have a space therebetween, and having a platform for supporting the conveyer thereon so that the conveyer port is close to the hole. With an insulating sheath; When the conveyer is supported on the platform, it is located between the isolation sheath and the conveyer, and surrounds the conveyer port and the isolation sheath to surround the interior of the conveyer, the interior of the isolation sheath, and the loading chamber. An assembly having a semiconductor wafer batch loading system, comprising a sealing means to isolate from the atmosphere. The method of claim 1, The conveyer door drive mechanism is rigidly engageable with the conveyer door, and has a first position far from the conveyer and close to the load compartment door, close to the conveyer door, Coupling means moveable between remotely spaced second positions; A first actuator for moving said coupling means between a first position and a second position; Said engaging means including a fastening member movable between a fastening position in engagement with said carrier door and a release position not engaged with said carrier door when said engaging means is in a first position; And a second actuator for moving said fastening member between an unlocked position and a fastened position. The method of claim 2, The conveyer door has a peripheral rim; The first actuator comprises a drive rod for moving the coupling means between the first and second positions; The coupling means comprises a combiner frame mounted on the drive rod; The fastening member includes a fastening rod guided by and supported on the engaging frame so as to move between the release position and the fastening position, the fastening member being disposed opposite and axially, each said fastening member crossing at its terminal. And a fastening finger, said fastening finger being engaged with said peripheral rim when said fastening member is in a fastening position. The method of claim 1, And the load chamber door drive mechanism moves the load chamber door between the closed position and the open position. The method of claim 3, The load compartment door driving mechanism moves the load compartment door between a closed position in the same space as the load compartment port and an open position away from them, and also locks the lock position to a fastening position engaged with the rim of the carrier door. When the member moves and when the engaging means move to the first position, the stacking chamber door, the engaging means and the carrier door move simultaneously in one unit integrated. Combined with a system. The method of claim 2, The carrier door has a groove formed therein with a fastening slot therein; The first actuator has a drive rod for moving the coupling means between the first and second positions; The coupling means is: A door fastening plate installed on the drive rod, the door fastening plate operative to be mated with the carrier port and receivable when the coupling means is in a second position; And a door locking bar on the second actuator, the door locking bar having a pair of fingers whose ends are movable between a fastening position for fastening the fastening slots in the carrier door and a release position for disengaging therefrom. A combination with a semiconductor wafer batch loading system. The method of claim 6, And a latch means on the carrier door that is rigidly engageable with the carrier to securely attach the carrier door to the carrier. The method of claim 7, wherein The carrier has a latch groove formed in the carrier port; The latch means above: A latch pivotally mounted on the carrier door that moves between a latch engagement position engaged with the latch groove and a latch engagement release position released with the latch groove; A first end in the conveyer door and a second end of rotation opposite the first end, the second end of rotation being receivable between the bent fingers to engage the door fastening bar and the latch; A locking pin pivotally connected; An elastic member for applying a force to one side of the latch at the latching position; The movement of the door fastening bar to move the pair of bent fingers to a fastening position for fastening the fastening slots within the conveyer door simultaneously moves the latch to the fastening release position released from the latch groove. An assembly having a semiconductor wafer batch loading system, characterized in that it is effective to move. The method of claim 5, The load compartment door driving mechanism moves the load compartment door between a closed position in the same space as the load compartment port and an open position away from them, and also locks the lock position to a fastening position engaged with the rim of the carrier door. When the member moves and when the engaging means move to the first position, the stacking chamber door, the engaging means and the carrier door move simultaneously in one unit integrated. Combined with a system. In a semiconductor wafer stacking system, 1. A conveyer for supporting and conveying a plurality of wafers arranged in a predetermined space in an essentially stacked environment in a stacked relationship, comprising: a movable conveyer having a conveyer port provided to be accessible therein; A load compartment defined as an interior space having an environment essentially free of dust particles and containing a load compartment port open therein; Means for hermetically insulating the interior of the loading chamber and the conveyer from the outside atmosphere; Has a plurality of end launcher sets suitable for supporting a wafer thereon, having a plurality of predetermined spaces, and arranged to coincide in position with a corresponding wafer supported in the conveyer when the loading arm is in the operating position, Move through the load chamber port from the retracted position away from the wafer to the forward position extending through the load chamber and at the same time recover the wafer into a group and then return to the retracted position and move to hold the group of wafers in the load chamber And a multi-layer end launcher in the stacking chamber as possible. In a semiconductor wafer stacking system, 1. A conveyer for supporting and conveying a plurality of wafers arranged in a predetermined space in an essentially stacked environment in a stacked relationship, comprising: a movable conveyer having a conveyer port provided to be accessible therein; A load compartment defined as an interior space having an environment essentially free of dust particles and containing a load compartment port open therein; A load compartment door on the load compartment that is movable between a closed position covering the load compartment port and an open position leaving a space therefrom; A loading arm in the loading chamber that is movable between an inoperative position spaced from the conveyer and an actuation position proximate to the conveyer; And a plurality of end launcher sets suitable for supporting a wafer thereon, having a plurality of predetermined spaces, arranged to align with a corresponding wafer supported in the conveyer when the loading arm is in the operating position, When the loading arm is in the operating position and the loading chamber door is in the open position, it extends through the loading chamber port and through the transportation port from the retracted position away from the wafer to an advanced position in the conveyor, A semiconductor wafer batch stacking system comprising a multi-layer end launcher that engages with a group of wafers, simultaneously recovers and returns back to the retracted position and operates to hold a group of wafers in the load chamber. The method of claim 11, The conveyer has a set of shelf members for supporting a wafer disposed with a plurality of spaces, and when the loading arm is in the operating position, each of the end executor sets disposed with a plurality of spaces is a And align the positions with the associated one. The method of claim 11, Each of said end launcher sets is arranged to generally support the wafer thereon; And the plurality of sets of shelf members are arranged vertically with a space in the conveyer so that the storage of wafers thereon is stacked. The method of claim 11, An arm drive mechanism for moving the loading arm between an inoperative position and an operating position; And a terminal launcher drive mechanism for moving said multi-layer end launcher between a retracted position and a forward position. The method of claim 11, And a loading chamber door driving mechanism for moving said loading door between a closed position and an open position. The method of claim 11, And a carrier door drive mechanism for moving said carrier door between an open position and a closed position when said compartment door is in a closed position. The method of claim 14, A load compartment door drive mechanism for moving the load compartment door between a closed position and an open position; And a carrier door driving mechanism on the loading chamber door for moving the carrier door between the closed position and the open position when the loading chamber door is closed. The method of claim 11, And a sheathing enclosure which encloses the interior of the loading chamber and the conveyer in an outer atmosphere in a sealed manner. The method of claim 18, The isolation sheath having a hole centered and spaced apart from the storage compartment port and including a platform for supporting the carrier thereon so that the carrier port is close to the hole in the isolation sheath. ; When supported on the platform, it is placed between the isolation enclosure and the conveyer and surrounds a hole in the conveyer port and the isolation enclosure to surround the interior of the conveyer, the interior of the isolation enclosure and the load chamber. And a sealing means to isolate from the semiconductor wafer stacking system. The method of claim 11, And a sealing means provided between the storage chamber door and the storage chamber to isolate the storage chamber from the atmosphere when the storage chamber door is placed in the closed position. In a semiconductor wafer stacking system, A carrier for supporting and conveying a plurality of wafers disposed in a generally spaced relationship, comprising: a movable carrier having a carrier port provided to be accessible therein; A conveyer door on the conveyer which is movable between an open position leaving a predetermined space from the conveyer port and a closed position covering the conveyer port; A load compartment defined by an interior space including a load compartment port that is open to the inside; A storage compartment door overlying said storage compartment that is movable between a closed position covering said storage compartment port and an open position spaced apart therefrom; A loading arm placed inside the loading chamber movable between an inoperative position located away from the conveyer and an operating position proximate to the conveyer; A multi-layer end implement on the arm for moving the plurality of wafers in a group between the carrier and the loading chamber; And a door opening drive mechanism that co-operates to essentially open the carrier door and the stowage door when the arm is in the operating position. The method of claim 21, The multilayer end launcher is suitable for supporting a wafer thereon, the plurality of end spaces having a plurality of constant spaces, the plurality of ends arranged to align with a corresponding wafer supported in the carrier when the loading arm is in the operating position. Having a launcher set, and when the loading arm is in the operating position, it moves from the retracted position away from the wafer to an advanced position in the conveyer, simultaneously withdraws and collects with a group of wafers, and then back to the retracted position Operative to hold a group of wafers, and when the arms are in an inoperative position, the plurality of terminal executor sets are out of position with corresponding wafers supported in the carrier, such that the arms are in motion in the inoperative position. A semiconductor wafer batch loading system, characterized in that it cannot be made. The method of claim 21, The simultaneous actuating door opening drive mechanism allows the carrier door and the loading compartment door to be moved as a unit so that the conveyer port and the loading compartment port are generally moved from a position in the same space away from them. A semiconductor wafer batch loading system. In a semiconductor wafer batch loading system to or from a conveyer used to support and transport a plurality of wafers in a generally stacked relationship in a space that is essentially free of dust particles, A loading compartment defined as an interior space having an interior loading compartment port and having an environment essentially free of dust particles; A load compartment door placed on the load compartment that is movable between a closed position that hermetically covers the load compartment port and an open position spaced apart from them; A loading arm placed inside the loading chamber movable between an inoperative position located away from the conveyer and an operating position proximate to the conveyer; And a plurality of end launcher sets suitable for supporting a wafer thereon, having a plurality of predetermined spaces, arranged to align with a corresponding wafer supported on the conveyer when the loading arm is in the operating position; Placed on the loading arm, when the loading arm is in the operating position and the loading chamber door is in the open position, it moves from the retracted position away from the wafer to the advanced position in the conveyer and simultaneously engages with a group of wafers And a multi-layer end launcher operable to retain the group of wafers in the loading chamber after recovery and back to the retracted position. The method of claim 24, An arm drive mechanism for moving said loading arm between an inoperative position and an operating position; And an end launcher drive mechanism for moving said multi-layer end launcher between a retracted position and an advanced position. The method of claim 25, And a sheathing enclosure for sealingly enclosing the inside of the loading chamber and the conveyer from an ambient atmosphere. The method of claim 24, A semiconductor wafer batch stacking further provided between the stacking chamber door and the stacking chamber so as to isolate the stacking chamber from the surrounding atmosphere when the stacking chamber door is placed in the closed position. system. The method of claim 24, And a loading chamber door driving mechanism for moving the loading chamber door between the closed position and the open position. The method of claim 24, Vacuum means for rigidly emptying the storage compartment when the storage compartment door is in the closed position; A vacuum generating source; Conduit means for connecting between said vacuum generating source and said transfer chamber; And tightly actuated valve means in said conduit means that interconnect said vacuum generating source and said transfer chamber when said transfer chamber is isolated from an ambient atmosphere. A plurality of semiconductor wafer operating systems supported in a generally stacked relationship with a certain space, Arm means for moving between an operating position and an inoperative position away from said operating position; Suitable for supporting a semiconductor wafer thereon, having a plurality of predetermined spaces, and having a plurality of end executor sets arranged to align with a corresponding wafer supported in the carrier when the arm means is in an operating position. And on the arm means, when the arm means is in the operating position, it moves from the retracted position away from the wafer to the advanced position in the conveyer, simultaneously withdraws and collects with a group of wafers and then back to the retracted position And return to operate to hold a group of wafers, and when the arm means is in an inoperative position, the plurality of terminal executor sets are out of position with corresponding wafers supported by the carrier, such that the arm means Semiconductor wafer operation characterized in that it cannot be moved in the operating position system. The method of claim 30, And an arm drive means for moving said arm means in an actuated position and an inoperative position. The method of claim 30, The arm drive means includes additional drive means for incrementally moving the multilayer end runner for the purpose of positioning one of the plurality of end runner sets at a predetermined position to remove individual wafers supported thereon. A semiconductor wafer manipulation system. In a semiconductor wafer stacking system, A carrier for supporting and conveying a plurality of wafers disposed in a generally spaced relationship in an essentially dust free environment, comprising: a movable carrier having a carrier port provided to be accessible therein; A plurality of shelf members for supporting a plurality of wafers in a predetermined space in the carrier; A carrier door overlying the carrier that is movable between an open position leaving a space from the carrier port and a closed position covering the carrier port so that the interior of the carrier is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere; A conveying chamber which conveys the wafers accommodated for conveying to the plurality of processing chambers; A loading chamber having an environment essentially free of dust particles, including a loading chamber port opened therein, and defined as an interior space located between the conveying chamber and the conveying machine; A storage compartment door overlying said storage compartment that is movable between a closed position covering said storage compartment port and an open position spaced apart therefrom; A loading arm placed inside the loading chamber movable between an inoperative position located away from the conveyer and an operating position proximate to the conveyer; And a plurality of end launcher sets suitable for supporting a wafer thereon, having a plurality of predetermined spaces, arranged to align with a corresponding wafer supported in the conveyer when the loading arm is in the operating position, When the loading arm is in the operating position, it extends through the loading chamber port and through the conveying port from a retracted position away from the wafer to an advanced position in the conveyer, thereby simultaneously recovering with a group of wafers. A multi-layer end launcher overlying the loading arm which then returns to the retracted position and operates to hold the group of wafers in the loading chamber; And a transfer arm provided in the transfer chamber, for collecting the wafers one at a time from the multi-layer end executor and distributing them to a specific one of the plurality of processing chambers. The method of claim 33, The conveyer has a plurality of sets of shelf members having a predetermined space for supporting wafers, each of which is in position with an engaged one of the shelf members when the loading arm is in an operating position. A semiconductor wafer batch loading system, characterized in that. The method of claim 33, Each of said end execution sets is positioned to support a wafer thereon horizontally; And the plurality of sets of shelf members in the conveyer are vertically arranged with a predetermined space to accommodate the wafers stacked on top of each other. The method of claim 33, An arm drive mechanism for moving the loading arm between an inoperative position and an operating position; And an end drive mechanism for moving said multi-layer end launcher between a retracted position and an advanced position. The method of claim 33, And a loading chamber door driving mechanism for moving the loading chamber door between the closed position and the open position. The method of claim 33, And further comprising a carrier door drive mechanism overlying the carrier door that moves the carrier door between the closed and open positions when the loading door is in the closed position. . The method of claim 36, A load compartment door drive mechanism for moving the load compartment door between a closed position and an open position; And further comprising a carrier door drive mechanism overlying the carrier door that moves the carrier door between the closed and open positions when the loading door is in the closed position. . The method of claim 33, And a sheathing enclosure for sealingly enclosing the inside of the loading chamber and the conveyer from an ambient atmosphere. The method of claim 40, The isolation sheath having a hole centered and spaced apart from the storage compartment port and including a platform for supporting the carrier thereon so that the carrier port is close to the hole in the isolation sheath. ; When supported on the platform, it is placed between the isolation enclosure and the conveyer and surrounds a hole in the conveyer port and the isolation enclosure to surround the interior of the conveyer, the interior of the isolation enclosure and the load chamber. And a sealing means to isolate from the semiconductor wafer stacking system. The method of claim 33, A semiconductor wafer batch stacking system, further provided with a sealing means provided between the storage chamber door and the storage chamber to isolate the storage chamber from the atmosphere when the storage chamber door is placed in the closed position. . The method of claim 33, A semiconductor wafer batch stacking further provided between the stacking chamber door and the stacking chamber so as to isolate the stacking chamber from the surrounding atmosphere when the stacking chamber door is placed in the closed position. system. The method of claim 33, Isolating valve means located between said loading chamber and said conveying chamber, said valve acting strictly to permit mutual movement of the fluid therebetween in one case and to prevent mutual movement of the fluid therebetween; A seal located between the storage chamber and the transport chamber, the isolation valve functioning to isolate the storage chamber and the transport chamber from the surrounding atmosphere when the isolation valve is positioned to permit mutual movement of fluid between the storage chamber and the transport chamber; And a means for stacking semiconductor wafers. The method of claim 33, A vacuum generating source; Conduit means for connecting between said vacuum generating source and said loading chamber; A tightly actuated valve in the conduit means to interconnect the vacuum generating source and the storage compartment when the storage compartment door is closed and to disconnect the vacuum generation source and the storage compartment interconnection when the storage compartment door is opened. And a means for stacking semiconductor wafers. The method of claim 33, A vacuum generating source; Conduit means for connecting between said vacuum generating source and said transfer chamber; And tightly actuating valve means in said conduit means to interconnect said vacuum generating source and said transfer chamber when said transfer chamber is isolated from an ambient atmosphere. The method of claim 38, The above conveyer door driving mechanism Rigidly coupled with the carrier door and movable between a first position away from the carrier door and adjacent to the load door and a second position adjacent to the carrier door and far from the load door Coupling means; A first actuator for moving said engagement means between said first and second positions; The engaging means including a fastening member movable between a release position in which engagement with the carrier door is released and a engagement position in engagement with the carrier door when the engagement means is placed in the first position; And a second actuator for causing said fastening member to move between an unlocked position and a fastened position. The method of claim 47, The conveyer door has a peripheral rim; The first actuator includes a drive rod for moving the coupling means between the first position and the second position; The coupling means comprises a coupling frame mounted on the drive rod; The fastening member includes a fastening rod guided by and supported on the engaging frame so as to move between the release position and the fastening position, the fastening member being disposed opposite and axially, each said fastening member crossing at its terminal. And a fastening finger, said fastening finger being engaged with said peripheral rim when said fastening member is in a fastening position. The method of claim 47, And a stowage door drive mechanism for moving the stowage door between a closed position and an open position. The method of claim 49, The load compartment drive mechanism moves the load compartment door between a closed position in the same space as the load compartment port and an open position away from them, and also their fastening positions that engage the rib of the carrier door. When the movement of the fastening member of the furnace and the movement of the engaging means to the first position, the loading chamber door, the engaging means and the conveyer door are integrated to move simultaneously as a unit. Semiconductor wafer batch loading system. In a semiconductor wafer stacking system, A carrier for supporting and conveying a plurality of wafers disposed in a generally spaced relationship in an essentially dust free environment, comprising: a movable carrier having a carrier port provided to be accessible therein; A carrier door overlying the carrier that is movable between an open position leaving a space from the carrier port and a closed position covering the carrier port so that the interior of the carrier is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere; A conveying chamber which conveys the wafers accommodated for conveying to the plurality of processing chambers; A loading chamber having an environment essentially free of dust particles, including a loading chamber port opened therein, and defined as an interior space located between the conveying chamber and the conveying machine; A storage compartment door overlying said storage compartment that is movable between a closed position covering said storage compartment port and an open position spaced apart therefrom; A loading arm placed inside the loading chamber movable between an inoperative position located away from the conveyer and an operating position proximate to the conveyer; A multi-layer end implement for moving a plurality of wafers into a group between the carrier and the load chamber and overlying the load arm; And a transfer arm provided in the transfer chamber, for collecting the wafers one at a time from the multi-layer end executor and distributing them to a specific one of the plurality of processing chambers. The method of claim 51, And a door opening driving mechanism that is interlocked to sequentially open the carrier door and the loading chamber door when the arm is in the operating state. The method of claim 51, Exterior means for isolating the interior of the loading chamber and the conveyer from an ambient atmosphere; And a fastening means for fastening the carrier to the sheath and to be freed from the sheath.