JP2002118157A - Clean cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clean cover which covers an entire system to keep high cleanness, and to prevent the face of an observer in micro-observation through eyepieces from being blown by a down-flow air stream. SOLUTION: This clean cover is provided with a cover body 30a-30d that covers at least four peripheral sides of a wafer inspection system, an eyepiece opening 32 arranged on the cover body 30a-30d for protruding an eyepiece 22 of a microscope 21 from the cover body 30a-30d, and an air shield member 34 arranged between the eyepiece opening 32 and a leans barrel 21a the microscope 21 for forcing the down-flow air stream F to flow out toward surrounding directions around the eyepiece 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate inspection apparatus for performing a macro inspection for visually inspecting the surface of a substrate to be inspected such as a semiconductor wafer or a micro inspection for inspecting using a microscope. About the cover.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is an external view of such a board inspection apparatus. The apparatus main body 1 is provided with a macro swing mechanism 3 for macro inspection for visually inspecting the semiconductor wafer 2 and a microscope 4 for enlarging the semiconductor wafer 2 for micro inspection. The eyepiece 4a of the microscope 4 is disposed on the front side of the apparatus main body 1.

On the front side of the apparatus main body 1, an operation unit 5 for operating a macro inspection and a micro inspection is provided, and a monitor for displaying an image of the semiconductor wafer 2 taken through the microscope 4 and the like. 6 are installed.

[0004] In such a substrate inspection apparatus, it is important to maintain the cleanness of the entire apparatus. For this purpose, a clean cover is used in which the entire apparatus is covered with a large-sized clean cover or an opening for projecting the eyepiece 4a of the microscope 4 is formed without opening the macro observation without covering the entire apparatus. . Then, a downflow airflow from above the clean cover is supplied to maintain the cleanness of the substrate inspection apparatus.

[0005]

However, a clean cover in which an opening for macro observation and an opening for projecting the eyepiece 4a of the microscope 4 are formed can maintain a high degree of cleanness. In addition, when the observer microscopically observes the enlarged image of the semiconductor wafer 1 through the eyepiece 4a, the eyepiece 4
Downflow airflow is blown to the face of the observer through the opening that protrudes a, and hinders the observer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a clean cover which can cover a whole apparatus and maintain a high cleanness, and can prevent a downflow airflow from being blown to an observer's face during micro observation with an eyepiece. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus which is mounted on a substrate inspection apparatus having at least a micro inspection function using a microscope, and in which a down-flow airflow flows from above to maintain the internal cleanness. A cover body surrounding at least four sides of the substrate inspection apparatus, an eyepiece opening provided on the cover body and projecting an eyepiece part of the microscope from the cover body, and an eyepiece opening; An air shield member provided between the eyepiece section and the air shield member, the air shield member being provided between the eyepiece section and the downflow airflow.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the clean cover according to the first aspect, the air shield member has a frame portion attached to the lens barrel and substantially parallel to an outer wall surface of the cover body. It is characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the clean cover according to the first or second aspect, the air shield member has a substantially Z-shaped cross section attached to the lens barrel and a flat cross section. It is characterized by comprising a combination with a frame.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the clean cover according to the first aspect, the substrate inspection apparatus includes:
A macro observation function for visually observing the surface of the substrate to be inspected is provided, and the cover body is provided with a light transmissive window provided with an antireflection coating on a line of sight for performing the macro observation.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram of a substrate inspection apparatus equipped with a clean cover according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the substrate inspection apparatus inside the clean cover. The board inspection device
An inspection unit 2 for performing a macro inspection and a micro inspection on a semiconductor wafer 1 (an uninspected semiconductor wafer 1a and an inspected semiconductor wafer 1b), and an uninspected semiconductor wafer 1a for the inspection unit 2. Supply and inspection unit 2
Thus, the loader units 3 for discharging the inspected semiconductor wafer 1b are provided separately and independently.

The loader unit 3 is arranged on the back side of the inspection unit 2. The loader unit 3 is mounted so that the wafer transfer robot 5 moves in the left-right direction (the direction of arrow A) by the drive of the shift mechanism 4. The wafer transfer robot 5 supplies / discharges the semiconductor wafer 1 to / from the inspection unit 2 from the back side of the inspection unit 2 (in the direction of arrow B).

In the loader section 3, two wafer carriers 6, 7 are mounted on the back side of the loader section 3. Among the wafer carriers 6 and 7, an untested semiconductor wafer 1 a is stored in the wafer carrier 6, and a tested semiconductor wafer 1 b is stored in the wafer carrier 7.

The wafer transfer robot 5 is an articulated type having three connecting arms 8 to 10 connected to each other. A hand 11 is provided on the connecting arm 10 at the tip of the robot. The hand 11 is formed by integrally forming a suction portion 14 in which a plurality of suction holes 13 for sucking the semiconductor wafer 1 are formed with respect to a V-shaped relief portion 12. The wafer transfer robot 5 expands and contracts each of the connecting arms 8 to 10, and
5 is rotatable.

A wafer transfer device (three arms) 16 is provided on the gantry of the inspection unit 2. The wafer transfer device 16 includes three transfer arms 16 around a rotation shaft 17.
a, 16b, and 16c are provided at equal angles (for example, 120 degrees).
6c are provided with U-shaped hands 18a, 18b, and 18c each having a U-shaped wafer chuck. Each of the hands 18a, 18b, and 18c has a U-shape in which one fingertip is long and the other fingertip is short.

The wafer transfer device 16 circulates and rotates, for example, counterclockwise (in the direction of the arrow) in FIG.
The transfer arms 16a, 16b, and 16c respectively transfer wafers to and from the transfer robot 5 (positions) P ₁ ,
Positioning is performed at one of the macro inspection position (position) P ₂ and the micro inspection delivery position (position) P ₃ .

The central position of these wafer transfer position P ₁ is the rear side wall and the left wall of the test section 2 equidistant relationship.

[0019] macro inspection position P _2, the macro inspection oscillating mechanism 19 for macro inspecting front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 1 is provided by visual observers Q.

Further, a micro inspection unit 20 is provided on a gantry of the inspection unit 2. The micro inspection unit 20, the hand 1 is positioning the micro inspection transfer position P ₃
This is for receiving the semiconductor wafer 1 held on 8a, 18b or 18c and performing micro-inspection of the semiconductor wafer 1 using the microscope 21. This micro inspection part 2
At 0, the image of the semiconductor wafer 1 enlarged by the microscope 21 can be captured by a CCD camera or the like, or can be observed through an eyepiece 22 provided on the front side of the apparatus. The eyepiece section 22 is vertically movable so that the observer Q can easily observe.

An operation unit 23 for performing an operation for performing a macro inspection and a micro inspection is provided on the front of the apparatus, and an enlarged image of the semiconductor wafer 1 taken through the microscope 21 is displayed on the left of the front of the apparatus. A monitor device 24 for displaying is provided.

The clean cover 30 mounted on such a board inspection apparatus has the following configuration. The clean cover 30 is formed in a quadrilateral shape by cover bodies 30a to 30d on four sides surrounding four sides around the board inspection apparatus. The clean cover 30 covers the substrate inspection apparatus except for the two wafer carriers 6 and 7, the operation unit 23, the eyepiece unit 22 of the microscope 21, and the monitor device 24, and is formed to have a slightly longer dimension than that of the apparatus. Have been. The clean cover 30 is formed of a metal plate such as a stainless steel plate or an aluminum plate as a light shielding member, or a smoke gray glass plate.

An upper portion of the clean cover 30 is open, from which a downflow airflow F is constantly flowed into the inside of the cover to maintain the cleanness.

A light-transmissive window having an anti-reflection coating on the surface thereof, such as a light-transmissive window, is provided on the range of sight R of the observer Q who performs a macro inspection on the cover body 30a on the front side of the clean cover 30. A glass window 31 having an anti-reflection coating on the glass surface is provided. The glass window 31 has a quadrangular shape or a circular shape, and is formed at a position and an area that do not obstruct the line of sight for visually observing the semiconductor wafer 1 during macro observation. The coating of the glass window 31 eliminates unnecessary reflection on the surface of the glass window 31 during macro observation, and improves the accuracy of visual defect observation.

The cover body 30a on the front side of the clean cover 30 is provided with an eyepiece opening 32 projecting from the cover body 30a so that the eyepiece 22 of the microscope 21 can be seen from the outside. An air shield member 34 of low dust generation is interposed between the eyepiece opening 32 and the lens barrel 21a of the microscope 21 to prevent the downflow airflow F from flowing out to the eyepiece 22. I have. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the air shield member 34. The air shield member 34 and the lens barrel 21
A gap 33 for insertion is formed between the gap 33 and a.
The lens barrel 21a is provided with a substantially U-shaped air shield member 34 for allowing the downflow airflow F to flow out along the outer wall surface of the cover main body 30a. The air shield member 34 is not limited to the U-shape as long as at least a part thereof is formed substantially parallel to the outer wall surface of the cover main body 30a, and may be formed of a flat frame having an L-shaped cross section. And this air shield member 34
The edge of the cover body 30a enters the U-shaped space, and the air shield member 34 and the cover body 30a
Downflow airflow F through the gap between the eyepiece 2
It flows in a direction away from 2. The air shield member 34 has a two-part structure of a frame 34a having a substantially L-shaped cross section attached to the lens barrel 21a and a frame 34b having a flat cross section. It is provided over.

A gap 33 is formed between the eyepiece opening 32 and the air shield member 34 so that
Of the lens barrel 21a allows a slight displacement, so that even if the microscope 21 swings on the anti-vibration table, it is not affected by the swing.

Next, the inspection operation of the substrate inspection apparatus in the clean cover 30 will be described.

The downflow airflow F is always supplied to the inside of the cover from the opening above the clean cover 30 to maintain a high cleanness.

[0029] In this state, the hand 18a of the wafer transfer device 16, 18b, the semiconductor wafer 1, respectively held adsorbed onto 18c, macro inspection position positioning semiconductor wafer 1 macro inspection oscillating mechanism P ₂ 19, the semiconductor wafer 1 is swung, and a macro inspection is performed by the observer Q visually.

In this macro inspection, the observer Q checks the glass window 3
1 by visually observing the semiconductor wafer 1.

[0031] Further, the semiconductor wafer 1 on the hand 18c that is positioning the micro inspection transfer position _{P 3,} the
The inspection stage is transferred to the inspection stage of the micro inspection unit 20, and the inspection stage is scanned in the X and Y directions and enlarged by the objective lens of the microscope 21, and the image is captured by a CCD camera or the like. Done.

When the micro inspection is performed through the eyepiece section 22, the downflow airflow F flows through the gap between the air shield member 34 and the cover body 30a as shown in FIG. 3 and flows out of the cover body 30a. The airflow F flows in a direction away from the eyepiece 22 along the wall surface of the cover body 30a by the frame 34b. Therefore, when the micro inspection is performed through the eyepiece unit 22, the downflow airflow F is not sprayed on the face of the observer Q. Further, the eyepiece section 22 can be vertically movable so that the observer Q can easily observe.

When the macro inspection and the micro inspection described above are completed, the wafer transfer device 16 rotates, for example, counterclockwise about the axis 17 in the drawing, and the transfer arm 16a is moved to the macro inspection position P ₂ and the transfer arm 16b is turned to the next position. microinspection delivery position _{P 3,} the transfer arm 16c is positioning respective wafer transfer position _{P 1.}

Next, the wafer conveying robot 5 positions the hand 11 is extended in the direction of arrow B from the back side of the inspection unit 2 each connecting arm 8 to 10 to the wafer transfer position P _1. Then, the hand 11 moves the wafer transfer position P ₁
Receives the inspected semiconductor wafer 1b from the transfer arm 18c.

The wafer transfer robot 5 holds each of the connecting arms 8 to 1 while holding the inspected semiconductor wafer 1b.
0 is moved to the right by the shift mechanism 4 and stopped at the position corresponding to the wafer carrier 7, where the connecting arms 8 to 10 are extended again to store the inspected semiconductor wafer 1 b in the wafer carrier 7. .

Subsequently, the wafer transfer robot 5 moves to the left by driving the shift mechanism 4 in a state where the connecting arms 8 to 10 are contracted and stops at the position corresponding to the wafer carrier 6, where the connecting arms 8 to 10 are stopped. 8-10 holds the semiconductor wafer 1a untested accommodated in the wafer carrier 6 stretch, shrink the connection arms 8 to 10, then for example rotated 180 degrees counterclockwise, the wafer transfer position P ₁ positioned at the corresponding position, to move the hand 11 is extended in the direction of arrow B from the back side of the inspection unit 2 each connecting arm 8 to 10 to the wafer transfer position P ₁ again. The hand 11 transfers the untested semiconductor wafer 1a to the transfer arm 16c.

At the same time, similarly to the above, the semiconductor wafer 1 positioned at the macro inspection position P ₂ is swung by the swing mechanism 19 for macro inspection, and is visually observed by the observer Q through the glass window 31. macro inspection is performed, the semiconductor wafer 3, which is positioning the micro inspection transfer position P ₃ is passed to the micro inspection unit 20, wherein the image is CCD is enlarged by a microscope 21
An image is taken by a camera or the like, or a micro inspection is performed through the eyepiece unit 22.

The subsequent, similarly to the above, in the wafer transfer position P ₁ passing between the inspected semiconductor wafer 1 and the semiconductor wafer 1 untested performed, the semiconductor wafer 1 transferred from the wafer transfer robot 5 The wafer is transferred to the macro inspection position P ₂ and the micro inspection delivery position P ₃ by the wafer transfer device 16.

As described above, in one embodiment,
Cover bodies 30a to 30d surrounding four sides of the board inspection device
A glass window 31 provided with an anti-reflection coating on the line of sight for performing macro inspection on the cover bodies 30a to 30d, and an eyepiece section 22 of the microscope 21 provided on the cover bodies 30a to 30d. An eyepiece opening 32 protruding from the cover body 30a,
Since the clean cover 30 formed by the air shield member 34 that allows the downflow airflow F to flow out of the eyepiece section 22 is mounted on the board inspection apparatus, the compact and space-saving clean cover 30 is used for the board inspection apparatus. The entire device can be covered, and the entire device can be maintained at a high degree of cleanliness.

In the macro inspection, the observer Q checks the glass window 3
Since the semiconductor wafer 1 is visually observed through the apparatus 1, vapor or dust contained in breath or the like discharged from the observer Q does not flow into the inside of the apparatus, so that wafer contamination can be favorably prevented. Further, since the glass window 31 is coated with an anti-reflection coating, adverse effects due to unnecessary reflection on the surface of the glass window 31 are reduced, and the accuracy of defect detection in macro observation can be improved. The glass window 31 is positioned over the line of sight R of the observer Q performing the macro inspection.
Are formed at positions and areas that do not obstruct the line of sight for visually observing the semiconductor wafer 1. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer 1 can be easily observed and can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, a gap 33 is formed between the eyepiece opening 32 and the air shield member 34 so that the microscope 21 is not affected by the swing of the microscope 21 on the anti-vibration table. Is allowed, and even if the downflow airflow F flows out of the gap 33, the downflow airflow F is formed in the U-shaped air shield member 3.
4 flows along the wall surface of the cover main body 30a, so that the downflow airflow F is not sprayed on the face of the observer Q when the observer Q performs the micro inspection through the eyepiece lens unit 22. The eyepiece 22 is
It can be vertically movable so that the observer Q can easily observe.

Further, since only the cover bodies 30a to 30d surrounding the four sides of the board inspection apparatus are combined, the board inspection apparatus can be covered with a simple operation, and the work of attaching and detaching the board inspection apparatus is easy.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and that various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the scope of the invention.

Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent features. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the problem described in the column of the effect of the invention can be solved. In the case where a certain effect can be obtained, a configuration from which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0045]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a high degree of cleanliness can be maintained by covering the entire apparatus, and a downflow airflow is prevented from being blown to the observer's face during micro observation with an eyepiece. Provide a clean cover that can be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external configuration diagram of a substrate inspection apparatus to which an embodiment of a clean cover according to the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an apparatus for inspecting a substrate in a cover in one embodiment of a clean cover according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an eyepiece opening in an embodiment of a clean cover according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a conventional board inspection apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: semiconductor wafer 2: inspection unit 3: loader unit 4: shift mechanism 5: wafer transfer robot 6, 7: wafer carrier 8 to 10: connecting arm 11: hand 16: wafer transfer device (three arms) 16a, 16b, 16c: transfer arm 18a, 18b, 18c: hand 19: swing mechanism for macro inspection 20: micro inspection section 21: microscope 22: eyepiece section 23: operation section 24: monitor device 30: clean cover 30a to 30d: cover body 31: glass window 32: eyepiece opening 33: gap 34: air shield member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A clean cover which is mounted on a substrate inspection apparatus having at least a micro inspection function by a microscope and which keeps the inside clean by flowing downflow airflow from above, surrounding at least four sides of the substrate inspection apparatus. A cover body; an eyepiece opening provided in the cover body to project the eyepiece of the microscope from the cover body; and an eyepiece opening provided between the eyepiece opening and the lens barrel of the microscope. An air shield member for allowing the downflow airflow to flow out in a peripheral direction of the eyepiece section. 2. The clean cover according to claim 1, wherein the air shield member has a frame attached to the lens barrel and substantially parallel to an outer wall surface of the cover body. 3. The air shield member according to claim 1, wherein the air shield member is a combination of a frame attached to the lens barrel and having a substantially Z-shaped cross section and a flat cross section. Clean cover. 4. The substrate inspection apparatus has a macro observation function for visually observing the surface of the substrate to be inspected, and the cover body has an antireflection coating on the line of sight for performing the macro observation. 2. The clean cover according to claim 1, further comprising a window having a characteristic.