JP2001210707A - Edge handling device of semiconductor wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize reduction of the number of components and facilitation of assembly processes and to perform input and take-out of semiconductor wafers correctly, smoothly and rapidly into or from a predetermined position in a container while holding the edge of the wafer. SOLUTION: An edge handling device 10 is mounted/dismounted in a setting space of semiconductor wafers 1 and is provided with a fixed catch 12 at the rear end in the mounting and dismounting direction and a base plate 11 comprising a folding catch 13 at the front end. The folding catch 13 is attached movably up and down regarding the center axis line within the plane including the base plate 11 through an elastic member 14. The elastic member 14 composes at least two of leaf springs 14a, 14b and 14c which extend radiately from the base end. The folding catch 13 is connected with a knob 17 arranged at the rear end of the base plate through a wire 16. A spring 18 is interposed between the knob and the base plate and a strength of the spring is predetermined larger than that of the elastic member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a handling apparatus for holding a peripheral edge of a semiconductor wafer and storing the semiconductor wafer at a predetermined position in a storage case, or removing the semiconductor wafer from the case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor device is manufactured by subjecting a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer as a substrate to various processes. In such processing, slight adhesion of dust to the surface of the wafer or damage to the surface is disliked. Therefore, great care is taken not only in the processing chamber but also in the transfer of the wafer between processing steps.

Usually, a plurality of wafers are transported between processing steps by storing a plurality of wafers in a dedicated storage case. In each processing step, a required wafer is taken out from the storage case and processing is performed. Then, after the processing, it is stored again in the storage case. The operation of taking out from the storage case, storing in the storage case, and setting the wafer taken out from the storage case at a predetermined position in the processing step is performed, for example, by operating a handling device mounted on a robot arm. Is going.

This handling device is disclosed in, for example,
No. 0-261699. The handling device disclosed in the publication is horizontally supported by a support made of a robot arm, and is used for a thin plate-like chuck inserted into a space between a plurality of semiconductor wafers stacked and stored in a storage case. It has a plate. At the tip of the chuck plate is provided a tip-side chuck portion that is rotatably attached to a position parallel to and perpendicular to the plane of the semiconductor wafer via a rotation axis,
At the base end side of the chuck plate, there is provided a base end side chuck portion in an upright state in contact with a peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer opposite to a side gripped by the front end side chuck portion. The distal and proximal chucks have a holding V-groove for holding the semiconductor wafer, and the holding V-groove comes into contact with the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer to hold the semiconductor wafer. ing.

[0005] The tip side chuck portion is connected to rotating means via the rotating shaft. The rotating means is provided between a first pulley arranged coaxially so as to interlock with the rotating shaft of the distal chuck section and a second pulley arranged on the base end side of the chuck plate. The first wire is wound around, and the second wire is wound between the second pulley and a motor provided on a support made of a robot arm that supports the chuck plate. The rotation driving force of the motor is transmitted to the rotation shaft via the pulley and the wire to rotate the tip side chuck portion.

Further, as a modified example of the rotating means, other means such as driving by a chain or a bimol piezoelectric element may be used, or the tip side chuck portion is gradually inclined upward from the rear end toward the front side. A protruding portion having a tapered surface and protruding rearward from the rotation shaft is provided, and the tip of a rod-shaped member provided on the chuck plate so as to be able to move back and forth is brought into and out of contact with the protruding portion. By doing
An example in which the tip side chuck portion is freely raised and lowered is described.

In this conventional handling apparatus, the tip side chuck portion is tilted on an extension surface of the chuck plate, and the plurality of semiconductors stored with the tip side chuck portion stacked together with the chuck plate in a storage case. After inserting into the space between the wafers and projecting the distal chuck portion to the opposite side, the distal chuck portion is raised to grip the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer with the proximal chuck portion. After grasping the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer is transported and taken out in parallel with the plane of another semiconductor wafer remaining in the storage position of the storage case.

Further, when returning to the original storage position or another storage position, the semiconductor wafer is carried into a desired storage position while holding the semiconductor wafer between the distal-side chuck portion and the base-side chuck portion. After loading, the tip side chuck portion is tilted down, the chuck plate is pulled back, and the semiconductor wafer is stored in the storage position.

[0009]

By the way, the rotating means for rotating the tip side chuck portion disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-261699 applies the rotational driving force of the motor through a pulley and a wire. The rotation is transmitted to the rotating shaft of the tip side chuck portion, and a slip or friction is easily generated at a contact portion between the pulley and the wire, and a plurality of assemblies including the motor, the wire, the pulley, and the rotating shaft are formed. Interlocking between parts may not be performed correctly.

In this case, not only is the undulating operation of the tip-side chuck portion provided undulatingly on the tip side of the chuck plate not accurate, but also the tip-side chuck portion and the base end of the chuck plate are not provided. When the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer is gripped between the base-side chuck portion erected on the side, the gripping postures of the distal-side chuck portion and the base-side chuck portion are different from each other. An error may occur in the positional relationship to be gripped, or gripping itself may not be possible.

For this reason, the tip side chuck portion contacts the surface of the semiconductor wafer and damages the surface, or an uneven gripping force is applied to the semiconductor wafer between the tip side and the base side chuck portion, The semiconductor wafer is held in an unstable state. In that case, the semiconductor wafer may not be smoothly inserted or removed due to contact with other semiconductor wafers stacked and stored in the storage case, or the gripping balance of the gripped semiconductor wafer being lost and slipping. Something like that can happen.

As a modification of the rotating means, the tip of a rod-shaped member provided on the chuck plate so as to be movable back and forth is moved back and forth so that the rod-shaped member can be moved from the rotation axis of the tip-side chuck portion. Also, a wafer chuck mechanism is described in which the wafer chuck mechanism is rotated by bringing it into contact with a protruding portion protruding toward the operation side to freely raise and lower the tip side chuck portion.

However, dust easily accumulates around the rotation axis of the tip chuck. When the tip-side chuck is rotated from the standing position with respect to the plane of the semiconductor wafer to the horizontal position via the turning shaft, the tip-side chuck is turned by its own weight, so that it adheres around the turning axis. The rotation of the front-end-side chuck portion is hindered by the dust. When the space between the semiconductor wafers stacked and stored in the storage case is moved in this state, the tip-side chuck portion moves in a posture obliquely inclined with respect to the plane of the chuck plate. This causes a problem that the semiconductor wafer is damaged by contact with another semiconductor wafer.

Further, the conventional rotating means as described above has a large number of parts and a complicated structure due to its heavy weight. For this reason, not only strict design precision is required for a plurality of parts, but also high precision is required for the assembly work of each part, and as a result,
There is a disadvantage that the assembling work of each component tends to be complicated, and the price of this edge handling device must be increased.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and a specific object of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts to achieve simplification and weight reduction of the structure and to facilitate assembly work. It is possible to set a reasonable price by making it possible to carry out the operation, and it is possible to securely store the semiconductor wafer at a predetermined position in the storage case, or to take out the semiconductor wafer accurately from the case, and furthermore, to quickly perform those operations. It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor wafer edge handling apparatus capable of performing such operations.

[0016]

The above object is effectively achieved by the inventions described in claims 1 to 4 of the present application. The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a semiconductor wafer handling apparatus which grips and inserts and removes any one of the peripheral edges from a plurality of semiconductor wafers stacked and stored at a predetermined interval in a storage case. A base plate that is inserted and removed at a storage interval of the semiconductor wafer, has a fixed gripping portion at a rear end in the insertion / removal direction, and has a tiltable gripping portion at a front end, wherein the tiltable gripping portion is the base plate. The semiconductor wafer edge handling device is mounted so as to be able to undulate around an axis in a plane including an elastic member via an elastic member.

In the edge handling of the semiconductor wafer according to the present invention, first, a retractable gripping portion which is attached to the front end of the base plate in an insertion / removal direction via an elastic member so as to be able to move up and down is opposed to the urging force of the elastic member. The base plate is laid down so as to be parallel to the plane of the base plate, and in this state, the base plate is moved to the front surface of the insertion space between the desired semiconductor wafers stacked and stored at regular intervals in the storage case. .

Next, the base plate is inserted into the insertion space together with the retractable grip. When the fixed gripping portion provided at the rear end of the base plate in the insertion / removal direction at the time of insertion comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer, the collapsible gripping portion is positioned on the peripheral side of the semiconductor wafer opposite to the fixed gripping portion. Exposure to Here, when the force that holds the retractable grip portion in the falling state against the urging force is released, the retractable grip portion is erected in an upright direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the base plate by the urging force of the elastic member. Then, the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer is gripped between the retractable grip and the fixed grip. While maintaining this gripping state, the base plate is pulled out of the storage case.

When the semiconductor wafer is returned into the storage case, the semiconductor wafer in the storage case is held in a predetermined position while the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer is being held between the fixed holding portion and the retractable holding portion. The base plate is inserted into the storage space, and the semiconductor wafer is stored in a predetermined storage position in the storage case. After accommodating the semiconductor wafer, the retractable gripper is tilted in parallel to the plane of the semiconductor wafer against the urging force of the elastic member to release the gripping of the semiconductor wafer. After releasing the gripping of the semiconductor wafer, the base plate is pulled out of the storage case while the tiltable gripping portion is tilted.

In the edge handling device of the present invention, the retractable grip portion can be raised and lowered about an axis in a plane including the base plate simply by using the biasing force of the elastic member. It is not necessary to use a complicated mechanism such as rotating about a rotation axis via a motor, a pulley, or the like, and frictional resistance is generated between parts for raising and lowering the retractable grip. Without,
The tiltable gripper can be operated smoothly, and a predetermined position on the periphery of the semiconductor wafer can be gripped accurately, smoothly, and quickly.

Further, since the retractable gripper can be easily and accurately operated by utilizing the urging force of the elastic member, the predetermined position of the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer can be reliably held and opened with a stable gripping force. Thus, damage to the semiconductor wafer can be prevented. Moreover, the structure in which the retractable grip portion is raised and lowered via the elastic member has a smaller number of parts than the rotating means disclosed in the above-mentioned conventional publication, and can be configured very simply and lightly. Therefore, the work of assembling the components constituting the edge handling device can be easily performed, and the cost of the components and the assembly work can be reduced. Furthermore, by reducing the number of parts and achieving simplification and weight reduction of the structure, it is possible to eliminate the portion where dust collects, guarantee the undulating operation of the retractable gripper, and design the operation control of the robot arm. Also becomes easier.

Further, since the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer is elastically gripped between the fixed gripper and the retractable gripper via the elastic member, if the elasticity is appropriately set, the tiltable type is reduced. The elasticity when the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer abuts and grips between the gripping portion and the fixed gripping portion exerts a buffering function, absorbs an impact applied to the semiconductor wafer, and unnecessarily damages the gripping portion of the semiconductor wafer. I won't let you.

The invention according to claim 2 specifies that the elastic member is composed of two or more leaf spring pieces extending radially from the base end. Here, as a material of the leaf spring piece of the present invention, a thermoplastic resin such as nylon or polypropylene, stainless steel, or the like can be adopted. Each leaf spring piece forms a U-shape between, for example, three leaf springs,
The base ends are connected to each other. A retractable grip is fixed to the outermost leaf spring piece (hereinafter, referred to as a first leaf spring piece), and the innermost leaf spring piece (hereinafter, referred to as a third leaf spring piece). ) Is fixed to the front end face of the base plate.

Now, when the leaf spring pieces are in contact with each other against the elasticity, that is, when all the leaf spring pieces are in the closed state, when the elasticity is released, the leaf spring pieces become independent of each other. The tip returns elastically in the direction in which it separates, returning to the original open state. When the leaf spring piece is closed, the retractable grip is in an extended space of a plane including the base plate, and when the leaf spring piece is open, the retractable grip is at the front end face of the base plate. It stands perpendicular to the upper surface of the plate.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the elastic deformation of each of the leaf spring pieces is released, the retractable gripping part rises from the base plate, and contacts with the fixed gripping part fixed to the rear end side of the base plate. Hold the semiconductor wafer in between. Further, when each of the leaf spring pieces is elastically deformed against the elastic force, the retractable grip portion extends into the extension space of the base plate, and releases the grip of the semiconductor wafer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, it is provided that the retractable grip is connected to an edge handling operation unit disposed at a rear end of the base plate via a wire. The edge handling operation section operates an up-and-down operation of the retractable grip section attached to the front end of the base plate via the elastic member via a wire. By operating the edge handling operation unit, the retractable gripping unit is inserted into the gripping position orthogonal to the insertion direction of the base plate and horizontal with respect to the insertion direction of the base plate by using the elasticity of the elastic member. Can be switched to a position.

That is, when the edge handling operation section is pressed to extend the wire forward, the elastic member is released from the resilience against the elastic force and starts elastically restoring to the gripping position. Raise the grip. When the edge handling operation unit is operated to pull the wire, the retractable gripper is switched to the insertion position via the wire against the elasticity of the elastic member.

In the case where the elastic member is composed of the three leaf spring pieces, the wire is stretched by operating the edge handling operation section to release the drag of the leaf spring piece against the elasticity. The first leaf spring piece fixed to the retractable gripping portion starts elastic recovery, and follows the first leaf spring piece at substantially equal intervals, while restoring other leaf spring pieces elastically. Resiliently returns in the direction in which the tip ends are separated. At the same time that all leaf spring pieces are restored to their original open state, the retractable grip rises at right angles to the base plate.

When the edge handling operation section is operated to pull the wire, first, the first leaf spring piece fixed to the reversible grip section is singly opposed to the base plate in a direction orthogonal to the base plate against elasticity. Starts elastic deformation. Thereafter, while the first leaf spring piece contacts the second leaf spring piece, the second
The leaf spring piece is also slightly elastically deformed against its elasticity, and when the first leaf spring piece finally comes into contact, the second leaf spring piece is greatly elastically deformed in the state where it comes into contact with the third leaf spring piece. To end the elastic deformation. At this time, the retractable grip is at an insertion position that fits in the extension space including the plane of the base plate.

Further, the elasticity of each leaf spring piece can be reduced by appropriately changing the thickness of each leaf spring piece and the thickness dimension of the base end connecting portion, which is a portion where the leaf spring pieces are elastically deformed, between the leaf spring pieces. The operation of each leaf spring piece can be controlled by utilizing the difference in elasticity. That is, by changing the elasticity as described above, the undulating speed of the retractable gripping portion is
For example, a stepwise control operation can be performed such that the first half of the standing operation of the retractable gripper is fast and the second half is slow. Now, the elasticity between the first leaf spring piece and the second leaf spring piece fixed to the retractable holding portion is increased by the third plate fixed to the base plate while having sufficient elasticity to grip the semiconductor wafer. It is set smaller than the elasticity between the spring piece and the second leaf spring piece.

In this configuration, when the tension of the wire is released by operating the edge handling operation section,
First, the first leaf spring piece fixed to the retractable gripper restores itself while elastically restoring the other leaf spring pieces. At this time, since the elasticity between the third leaf spring and the second leaf spring is larger than the elasticity between the first leaf spring piece and the second leaf spring piece, the first
Before the leaf spring piece completely returns to its original shape, the second leaf spring piece is completely restored to its original shape. In other words, the rising operation of the retractable gripper is fast from the start to the middle, and at the time of gripping the semiconductor wafer, it rises gently and at a right angle to the base plate with a required gripping force.

When the wire is pulled from the gripping position by operating the edge handling operation section, first, the first leaf spring piece fixed to the retractable grip section is elastically deformed independently and the second leaf spring piece is deformed. Then, the second leaf spring piece is elastically deformed against the elasticity together with the first leaf spring piece to make
Abutting against the leaf spring piece, and the retractable gripping portion is brought into a lying posture in which it is accommodated in an extension space of the plane of the base plate. As a result, the undulating operation of the retractable gripper can be performed in a stepwise manner, so that abrupt elastic deformation is prevented and abrupt contact with peripheral members including the semiconductor wafer is avoided.

[0033] In the invention according to claim 4, the edge handling operation section has a knob connected to the wire, and a spring interposed between the knob and the base plate. This defines that the force is set to be larger than the spring force of the elastic member.

Using the spring force of a spring interposed between the knob connected to the wire and the base plate, the operation of raising and lowering the retractable grip portion is simplified.
As long as the knob is not operated, the spring force of the spring exceeds the elasticity of the elastic member, so that the retractable gripper maintains the lying posture at the insertion position that fits in the extension space including the plane of the base plate. By pressing the knob against the spring force, the retractable gripper can be brought to the upright posture for the first time.

That is, when the knob is pressed to extend the wire forward, the spring is elastically deformed in the compression direction against the spring force, and the elastic member releases the elastic force with the elastic deformation. Is done. By this opening, as described above, the base plate is elastically restored to the gripping position orthogonal to the plane of the base plate, and finally the tiltable gripping portion is erected.

When the pressing of the knob is released, the spring force of the spring is greater than the elasticity of the elastic member, so that the spring force of the spring overcomes the elasticity of the elastic member, and the spring starts restoring.
The knob moves in a direction to pull the retractable gripper through the wire. At this time, the retractable gripper is elastically deformed following the extension operation of the spring against the elasticity of the elastic member, and after the spring is completely returned to the original position, the retractable gripper is The knob is returned to the standby position while being in the lying posture that fits in the extension space of the plane of the base plate.

According to this configuration, when the operation of the knob is released, the retractable gripping portion can be automatically brought to the falling posture through the spring force of the spring, and unless the knob is operated, In order to insert and remove the base plate in the gap between the semiconductor wafers stored in the storage case in multiple stages in the storage case, the tiltable grip may be erroneously raised to maintain the falling posture. In addition, damage to the surface of the semiconductor wafer due to contact with the semiconductor wafer or the like can be avoided, and the semiconductor wafer in the storage case can be reliably held by operating the knob.

[0038]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 6 schematically show a semiconductor wafer edge handling apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state when the edge handling apparatus is operated.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the edge handling device, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the state of the edge handling device when it is not operated, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing FIG.
And FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing an operation process of the tiltable gripper when it falls down. In this embodiment, an edge handling device for a semiconductor wafer will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is also applicable to an edge handling device such as a hard disk or a glass substrate.

In these figures, an edge handling apparatus 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a base plate 11 made of a long thin plate member.
The base plate 11 is mounted on a robot arm (not shown). The edge handling device 10 holds and inserts any one of the peripheral edges from a plurality of semiconductor wafers 1 made of disk-shaped thin plate members which are also stacked and stored at required intervals in a storage case (not shown). escape. The base plate 11 has a thickness dimension that can be inserted and removed at a desired storage interval of the semiconductor wafer 1 and is movable by a robot operation in any direction such as inversion, horizontal and vertical directions.

The rear end of the base plate 11 in the insertion / removal direction is a pair of fixed gripping portions 1 for gripping the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1.
2 and 12, the front end of which is a pair of retractable grips 1 that grip the periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1 located on the opposite side.
3 and 13. According to the illustrated example, each of the fixed gripper 12 and the retractable gripper 13 is formed of a rod-shaped member that forms a column, and supports the periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1 at four points. The fixed gripping portions 12 are erected on the base plate 11 at predetermined intervals. The retractable gripper 1
Numeral 3 is attached so as to be able to move up and down around an axis in a plane including the base plate 11 via an elastic member 14 which is a feature of the present invention described later.

The retractable grip 13 is set to have substantially the same height as the fixed grip 12 when standing up. The portions 12 are arranged at intervals substantially equal to the diameter of the semiconductor wafer 1. The retractable gripping portion 13 has a thickness dimension capable of being inserted into and removed from a desired insertion space of the plurality of semiconductor wafers 1, and the flat surface of the base plate 11 via the elastic member 14 in a state of falling down. It extends parallel to the extension space of the base plate 11 so as not to protrude from the inside.

The V-groove 1 for holding the periphery of the semiconductor wafer 1 is provided in the fixed gripper 12 and the retractable gripper 13.
2a, 13a are provided, and the holding V-grooves 12a,
The semiconductor wafer 1 is held in contact with the upper peripheral edge and the lower peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 by the two slopes forming the portion 13a. Since the holding V-grooves 12a and 13a are in contact with the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1, the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 1 are not damaged.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the retractable grip 13. As shown in the drawing, photoelectric detection for detecting the presence / absence, gripping state, and the like of the semiconductor wafer 1 is provided at a corner formed by two slopes of a holding V-groove 13 a provided in the folding gripper 13. A vessel 19 is provided. Detector 19
Various known well-known detectors can be used depending on the purpose of detection.

As the elastic member 14 which is a feature of the present invention, a torsion coil spring or two or more leaf spring pieces extending radially from the base end can be effectively employed. As the material of the elastic member, a thermoplastic resin such as nylon or polypropylene, stainless steel, or the like can be adopted.
According to the present embodiment, the elastic member 14 is composed of a leaf spring piece, for example, three first to third leaf spring pieces 14a, 14a.
A portion between b and 14c is formed in a U-shape, and has a base end connecting portion 14d in which the base ends are connected to each other. The outermost first leaf spring piece 14a has the retractable grip 13
Are fixed, and the innermost third spring piece 14
c is fixed to the front end face of the base plate 11.

As shown in FIG. 4, each leaf spring piece 14 is in contact with each other against elasticity, ie, all leaf spring pieces 14
In the closed state, when the elasticity is released, each leaf spring piece 14 independently elastically returns in the direction in which the tips are separated from each other, and returns to the original open state shown in FIG. When the leaf spring piece 14 is closed, the retractable grip 13 is in a plane extending space including the base plate 11, and when the leaf spring piece 14 is open, the retractable grip 13 is At a front end surface of the base plate 11 perpendicular to the upper surface of the base plate 11.

When the elastic deformation of each leaf spring piece 14 is released,
A retractable grip 13 rises from the base plate 11 and is fixed to the rear end of the base plate 11.
And the semiconductor wafer 1 is gripped between them. Also, when each leaf spring piece 14 is elastically deformed against the elasticity, the retractable grip 1
The reference numeral 3 extends into the extension space of the base plate 11, and releases the gripping of the semiconductor wafer 1.

The retractable grip 13 is provided with an edge handling operation unit 15 disposed at the rear end of the base plate 11.
And a wire 16. When the edge handling operation part 15 is pressed to extend the wire 16 forward, the elastic member 14 is released from the resistance against the elasticity, and starts elastically restoring to the gripping position orthogonal to the insertion direction of the base plate 11. Finally, the retractable grip 13 is erected. When the wire 16 is pulled by operating the edge handling operation unit 15, the wire 1
6, the retractable grip 13 is switched to an insertion position that is horizontal with respect to the insertion direction of the base plate 11 against the elasticity of the elastic member 14.

The edge handling operation unit 15 includes a knob 17 connected to the wire 16 and a spring 18 interposed between the knob 17 and the base plate 11.
And The knob 17 is supported by the rear end of the base plate 11 via the spring 18 so as to be movable back and forth. One end of the wire 16 is fixed to the knob 17, and the other end is bifurcated into a hollow portion 11 a formed in the base plate 11 so that each leaf spring piece 14
Are fixed to the two retractable gripping parts 13 through through holes 14e formed in the lower part. The spring 18
Is set to be larger than the elastic force of the elastic member 14.

A spring 17 interposed between the knob 17 connected to the wire 16 and the base plate 11
The undulating operation of the retractable grip 13 is simplified by utilizing the spring force of (1). Unless the knob 17 is operated, the spring force of the spring 18 exceeds the elasticity of the elastic member 14, so that the retractable gripper 13 is in the down position in the insertion position that fits in the extension space including the plane of the base plate 11. To maintain. By pressing the knob 17 against the spring force, the reversible grip 13 can be brought to the standing posture for the first time.

When the knob 17 is pressed to extend the wire 16 forward, the spring 18 is elastically deformed in the compression direction against the spring force, and the elastic member 14 is dragged against the elastic force by the elastic deformation. Is released. With this opening, the base plate 11 is elastically restored to a gripping position orthogonal to the plane of the base plate 11, and finally the retractable gripper 13 stands up.

When the pressing of the knob 17 is released, the spring force of the spring 18 is greater than the elastic force of the elastic member 14, so that the spring force of the spring 18 overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member 14, and A restoring operation is started, and the knob 17 is
The movable gripper 13 is moved in a direction of pulling the retractable gripper 13 through 6.
At this time, the retractable gripper 13 is elastically deformed following the extension operation of the spring 18 against the elasticity of the elastic member 14, and the spring 18 is completely returned to its original position. The holding part 13 is a base plate 11
And the knob 17 returns to the standby position.

When the operation of the knob 17 is released, the retractable gripper 13 can be automatically brought to the lying posture by the spring force of the spring 18.
The base plate 11 is inserted into a desired gap between the semiconductor wafers 1 stacked and stored in a plurality of stages in a storage case (not shown) in order to keep the tiltable holding portion 13 in the lying posture unless the operation is performed. When detaching, the retractable grip 13
Without damaging the surface of the semiconductor wafer due to contact with the semiconductor wafer 1 or the like.
By operating the knob 17, the semiconductor wafer 1 in the storage case can be reliably held.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a modification of the elastic member according to the present invention. In these figures, substantially the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and names. Therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 8, the elastic member 14 according to the second embodiment includes first to third leaf spring pieces 14a, 14b, and 14c. The plate thickness of the second leaf spring piece 14b is the first leaf spring piece 14a fixed to the retractable grip 13 and the third leaf spring piece 1 fixed to the front end face of the base plate 11.
The thickness is set to be larger than the plate thickness of 4c.

The thickness of the base connecting portion 14d, which is a portion where the second and third leaf spring pieces 14b and 14c are elastically deformed, is the same as that of the first and second leaf spring pieces 14a and 14b. The thickness is set to be larger than the thickness of the portion 14d, and the elasticity between the first leaf spring piece 14a and the second leaf spring piece 14b has sufficient elasticity for gripping the semiconductor wafer 1 and , The third leaf spring piece 14c and the second leaf spring piece 1
4b is set smaller than the elasticity between them.

According to this configuration, the thickness of the leaf spring pieces 14 and the thickness dimension of the base end connecting portion 14d, which is a portion where the leaf spring pieces 14 are elastically deformed, are appropriately changed between the leaf spring pieces 14. Thus, the elasticity of each leaf spring piece 14 can be changed, and the operation of each leaf spring piece 14 can be controlled by utilizing the difference in elasticity. By changing the elasticity of each leaf spring piece 14, the undulating speed of the retractable grip 13 is increased stepwise so that, for example, the first half of the rising operation of the retractable grip 13 is fast, and the latter half is slow. Control operation can be performed.

When the tension of the wire 16 is released by operating the knob 17, first, the first leaf spring piece 14a fixed to the reversible grip 13 firstly becomes the other leaf spring pieces 14b, 1b.
It restores itself while elastically restoring 4c. At this time, the elastic force between the second leaf spring 14b and the third leaf spring 14c is larger than the elastic force between the first leaf spring piece 14a and the second leaf spring piece 14b. Before the 14a is completely returned to its original shape, the second leaf spring piece 14b is completely restored to its original shape. That is, the rising operation of the retractable gripping portion 13 is fast from the start to the middle, and when the semiconductor wafer 1 is gripped, it rises gently and at a right angle to the base plate 11 with a required gripping force.

When the wire 16 is pulled by operating the knob 17 at the gripping position of the retractable grip 13, first, the first leaf spring piece 14a fixed to the retractable grip 13 is singly. When it is elastically deformed and comes into contact with the second leaf spring piece 14b,
Subsequently, the second leaf spring piece 14b is replaced with the first leaf spring piece 14
a, it is elastically deformed against the elasticity and abuts against the third leaf spring piece 14c, so that the retractable gripper 13 is in a lying posture in which it can be accommodated in the extended space of the plane of the base plate 11. As a result, the undulating operation of the retractable gripper 13 can be performed in a stepwise manner, so that rapid elastic deformation is prevented and rapid contact with peripheral members including the semiconductor wafer 1 is avoided. .

In FIG. 9, an elastic member 14 according to the third embodiment has two substantially U-shaped leaf springs fixed to each other to form first to third leaf spring pieces 14a, 14b and 14c. are doing. The second leaf spring piece 14b is a state in which two leaf springs are overlapped and fixed, and the first and third leaf spring pieces 14a, 1
It is formed to have the same thickness as the thickness of 4c. Of course, the elastic member 14 according to the third embodiment is similar to the elastic member 14 according to the second embodiment in that each leaf spring piece 1
The elasticity of each leaf spring piece 14 can be changed by appropriately changing the thickness of the base member 4 and the thickness dimension of the base end connection portion 14d between the leaf springs. The operation of the spring piece 14 can be controlled.

In the edge handling device 10 of the present invention configured as described above, the wires 16 are disposed in the hollow portions 11a formed in the base plate 11, but a pipe or the like (not shown) is provided outside the base plate 11. A hollow body may be provided. Further, the fixed gripper 12 may be provided so as to be movable in the insertion / removal direction of the base plate 11, and in that case, a set dimension interval between the fixed gripper 12 and the retractable gripper 13 can be freely changed. Therefore, the semiconductor wafers 1 having different diameters can be gripped.

The fixed gripping portion 12 and the retractable gripping portion 13 are each configured to support one semiconductor wafer 1 at four points with a pair of rod-shaped members forming a column.
For their shape and number, a well-known structure that has been widely known can be adopted. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which one semiconductor wafer 1 is supported by a thin plate member, and a plurality of the holding V-grooves 12a, 13a may be provided in the fixed gripping portion 12 and the folding gripping portion 13. . In these cases, the length of the fixed grip 12 and the height of the collapsible grip 13 are extended. According to such a configuration, it is possible to grasp and insert arbitrary plural peripheral edges from the plural semiconductor wafers 1 which are stacked and stored at predetermined intervals in the storage case.

Now, by using the edge handling apparatus 10 of the present invention configured as described above, an arbitrary one of a plurality of semiconductor wafers 1 stacked and stored at predetermined intervals in a storage case (not shown). An example in which the peripheral edge of a sheet is gripped and inserted / removed will be described with reference to FIGS. The elastic member 14 disposed between the retractable grip 13 and the front end of the base plate is composed of three first to third leaf spring pieces 14a, 14b, 14c according to the first embodiment.

Now, without operating the knob 17, the retractable grip 13, which is provided on the front end of the base plate 11 so as to be able to move up and down against the urging force of each leaf spring piece 14, is placed on the plane of the base plate 11. In this state, the robot arm (not shown) is operated in this state, and the desired semiconductor wafer 1 is stored in a storage case (not shown) at a predetermined interval. Move to the front of the insertion space between them.

Next, by moving the base plate 11 in the horizontal direction, the base plate 11 is inserted into the insertion space together with the retractable grip 13. When the fixed gripper 12 provided at the rear end of the base plate 11 in the insertion / removal direction at the time of insertion comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1, the collapsible gripper 13 moves the semiconductor on the opposite side to the fixed gripper 12. It is exposed below the peripheral edge of the wafer 1.

Here, the wire 16 is extended forward by operating the knob 17 against the spring force of the spring 18 interposed between the knob 17 and the base plate 11, and When the drag against the elasticity is released, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, first, the first leaf spring piece 14a fixed to the retractable grip 13 starts elastic return, and the first leaf spring piece 14a is separated from the first leaf spring piece 14 at substantially equal intervals. Following the leaf spring piece 14a, the second and third leaf spring pieces 14b and 14c also elastically return to the direction in which their tips are separated from each other while being elastically restored.

At the same time that all the leaf spring pieces 14 are completely restored to the original open state, the retractable grip 13 rises in the upright direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the base plate 11. At this time, the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 is brought into contact with the slopes of the holding V-grooves 12 a and 13 a of the fixed gripping part 12 and the folding gripping part 13, so that the fixed gripping part 12 and the folding gripping part 13 The base plate 11 is pulled out from a storage case (not shown) while the upper and lower peripheral edges of the semiconductor wafer 1 are elastically gripped between them, and the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer 1 is gripped. The presence / absence, gripping state, and the like of the semiconductor wafer 1 are detected by the photoelectric detector 19 provided at a corner formed by the two slopes of the holding V-groove 13a.

When the semiconductor wafer 1 is returned to the storage case (not shown), the knob 17 is pushed to hold the semiconductor wafer 1 between the fixed gripper 12 and the retractable gripper 13 while holding the semiconductor wafer 1. The base plate 11 is inserted into a predetermined storage space in the case, and the semiconductor wafer 1 is stored in a predetermined storage position in the storage case. After storing the semiconductor wafer 1, the pressing of the knob 17 is released.

When the knob 16 is operated and the wire 16 is pulled, the spring force of the spring 18 is greater than the elastic force of each leaf spring piece 14. The elasticity of the spring 18 is overcome, the restoring operation of the spring 18 is started, and the knob 17 moves in the direction of pulling the retractable grip 13 via the wire 16. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, first, the first leaf spring piece 14a fixed to the reversible grip 13 is singly opposed to the base plate 11 against the elasticity.
Elastic deformation is started in a direction perpendicular to.

Thereafter, while the first leaf spring piece 14a contacts the second leaf spring piece 14b, the second leaf spring piece 14b
When the first leaf spring piece 14a finally comes into contact with the first leaf spring piece 14a, the second leaf spring piece 14b undergoes a large elastic deformation while remaining in contact with the third leaf spring piece. 14
c, and the elastic deformation ends. At this time, the spring 18 is completely returned to the original position, the retractable gripper 13 is in a lying posture that fits in the extended space of the plane of the base plate 11, and the knob 16 returns to the standby position. After releasing the grip of the semiconductor wafer 1 in this manner,
The base plate 11 is pulled out from the inside of the storage case while the tiltable grip 13 is tilted.

As is clear from the above description, according to the semiconductor wafer edge handling apparatus of the present invention, the elastic force is simply utilized by using the biasing force of the elastic member, and the movable axis is centered on the axis in the plane including the base plate. The inverted grip can be raised and lowered. For this reason, it is not necessary to use a complicated mechanism such as a conventional one that rotates around a rotation axis via a motor, a pulley, or the like, and frictional resistance is generated between parts for raising and lowering the retractable grip. Without doing so, the retractable gripper can be operated smoothly, and a predetermined peripheral edge position of the semiconductor wafer can be gripped accurately, smoothly, and quickly.

Further, since the retractable gripper can be easily and accurately operated by utilizing the urging force of the elastic member, the predetermined position of the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer can be reliably held and opened with a stable gripping force. Thus, damage to the semiconductor wafer can be prevented. In addition, the structure for raising and lowering the retractable gripping portion via the elastic member has a smaller number of parts compared to the conventional rotating means, and can be configured very simply and lightly. The assembly work of the parts constituting the handling device can be easily performed, and the cost of the parts and the assembly work can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, by reducing the number of parts and achieving simplification and weight reduction of the structure, it is possible to eliminate the portion where dust collects, guarantee the undulating operation of the retractable gripper, and design the operation control of the robot arm. Also becomes easier.

Further, since the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer is elastically gripped between the fixed gripper and the retractable gripper via the elastic member, if the elasticity is appropriately set, the lowering of the retractable gripper is possible. The elasticity when the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer abuts and grips between the gripping portion and the fixed gripping portion exerts a buffering function, absorbs an impact applied to the semiconductor wafer, and unnecessarily damages the gripping portion of the semiconductor wafer. I won't let you.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a state during operation of a semiconductor wafer edge handling apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the edge handling device.

FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing a state when the edge handling apparatus is not operated.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view showing a state in which a retractable grip portion in the edge handling device is folded down.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the tiltable grip is raised.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing an operation process when the tiltable gripping part falls down.

FIG. 7 is a side view schematically showing a modification of the tiltable grip.

FIG. 8 is a side view schematically showing a modification of the elastic member in the edge handling device.

FIG. 9 is a side view schematically showing another modification of the elastic member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor wafer 10 Edge handling apparatus 11 Base plate 11a Hollow part 12 Fixed holding part 12a, 13a Holding V groove 13 Retractable holding part 14 Elastic member (leaf spring piece) 14a First leaf spring piece 14b Second leaf spring piece 14c Third leaf spring piece 14d Base end connecting part 14e Through hole 15 Edge handling operation part 16 Wire 17 Knob 18 Spring 19 Photoelectric detector

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A semiconductor wafer handling apparatus for gripping and inserting an arbitrary peripheral edge from a plurality of semiconductor wafers stacked and stored at a predetermined interval in a storage case, wherein A base plate having a fixed gripper at the rear end in the insertion / removal direction of the wafer and having a retractable gripper at the front end, wherein the tiltable gripper is in a plane including the base plate; An edge handling apparatus for a semiconductor wafer, which is mounted so as to be able to undulate around an axis of the semiconductor wafer via an elastic member. 2. The edge handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said elastic member comprises two or more leaf spring pieces extending radially from a base end. 3. The edge handling device according to claim 1, wherein the tiltable gripping portion is connected to an edge handling operation portion disposed at a rear end of the base plate via a wire. 4. The edge handling operation section includes a knob connected to the wire, and a spring interposed between the knob and the base plate, wherein a spring force of the spring is smaller than a spring force of the elastic member. 4. The edge handling device according to claim 3, wherein the value is also set to be large.