Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
  • H01L21/67703—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
  • H01L21/67733—Overhead conveying

Definitions

• the invention relates to a system for the production of semiconductor products according to the preamble of claim 1.
• Such systems can be designed in particular as a system for processing fields (DE 37 35 449 AI, US 5 803 932, US 5 443 346). These systems include a large number of manufacturing units with which different manufacturing processes are carried out. These manufacturing processes are, in particular, etching processes, wet chemical processes, diffusion processes and various cleaning processes such as, for example, C P process (Chemical Mechanical Polishing). One or more production units are provided for each of these processes.
• the entire manufacturing process is subject to strict cleanliness requirements, so that the manufacturing units are arranged in a clean room or in a system of clean rooms.
• the wafers are fed into the individual production units in cassettes in predetermined lot sizes via a transport system.
• the cassettes are also transported away after processing these wafers via the transport system.
• the transport system typically has a conveyor system which is designed, for example, in the form of roller conveyors.
• the cassettes with the wafers are transported lying on the roller conveyors.
• Such conveyor systems run in a line through the clean room.
• the conveyor systems branch out in a suitable manner. This creates a more or less closed network of roller conveyors inside the clean room.
• Handling systems can also be provided for loading and unloading the production units, which remove the cassettes from the roller conveyors or put them back on after processing.
• a disadvantage of such transport systems is that a very large installation effort is necessary in order to obtain at least an approximately nationwide supply of cassettes in the clean room.
• the network of roller conveyors must have a large number of branches. This means not only considerable material costs, since the roller conveyors have a large overall length in the entire clean room. The control effort for the network of roller conveyors is also considerable.
• the manufacturing units are typically positioned according to the positions of the roller conveyors. This can lead to individual production units not being able to be arranged in a function-related manner to one another. Another disadvantage is that changes and extensions can only be carried out with great effort in such arrangements.
• the object of the invention is to create a transport system for a system of the type mentioned at the outset, which ensures a supply of the production units with semiconductor products that is as extensive as possible.
• the transport system for supplying the semiconductor products to the production units is designed as a gantry crane system which has at least one transport container which is guided above the production units and can be lowered towards the production units.
• the gantry crane system or an arrangement of gantry crane systems is designed so that the transport container or containers can be moved over the entire clean room above the production units. As soon as a transport container is positioned above a production unit which is to be supplied with semiconductor products, the transport container is lowered precisely in front of the production unit, so that the semiconductor products can be removed from the transport container and fed directly to the production unit.
• the main advantage of the transport system according to the invention is that the transport containers can be moved above the production units without being guided and can be lowered at any position in the clean room for loading or unloading the semiconductor products.
• the installation effort for such a transport system is very low, which results in a reduction in the operating costs of the system.
• Another advantage is that the transport containers can be positioned anywhere in the clean room. The transport times are very short due to the direct feeding of the transport container above the production units.
• the production units can be arranged in the clean room according to their functionalities, regardless of the transport system. Likewise, changes in the arrangement of the production units in the clean room can be carried out in a simple manner, regardless of the transport system.
• Figure 1 Top view of a system for processing wafers in a schematic representation.
• FIG. 2 longitudinal section through the installation according to FIG. 1
• FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show a system for manufacturing semiconductor products, which in the present exemplary embodiment is a system for processing wafers.
• a multiplicity of manufacturing units 2 are arranged in a clean room 1.
• FIG. 1 shows only eight such manufacturing units 2.
• the production units 2 can also be distributed over several clean rooms 1.
• the manufacturing processes include in particular etching processes, wet chemical processes, diffusion processes and cleaning processes.
• One or more manufacturing units 2 are provided for all manufacturing processes.
• the manufacturing units 2 are installed in predetermined positions on the floor 3 of the clean room 1.
• the production units 2 are operated by operating personnel via operating units (not shown).
• the production units 2 each have a loading and unloading station 4, via which the wafers to be processed are introduced into the production unit 2 and removed therefrom after the processing.
• the wafers are stored in cassettes and fed to the production units 2 via a transport system.
• the transport system shown in the drawings consists of a gantry crane system.
• the gantry crane system has two crane tracks 5 running above the production units 2.
• the crane tracks 5 are each supported on supporting pillars 6, which are anchored in the floor 3 of the clean room 1.
• two pillars 6 are shown, which carry a crane runway 5.
• several support pillars 6 can also be provided.
• the crane tracks 5 can also be attached to the ceiling of the clean room 1 as a suspended structure.
• the crane tracks 5 run parallel to each other at a predetermined distance and each have the same length.
• the crane tracks 5 are arranged opposite one another at a short distance from the longitudinal inner walls of the essentially rectangular clean room 1 and extend essentially over the entire length of the clean room 1.
• a carrier 7 running transversely to the crane tracks 5 is mounted so that it can be moved in the crane tracks 5 with its longitudinal ends.
• a transport container 8 for holding cassettes with wafers is fastened to the carrier 7, the transport container 8 being arranged to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the carrier 7.
• Each running gear 9 expediently has a predetermined number of wheels or rollers, not shown. These rollers or wheels are guided in the crane tracks 5 in rail guides, also not shown.
• the transport container 8 is fastened via a holding device 10, which can be extended in the vertical direction, to a chassis 11, which is movably mounted on the carrier 7.
• the Holding device 10 can in particular have an extendable linkage or the like.
• the chassis 11 on the carrier 7 also preferably has a predetermined number of rollers or wheels, not shown, which can be moved in the rail 7 in a rail guide, also not shown.
• the transport container 8 can be moved along the carrier 7 by means of the chassis 11, and the transport container 8 can be moved in the vertical direction by means of the holding device 10.
• a pivoting device 12 is provided between the holding device 10 and the transport container 8, by means of which the transport container 8 can be moved in the horizontal direction with respect to the holding device 10 for fine positioning.
• NC controls are connected to a central control, also not shown, which takes over the overall control of the gantry crane system. Alternatively or additionally, individual functions of the control can be operated manually if required.
• the gantry crane system according to the invention can be used to quickly and easily supply wafers to any production units 2 in the clean room 1.
• the transport container 8 is filled with cassettes, in which wafers are located, from a storage, conveyor belt or the like (not shown).
• the carrier 7 is then moved on the crane tracks 5 until it is at the level of the production unit 2 to be supplied.
• the transport container 8 is moved above the production units 2. In this way, the transport of the wafers is not hindered by the arrangement of the manufacturing units 2.
• the transport container 8 is then moved along the carrier 7 until the transport container 8 is above the production unit 2 to be supplied.
• the carrier 7 and the transport container 8 can be moved simultaneously.
• the transport container 8 Only after the transport container 8 is positioned above the production unit 2 to be supplied is the transport container 8 lowered by extending the holding device 10 until the transport container 8 is located directly in front of the loading and unloading station 4 of the production unit 2. During this lowering process of the transport container 8, fine positioning can also be carried out at the same time by automatic or manual activation of the swivel device 12. The wafers are then transported away in a corresponding manner.
• the system can be supplied with wafers area-wide, the movement of the transport container 8 to the respective production unit 2 running above all production units 2, so that there is no positive guidance during the travel path of the transport container 8.
• Encapsulations are used.
• the trolleys 9, 11 preferably also have an encapsulation.
• materials that do not outgas are expediently used for the moving parts of the trolleys 9, 11, in particular for the rollers or wheels, and for the support surfaces on the crane tracks 5 and on the support 7, on which the trolleys 9, 11 are guided and which are very abrasion resistant.
• Particularly resistant plastics are particularly suitable for this.
• the wafers are transported by means of a gantry crane system which extends over the entire clean room 1.
• the floor plan of a clean room 1 can be designed not only at right angles, but also at an angle.
• one or more storage systems for wafers such as stockers
• These stores then form links between the individual gantry crane systems, since the transport containers 8 for loading and unloading wafers can be positioned thereon.
• the gantry crane system can be expanded such that a plurality of carriers 7 with a transport container 8 are arranged to be movable on the crane tracks 5 of a gantry crane system.
• the supports 7 are expediently arranged to be separately movable on the gantry crane system, the coordination of the travel paths being taken over by the central control.
• the gantry crane system can be expanded such that a plurality of transport containers 8 arranged one behind the other are arranged to be movable on a carrier 7.
• the transport containers 8 can then be positioned individually on different production units 2 or storage systems for loading and unloading.
• the travel paths of the transport containers 8 are expediently coordinated on a carrier 7 via the central control.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Power Engineering (AREA)
• Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
• Carriers, Traveling Bodies, And Overhead Traveling Cranes (AREA)
• Control And Safety Of Cranes (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=7907412

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (19)

Family Cites Families (15)

• 1999
  • 1999-05-07 DE DE19921246A patent/DE19921246C2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2000
  • 2000-05-05 KR KR10-2001-7014215A patent/KR100452713B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-05-05 CN CNB00807304XA patent/CN1165965C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-05-05 JP JP2000617478A patent/JP2002544662A/ja active Pending
  • 2000-05-05 EP EP00940172A patent/EP1192641A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-05-05 WO PCT/DE2000/001453 patent/WO2000068975A2/de not_active Application Discontinuation
• 2001
  • 2001-11-07 US US10/014,246 patent/US20020119036A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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