JP2002110765A - Substrate transfer apparatus for heat processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus, which can transfer arm, surely holds a substrate without the substrate to move with respect to the arm and can suppress the taking in of the air flow into a heat processing furnace to a minimum level, at transfer time of the substrate into the furnace. SOLUTION: On a substrate transfer arm 10, which transfer substrate W into a heat processing furnace, supporting plane areas 14 directly supporting the substrate at the bottom on the supporting planes areas and a moving restrict area 16 which come close to face an outer periphery edge along the periphery of the substrate are formed and installed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for heat treating various substrates such as semiconductor wafers one by one, such as a lamp annealing apparatus, for example, carrying a substrate into a heat treatment furnace and removing the substrate from the heat treatment furnace. More particularly, the present invention relates to a substrate carrying-in / out device including a substrate carrying-in arm for carrying a substrate before heat treatment into a heat treatment furnace and a substrate carrying-out arm for carrying out a substrate after heat treatment from the heat treatment furnace.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a single-wafer type lamp annealing apparatus for heating and heat-treating a semiconductor wafer by using light irradiation from a lamp such as a halogen lamp or an arc lamp is widely used in various processes. Have been. Among this type of lamp annealing apparatus, there is a type of apparatus that has a wafer support ring fixed horizontally in a heat treatment furnace and supports the wafer in a horizontal posture on the wafer support ring to heat-treat the wafer. A wafer loading / unloading device is provided along the side of the heat treatment furnace, which carries a wafer before processing into the heat treatment furnace through an opening which is closed during heat treatment, and carries out the processed wafer from the heat treatment furnace. FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a schematic configuration of the wafer loading / unloading device together with a heat treatment furnace and the like.

The wafer loading / unloading device 1 shown in FIG. 7 has two wafer transport arms, a wafer loading arm 2 and a wafer loading arm 3. The wafer loading / unloading device 1 itself includes:
It is rotatable in a horizontal plane, and has a wafer loading arm 2
The wafer carrying arm 3 is extendable and retractable. The wafer carrying arm 2 takes out the unprocessed wafer from the wafer positioning unit 4 for aligning the wafer, carries the wafer into the heat treatment furnace 5 through the opening of the heat treatment furnace 5, and is disposed in the heat treatment furnace 5. The wafer is supported on a wafer support ring in a horizontal position via a wafer transfer mechanism having a plurality of vertically movable support pins (details of the heat treatment furnace 5 are not shown). Further, the wafer unloading arm 3 is
The heat-treated wafer is taken out from the wafer support ring via the wafer transfer mechanism, taken out of the heat treatment furnace 5 through the opening of the heat treatment furnace 5, and moved to a wafer standby unit (wafer cooling unit) 6 for cooling the wafer. Let it.

The wafer unloading arm 3 of such a wafer unloading / unloading apparatus 1 has a high temperature immediately after the completion of the heat treatment, for example, 5 ° C.
The wafer at a temperature of 00 ° C. or higher is supported and unloaded from the heat treatment furnace 5. The wafer carrying arm 3 of much lower temperature (room temperature) comes into surface contact with such a high temperature wafer,
If the wafer is sucked by the wafer unloading arm 3, the wafer may be broken. For this reason, the wafer unloading arm 3 has a structure in which, for example, three support protrusions formed on the upper surface thereof make point contact with the lower surface of the wafer to support the wafer. Then, 2 of the wafer loading / unloading device 1
Conventionally, two wafer transfer arms, ie, the wafer carry-in arm 2 and the wafer carry-out arm 3, have the same structure, that is,
The structure is such that the wafer is supported in point contact with the lower surface of the wafer.

[0005]

In the lamp annealing apparatus, it is necessary to heat the wafer by heating the wafer in an atmosphere whose concentration is accurately controlled in a heat treatment furnace. However, if the wafer loading arm 2 has a structure in which the wafer loading arm 2 supports the wafer by making point contact with the lower surface of the wafer as in the conventional wafer loading / unloading apparatus 1, the gap between the upper surface of the flat surface portion of the wafer loading arm 2 and the lower surface of the wafer may be reduced. Therefore, an outside air such as air other than the atmosphere gas (processing gas) whose concentration is controlled in the heat treatment furnace is retained and held in the gap portion, and thus, when the wafer is loaded into the heat treatment furnace. Will be brought in. As a result, there is a problem in that after the wafer is loaded into the heat treatment furnace, the gas replacement time until the inside of the heat treatment furnace is changed to an atmosphere in which the concentration is to be controlled is lengthened, and the throughput is reduced.

In order to reliably support the wafer on the wafer support ring, the wafer must be properly transferred to a predetermined position in the heat treatment furnace by the wafer carrying arm 2. However, if the wafer loading arm 2 has a structure that supports the wafer by making point contact with the lower surface of the wafer, the wafer is loaded from the wafer positioning unit 4 into the heat treatment furnace even if the wafer is aligned by the wafer positioning unit 4. During the process, there is a possibility that the wafer slightly moves on the wafer carrying arm 2. Wafer loading arm 2
When the wafer moves above, the wafer cannot be supported on the wafer support ring, and the wafer falls in the heat treatment furnace. Alternatively, in the case where a temperature distribution occurs in the heat treatment furnace, it is necessary to always support the wafer at the same position on the wafer support ring, and in-plane uniformity in the heat treatment of the wafer cannot be obtained with good reproducibility. There is a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and minimizes the introduction of outside air into a heat treatment furnace when a substrate is carried into the heat treatment furnace. The time required for gas replacement inside the heat treatment furnace after loading the substrate can be shortened, and the throughput can be improved. In addition, the substrate can be reliably moved without being moved to the arm during the process of loading the substrate into the heat treatment furnace. The substrate of the heat treatment apparatus, which can always be transported to a predetermined position in the heat treatment furnace correctly, and can surely support the substrate on the wafer support ring in the heat treatment furnace at a fixed position. It is intended to provide a carry-in / out device.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 is
Substrate unloading of a heat treatment apparatus having a substrate carrying arm for supporting a substrate before heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it into a heat treatment furnace, and a substrate carrying arm for supporting a substrate after heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it out of the heat treatment furnace In the loading device, the substrate carrying arm has a supporting plane for supporting the substrate in surface contact with the lower surface of the substrate, and the substrate carrying arm is provided along the outer peripheral edge of the substrate supported on the supporting plane. It is characterized in that a movement restricting portion is formed close to and opposed to the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate carrying arm for supporting a substrate before heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it into a heat treatment furnace, and a substrate for supporting a substrate after heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it out of the heat treatment furnace. In a substrate carrying-in / out device of a heat treatment apparatus having a carrying-out arm, the substrate carrying-in arm has a suction unit for sucking and supporting a substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate loading and unloading device according to the first or second aspect, the substrate unloading arm has at least three support projections for supporting the substrate in point contact with the lower surface of the substrate. It is characterized by having.

In the substrate loading / unloading device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate loading arm supports the substrate with its supporting plane in surface contact with the lower surface of the substrate. There is no gap between the outside and the outside air such as air when the substrate is carried into the heat treatment furnace. Therefore, carry-in of outside air into the heat treatment furnace when the substrate is carried into the heat treatment furnace can be minimized. For this reason, after the substrate is carried into the heat treatment furnace, the gas replacement time until the inside of the heat treatment furnace is set to an atmosphere in which the concentration is to be controlled can be shortened. Further, the substrate supported on the support plane of the substrate carry-in arm is surely supported by the movement restricting portion, which is in close proximity to the outer peripheral end face thereof, and the movement thereof is regulated by the movement restricting portion. The substrate is correctly conveyed to a predetermined position in the inside of the heat treatment furnace, and the substrate can be supported on the wafer support ring in the heat treatment furnace reliably and at a predetermined position.

In the substrate loading / unloading device according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the substrate loading / unloading arm sucks and supports the substrate by the suction means, a heat treatment is performed between the suction surface of the substrate loading / unloading arm and the substrate lower surface. When carrying the substrate into the furnace, there is no gap in which outside air such as air stays and is held. Therefore, carry-in of outside air into the heat treatment furnace when the substrate is carried into the heat treatment furnace can be minimized. For this reason,
After the substrate is loaded into the heat treatment furnace, the gas replacement time until the inside of the heat treatment furnace is brought into an atmosphere in which the concentration should be controlled can be shortened. Further, the substrate is adsorbed by the suction means and fixed to the substrate carrying arm and does not move with respect to the substrate carrying arm, so that the substrate is always properly transported to a predetermined position in the heat treatment furnace, and the wafer support inside the heat treatment furnace is supported. The substrate can be supported on the ring reliably and at a fixed position.

In the substrate loading and unloading device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the substrate unloading arm supports the substrate by the three support projections being in point contact with the lower surface of the substrate. There is no need to worry about the substrate breaking even if it is supported.

[0014]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a substrate, for example, a semiconductor wafer is loaded into a heat treatment furnace of a heat treatment apparatus, for example, a lamp annealing apparatus, and the wafer is loaded from the heat treatment furnace. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a wafer supporting portion of a wafer loading arm which is one of the components of the wafer loading / unloading device for unloading the wafer, and FIG. The basic configuration and functions of the wafer loading / unloading device are the same as those of the conventional device described with reference to FIG. 7, and a description thereof will be omitted.

1 and 2, the upper surface of the bifurcated front portion is recessed in an arc shape so as to correspond to the outer peripheral shape of the wafer W.
The bottom surface of the wafer 2 serves as a support plane 14 that is in surface contact with the lower surface of the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W to support the wafer W in a horizontal posture. Also,
The inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 12 serves as a movement restricting portion 16 that is close to and opposes the outer peripheral end surface of the wafer W supported on the support plane 14.

The wafer carrying arm 10 takes out an unprocessed wafer from the wafer positioning unit and supports the wafer W so that the wafer W fits in the recess 12. At this time, since the lower surface of the wafer W and the support plane 14 are in surface contact, no gap is formed between them so that outside air such as air stays and is held. Accordingly, the wafer loading arm 10 is driven to move the wafer W into the heat treatment furnace.
When carrying in, the carry-in of outside air into the heat treatment furnace is minimized. For this reason, the time required for gas replacement performed after loading the wafer W into the heat treatment furnace can be shortened. Further, when the wafer carrying arm 10 supports the wafer W, the outer peripheral end surface of the wafer W is opposed to and close to the movement regulating unit 16, and the movement on the wafer carrying arm 10 is regulated by the movement regulating unit 16. Therefore, the wafer W is always properly transported to a predetermined position in the heat treatment furnace by the wafer carrying arm 10, and is surely and fixedly placed on the wafer support ring via the wafer transfer mechanism provided in the heat treatment furnace. Supported by

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of an embodiment of the invention different from the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and showing a wafer supporting portion of a wafer carrying arm. The suction cups 20 are attached to the wafer carrying arm 18 at a plurality of locations on the upper surface side of the bifurcated front portion, in the illustrated example, at three locations. Then, in the wafer carrying arm 18, the wafer W
Is sucked by the suction cup 20 to support the wafer W in a horizontal posture.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment, and is a plan view of a wafer supporting portion of a wafer carrying arm. The wafer carrying arm 22 has a rod shape, and a suction portion 24 is provided at a tip portion thereof. A vacuum suction path 26 communicating with the suction portion 24 is formed inside the rod portion of the wafer carrying arm 22. The wafer carrying arm 22 is used for the wafer W
The suction unit 24 sucks the central part of the upper surface of the wafer W to support the wafer W in a suspended state in a horizontal position.

The wafer carrying arm 18 shown in FIG. 3 and the wafer carrying arm 22 shown in FIG.
No gap is formed between the suction surface 2 and the lower surface of the wafer W such that outside air such as air stays and is retained when the wafer W is carried into the heat treatment furnace. Therefore, when the wafer W is supported by the wafer carrying arms 18 and 22 and is carried into the heat treatment furnace, the introduction of outside air into the heat treatment furnace is minimized. For this reason, the time required for gas replacement performed after loading the wafer W into the heat treatment furnace can be shortened. Further, since the wafer W is sucked by the suction cup 20 and the suction 24 and fixed to the wafer carrying arms 18 and 22, the wafer W does not move with respect to the wafer carrying arms 18 and 22. Therefore, the wafer W is loaded on the wafer loading arm 1
By means of 8 and 22, the wafer is always correctly transported to a predetermined position in the heat treatment furnace, and is surely supported on a wafer support ring in the heat treatment furnace at a fixed position.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples of the structure of a wafer carry-out arm of the wafer carry-in / out device. FIG. 5 is a plan view, and FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. is there.

5 and 6, the upper surface of the bifurcated front portion is concavely formed in an arc shape corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the wafer W.
A plurality of, in the illustrated example, three support projections 32 are formed on the bottom surface of the zero. Then, the wafer unloading arm 28
The three support projections 32 support the wafer W in point contact with the lower surface of the wafer W. Therefore, even if the wafer carrying arm 28 supports the wafer W at a high temperature, for example, 500 ° C. or more immediately after the completion of the heat treatment, there is no fear that the wafer W is broken.

FIG. 1 shows a wafer loading / unloading apparatus according to the present invention.
Or a wafer loading arm 1 having a configuration as shown in FIG.
0, 18, and 22, and a wafer unloading arm 28 having a configuration as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
Unlike conventional devices, wafer loading arms 10, 18,
The support structure of the wafer W is different between the wafer 22 and the wafer unloading arm 28.

[0024]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the use of the substrate carry-in / out device of the heat treatment apparatus minimizes the introduction of outside air into the heat treatment furnace when the substrate is carried into the heat treatment furnace. Thus, the time required for gas replacement in the heat treatment furnace after the substrate is carried into the heat treatment furnace is reduced, so that the throughput can be improved. In addition, the substrate is reliably supported without moving with respect to the arm during the process of loading the substrate into the heat treatment furnace, and is always correctly transported to a predetermined position in the heat treatment furnace. On the wafer support ring of the same. Further, it is possible to eliminate the accident of dropping the substrate in the heat treatment furnace and to obtain in-plane uniformity in the heat treatment of the substrate with good reproducibility.

In the substrate loading / unloading device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the high-temperature substrate immediately after the completion of the heat treatment is carried out from the heat treatment furnace while exhibiting the above effects of the first and second inventions. In this case, it is possible to eliminate a fear that the substrate is broken when the substrate is supported by the substrate carrying arm.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a wafer supporting portion of a wafer loading arm which is one of components of a wafer loading / unloading device of a lamp annealing apparatus.

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

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of an embodiment of the invention having a different configuration from the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is a plan view of a wafer support portion of a wafer loading arm;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a wafer support portion of a wafer loading arm according to another embodiment of the present invention having another configuration.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration example of a wafer carry-out arm of the wafer carry-in / out device.

6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wafer loading / unloading device together with a heat treatment furnace and the like.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 18, 22 Wafer carry-in arm 12 Wafer carry-in arm recess 14 Support plane 16 Movement restricting unit 20 Suction cup 24 Suction unit 26 Vacuum suction path 28 Wafer carry-out arm 30 Wafer carry-out arm recess 32 Support protrusion W Semiconductor wafer

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) B65G 1/00 547 B65G 1/00 547A 49/07 49/07 G F27D 3/00 F27D 3/00 Z H01L 21/26 H01L 21/26 GF term (reference) 3C007 DS01 ES02 EV01 EV05 EV07 EV14 EW00 FS01 NS09 NS11 NS17 3F022 AA08 CC02 KK01 KK10 3F061 AA01 BA02 BE01 BE05 BE12 BE24 BF00 CA01 DB00 DB04 DB06 4K055 AA07 GA03 GA05 FA05 GA24 GA38 KA03 MA30 PA20

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate carrying arm for supporting a substrate before heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it into a heat treatment furnace, and a substrate carrying arm for supporting a substrate after heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it out of the heat treatment furnace. In the substrate loading / unloading device of the heat treatment apparatus, the substrate loading arm has a support plane for supporting the substrate in surface contact with the lower surface of the substrate, and the substrate loading arm supports the substrate supported on the support plane. And a movement restricting portion formed adjacent to and facing the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate along the outer peripheral edge of the substrate. 2. A substrate carrying arm for supporting a substrate before heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it into a heat treatment furnace, and a substrate carrying arm for supporting a substrate after heat treatment in a horizontal position and carrying it out of the heat treatment furnace. A substrate loading / unloading device for a heat treatment apparatus, comprising: a substrate loading / unloading device, wherein the substrate loading / unloading arm includes a suction unit that sucks and supports the substrate. 3. The substrate carrying-in / out apparatus of a heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said substrate carrying-out arm has at least three support projections for supporting said substrate in point contact with a lower surface of said substrate.