JP2000100887A - Wafer treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To substantially reduce a treatment time of a wafer and provide a wafer treatment device whose treatment rat is improved. SOLUTION: The device has first cassette carrying mechanisms 10, 50, 60 for carrying a carried-in cassette to a specified position, a first cassette position change mechanism 70 for changing the position of a carried cassette, a notch- positioning mechanism 80 for positioning a notch of a wafer, a first wafer- carrying mechanism 100 which carries a wafer whose notch is positioned by batch clamping and a first pitch conversion mechanism 110, which receives a wafer twice and cuts down a pitch between wafers by a half. It also has a treatment tank-to-tank wafer-carrying mechanism 120 for carrying in and out a wafer to a treatment tank after batch clamping, a second pitch conversion mechanism 110' which returns the pitch of a carried-out wafer to its original one, a second wafer-carrying mechanism 100' which performs batch clamping for every other wafer from a second pitch conversion mechanism and inserts a wafer again into a vacant cassette, a second cassette position change mechanism 70' which changes the position of a cassette and second cassette carrying mechanisms 60', 50', 10' which carry a cassette to a cassette which carries it out opening.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a load section for loading a cassette loaded into a cassette loading port into a processing tank and a cassette loading / unloading port from the processing tank in order to perform a cleaning process or the like of a wafer stored in the cassette. The present invention relates to a wafer processing apparatus provided with an unloading unit for carrying out a wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the following method has been used as a method for transporting a wafer in a wafer processing apparatus for cleaning the wafer. First, a robot takes out wafers one by one from a cassette A in which wafers are stored horizontally (horizontally) and transfers them one by one to another cassette B, and then places the cassette B vertically (wafers vertically). Then, wafer detection, OF alignment, and the like are performed, and wafers are taken out from each cassette or from the cassette B at a time and sent to the cleaning step.

[0003]

In the above-described method, it is necessary to transfer wafers one by one from the cassette A containing the wafers to the cassette B to be sent to the cleaning step, and it is difficult to reduce the processing time. .

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer processing apparatus capable of greatly reducing the processing time of a wafer.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention employs the following means. 2. The wafer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first cassette transport mechanism transports a cassette, which is loaded from a cassette loading port and stores a plurality of wafers horizontally, to a predetermined position, and the first cassette. A sheet detecting mechanism for detecting the presence or absence of wafers in the cassette being transferred by the transfer mechanism and generating a signal for returning the cassette to the cassette carrying-in port when the number of wafers is not a predetermined number; A first cassette attitude changing mechanism for changing the attitude of the cassette conveyed by the cassette conveying mechanism so that the wafer take-out port faces upward, and a wafer in the cassette which has been made substantially vertical by the first cassette attitude changing mechanism A notch aligning mechanism for aligning the notches, a first wafer transfer mechanism for batch-clamping and transferring the wafers whose notches are aligned by the notch aligning mechanism, In response to the wafer over followed by 2 degrees from the wafer transfer mechanism, and a first pitch conversion mechanism for converting the pitch between the wafer half. Further, the wafers pitch-converted by the first pitch conversion mechanism are collectively clamped, loaded into a processing tank, and processed, and
A second inter-processing-wafer transfer mechanism for unloading the processed wafer from the processing tank, and a second operation for receiving the wafer unloaded by the inter-processing-wafer transfer mechanism and returning the wafer pitch to its original state. The pitch conversion mechanism and the second
A second wafer transfer mechanism for clamping the wafers every other sheet from the pitch conversion mechanism, and re-inserting the wafers into the cassette which has been transferred in a state where the wafers have been extracted by the first wafer transfer mechanism; A second cassette attitude changing mechanism for changing the attitude of the cassette in which the wafer is inserted by the second wafer transfer mechanism so that the wafer take-out port is oriented in the horizontal direction; And a second cassette transport mechanism for transporting the horizontally stored cassette to the cassette outlet.

With this configuration, when a cassette in which a plurality of wafers are stored horizontally is loaded from the cassette loading port of the wafer processing apparatus, the cassette is transported to a predetermined position by the first cassette transport mechanism. During the transfer, the presence / absence of wafers in the cassette is detected by the single-wafer detection mechanism, and when the number of wafers is not a predetermined number, a signal for returning the cassette to the loading port is generated. For this reason, when the number of sheets is insufficient, the cassette is returned to the cassette carry-in port by the reverse transport of the first cassette transport mechanism.

[0007] The cassette conveyed to a predetermined position by the first cassette conveying mechanism is changed in posture by the first cassette posture changing mechanism so that the wafer outlet is directed upward. Then, the wafers in the cassette are notch aligned by the notch alignment mechanism, and the wafers are collectively clamped by the first wafer transfer mechanism and transferred to the first pitch conversion mechanism.

The first pitch conversion mechanism receives the wafer twice from the first wafer transfer mechanism and converts the pitch between the wafers into half. In the method of converting the pitch, the pitch of the member for receiving the wafer is half of the pitch of the cassette, and after receiving the first wafer at a time, the receiving member is moved by a half pitch (half of the pitch of the cassette). Then, the second wafer is inserted between the wafers that have been received first.

After the pitch is changed, the wafers are collectively clamped by the inter-processing-wafer transfer mechanism and are carried into the processing tank to be processed. The processed wafer is similarly unloaded from the processing tank by the inter-processing tank wafer transfer mechanism. The unloaded wafer is received by the second pitch conversion mechanism. The wafers received by the second pitch conversion mechanism are collectively clamped every other sheet by the second wafer transfer mechanism, and the wafers are sent in a state where the wafers are extracted by the first wafer transfer mechanism. The wafer is reinserted.

Subsequently, the member of the second pitch conversion mechanism, which has received the wafer, is moved by a half pitch, and the remaining wafers are collectively clamped by the second wafer transfer mechanism. The mechanism re-inserts the wafer into the next cassette that has been transported with the wafer removed. The attitude of the cassette into which the wafer has been inserted by the second wafer transfer mechanism is changed by the second cassette attitude changing mechanism so that the wafer outlet is oriented in the horizontal direction. Subsequently, the cassette storing the wafers is transported to the cassette outlet of the wafer processing apparatus by the second cassette transport mechanism.

As described above, the cassette loaded from the cassette loading port of the wafer processing apparatus is automatically transported toward the wafer processing tank, and the wafer is taken out of the cassette before the processing tank and sent to the processing tank. The processed wafer is stored again in the cassette and automatically transferred to the cassette outlet of the wafer processing apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer processing apparatus, comprising: a first cassette transfer mechanism for transferring a cassette, which is carried in from a cassette carry-in port and in which a plurality of wafers are stored horizontally, to a predetermined position; A single-sheet transfer mechanism for detecting the presence or absence of a wafer in the cassette being transferred by the first cassette transfer mechanism and generating a signal for returning the cassette to the cassette transfer port when the number of wafers is not a predetermined number; A first cassette posture changing mechanism for changing the posture of the cassette conveyed by the first cassette conveyance mechanism such that the wafer take-out port faces upward, and a cassette substantially vertical by the first cassette posture conversion mechanism Notch aligning mechanism for aligning the notches of the wafers in the device, and first wafer transfer for batch-clamping and transferring the wafers whose notches are aligned by the notch aligning mechanism Receiving a configuration, the wafer on a board over followed by 2 degrees from the first wafer transfer mechanism, the first pitch conversion mechanism for converting the pitch between wafers in half,
A board supply mechanism for supplying the board to the first pitch conversion mechanism. Further, a board-to-processing-wafer transfer mechanism for clamping the board whose pitch has been converted by the first pitch converting mechanism, carrying the processed board out of the processing tank by carrying the board into the processing tank, and performing processing. A second pitch conversion mechanism for receiving the board carried out by the inter-processing-tank wafer transfer mechanism and performing an operation for restoring the pitch of the wafer, and removing the wafer from the board of the second pitch conversion mechanism. A second wafer transfer mechanism for re-inserting wafers into a cassette which has been transferred in a state where wafers have been extracted by the first wafer transfer mechanism, and a board from which wafers have been extracted; The cassette in which wafers are inserted by the second wafer transfer mechanism and the board return mechanism for returning the board to the board supply mechanism are horizontally moved. A second cassette posture changing mechanism changing the attitude to face direction,
A second cassette transport mechanism for transporting a cassette in which wafers are horizontally stored by the second cassette attitude changing mechanism to a cassette outlet of the wafer processing apparatus.

With this configuration, when a cassette in which a plurality of wafers are stored horizontally is loaded from the cassette loading port of the wafer processing apparatus, the cassette is transported to a predetermined position by the first cassette transport mechanism. During the transfer, the presence / absence of wafers in the cassette is detected by the single-wafer detection mechanism, and when the number of wafers is not a predetermined number, a signal for returning the cassette to the cassette entrance is generated. For this reason, when the number of sheets is insufficient, the cassette is returned to the carry-in port by the reverse transport of the first cassette transport mechanism.

The cassette conveyed to the predetermined position by the first cassette conveying mechanism is changed in posture by the first cassette posture changing mechanism so that the wafer take-out port faces upward. Then, the wafers in the cassette are notch aligned by the notch aligning mechanism, and the wafers are collectively clamped by the first wafer transfer mechanism and transferred onto the board of the first pitch conversion mechanism. This board is supplied to the first pitch conversion mechanism by the board supply mechanism.

The first pitch conversion mechanism receives the wafer on the board twice successively from the first wafer transfer mechanism and converts the pitch between the wafers into half. The method of converting the pitch is that the pitch of the board receiving the wafer is half the pitch of the cassette, and after receiving the first wafer at a time, the board is moved by a half pitch (half the pitch of the cassette). The second wafer is inserted between each of the wafers received first.

After the pitch is changed, the board is clamped by the board transfer mechanism between the processing tanks, and the board is transported together with the wafer into the processing tank, where the processed wafer is processed. It is carried out of the processing tank. The board taken out is received by the second pitch conversion mechanism. The wafers on the board received by the second pitch conversion mechanism are collectively clamped every other sheet by the second wafer transport mechanism, and are transported in a state where the wafers are extracted by the first wafer transport mechanism. Is reinserted into the cassette. Subsequently, the board of the second pitch conversion mechanism is moved by a half pitch, the remaining wafers are collectively clamped by the second wafer transfer mechanism, and the wafer is extracted by the first wafer transfer mechanism. It is reinserted into the next cassette that has been transported. The board from which the wafer has been removed is returned by the board return mechanism for reuse.

Then, the cassette into which the wafer has been inserted by the second wafer transport mechanism is changed in posture by the second cassette posture changing mechanism so that the wafer take-out port is oriented in the horizontal direction. The cassette is transported to the cassette outlet of the wafer processing apparatus by the transport mechanism. Also in this case, the cassette loaded from the cassette loading port of the wafer processing apparatus is automatically conveyed toward the wafer processing tank, and the wafer is taken out of the cassette before the processing tank, placed on a board, and transferred to the processing tank. Sent. The processed wafer is stored again in the cassette and automatically transferred to the cassette outlet of the wafer processing apparatus.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a wafer processing apparatus provided with a cassette loading / unloading mechanism according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a wafer processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. This wafer processing apparatus 1
Is divided into three sections as shown in the figure, and the center is configured as a processing section 2 in which various processing tanks for performing a wafer cleaning process and the like are arranged. On the left side of the processing section 2,
A cassette loading unit 3 is provided, and a cassette unloading unit 4 is provided on the right side.

The loading section 3 is a section that transports the wafer W storage cassette C loaded into the cassette loading port 1a of the wafer processing apparatus 1 to the processing section 2. Also, the unload section 4
Is a portion for storing the wafer W processed by the processing unit 2 again in the cassette C and transporting the wafer W to the cassette outlet 1b of the wafer processing apparatus 1.

In the cassette C, a plurality of wafers are stored horizontally (horizontally) at regular intervals. As shown in FIG. 2, when the wafers are loaded into the cassette inlet 1a of the wafer processing apparatus. The process is performed with the wafer unloading port Ca facing the cassette loading port 1a. Three positioning plates Cb are provided near the peripheral edge of the surface of the cassette C, and are used when the direction of the cassette C is changed. The arrow in the figure indicates the direction in which the cassette is taken out.

The loading section 3 transports the cassette C loaded into the cassette loading port 1a to the processing section 2 as described above.
The apparatus is configured by various devices for performing a cleaning process and the like of the wafer W stored in the cassette C. The configuration and operation of the load unit 3 will be described below.

The cassette C containing wafers (here, 12 inches) is carried into the cassette entrance 1a of the wafer processing apparatus 1 by a cassette transfer robot or the like. At this time, the wafer is loaded so that the wafer outlet Ca faces the back side of the wafer processing apparatus 1. The loaded cassette C is loaded on the turntable 11 of the first cassette direction changer 10 as shown in FIG. Three guide plates 11b are provided on the turntable 11, and a part of the positioning plate Cb of the cassette C on the center side is placed on each guide plate 11b.

The first cassette direction changer 10 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3A, a rotary mechanism 12 for rotating the rotary table 11 and an up-and-down mechanism 13 for raising and lowering the rotary table 11 are provided.
(A) It is rotated 90 degrees in the direction shown by the arrow, that is, clockwise. Next, the turntable 11 is lowered by the up-down mechanism 13, and the cassette C placed on the turntable 11 is moved to the worktable 2 with the first cassette direction changer 10 sandwiched from both sides.
Moved to 0. At that time, as shown in FIG.
The positioning plate Cb of the cassette C is placed on the guide plate 20b provided on the work table 20.
The turntable 11 descends to the lower end of the work table 20 and stops.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B,
The cassette feeder 30 waiting on the back side of the wafer processing apparatus 1 is moved to the front side of the processing apparatus 1 by a distance a by a feed mechanism (not shown), and the three pushers mounted on the cassette feeder 30 are moved. Lift cylinders 31a, 31b, 31
c is POS. 2, POS. 3, POS. 4 to POS.
1, POS. 2, POS. Move to position 3. PO
S. Push-up cylinder 3 that has moved directly below cassette 1
1a, the cassette C is moved up by the distance b and the cassette C is
Lift from.

The cassette feeding device 30 moves by a distance c toward the far side of the processing device 1 while the cassette C is placed on the push-up cylinder 31a. Stop when you are over 2. POS. 2, a single-wafer detecting mechanism 40 is disposed, detects the number of wafers in the cassette C, and if there is no predetermined number (here, 25), the cassette C is set to POS. A signal is generated to return the cassette C to the POS. Return to 1.

By the operation of the cassette feeding device 30, the PO
S. The cassette C conveyed to the position 4 and placed on the worktable 20 is lifted by raising the turntable of the second cassette direction changer 50 (same type as the first cassette direction changer 10) installed at this position. Then, when the turntable is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, the position of the cassette C is changed in the same direction as the first state of the cassette C loaded into the cassette inlet 1a of the wafer processing apparatus 1.

The cassette C placed on the ascending rotary table of the second cassette direction changer 50 is transported to a predetermined position by a cassette transfer device 60 arranged adjacently. The cassette transfer device 60 is shown in FIG.
As shown in a front view and (c) a plan view, a chucking mechanism 62 having a chucking arm 61 sandwiching the cassette C from the side is provided, and an up / down mechanism 63 for moving the chucking mechanism 62 up and down, and a 90-degree rotation And a lateral movement mechanism 65 for laterally moving on a rail drawn into the wafer processing apparatus 1.

POS. The cassette C placed on the turntable of the second cassette direction changer 50 at the position 4 is clamped by the chucking arms 61 of the cassette transfer device 60 moving the respective distances f. When the chucking arm 61 clamps the cassette C, the up-down mechanism 63
Is actuated and rises by the distance h. In this state, the lateral movement mechanism 65 is operated, and the processing device 1 is moved by a distance i (see FIG. 1).
Then, the vertical mechanism 63 moves down by the distance k to place the cassette C on the cassette attitude changing mechanism 70. POS. 5 is assumed. It should be noted that the first cassette transport mechanism referred to in the present invention includes a first cassette direction changer 10,
It comprises a work table 20, a cassette feeding device 30, a second cassette direction changer 50, a cassette transfer device 60, and the like.

The first cassette attitude changing mechanism 70 includes:
As shown in the plan view of FIG. 6A and the side view of FIG.
And the inner half 70a is bent in the vertical direction by approximately 85 to 88 degrees from the central portion. When the cassette C is placed, the cassette attitude changing mechanism 70 is leaned almost vertically at the rear half, the cassette outlet Ca is directed toward the ceiling, and the wafer is placed vertically. POS. 6 is assumed. Note that the leaning angle is about 85 to 8
The reason why the angle is set to 8 degrees is that the vertically placed wafers are guided by the wafer receiving ribs of the cassette C and the rattling in the cassette C is suppressed.

From this state, the cylinder 71 operates, and
The cassette attitude changing mechanism 70 slides on the rail L and moves to the front side of the processing apparatus 1 so that the cassette C becomes POS. 7
Stop when you reach the position. POS. 7, a notch aligning mechanism 80 as shown in FIG. 7 is provided. The notch alignment mechanism 80 includes a drive roller 81 and a guide roller 82, and these rollers 81,
And an up-and-down mechanism 83 for raising and lowering 82. When the cassette C comes to this position, the up-and-down mechanism 83 moves up, and the drive roller 81 and the guide roller 82 come into contact with the wafer W from the lower part of the cassette C and push up slightly, and rotate the wafer W in the cassette C. Perform notch alignment. When the notch alignment is completed, the rollers 81 and 82 are moved down to the lower end by the vertical mechanism 83 and stopped.

Next, the cylinder 71 of the cassette attitude converting mechanism 70 is operated, and the cassette attitude converting mechanism 70 moves to the original position toward the back of the processing apparatus 1 and stops.
POS. As shown in FIG. 8, a wafer lifting device 90 is disposed at the lower side of the position 6, and the wafer W in the cassette C is placed on the comb teeth 92 pushed up by the up-down mechanism 91 and the cassette W Lifted above C. 25 wafers W are stored in the cassette C, and the pitch is 10 mm.
A V-groove having a pitch of mm is provided, and the wafer W is dropped into the V-groove to hold the wafer W without wobbling.

With respect to the 25 wafers W lifted above the cassette C, as shown in FIGS.
Chucking arm 10 of first wafer transfer mechanism 100
1 (V groove pitch 10 mm) is the chucking mechanism 102
When the clamping operation 1 is performed by the above operation, and the lifting operation is further performed by the vertical movement mechanism 103 by the distance m, the 25 wafers W are held in the grooves of the chucking arm 101.
Next, the wafer W clamped by the lateral movement mechanism 104 is moved to the POS. Move to 8.

POS. 8, a first pitch conversion mechanism 110 as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B is arranged. The first pitch conversion mechanism 110 has comb teeth 111 for aligning wafers at an upper portion, and the comb teeth 111 are configured to be able to move up and down by an up-down mechanism 112.
It is also configured to be rotatable by a rotation mechanism 113. The pitch of the grooves for supporting the wafer W of the comb teeth 111 is 5 mm.
And has 50 grooves, and can support 50 wafers. Also, as shown in FIG.
Rotating shaft 11 of rotating mechanism 113 supporting comb teeth 111
The center O of 3a is 2.5 mm from the center O 'of the comb teeth 111.
Only in the parallel direction of the wafer W.

The 25 wafers W held by the chucking arm 101 of the first wafer transfer mechanism 100
Comes on the pitch conversion mechanism 110,
2, the comb teeth 111 are raised, and the wafer W is inserted into the V-grooves of the comb teeth 111, and is lifted and supported. Next, the chucking arm 101 opens to release the wafer W. The comb teeth 111 supporting the wafer W are lowered by the operation of the vertical mechanism 112.

Next, the rotation mechanism 113 of the first pitch conversion mechanism 110 rotates the comb teeth 111 by 180 degrees. The center O of the rotation shaft 113a and the center O 'of the comb teeth 111 are 2.5
of the comb teeth 111 provided at a pitch of 5 mm when rotated, the V-groove 111a on which the wafer W is not mounted becomes the first wafer transfer mechanism 1 in the next batch.
25 held by the chucking arm 101 of 00
The position is directly below the wafers W. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, when 25 wafers W held by the chucking arm 111 of the first wafer transfer mechanism 110 are opened in the next batch, the wafers W are stored in the comb teeth 111 in the previous batch. The next batch of wafers W will be stored in the V-grooves 111a between the respective wafers W.

In this case, as shown in FIG.
Chucking arm 10 of first wafer transfer mechanism 100
When 1 is lowered, as shown in FIG. 12B, between the chucking arm 101 and the left and right upper portions of the wafer W previously supported on the comb teeth 111 of the first pitch conversion mechanism 110, as shown in FIG. , An interference point P occurs. In order to prevent this, the chucking arm 101 is provided with FIG.
(B) As shown in FIG.
1a is processed. FIG. 13 (a) is the same as FIG.
FIG. 13B is a view taken in the direction of arrows YX, and FIG.
It is a YY arrow line view in (b). This slit 10
1a is a relief for the 25 wafers W stored on the comb teeth 111 in the first batch, and 2 of the second batch
The five wafers W can be inserted between the wafers W stored earlier. As a result, 50 wafers W are placed on the comb teeth 111 at a pitch of 5 mm.

The 50 wafers W placed on the comb teeth 111 for wafer alignment are then transferred to the processing section 2 by the inter-processing-tank wafer transfer mechanism 120 as shown in FIG.
The processing unit 2 is provided with a processing tank for performing processing such as cleaning, and performs processing of the transferred wafer W. The inter-processing-tank wafer transfer mechanism 120 has a pitch of 5 mm on the comb teeth 111 of the first pitch conversion mechanism 110 for aligning wafers.
The 50 wafers W arranged in mm are collectively clamped and transported to the processing unit 2, and the wafer W processed by the processing unit 2 is transported to the unload 4 side.

By the way, POS. The empty cassette C from which the wafer W has been extracted at the position 6 is in a state in which the wafer unloading port Ca faces upward, that is, is placed vertically, but is returned to the original position by the first cassette attitude converting mechanism 70 here. The posture is changed to horizontal. Next, the chucking arm 61 of the cassette transfer device 60 clamps the cassette C, the vertical mechanism 63 operates to raise the cassette C, and the rotating mechanism 64 operates to move the cassette C to the POS. Send to position 9.

POS. At the position 9, a cassette direction changer 130 is installed, and the transferred cassette C is moved to the position 9.
Turn clockwise 0 degrees. Next, the elevator mechanism 140
The empty cassette C is stored in the stocker section 150 at the ceiling.
Is transferred to the unloading section 4 by the inter-processing-tank wafer transfer mechanism 120 when the wafer W processed by the processing section 2 is transported to the unloading section 4. Is stored in.

The unloading section 4 has substantially the same configuration as the loading section 3 and performs the opposite operation. However, the notch alignment mechanism 80 and the sheet detection mechanism 40 are not provided. The wafer W carried out to the unloading section 4 by the inter-processing-tank wafer transfer mechanism 120 'is received by the second pitch conversion mechanism 110'.

The wafers W received by the second pitch conversion mechanism 110 'are collectively clamped every other sheet by the second wafer transfer mechanism 100', sent from the stocker unit 150, and sent by the cassette direction changer 130 '. The direction is changed, and the cassette is transferred into the cassette C transferred onto the second cassette attitude changing mechanism 70 'by the cassette transfer device 60'. The attitude of the cassette C into which the wafer W has been inserted by the second wafer transfer mechanism 100 'is changed by the second cassette attitude changing mechanism 70' such that the wafer outlet Ca faces in the horizontal direction. Subsequently, the comb teeth 111 ′ receiving the wafer W of the second pitch conversion mechanism 110 ′.
Is moved by a half pitch, the remaining wafers W are collectively clamped by the second wafer transfer mechanism 100 ', and then re-inserted into the cassette C that has been sent. Then, similarly, the posture is changed by the second cassette posture changing mechanism 70 'so that the wafer take-out port Ca is oriented in the horizontal direction. Subsequently, the cassette transfer device 60 ', the cassette direction changer 5
The cassette C is moved to the cassette outlet 1b of the wafer processing apparatus 1 by the second cassette transport mechanism according to the present invention comprising the cassette feeder 0 ', the cassette feeder 30', the worktable 20 ', and the first cassette direction changer 10'. Conveyed.

As described above, the cassette loaded from the cassette loading port of the wafer processing apparatus is automatically transported toward the wafer processing tank, and the wafer is taken out of the cassette before the processing tank and sent to the processing tank. The processed wafer is stored again in the cassette and automatically transferred to the cassette outlet of the wafer processing apparatus.

Next, another embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, the pitch conversion and the wafer alignment are performed by the wafer alignment comb teeth 111 of the first pitch conversion mechanism 110. However, as shown in FIGS. The wafer W may be transferred to the processing unit 2 by using it. Here, instead of the comb teeth 111, a board 160 having a V-groove for accommodating the wafer W at a pitch of 5 mm is installed in this portion. The board 160 is stocked on the ceiling of the wafer processing apparatus 1 and the elevator mechanism 17
0 (corresponding to the board supply mechanism of the present invention, see FIG. 1). After being transported to POS. 8 and is installed in the pitch conversion mechanism 180.

The first pitch conversion mechanism 180
81, a vertical mechanism 183 for raising and lowering the comb teeth 182 for the board is provided below the work surface 181.
A rotation mechanism 185 for rotating the board 160 mounted on the board mounting table 184 by 180 degrees is provided above. Board mounting table 18 rotated by rotation mechanism 185
The center O of 4 is eccentric in the direction parallel to the wafer W by 2.5 mm with respect to the rotation center O '. Therefore, when the board mounting table 184 is rotated by 180 degrees, the board mounting table 184 is rotated.
Moves 5 mm with respect to the rotation center O ′, and the board 160 placed on the board mounting table 184 also moves by 5 mm.
mm.

In the first batch, the 25 wafers W mounted on the board 160 at a pitch of 10 mm in the first batch are moved by 5 mm, and are moved by the chucking arm 101 of the first wafer transfer mechanism 100 to POS. The V-groove (5 m) of the board 160 for placing these wafers W directly under each of the 25 wafers W of the next batch transported to the next batch 8
m pitch).

Now, the comb teeth 182 for wafer alignment are raised by the up-down mechanism 185, and the 25 wafers W already mounted on the board 160 are mounted on the comb teeth 182 for wafer alignment, and further raised. I do. The 25 wafers W on the wafer alignment comb teeth 182 enter between the 25 wafers W of the second batch held by the chucking arm 101, and the 25 wafers W held by the arm 101 The wafer W is transferred onto the wafer alignment comb teeth 182. The wafer aligning comb teeth 182 are lowered with the 50 wafers W placed thereon, and transfer the wafer W onto the board 160.

Next, the board 160 on which the fifty wafers W are placed is transferred to the board transport mechanism 200 between processing tanks shown in FIG.
And is conveyed to the processing unit 2 to perform various kinds of processing. When the processing is completed, the board 160 on which the wafer W is placed is clamped by the inter-tank board transfer mechanism 200 and transferred to the unloading section 4. In the unloading section, the board 160 transported by the inter-treatment-tank board transport mechanism 200 is received by the second pitch conversion mechanism, and the pitch is converted by performing an operation reverse to that of the first pitch conversion mechanism 180. The wafer W is taken out by the section 3 and is stored in the cassette C that has been emptied. The empty board 160 is used as an elevator mechanism 170 '(corresponding to the board return mechanism of the present invention, see FIG. 1).
Is again stocked on the ceiling of the wafer processing apparatus 1.

As described above, this embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment in that the wafer W taken out of the cassette C is clamped by the inter-processing-tank wafer transfer mechanism 120 in the previous embodiment. In this case, the wafer W taken out of the cassette C is placed on the board 160, and the whole board 160 is transported to the processing unit 2 to process the wafer. It is made to be performed.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
After changing the attitude of the loaded cassette, aligning the notches, etc., the wafers are taken out and processed in a lump, and the processed wafers are stored again in the empty cassette. The processing speed is much faster than that of.
Further, since the pitch between the wafers is changed to half and the number of wafers is doubled at a time, the processing capacity can be remarkably improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cassette.

3A is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a cassette and a turntable of a first cassette direction changer, and FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a cassette and a worktable;

4A is a side view showing a relationship between a first cassette direction changer and a cassette feeder, and FIG. 4B is a plan view.

FIG. 5 shows a cassette transfer machine, (a) is a side view,
(B) is a front view, (c) is a plan view.

6A and 6B show a first cassette attitude changing mechanism, wherein FIG. 6A is a plan view and FIG. 6B is a side view.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a notch alignment mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the wafer lifting device.

9A and 9B show a first wafer transfer mechanism, wherein FIG. 9A is a front view and FIG. 9B is a side view.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show a first pitch conversion mechanism, wherein FIG. 10A is a front view and FIG. 10B is a plan view.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the comb teeth of the first pitch conversion mechanism, illustrating the pitch conversion.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a problem at the time of pitch conversion.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining a configuration for resolving a problem at the time of pitch conversion, wherein FIG. 13A is a view taken along the line XX of FIG. 12B, and FIG. It is a Y arrow view.

14A and 14B are diagrams illustrating a pitch conversion mechanism using a board according to another embodiment, wherein FIG. 14A is a front view of a first pitch conversion mechanism, and FIG. 14B illustrates movement of the board during pitch conversion. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wafer processing apparatus 1a Cassette carrying-in port 1b Cassette carrying-out 2 Processing part 3 Loading part 4 Unloading part 10 1st cassette direction changer 20 Work table 30 Cassette feeder 40 Single-sheet detection mechanism 50 2nd cassette direction changer 60 Cassette Transfer device 70 First cassette attitude conversion mechanism 80 Notch alignment mechanism 90 Wafer lifting device 100 First wafer transfer mechanism 110 First pitch conversion mechanism 120 Wafer transfer mechanism between processing tanks 130 Cassette direction changer 140 Elevator 150 Stocker unit 160 board 180 first pitch conversion mechanism for board 200 board transport mechanism between processing tanks

Claims (2)

[Claims] A first cassette transport mechanism for transporting a cassette loaded with a plurality of wafers horizontally from a cassette entrance to a predetermined position, and a first cassette transport mechanism being transported by the first cassette transport mechanism; When the presence or absence of a wafer in the cassette is detected and the number of wafers is not a predetermined number, the wafer is transported by the single-sheet detection mechanism that generates a signal for returning the cassette to the cassette loading port, and the first cassette transport mechanism. A first cassette attitude converting mechanism for changing the attitude of the cassette so that the wafer take-out port faces upward, and a notch alignment for aligning a notch of a wafer in the cassette which has become substantially vertical by the first cassette attitude converting mechanism. A first wafer transfer mechanism that collectively clamps and transfers the wafers whose notches are aligned by the notch alignment mechanism; and a first wafer transfer mechanism. A first pitch conversion mechanism that receives the wafer twice and converts the pitch between the wafers into half, and collectively clamps the wafer whose pitch has been converted by the first pitch conversion mechanism and carries the wafer into the processing tank. Wafer transfer mechanism for carrying out the processed wafers from the processing tank, and receiving the wafers carried out by the wafer transfer mechanism between the processing tanks, and returning the pitch of the wafers to the original state. And a second pitch conversion mechanism for performing an operation for clamping a wafer every other sheet from the second pitch conversion mechanism, and transporting the wafer in a state where the wafer is extracted by the first wafer transport mechanism. A second wafer transfer mechanism for re-inserting wafers into the cassette, and a cassette in which wafers have been inserted by the second wafer transfer mechanism. A second cassette posture changing mechanism changing the attitude to face horizontal direction, a second for transporting the cassette wafer is housed horizontally by the second cassette posture changing mechanism to the cassette unloading opening
And a cassette transport mechanism. 2. A first cassette transport mechanism for transporting a cassette loaded with a plurality of wafers horizontally from a cassette transport entrance and holding a plurality of wafers to a predetermined position, and a first cassette transport mechanism being transported by the first cassette transport mechanism. When the presence or absence of a wafer in the cassette is detected and the number of wafers is not a predetermined number, the wafer is transported by the single-sheet detection mechanism that generates a signal for returning the cassette to the cassette loading port, and the first cassette transport mechanism. A first cassette attitude converting mechanism for changing the attitude of the cassette so that the wafer take-out port faces upward, and a notch alignment for aligning a notch of a wafer in the cassette which has become substantially vertical by the first cassette attitude converting mechanism. A first wafer transfer mechanism that collectively clamps and transfers the wafers whose notches are aligned by the notch alignment mechanism; and a first wafer transfer mechanism. A first pitch conversion mechanism for receiving the wafer on the board twice and converting the pitch between the wafers into half, a board supply mechanism for supplying the board to the first pitch conversion mechanism, An inter-processing-board board transfer mechanism for clamping a board whose pitch has been converted by the first pitch converting mechanism, carrying the processed board out of the processing tub while carrying the processed board into the processing tub, A second pitch conversion mechanism for receiving a board carried out by the board transfer mechanism between processing tanks and performing an operation for returning the pitch of the wafer to an original state; and transferring one wafer from the board of the second pitch conversion mechanism. A second wafer transfer for re-inserting a wafer into a cassette which has been transferred in a state where the wafer has been taken out by the first wafer transfer mechanism by collectively clamping every other wafer A board return mechanism for returning the board from which the wafer has been extracted to the board supply mechanism; and a cassette in which the wafer has been inserted by the second wafer transport mechanism, such that the wafer outlet is oriented horizontally. A second cassette attitude converting mechanism for changing the position of the cassette, and a second cassette attitude converting mechanism for transporting a cassette in which wafers are horizontally stored by the second cassette attitude converting mechanism to a cassette outlet.
And a cassette transport mechanism.