JP2000124288A - Board carrying method and board carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transfer a board even when there is a hydrophobic region on the surface of a board. SOLUTION: An upper arm UA of a first intermediate carrying robot 181 holds a wafer W by sucking the bottom of the wafer W. A spin chuck 22 is so made as to be lifted up and down by a two-stage cylinder mechanism 70. Elongation of a rod 71a of the cylinder on the first stage brings the retention claw 25 of the spin chuck 22 and the wafer W sufficiently close to each other. Then, the suction of the wafer W on the upper arm UA is released. Next, a rod 72a of the cylinder 72 on the second stage is extended, and the transfer of the wafer W from upper arm UA to the spin chuck 25 is achieved. Hereby, by the hem of the bottom of the wafer W abutting on the retention claw 25 with the treatment liquid on the hydrophobic surface of the wafer, even if moment is given to the wafer after the release of suction, the attitude change of the wafer W is regulated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer,
A substrate processing apparatus that performs processing on various substrates to be processed, such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device and a glass substrate for a PDP (plasma display panel), especially a CMP (Chem
Technical Field The present invention relates to a substrate transport method and a substrate transport device in a substrate cleaning apparatus after a ical mechanical polishing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a substrate processing apparatus for performing various processes on a surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wafer") is used. In the substrate processing apparatus, a wafer is handled by a transfer robot, and the transfer robot loads and unloads the wafer to and from the processing unit. As such a transfer robot, a suction robot that suctions the center of the back surface of the wafer has been used.

FIG. 8 shows a wafer processing unit
FIG. 3 is a simplified perspective view showing a configuration of a suction-type transfer robot 2 for carrying in a robot. The transfer robot 2 includes a lower arm 3 that rotates in a horizontal plane, and an upper arm 4 that rotates in a horizontal plane at the tip of the lower arm 3. The lower arm 3 and the upper arm 4 rotate in conjunction with each other. When the lower arm 3 rotates, the upper arm 4 rotates the lower arm 3 in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the lower arm 3. It is designed to rotate by twice the moving angle. At the tip of the upper surface of the upper arm 4, a suction unit 5 for suctioning the lower surface of the wafer W is provided. With this configuration, the lower arm 3 and the upper arm 4 bend and extend, so that the suction unit 5 can be moved forward and backward with respect to the wafer processing unit 1, and the lower surface of the wafer W is suctioned by the suction unit 5. Thereby, the wafer W can be held in a substantially horizontal state.

The wafer processing section 1 includes a processing cup 7 and a spin chuck 8 disposed in the processing cup 7 and capable of rotating while holding the wafer W horizontally. The spin chuck 8 includes a main body 9 rotated around a vertical axis by a rotation driving mechanism (not shown), and a main body 9.
And a plurality of holding claws 1 erected on the
0. The spin chuck 8 is configured to be able to move up and down within a certain range in order to transfer the wafer W to and from the transfer robot 2.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the flow of operations when the wafer W is transferred from the transfer robot 2 to the wafer processing section 1. The transfer robot 2 holds the lower arm 3 and the upper arm 4
When the wafer W is transported to a position above the spin chuck 8 and stopped, the suction of the wafer W by the suction unit 5 is released in the state of FIG. Following the release of the suction, as shown in FIG. 9B, the spin chuck 8 is raised, and the wafer W is delivered from the upper arm 4 to the holding claws 10 of the spin chuck 8. Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, the lower arm 3 and the upper arm 4 are folded and retracted. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9D, the spin chuck 8 is lowered to a predetermined processing height.
At this processing height, the spin chuck 8 is rotated. In this way, while the wafer W is being rotated, for example, a processing liquid (chemical solution or pure water) is supplied from a nozzle (not shown) toward the upper surface or the back surface of the wafer W, and the processing on the wafer W is performed.

[0006]

There are various types of processing to be performed on a wafer. In the course of this processing, the surface of the wafer becomes hydrophilic in accordance with the content of the immediately preceding processing. Or become hydrophobic. For example, the surface of a wafer after CMP processing for chemically and physically polishing the surface of the wafer using a slurry (abrasive) is often hydrophobic.

However, it has become clear that the above-mentioned suction type transfer robot cannot always transfer wafers having a hydrophobic surface particularly well. This problem will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.
Usually, some processing liquid 11 remains on the surface of the wafer W immediately after processing with a processing liquid such as pure water or a chemical solution. Further, in the case of the wafer W after the CMP process, since the removal of the slurry on the surface becomes difficult when the slurry on the surface is dried, the surface of the wafer W is often intentionally covered with pure water. .

However, if the surface of the wafer W is hydrophobic, the processing liquid 11 cannot spread uniformly on the upper surface of the wafer W. It can easily move on the upper surface of the wafer W. If the processing liquid 11 on the upper surface of the wafer W is displaced from the center of the wafer W at the stage of releasing the suction on the back surface of the wafer W (see FIG. 9A), the weight of the processing liquid 11 Therefore, a moment about the tip of the beam-shaped upper arm 4 as a fulcrum is given to the wafer W, for example. Therefore, the wafer W is transferred by the transfer robot 2.
Is moved above the spin chuck 8 to release the suction of the substrate by the suction unit 5, at which point (before the transfer of the wafer W to the spin chuck 8 is completed).
The wafer W may fall from the upper arm 4 and cause a transfer failure.

If a transfer failure occurs, it is necessary to temporarily stop the operation of the apparatus and remove the wafer W in which the transfer failure has occurred, so that the production efficiency is deteriorated and the defective wafer W is generated. Will also lead to a decline. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described technical problem and to provide a substrate transfer method and a substrate transfer device that can perform substrate transfer well even when a hydrophobic region is present on the substrate surface. .

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a substrate transfer hand for transferring a substrate while sucking and holding the lower surface of the substrate; A method of transporting a substrate to substrate holding means for holding a substrate in contact with the substrate holding means, wherein the substrate transfer hand holding the substrate by suction is positioned above the substrate holding means. A horizontal moving step of moving the substrate carrying hand and the substrate holding means, which are horizontally moved by the horizontal moving step, with respect to the vertical direction; A suction releasing step of releasing the suction of the substrate of the substrate transfer hand brought close to the substrate holding means, and a substrate on the substrate transfer hand released by the suction in the suction releasing step As delivered to the substrate holding means is a substrate transfer method which comprises a displacement step of relatively displaced along the aforementioned substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means in the vertical direction.

According to the present invention, the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means are brought close to each other, and the suction of the substrate by the substrate transfer hand is released in a state where these are brought close to each other. At this time, even if the posture of the substrate whose suction has been released changes, this change in posture is regulated by the lower surface of the substrate abutting on the substrate holding means. Therefore, the substrate does not fall.

After the suction of the substrate is released, the substrate is transferred from the substrate transfer hand to the substrate holding means by the vertical displacement of the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means. As described above, according to the present invention, the change in the posture of the substrate after the suction holding is released can be regulated by the substrate holding means. Delivery of the substrate to the holding means can be reliably performed. This eliminates the need to stop the operation of the substrate processing apparatus and to discard the substrate due to the failure of the delivery of the substrate, thereby improving the productivity and contributing to the reduction of the production cost.

[0013] The substrate holding means may hold the substrate by contacting the edge of the lower surface of the substrate. Specifically, the substrate holding means may include a holding claw having a substrate contact portion that contacts an edge of the lower surface of the substrate. The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate transfer method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer hand transfers the substrate after the CMP processing.

Since the slurry remains on the surface of the substrate after the CMP process, the slurry is dried in order to prevent the slurry from drying.
In many cases, moisture is supplied to the surface of the substrate. In such a situation, the movement of moisture on the substrate surface tends to cause a change in the posture of the substrate from which the suction and holding has been released. In the present invention, however, such a change in the posture of the substrate is effectively regulated, and the transfer of the substrate is performed. Can be performed reliably. That is, the present invention can provide a particularly large effect when the substrate after the CMP processing is transported.

The invention according to claim 3 is the substrate transfer method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the substrate transfer hand transfers a substrate having a hydrophobic surface. If water is present on the hydrophobic surface, the water becomes water droplets and easily moves on the hydrophobic surface. Since the movement of the water droplet gives a moment to the substrate, the posture of the substrate after the suction holding is released is made unstable. According to the present invention, even in such a situation, it is possible to effectively restrict the change in the posture of the substrate and transfer the substrate. That is, the present invention is particularly effective when transporting a substrate having a hydrophobic surface.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, any one of the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means is connected and provided, and in the approaching step, the first stage cylinder and the second stage cylinder are connected in series. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of activating the first cylinder of the connected two-stage cylinder mechanism, wherein the displacing step includes the step of activating the second cylinder of the two-stage cylinder mechanism. Item 4. The substrate transfer method according to any one of Items 1 to 3.

In the present invention, the approach step and the displacement step are realized by utilizing the two-stage cylinder mechanism.
Therefore, required steps can be performed with a simple configuration, and the relative positional relationship between the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means in each step can be reliably regulated. Preferably, the two-stage cylinder mechanism is arranged to move the substrate holding means up and down relatively to the substrate transport hand. More specifically, for example, the first-stage and second-stage cylinders are connected in series in the vertical direction, and the relative movement of the substrate holding means with respect to the substrate transfer hand is caused by the expansion and contraction of each rod. It may be realized. The operation of the cylinder is, specifically, to extend or contract the rod of the cylinder, whereby the substrate transfer hand or the substrate holding means connected to the cylinder rod moves in the vertical direction. I do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a substrate is transported from a substrate transport hand which transports a substrate while sucking and holding the lower surface of the substrate to substrate holding means for holding the substrate in contact with the lower surface of the substrate. A substrate transfer device, a suction release unit that releases suction of a substrate of the substrate transfer hand, a horizontal moving unit that relatively horizontally moves the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding unit, and the substrate transfer hand. Elevating means for relatively elevating and lowering the substrate holding means, and guiding the substrate transfer hand holding the substrate by suction to the upper side of the substrate holding means by the horizontal moving means; After approaching the substrate holding means, the suction of the substrate of the substrate transfer hand is released by the suction releasing means, and thereafter, the substrate transfer hand released from the suction is released. The substrate on to pass to the substrate holding means by said lifting means, said horizontal moving means,
A substrate transport device comprising: a control unit configured to control operations of the lifting unit and the suction releasing unit.

With this configuration, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be achieved. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the elevating means is provided so as to be connected to one of the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means, and a first-stage cylinder and a second-stage cylinder are connected in series. The control unit, after operating the first-stage cylinder, releases the suction of the substrate of the substrate transfer hand by the suction release unit, and thereafter controls the second-stage cylinder. 6. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transfer of the substrate from the substrate transfer hand to the substrate holding means is performed by operating the substrate transfer apparatus.

According to this configuration, the same effect as the fourth aspect of the invention can be achieved.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a simplified internal configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus as a substrate processing apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
The substrate cleaning apparatus 120 is an apparatus for cleaning the surface of a wafer subjected to a CMP process. In the CMP process, the surface of the wafer (the surface of the wafer itself or the surface of the thin film formed on the surface of the wafer itself) using a polishing slurry
Is polished. On the surface of the wafer after the CMP process,
Contaminants such as polishing slurry and film material removed by polishing are attached. The substrate cleaning device 120 is used to remove these contaminants.

Behind the front panel 121 of the substrate cleaning apparatus 120, a plurality of wafers after CMP processing are held, and an underwater loader 13 for supplying these wafers one by one.
1 and a cassette 13 for accommodating the cleaned wafers
7 on which an unloader 132 is placed.
The underwater loader 131 can immerse the cassette 133 in which a plurality of wafers before the cleaning process are stored in the water stored in the water tank 134.

The wafer processed by the substrate cleaning apparatus 120 is transported through a U-shaped path 140 in a plan view from the underwater loader 131 to the unloader 132. In the process, a cleaning process and a drying process are performed. It has become. That is, along this path 140, the double-sided brush cleaning unit 1 is sequentially arranged from the underwater loader 131 side.
50, surface brush cleaning unit 160, water washing / drying processing unit 17
0 is arranged.

Further, on the path 140, the underwater loader 1
The first intermediate transfer robot 181 is disposed between the double-sided brush cleaning unit 150 and the front surface brush cleaning unit 160, and the first intermediate transfer robot 181 is disposed between the double-sided brush cleaning unit 150 and the front surface brush cleaning unit 160. 160 and the washing / drying processing unit 170, the second intermediate transfer robot 182
Are disposed, and the washing / drying processing section 170 and the unloader 13
2, an unloader transfer robot 142 is disposed. That is, these transfer robots 141, 18
The wafers are conveyed between the processing units from the underwater loader 131 to the unloader 132 by 1,182 and 142, so that the wafers are conveyed along the U-shaped path 140, and the double-sided brush cleaning, the surface cleaning and After being subjected to a process such as washing and drying, it is accommodated in a cassette 137 arranged in the unloader 132.

Pure water is supplied from a shower nozzle (not shown) to the surface of the wafer being transferred by the loader transfer robot 141, the first intermediate transfer robot 181 and the second intermediate transfer robot 182. As a result, pure water is always applied to the surface of the wafer during the transfer, preventing the slurry from drying on the wafer surface and facilitating the removal of the slurry.

The unloader transfer robot 142 includes a bending / stretching robot constituted by a pair of upper and lower arms 143 and 144, and a linear transfer mechanism (not shown) for reciprocating the bending / stretching robot linearly along a path 140. And a lifting mechanism (not shown) for raising and lowering the bending and stretching robot. That is, the lower arm 144 of the bending and stretching robot is rotatable along a horizontal plane, and the upper arm 143 is connected to the lower arm 144.
Is mounted so that it can freely rotate along a horizontal plane. When the lower arm 144 rotates, the upper arm 143 is configured to rotate in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the lower arm 144 by twice the rotation angle of the lower arm 144. The entire bending and stretching robot is held by the elevating mechanism, and the elevating mechanism is
It is supported by a carriage (not shown) of the linear transport mechanism. The linear transport mechanism may be, for example, a ball screw mechanism.

The double-sided brush cleaning unit 150 includes a plurality of (six in this embodiment) holding rollers 151 for horizontally holding the wafer loaded by the loader transfer robot 141 and rotating the wafer in a horizontal plane. A pair of disk brushes 153 are provided so as to sandwich the wafer horizontally held by the holding rollers 151 from above and below. With this configuration, while rotating the wafer with the holding roller 151, the disc brush 153 is pressed against the front and back surfaces of the wafer and rotated, whereby the entire area of the front and back surfaces of the wafer can be scrub-cleaned. at the same time,
A processing liquid such as buffered hydrofluoric acid or pure water is supplied to the front and back surfaces of the wafer. This makes it possible to remove a slurry having a relatively large particle diameter from the slurry on the surface of the wafer after the CMP processing.

The front brush cleaning section 160 removes the small particle foreign matter remaining on the surface of the wafer after the relatively large particle foreign substance is removed by the processing in the double-side brush cleaning section 150 and performs precision cleaning. To do. The surface brush cleaning unit 160 includes a spin chuck 22 that horizontally holds and rotates the wafer, and a scan brush 16 that scrubs the surface of the wafer held by the spin chuck 22.
3 is provided.

The scan brush 163 is a disk-type brush that is driven to rotate around a rotation axis along a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the wafer, and a rocker that supports the rotation brush downward at its tip. The swing arm includes a swing arm and a swing drive mechanism that swings the swing arm around a vertical axis set outside the wafer held by the spin chuck 22. With this configuration, by rotating the swing arm, the rotating brush can be repeatedly reciprocated along the radial direction of the wafer from the center position to the peripheral edge. Thereby, it is possible to scrub almost the entire surface of the wafer. At this time, a processing liquid such as buffered hydrofluoric acid or pure water is supplied to the surface of the wafer from a processing liquid nozzle (not shown).

The washing / drying processing section 170 includes a spin chuck 171 for horizontally holding and rotating the wafer, and a pure water nozzle (not shown) for supplying pure water to the wafer held by the spin chuck 171. And With this configuration, the front and rear surfaces of the wafer can be rinsed with pure water while rotating, and then the supply of pure water can be stopped, whereby the water on the front and back surfaces of the wafer can be shaken off.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view showing the configuration in the vicinity of the surface brush cleaning section 160, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. Surface brush cleaning unit 1
Numeral 60 denotes a container-like processing cup 21 arranged in a rectangular processing chamber C1 in plan view, and the processing cup 2
1 and the above-described spin chuck 22 disposed therein. The spin chuck 22 includes a rotating shaft 23 that is driven to rotate around a vertical axis by a rotation driving mechanism 30, a plate-shaped chuck body 24 that is horizontally fixed to an upper end of the rotating shaft 23, and an upright standing on the chuck body 24. And a plurality of (six in this embodiment) holding claws 25. The chuck body 24 includes a plurality of (six in this embodiment) arms 2 radially extending in a direction away from the rotation shaft 23.
6 and holding claws 25 near the tip of each arm 26.
Is erected. The holding claw 25 has an end surface regulating portion that regulates the end surface of the wafer W, and a substrate contact portion that contacts the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the wafer W. The rotating shaft 23 is moved up and down by a lifting drive mechanism 31, whereby the chuck body 24 and the holding claws 25 can be moved up and down.

In the processing chamber C1, a wafer outlet 72 for unloading the processed wafer W is formed in the side wall 71 on the second intermediate transfer robot 182 side.
On the side wall 73 on the side of the intermediate transfer robot 181, a wafer entrance 74 for carrying in the wafer W before processing is formed. As shown in a simplified perspective view in FIG. 3, the first intermediate transfer robot 181 includes a lower arm LA that is turned around a vertical axis, and an upper end that turns along a horizontal plane at the tip of the lower arm LA. And an arm UA. In the vicinity of the tip of the upper arm UA, a suction unit 43 for suctioning the back surface of the wafer W is provided. The lower arm LA is configured to be rotated by an arm drive source 45 (see FIG. 2) including a motor and the like. The upper arm UA rotates in conjunction with the lower arm LA by the action of an interlocking mechanism (not shown).
At this time, the upper arm UA rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the lower arm LA by an angle twice the rotation angle of the lower arm LA. Thereby, the lower arm LA and the upper arm U
A is capable of bending and stretching, and a double-sided brush cleaning unit 1
50 (see FIG. 7) to receive the wafer W after the processing in the double-sided brush cleaning unit 150.
In this state, the wafer W is horizontally moved by contracting and further expanding toward the surface brush cleaning unit 160,
The wafer W can be carried into the front brush cleaning unit 160.

The configuration of the loader transfer robot 141 and the second intermediate transfer robot 182 is the same as that of the first intermediate transfer robot 181.
1 and FIG. 7, the first part in FIG.
The same reference numerals as those of the corresponding parts of the intermediate transfer robot 181 are attached. As shown in FIG. 2, the first intermediate transfer robot 181 is provided with a suction source 4 through a suction pipe 41.
0 is connected, and by opening and closing a valve 42 interposed in the middle of the suction pipe 41, suction and release of the suction in the suction section 43 can be performed. The opening and closing control of the valve 42 is performed by the control unit 47.

The control unit 47 further includes an arm driving source 4
5. Control the operations of the rotation drive mechanism 30 and the lift drive mechanism 31. Thereby, the control unit 47 controls the operation of transferring the wafer W from the first intermediate transfer robot 181 to the spin chuck 22. The second intermediate transfer robot 182 can transfer the wafer W from the surface brush cleaning unit 160 to the water washing / drying processing unit 170 in the same manner as the first intermediate transfer robot 181. The operation of the arm drive source of the second intermediate transfer robot 182 and the opening and closing of a valve for suctioning and releasing the wafer W are also performed by the control unit 4.
7 is controlled.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a specific configuration example of the rotary drive mechanism 30 and the lift drive mechanism 31. The rotation shaft 23 of the spin chuck 22 is rotatably accommodated in the holding cylinder 50. The holding cylinder 50 includes a slide guide portion 52G fixed to a holding frame 52 erected on the frame 51.
And is slidably held up and down. A pair of guide rods 54 (located before and after the holding cylinder 50 in FIG. 4) are provided in the vicinity of the intermediate portion of the holding cylinder 50 via a fixture 53 in parallel with the holding cylinder 50. ing. The pair of guide bars 54 pass through the slide guide portion 52G so as to be able to slide up and down.

The lower end of the holding cylinder 50 is supported by a lifting frame 55. The rotating shaft 23 penetrates the elevating frame 55 and projects further below the holding cylinder 50. A lower end of the rotating shaft 23 is connected to a bearing 57 fixed to the lifting frame 55.
, And a pulley 56 is fixed in the vicinity thereof. The pulley 56 is provided with a rotation of a driving pulley 59 fixed to a driving shaft of a motor 58, and a belt 60.
Is transmitted via the Internet. The motor 58 is
It is fixed to the lifting frame 55. Therefore, the motor 58
When this is urged, the rotation shaft 23 rotates, and the chuck body 24 rotates integrally therewith. Thus, the rotation drive mechanism 30 is constituted by the motor 58, the belt 60, and the like.

The elevating drive mechanism 31 includes a first stage cylinder 7
1 and a two-stage cylinder mechanism 70 in which a second-stage cylinder 72 is connected and arranged in series along the vertical direction of the spin chuck 22. That is, the first-stage cylinder 71
Is attached to the frame 51 so that the rod 71a can expand and contract in the vertical direction.
The second-stage cylinder 72 is attached so that the rod 72a can expand and contract in the vertical direction. The rod 72a of the second-stage cylinder 72 is
It is fixed using a fixing tool 61. The second-stage cylinder 72 is vertically movably supported by a linear guide mechanism (not shown) in the vertical direction.

By operating the first-stage cylinder 71 or the second-stage cylinder 72, the lifting frame 55 moves up and down, and the holding tube 54 is guided by the slide guide 52G accordingly. While moving up and down.
Thereby, the vertical movement of the spin chuck 22 is achieved. In this embodiment, the expansion / contraction stroke of the rod 71a of the first-stage cylinder 71 is
The extension stroke of the second rod 72a is larger than that of the second rod 72a. Therefore, by operating the first-stage cylinder 71, a large difference in elevation and a quick vertical displacement are possible, and by operating the second-stage cylinder 72, a small vertical displacement with a small height difference is possible. is there.

First and second stage cylinders 71 and 72
When both of the rods 71a and 72a are in the contracted state, the spin chuck 22 is at the lowermost position, and in this state, the spin chuck 22 is rotated to process the wafer W. At this time, the height of the spin chuck 22 is
Hereinafter, it is referred to as “processing height”. When both the rods 71a and 72a of the first and second stage cylinders 71 and 72 are in the extended state, the spin chuck 22 is at the uppermost position, and the rod 71a of the first stage cylinder 71 is extended. In this state, when the rod 72a of the second-stage cylinder 72 is in the contracted state, the spin chuck 22 is at the intermediate position. When receiving an unprocessed wafer W from the first intermediate transfer robot 181, the spin chuck 22 waits at the intermediate position, and then moves from the intermediate position to the uppermost position. In the process, the upper arm UA receives the wafer W from the first intermediate transfer robot 181. So, below,
The height of the spin chuck 22 at the intermediate position is referred to as “standby height”, and the height of the spin chuck 22 at the uppermost position is referred to as “transfer completion height”.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative view sequentially showing a flow of an operation of transferring the wafer W from the first intermediate transfer robot 181 to the spin chuck 22. First intermediate transfer robot 18
1 is to expand / contract the lower arm LA and the upper arm UA to horizontally move the wafer W held by suction at the suction section 43 at the tip of the upper arm UA, and to move the wafer W from the double-sided brush cleaning section 150 to the surface brush cleaning section 160. The wafer W is loaded (horizontal movement step). At this time, the control unit 47 (see FIG. 2), as shown in FIG.
Both cylinders 71, 72 of the step are kept in a contracted state. Therefore, the spin chuck 22 is at the processing height.

The first intermediate transfer robot 181 moves the wafer W
Is horizontally moved to a position immediately above the spin chuck 22, and then the controller 47 extends the rod 71a of the first-stage cylinder 71 (approaching step). At this time, the second-stage cylinder 72 remains in the contracted state. Therefore, the spin chuck 22 is at the standby height. This state is shown in FIG. In this state, the holding claw 25 of the spin chuck 22 is at a position sufficiently close to and below the wafer W held by the first intermediate transfer robot 181.

After the spin chuck 22 is guided to the standby height, the control unit 47 controls the first intermediate transfer robot 181 to release the suction holding of the wafer W by the suction unit 23 (suction release step). Specifically, the valve 42 (see FIG. 2) is closed. At this time, if a treatment liquid or pure water is present on the surface of the wafer W that has become hydrophobic, the wafer W
Moment will work. However, the holding claws 25
Is located close to and below the periphery of the wafer W,
As shown in FIG. 6, even if the wafer W is inclined, the lower surface of the edge thereof comes into contact with the substrate contact portion 25 a of the holding claw 25, and the change in the posture of the wafer W is regulated. Therefore, the wafer W does not fall.

In order to prevent the wafer W from dropping, the standby height should be set so that the vertical distance between the substrate contact portion 25a of the holding claw 25 and the wafer W is about 10 mm or less. Is preferred. When the suction holding of the wafer W is released, as shown in FIG. 5C, the controller 47 extends the rod 72a of the second-stage cylinder 72 (displacement step). The first stage cylinder 71 remains in the extended state. As a result, the spin chuck 22 rises to the delivery completion height. The spin chuck 22
In the process of moving from the standby height to the transfer completion height, the wafer W whose suction holding has been released is transferred to the first intermediate transfer robot 1.
81 from the upper arm UA to the holding claw 2 of the spin chuck 22
5 and the holding claw 25 stably holds the lower surface of the peripheral portion at a plurality of locations.

Thereafter, the control unit 47 causes the upper arm UA and the lower arm LA of the first intermediate transfer robot 181 to be folded. Thus, when the upper and lower arms UA, LA are retracted from the processing chamber C1, the control unit 47 causes the first-stage and second-stage cylinders 71, 72 to rotate the spin chuck 2
2 is lowered to the processing height. The first and second stage cylinders 71 and 72 may be contracted one by one, but by simultaneously contracting both cylinders 71 and 72, the spin chuck 22 can be quickly brought to the processing height. I can guide you.

Then, the controller 47 controls the rotation drive mechanism 30
(Specifically, the motor 58) is energized to rotate the spin chuck 2
2 is rotated, and discharge of the processing liquid from a nozzle (not shown) is started. The processed wafer W is taken out of the processing chamber C1 by the second intermediate transfer robot 182. The transfer of the wafer W at this time is different from the transfer of the wafer W from the first intermediate transfer robot 181 to the spin chuck 22 in general, and it is not necessary to perform the two-step operation of the two-step cylinder mechanism 70. That is, the first stage and the second stage cylinders 71 and 72 are both in the extended state, and the spin chuck is guided to the delivery completion height.
After the upper arm UA of the second intermediate transfer robot 182 enters, the suction mechanism of the second intermediate transfer robot 182 is operated (that is, the valve of the suction pipe is opened). Thereafter, the first and second stage cylinders 71, 72
At the same time, the spin chuck 22 descends to the processing height without any step, and in the process, the wafer W is transferred to the upper arm UA of the second intermediate transfer robot 182, and at the same time, the wafer W The lower surface is suction-held by the suction portion 43 on the upper surface of the upper arm UA. Thereafter, the arms UA and LA of the second intermediate transfer robot 182 are retracted.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the first
When the wafer W is transferred from the intermediate transfer robot 181 to the spin chuck 22, the suction and holding of the wafer W is released in a state where the spin chuck 22 is sufficiently close to the wafer W sucked and held by the upper arm UA. I have to. Therefore, even if the wafer W after releasing the suction holding is about to fall off from the upper arm UA, the lower surface of the wafer W can be supported by the holding claws 25 of the spin chuck 22, so that the wafer W may drop. There is no danger of transport failure.

Therefore, even if the surface of the wafer W after the CMP processing is hydrophobic and the processing liquid such as pure water easily moves on the surface, it is possible to reliably transfer the wafer W. it can. As a result, since the apparatus does not stop due to a conveyance failure, productivity is remarkably improved. In addition, since all the wafers W can be transferred well, the wafers W are not wasted.
This can contribute to a reduction in the production cost of the semiconductor device.

Further, in this embodiment, the lifting drive mechanism 31 is constituted by a two-stage cylinder mechanism 70,
Therefore, the structure is simple, and the spin chuck 22 can be quickly and reliably moved up and down between the processing height, the standby height, and the transfer completion height. In particular, since a cylinder having a larger stroke than the cylinder 72 of the second stage is adopted as the first stage cylinder 71, a relatively long stroke ascending movement from the processing height to the standby height is performed at a stretch, and quickly. In addition, it is possible to make the substrate transferable. Thereafter, the wafer W can be transferred between the upper arm UA and the spin chuck 22 by the operation of the second-stage cylinder 72 having a short stroke, so that reliable transfer can be performed. At this time, by more slowly extending the rod 72a of the second-stage cylinder 72, it is possible to more reliably transfer the wafer.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention can be embodied in other forms. For example, in the above embodiment, the spin chuck 22 is moved up and down by the two-stage cylinder mechanism 70, but the same operation may be realized by a single-stage cylinder. That is, an elevating drive mechanism for raising and lowering the spin chuck 22 by a single-stage cylinder is configured, and the rod of the cylinder is stopped at the lower end position, the intermediate position, and the upper end position, thereby setting the spin chuck 22 to the processing height and the standby height, respectively. And the delivery completion height. However, in this case, since the rod needs to be stopped at the intermediate position, the operating speed of the cylinder is limited to some extent.

In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the first-stage cylinder 71 having a large stroke was arranged below and the second-stage cylinder 72 having a small stroke was arranged above. Even if the vertical relationship between the first cylinder 71 and the second-stage cylinder 72 is reversed, the same operation as that described above can be performed. In the above-described embodiment, the two-stage cylinder mechanism 70 includes the first-stage cylinder 71
And the second-stage cylinder 72 are directly connected in series in the up-down direction. However, the two cylinders 71, 72 may be connected by a bracket member having an appropriate shape, and may not be connected in series. The two-stage cylinder mechanism 70 may be a single cylinder in which two cylinders are integrally incorporated.

Furthermore, in order to increase the number of stages of the cylinder mechanism, three or more stages of cylinders may be connected in series if necessary. In addition to the cylinder, the lifting drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the spin chuck 22 includes:
A linear motion mechanism (for example, a ball screw or the like) using a motor as a drive source may be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the spin chuck 22 is raised, the spin chuck 22 is first raised to the standby height and stopped, and then raised to the transfer completion height, thereby performing a two-step operation. However, it is not always necessary to temporarily stop the spin chuck 22 at the standby height. That is, the spin chuck 22 is continuously raised from the processing height to the transfer completion height, and the wafer W is held in a state where the holding claws 25 are sufficiently close to the wafer W held by the first intermediate transfer robot 181 by suction. May be released.

In the above embodiment, the spin chuck 22 is moved up and down while the heights of the arms UA and LA of the first intermediate transfer robot 181 are kept constant, thereby achieving the transfer of the wafer W. However, the arms UA and LA of the first intermediate transfer robot 181 may be moved up and down, or both the arms UA and LA and the spin chuck 22 may be moved up and down. The cylinder 71 may be connected to the first intermediate transfer robot 181, and the second-stage cylinder 72 may be connected to the spin chuck 22. In any case, the suction of the wafer W by the first intermediate transfer robot 181 is released in a state where the wafer W held by the first intermediate transfer robot 181 and the spin chuck 22 are sufficiently close to each other. Thus, there is no possibility that the wafer W will fall.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the transfer of the wafer W from the first intermediate transfer robot 181 to the spin chuck 22 of the surface brush cleaning unit 160 has been described. It is preferable that the present invention be similarly applied to the transfer of the wafer W from the robot 182 to the washing / drying processing unit 170. Also, C
Some apparatuses for cleaning the wafer after the MP processing include a front brush cleaning unit 160 instead of the double-side brush cleaning unit 150.
Some have a surface brush cleaning unit with the same configuration as
In such a case, the present invention can be applied when the wafer W paid out from the underwater loader 131 is transferred to the surface brush cleaning unit by the loader transfer robot 141.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the wafer W is transferred has been described. However, the present invention is applicable to a case where another type of substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device or a PDP is transferred. Is also applicable. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of a part of a substrate cleaning apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a simplified perspective view of a transfer robot.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a configuration example of a lifting drive mechanism and a rotation drive mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an operation flow when a wafer is transferred from the transfer robot to the spin chuck.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view showing a state in which the wafer is inclined with the release of the suction holding;

FIG. 7 is a simplified plan view showing the overall configuration of the substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a simplified configuration of a suction-type transfer robot for loading a wafer into a wafer processing unit in the related art.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a flow of an operation at the time of transferring a wafer from a transfer robot to a wafer processing unit in the related art.

FIG. 10 is a simplified perspective view for explaining a state where the surface of a wafer is hydrophobic in a conventional technique.

FIG. 11 is a schematic front view showing a state in which a wafer falls when the surface of the wafer is hydrophobic in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 22 spin chuck (substrate holding means) 25 holding claw 30 rotation driving mechanism 31 elevating driving mechanism (elevating means) 40 suction source 42 valve (adsorption releasing means) 47 control unit 45 arm driving source (horizontal moving means) 70 two-stage cylinder mechanism 71 First-stage cylinder 72 Second-stage cylinder 160 Surface brush cleaning unit 170 Rinse / dry processing unit 171 Spin chuck (substrate holding unit) 181 First intermediate transfer robot (Substrate transfer unit) 182 Second intermediate transfer robot UA Arm (substrate transfer hand) LA Lower arm (horizontal moving means)

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Sawada 4-chome, Horikawa-dori-Teranouchi, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 1F, 1-Den Tenjin Kitamachi Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5F031 CA02 CA05 DA01 FA01 FA02 FA11 FA12 FA14 GA08 GA10 GA13 GA15 GA44 GA47 GA48 GA49 HA05 HA13 HA24 HA48 HA58 HA59 HA72 HA74 KA07 KA08 MA23 PA20

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of transferring a substrate from a substrate transfer hand that transfers the substrate while sucking and holding the lower surface of the substrate to substrate holding means for holding the substrate in contact with the lower surface of the substrate, comprising: A horizontal movement step of horizontally moving the substrate transport hand holding the substrate holding means relative to the substrate holding means so as to be positioned above the substrate holding means; and An approaching step of bringing the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means closer in the vertical direction; and an adsorption releasing step of releasing the suction of the substrate of the substrate transfer hand brought closer to the substrate holding means by the approaching step. The substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means are arranged so that the substrate on the substrate transfer hand released in the suction release step is transferred to the substrate holding means. And a displacement step of relatively displacing the substrate along the vertical direction. 2. The substrate transport method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transport hand transports the substrate after the CMP process. 3. The substrate transfer hand according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer hand transfers a substrate having a hydrophobic surface.
Or the substrate transfer method according to 2. 4. The two-step approaching step wherein the approaching step is provided so as to be connected to one of the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means, and a first-stage cylinder and a second-stage cylinder are connected in series. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of operating the first stage cylinder of the cylinder mechanism, wherein the displacement step includes the step of operating the second stage cylinder of the two-stage cylinder mechanism. The substrate transfer method according to any one of the above. 5. A substrate transport apparatus for transporting a substrate from a substrate transport hand that transports a substrate while sucking and holding the lower surface of the substrate to substrate holding means for holding the substrate by contacting the lower surface of the substrate. Suction releasing means for releasing the suction of the substrate of the substrate transfer hand, horizontal moving means for relatively horizontally moving the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means, and the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means. Elevating means for relatively elevating and lowering, and the substrate transport hand holding the substrate by suction, guided by the horizontal moving means above the substrate holding means,
After bringing the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means closer by the elevating means, the suction of the substrate of the substrate transfer hand is released by the suction release means, and then the substrate on the substrate transfer hand released by the suction is released. And a controller for controlling the operations of the horizontal moving means, the elevating means, and the suction releasing means so that the substrate is transferred to the substrate holding means by the elevating means. 6. The two-stage lifting means is provided so as to be connected to one of the substrate transfer hand and the substrate holding means, and a first-stage cylinder and a second-stage cylinder are connected in series. A cylinder mechanism, wherein the control unit releases the suction of the substrate of the substrate transfer hand by the suction release means after operating the first-stage cylinder, and thereafter, operates the second-stage cylinder. 6. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transfer of the substrate from the substrate transfer hand to the substrate holding unit is performed by the transfer.