KR20070014277A - Equipment for manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment is provided to prevent the deviation of a wafer from a blade of a wafer transfer robot under a wafer transfer process by forming a protruded portion on the blade of the wafer transfer robot. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes a plurality of loadlock chambers, a plurality of process chambers, a transfer chamber and a wafer transfer robot. The plurality of loadlock chambers(110) are used for storing cassettes with a plurality of wafers. Each process chamber(130) includes a chuck for supporting the wafer. The transfer chamber is used for connecting the process chambers with the loadlock chambers. The transfer chamber is selectively opened or closed by using a slit valve. The wafer transfer robot is installed at a center portion of the transfer chamber in order to transfer the wafer between the loadlock chamber and the process chamber. The wafer transfer robot includes a blade(154) with a protruded portion(156), wherein the protruded portion is used for preventing the deviation of the wafer.

Description

Equipment for manufacturing semiconductor device

1 is a schematic plan view showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a schematic plan view showing a semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing in detail the wafer transfer robot of FIG.

4 is an exploded cross-sectional view of FIG. 3.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawings *

110: load lock chamber 120: alignment chamber

130: process chamber 140: cleaning chamber

150: transfer chamber 152: wafer transfer robot

154: blade 156: jam jaw

160: robot arm 170: wing

180: body

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that can improve productivity by preventing wafer sliding or detachment from a robot arm for transferring wafers between a transfer chamber, a process chamber, or a load lock chamber. will be.

Typically, a wafer is fabricated as a semiconductor device as a process such as photography, diffusion, etching, deposition, and metallization is repeatedly performed. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment for performing each of these processes, that is, the alignment exposure equipment, the etching equipment, the ion implantation equipment, the deposition equipment, etc., has a specific orientation with respect to the upper surface of the wafer, and the wafers are not correctly aligned. In this case, the process may not be performed accurately to change the formation and characteristics of each part of the semiconductor device, and the yield may decrease.

Since the presence of particles or contaminants in the atmosphere in such a semiconductor manufacturing facility has a great effect on the yield, it is important to maintain the inside of the facility with high cleanliness. Therefore, semiconductor manufacturing facilities are usually provided with a closed process chamber for processing in a high vacuum atmosphere.

Hereinafter, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the related art having a process chamber requiring high vacuum will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic plan view of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional semiconductor manufacturing facility includes a plurality of load lock chambers 10 which contain a cassette 14 on which a plurality of wafers 12 are to be subjected to a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process. And an alignment chamber 20 for aligning the wafer 12 transferred from the load lock chamber 10, and a chuck supporting the wafer 12. a plurality of process chambers 30 performed as a single wafer, a cleaning chamber 40 for cleaning the wafer 12 in which the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed in the process chamber 30, and the plurality of process chambers 30. ) And a transfer chamber 50 which is commonly connected to the load lock chamber 10 in a cluster type and selectively opened and closed by a slit valve 52, the transfer chamber 50 of the transfer chamber 50. Is formed in the center of the load lock chamber 10 and the process It comprises a plurality of wafer transfer robot (robot, 54) for transferring the wafer 12 between the chamber (30).

Here, in order to maintain the process chamber 30 in a high vacuum, the wafers 12 do not flow directly into the process chamber 30 from the outside but flow out through the load lock chamber 10 and the transfer chamber 50. The load lock chamber 10 is a chamber that maintains a degree of vacuum close to the degree of vacuum of the process chamber 30, and a pressure generated when the wafer 12 directly flows into the process chamber 30 in a high vacuum state from the outside in an atmospheric state. This is to prevent the external particles from entering the process chamber 30 due to the difference.

Although not shown, the load lock chamber 10 has a door that opens and closes to accommodate a cassette 14 in which a plurality of wafers 12 are mounted vertically, and the cassette is flowed in and out through the door. (14) An indexer for rotating the wafer 12 inside in a horizontal state is provided. In addition, the load lock chamber 10 is introduced into the lifter (lifter) for vertically reciprocating the cassette 14, and the wafer mounted on the cassette 14 perpendicular to the moving direction of the lifter ( A wafer sensing unit for sensing 12 may be formed, and the mapping may be performed by sensing the wafer 12 of the wafer sensing unit according to the movement of the lifter.

When the mapping is completed, the slit valve 52 is opened and the load lock chamber 10 communicates with the transistor chamber 50. Thereafter, the wafer transfer robot 54 formed in the transfer chamber 50 is a blade formed at the end of the wafer transfer robot 54 by using the position information of the wafer 12 detected by the wafer detection unit during the mapping. Insert 56 into the lower portion of the wafer 12 to be performed in the cassette 14 to be performed, lift the wafer 12, take out the wafer 12 from the cassette 14 After transfer to the transfer chamber 50 is transferred from the transfer chamber 50 to the alignment chamber 20.

Thereafter, when the alignment process of the wafer 12 is completed in the alignment chamber 20, the wafer transfer robot 54 transfers the wafer 12 from the alignment chamber 20 to the process chamber 30. Previously, the slit valve 52 between the process chamber 30 and the transfer chamber 50 is opened.

The wafer 12 is loaded by the wafer transfer robot 54 formed in the transfer chamber 50 to perform a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process, the load lock chamber 10, the alignment chamber 20, the process chamber 30 , Or frequently between multiple chambers, such as cleaning chambers. A wafer transfer robot 54 for transporting the wafer 12 supports the wafer 12 on a blade 56 and contracts, expands, or rotates it to transfer the wafer 12 between the plurality of chambers. .

At this time, the blade 56 supporting the wafer 12 is made of a plate having a horizontal plane.

However, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the related art, when the wafer transfer robot 54 transfers the wafer 12 at a predetermined speed or more, the wafer 12 supported and moved on the blade 56 having a horizontal plane is moved to the blade. Since the wafer 12 may be broken by sliding or leaving at 56, there is a disadvantage in that the production yield is low.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment that can increase or maximize the production yield by preventing the wafer 12, which is supported on the blade 56 to be transported or slid away from breakage To provide.

 A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a plurality of load lock chamber for receiving a cassette on which a plurality of wafers to be performed a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process; A plurality of process chambers having a chuck for supporting the wafers accommodated in the load lock chamber to perform the semiconductor manufacturing process in a single sheet; A transfer chamber connecting the plurality of process chambers and the load lock chamber in common, and selectively opened and closed by a slit valve; And a locking jaw formed at the center of the transfer chamber to move horizontally and rotate to transfer the wafer between the load lock chamber and the process chamber, and to protrude so that an outer circumferential surface of the wafer is guided around a surface on which the wafer is supported. It characterized in that it comprises a wafer transfer robot having a blade formed.

Hereinafter, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art.

2 is a schematic plan view of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of load lock chambers 110 for accommodating a cassette 114 on which a plurality of wafers 112 are to be subjected to a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process. An alignment chamber 120 for aligning the wafer 112 transferred from the load lock chamber 110, and a chuck for supporting the wafer 112 aligned in the alignment chamber 120. A plurality of process chambers 130 for performing the semiconductor manufacturing process in a single sheet, a cleaning chamber 140 for cleaning the wafer 112 in which the semiconductor manufacturing process is completed in the process chamber 130, and the cleaning chamber A transfer chamber 150 connecting the process chamber 130, the load chamber chamber 110, and selectively opened and closed by the slit valve 152, and formed at the center of the transfer chamber 150. Between the load lock chamber 110 and the process chamber 130 A blade having a latching jaw (158 in FIG. 3) that is horizontally moved and rotated to transfer the wafer 112, and protrudes so that the outer circumferential surface of the wafer 112 is guided around the surface on which the wafer 112 is supported. And a wafer transfer robot 154 having 156 therein.

Here, the wafer transfer robot 154 may cause the transfer efficiency of the wafer 112 in the multichamber structure to vary greatly depending on the number of blades 156 or forks supporting the wafer 112. have.

For example, a two blade wafer transfer robot in which a plurality of blades 156 are formed in opposite directions at the end of the wafer transfer robot 154 is compared to a one blade wafer transfer robot using one blade 156. Work efficiency is at least twice as effective.

That is, the two-blade wafer transfer robot supports the wafers 112 aligned in the alignment chamber 120 using one blade 156 to transfer them to the front end of the process chamber 130, and the other blades. The wafer 112 in which the process is completed in the process chamber 130 is unloaded into the cleaning chamber 140 or the load lock chamber 110 using the 156. On the other hand, the one-blade wafer transfer robot unloads the wafer 112 having completed the process in the process chamber 130 before transferring the aligned wafers 112 in the alignment chamber 120 to clean the chamber 140. After unloading the furnace, the wafer 112 aligned in the alignment chamber 120 needs to be moved to the process chamber 130, thereby increasing the workmanship at least twice as much as the two-blade wafer transfer robot.

Such a two-blade wafer transfer robot and a one-blade wafer transfer robot may be loaded at or below a constant speed in order to allow the wafer 112 transferred between the plurality of chambers in the transfer chamber 150 to be loaded or unloaded at a stable and accurate position. I have to move.

In particular, the wafer 112 supported on the blade 156 may slide on the blade 156 by the inertia of the wafer 112 when the transfer speed of the wafer transfer robot 154 increases.

Here, the sliding of the wafer 112 is prevented by the blade 156 and the locking step 158 formed in the blade 156 in the two-blade wafer transfer robot in detail as follows.

FIG. 3 is a detailed perspective view of the wafer transfer robot 154 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an exploded cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, wherein the wafer transfer robot 154 is around a surface supporting the wafer 112. A blade 156 having a locking step 158 for guiding the outer circumferential surface of the wafer 112 is connected to one side of the blade 156, and the blade 156 is horizontally moved forward or backward while being in contact with or away from each other. The plurality of rings are connected to the plurality of robot arms 160 and the plurality of rings 162 connected to the opposite ends of the plurality of robot arms 160 to which the blades 156 are connected, respectively, and to the plurality of rings 162 having the same central axis. When the 162 rotates in the opposite direction, the blade 156 is moved forward or backward horizontally, and when the 162 rotates in the same direction, the blade 156 and the robot arm 160 are rotated about the central axis. A plurality of locks formed by the wing 170, the rotating means 168 such as a motor for rotating the ring 162 connected to the plurality of wings 170 and the plurality of rings 162 are supported while being rotated independently It includes a body 180 having a plurality of bearings (164).

Here, the blade 156 is inserted into the lower end of the wafer 112 to support the wafer 112, and protrudes around the outer circumferential surface of the wafer 112 in a plane passing through the diameter of the wafer 112 A plate having a formed locking jaw 158, a pivot arm connected to the robot arm 160 by a coupling means such as at least one bolt, and the pivot arm connected to the plate. And an assembly including a pivot bearing (not shown) installed on one side of the plate so as to be freely rotated.

For example, the locking jaw 158 may prevent the wafer 112 from sliding or escaping due to inertia and centrifugal force caused by contraction and expansion of the robot arm 160 or rotation of the body 180. It is rounded along the outer circumferential surface of the wafer 112.

In addition, one side of the plurality of robot arms 160 are respectively connected to the pivot arm of the blade 156 by the coupling means, and the other side is respectively connected to the ends of the plurality of wings 170 by the pivot bearing. . In this case, the plurality of robot arms 160 may move the blade 156 forward or backward when the wings 170 rotate in opposite directions.

For example, when the blades 156 are in an initial state with the plurality of wings 170 positioned in parallel with each other, the plurality of wings 170 and the ring 162 simultaneously move toward the blades 156. When rotated, the blade 156 is advanced forward than the initial state. In addition, when the plurality of wings 170 and the ring 162 are simultaneously rotated in the opposite direction to the blade 156 in the state that the blade 156 is advanced than the initial state, the blade 156 is reversed.

On the other hand, when the plurality of wings 170 is rotated to pass through the parallel state seems to advance the blade 156 while the robot arm 160 is folded, the plurality of wings 170 is the plurality of robot arms The blade 156 is in place because it retracts 160.

In this case, when the plurality of robot arms 160 are moved forward or backward by the plurality of rotations, the wafer 112 supported on the blade 156 is moved forward or backward. In other words, the inertial force may act in the radial direction from the body 180, but the wafer 112 may be supported by the locking step 158 formed on the plate of the blade 156.

In addition, the plurality of wings 170 are coupled to each of the plurality of rings 162 formed up and down in the body 180. In this case, the plurality of wings 170 is horizontal so that the portion coupled with the robot arm 160 has the same or similar height, and among the two to overcome the step generated by the plurality of upper and lower rings 162. One is formed to bend down.

For example, the first wing 170a coupled to the upper ring 162a among the plurality of wings 170 may be referred to as a second wing 170b formed to be bent and coupled to the lower ring 162b. A second shaft 180 is centered on a first shaft 166a for rotating the upper ring 162a and a second shaft surrounding an outer side of the first shaft 166a for rotating the lower ring 162b. 166b is provided. Although not shown, when the first shaft 166a and the upper ring 162a and the second shaft 166b and the lower ring 162b are directly connected to each other, excessive force is applied to the wing 170 and the blade ( Rotation of the first shaft 166a and the second shaft 166b magnetically at the portion where the plurality of bearings 164 are adjacent, so that the upper ring 162a and Rotate the lower ring 162b.

That is, the upper ring is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the predetermined disk 165 formed on the first shaft 166a and the second shaft 166b at predetermined intervals, and rotates corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the disk 165. 162a and the lower ring 162b form a permanent magnet so that when the first shaft 166a and the second shaft 166b rotate, the upper ring 162a and the lower ring 162b are formed of the permanent magnet. It is rotated by magnetic force. Of course, the magnetic field of the permanent magnet should be formed in the direction in which the upper ring 162a and the lower ring 162b rotate.

As described above, the body 180 is connected to the center of the disc 165, the plurality of shafts 166 for rotating the ring 162, and surrounds the plurality of shafts 166 and the wing A tube supporting the 170 and the robot arm 160, the rotating means 168 formed under the plurality of shafts 166 to rotate the plurality of shafts 166, and the ring 162. It includes a plurality of bearings 164 to reduce friction while supporting.

In this case, when the body 180 is rotated, the wafer 112 supported on the blade 156 may have a centrifugal force acting in the direction in which the body 180 rotates. It is supported by the locking step 158 formed in the plate does not slide or escape.

Accordingly, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is the wafer 112 from the inertial or centrifugal force induced in the wafer 112 is supported and transported on the blade 156 by the contraction and expansion or rotation of the robot arm 160. The latching jaw 158 supporting the upper surface of the wafer 112 may be formed to protrude around the outer circumferential surface of the wafer 112 to prevent sliding or detachment of the wafer 112 on the blade 156.

As a result, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention has a wafer transfer robot including a blade 156 having a locking step 158 formed to protrude to a predetermined height along the outer circumferential surface of the wafer 112 from the plate supporting the wafer 112. 154 may be used to prevent the sliding or detachment of the wafer 112 when the wafer 112 is transferred by the wafer transfer robot 154, thereby increasing or maximizing production yield.

The above description of the embodiments is merely given by way of example with reference to the drawings in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention. In addition, for those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the basic principles of the present invention. For example, while reference is made to the transfer of wafer 112 to a two-blade wafer transfer robot, the wafer 112 periphery of the wafer 112 is also circumferential in the wafer 112 transfer to the one blade wafer transfer robot. It is apparent that the blade 156 prevents sliding or detachment of the wafer 112 by using the blade 156 on which the locking step 158 protrudes to a predetermined height.

As described above, according to the present invention, the wafer transfer by the wafer transfer robot using a wafer transfer robot having a blade formed with a locking projection protruding to a predetermined height along the periphery of the outer peripheral surface of the wafer supporting the wafer Since the wafer can be prevented from sliding or slipping, the production yield can be increased or maximized.

Claims (2)

A plurality of load lock chambers containing a cassette on which a plurality of wafers on which a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process is to be performed is mounted; A plurality of process chambers having a chuck for supporting the wafers accommodated in the load lock chamber to perform the semiconductor manufacturing process in a single sheet; A transfer chamber connecting the plurality of process chambers and the load lock chamber in common, and selectively opened and closed by a slit valve; And Is formed in the center of the transfer chamber to move and rotate the horizontal to transfer the wafer between the load lock chamber and the process chamber, the locking projection is formed so as to project the outer peripheral surface of the wafer around the surface on which the wafer is supported A semiconductor manufacturing equipment comprising a wafer transfer robot having a blade. The method of claim 1, The locking step is a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, characterized in that formed along the outer circumferential surface of the wafer.

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