JP2002217261A - System for carrying substance to be processed and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for carrying a substance to be processed, capable of reducing the number of operators and shortening the turn-around time of the substance to be processed by automatically carrying the substance to be processed, and a method thereof. SOLUTION: A system E for carrying a wafer W has a host computer 1 for controlling the production of a semiconductor device, a plurality of probers 2 for performing an electric characteristic inspection of the wafer W under the control of the host computer 1, an AGV 3 for automatically carrying the wafer W by a carrier to pass the wafer one by one to these probers 2 according to the respective requests, and an AGV controller 4 for controlling the AGV 3 under the control of the host computer 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for transporting an object to be processed and a method for transporting an object to be processed, and more particularly, to a system for transporting an object to be processed to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus such as an inspection apparatus. 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport system for a processing object and a method for transporting a processing object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a semiconductor device inspection process, a prober is widely used as an inspection device for a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wafer"). The prober usually includes a loader chamber and a prober chamber, and performs an electrical characteristic test of the device in a wafer state. The loader chamber includes a carrier mounting portion on which a plurality of (for example, 25) wafers are stored and a wafer transfer mechanism (hereinafter referred to as an "arm mechanism") for transferring wafers one by one from the carrier mounting portion. ), And a pre-alignment mechanism (hereinafter, referred to as “sub-chuck”) for performing pre-alignment of the wafer transferred via the arm mechanism. The prober chamber has a mounting table (hereinafter, referred to as “main chuck”) on which a wafer is mounted and moves in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions.
An alignment mechanism for aligning a wafer in cooperation with the main chuck, a probe card disposed above the main chuck, and a test head interposed between the probe card and the tester are provided.

Therefore, when inspecting a wafer, first, an operator places a carrier containing a plurality of wafers in lot units on a carrier placement portion in a loader room. Next, when the prober is driven, the arm mechanism takes out the wafers in the carrier one by one, performs pre-alignment via the sub chuck, and delivers the wafer to the main chuck in the prober chamber via the arm mechanism. In the loader chamber, the main chuck and the alignment mechanism cooperate to perform wafer alignment. While the indexed wafer is fed through the main chuck through the main chuck, the wafer is brought into electrical contact with the probe card to perform a predetermined electrical characteristic test. When the inspection of the wafer is completed, the wafer on the main chuck is received by the arm mechanism of the loader chamber, returned to the original position in the carrier, and the inspection of the next wafer is repeated as described above. When the inspection of all wafers in the carrier is completed, the operator replaces the next carrier and repeats the above inspection for a new wafer.

[0004]

However, when a wafer has a large diameter of, for example, 300 mm, a carrier containing a plurality of wafers is extremely heavy, so that it is almost impossible for an operator to carry the carrier. ing. Even if it can be carried, it is heavy and dangerous to carry alone. In addition, the control of particles in a clean room becomes more and more strict with the ultra-miniaturization of semiconductor devices. Therefore, automation of manufacturing equipment such as carrier transport becomes more and more important from the viewpoint of particle management in a clean room. This can be said not only for the prober but also for semiconductor manufacturing equipment in general.

Further, the number of devices formed on a single wafer has increased dramatically due to the increase in diameter and ultra-miniaturization of the wafer, and it takes a long time to complete processing such as inspection for one wafer. In addition, when processing wafers in lots, the processed wafers are stopped in the prober until processing of all wafers is completed, and the time required to transfer wafers in lots to subsequent processes is delayed accordingly. TA
There is a problem that it is difficult to shorten T (Turn-Around-Time).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can reduce the number of operators by automating the work of transporting the object to be processed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for transporting an object to be processed and a method for transporting the object to be processed, which can reduce the AT.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for transporting an object to be processed, comprising: a host computer for managing the production of the semiconductor device; A plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses for manufacturing, and an automatic transfer apparatus for automatically transferring an object to be processed in a carrier unit in order to deliver the object to be processed one by one according to each request for these semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses; And a transfer control device for controlling the automatic transfer device under the control of the host computer.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for transporting an object to be processed, wherein a host computer for managing the production of the semiconductor device and an electrical characteristic inspection of the object to be processed under the control of the host computer. A plurality of inspection devices; an automatic transport device for automatically transporting the workpieces in a carrier unit in order to transfer the workpieces one by one to each of these inspection devices in accordance with respective requests; and the automatic transport device. And a transport control device for controlling the above under the control of the host computer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for transporting an object to be processed, wherein a host computer for controlling production of the semiconductor device and an electrical characteristic inspection of the object to be processed under the control of the host computer. A plurality of inspection devices; an automatic transport device for automatically transporting the workpieces in a carrier unit in order to transfer the workpieces one by one to each of these inspection devices in accordance with respective requests; and the automatic transport device. A transfer control device that controls the object under control of the host computer, the inspection device has a first transfer mechanism that transfers the object to be processed one by one, and the automatic transfer device includes It has a placing part for placing the object to be processed on a carrier basis, and a second transfer mechanism for transferring the object to be processed one by one between the mounting part and the inspection device. In things That.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transporting system for an object to be processed, wherein the inspection device and the automatic transporting device are configured as follows. Each optical communication unit has optical communication means for performing optical communication with each other, and transfers the object to be processed via the optical communication means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for transporting an object to be processed, wherein the automatic transporting apparatus comprises the first object. Characterized in that it has an identification means for identifying the type.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for transporting an object to be processed, wherein the automatic transporting device is provided with the object to be processed. And a means for aligning the object to be processed when transferring the object.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of transporting an object to be processed, the step of transporting the object to be processed in a carrier unit via an automatic transport device, and the transfer mechanism of the automatic transport device. A step of taking in and out the objects to be processed in the carrier one by one, and a step of transferring the objects to be processed one by one between the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus via the delivery mechanism. Things.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of transporting an object to be processed in a step of transporting the object to be processed in a carrier unit through an automatic transport device, and a step of transferring the object through a transfer mechanism of the automatic transport device. A step of taking in and out the objects to be processed in the carrier one by one, and a step of transferring the objects to be processed one by one with an inspection apparatus via the delivery mechanism. It is.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of transporting an object to be processed according to the seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the position of the object to be processed is transferred via the transfer mechanism and the carrier. It is characterized by having a step of performing alignment.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for transporting an object to be processed according to any one of the seventh to ninth aspects, wherein the object is processed using optical communication. It is characterized by passing over.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. Automated material handling system according to the present embodiment
(AMHS)) As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, E includes a host computer 1 for controlling production of an entire factory including an inspection process of a wafer (not shown) as a processing object, and a host computer 1 for controlling the production. A plurality of inspection apparatuses (for example, probers) 2 for inspecting electrical characteristics of a wafer under the control of a host computer 1;
A plurality of automatic transfer devices (hereinafter, referred to as "AGVs") 3 for automatically transferring wafers one by one to these probers 2 in response to respective requests, and a transfer control device (hereinafter, referred to as "AGV") 3 for controlling these AGVs 3. , "AGV controller"). Prober 2 and AGV3
It has an optically coupled parallel I / O (hereinafter, referred to as “PIO”) interface based on SEMI standards E23 and E84, and performs PIO communication between the two to enable wafer W
Are handed over one by one. The prober 2 is configured as a single-wafer type prober 2 for receiving wafers W one by one and performing inspection. Hereinafter, the single wafer type prober 2 will be described simply as the prober 2. The AGV controller 4 is connected to the host computer 1 and S
ECS (Semiconductor Equipment Communication Stand
ard) Connected via a communication line, and the host computer 1
, The AGV 3 is controlled via wireless communication, and the wafer W is managed in lot units.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of probers 2 are connected to a host computer 1 via a group controller 5 via an SECS communication line, and the host computer 1 is connected to a plurality of probers 2 via a group controller 5. Is managing. The group controller 5
It manages information on inspection of the prober 2, such as recipe data and log data. A tester 6 is connected to each prober 2 via a SECS communication line, and each prober 2 individually executes a predetermined test according to a command from each tester 6. These testers are connected to the host computer 1 via the tester host 7 via the SECS communication line, and the host computer 1 is a tester host computer (hereinafter, referred to as “tester host”) 7.
, A plurality of testers 6 are managed. Further, a marking device 8 for performing a predetermined marking based on the inspection result of the wafer is connected to the host computer 1 via a marking instruction device 9. The marking instruction device 9 instructs the marking device 8 to perform marking based on the data of the tester host 7. Further, the host computer 1 has a stocker 10 for storing a plurality of carriers C.
The stocker 10 is connected via an ECS communication line, and stores and sorts wafers before and after inspection in a carrier unit under the control of the host computer 1 and carries out wafer loading and unloading in a carrier unit.

The prober 2 has a loader chamber 21 and a prober chamber 22 as shown in FIG. The loader chamber 21 has an adapter 23, an arm mechanism 24, and a sub chuck 25, and is configured according to a conventional prober except for the adapter 23. Adapter 23 is AG
It is configured as a first transfer mechanism for transferring wafers W one by one to and from V3. Details of the adapter 23 will be described later. The arm mechanism 24 has upper and lower two-stage arms 241, and each of the arms 241 holds the wafer W by vacuum suction and releases the vacuum suction to transfer the wafer to and from the adapter 23 and receive the wafer. The transferred wafer W is transferred to the prober chamber 22. The sub chuck 25 performs pre-alignment based on the orientation flat while the wafer W is transferred by the arm mechanism 24. The prober chamber 22 has a main chuck 26, an alignment mechanism 27, and a probe card 28. The main chuck 26 moves in the X and Y directions via the X and Y tables 261 and moves in the Z and θ directions via an elevating mechanism and a θ rotating mechanism (not shown). The alignment mechanism 27 includes an alignment bridge 271, a CCD camera 272, and the like, as is conventionally known, and performs alignment between the wafer W and the probe card 28 in cooperation with the main chuck 26. Probe card 2
8 has a plurality of probes 281, the probes 281 and the wafer on the main chuck 26 are in electrical contact, and are connected to the tester 6 (see FIG. 1A) via a test head (not shown). You. Since the arm mechanism 24 has upper and lower arms 241, the upper arm is described as an upper arm 241 </ b> A and the lower arm is described as a lower arm 241 </ b> B as necessary.

The adapter 23 is a device unique to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2B, the adapter 23 includes an adapter body 231 formed in a flat cylindrical shape and having a tapered surface, and a sub chuck 232 that moves up and down at the center of the bottom surface of the adapter body 231. When the wafer W is transferred between the sub chuck 232 and the arm mechanism 24, the sub chuck 232 is moved up and down and the wafer W can be suction-held. The adapter 23 is detachably provided, for example, on a carrier table (not shown), and moves up and down via an indexer (not shown) of the carrier table. The carrier table is configured such that carriers can also be arranged, and has a discrimination sensor (not shown) for discriminating the carrier or the adapter 23. Therefore, when the wafer W is transferred, the adapter 23 moves up through the indexer, and the sub chuck 232 moves up to the transfer position of the wafer W as shown in FIG. Then, the wafer W is lowered to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 2A and 2B, the AGV 3 is disposed at one end of the apparatus main body 31 and has the carrier C mounted thereon. And a mapping sensor 33 for detecting the storage position of the wafer in the carrier, an arm mechanism 34 for transporting the wafer in the carrier C, and a wafer W
, A pre-alignment sub-chuck 35, an optical pre-alignment sensor 36 (see FIG. 11), an optical character reader (OCR) 37 for reading an ID code (not shown) of the wafer W, and a driving source. And a plurality of probers 2 between the stocker 10 and the prober 2 through wireless communication with the AGV controller 4.
The carrier C is conveyed by self-running, and the wafers 2W of the carrier C are distributed one by one to the plurality of probers 2 via the arm mechanism 34.

The arm mechanism 34 is a wafer transfer mechanism mounted on the AGV 3 for the first time. The arm mechanism 34 is configured to be able to rotate and move up and down when transferring the wafer W. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the arm mechanism 34 includes an upper arm 341 and a lower arm 341 for transferring a wafer.
A base 342 rotatably supporting the arms 341 so as to be able to move back and forth, and a driving mechanism (not shown) housed in the base 342. As described above, the upper and lower arms 341 individually move back and forth on the base 342 via the driving mechanism, and the base 342 rotates forward and backward in the direction in which the wafer W is delivered. Upper and lower arms 341
Has a vacuum suction mechanism 343 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and uses a mounted battery to vacuum suction the wafer W. In the following, the upper arm is described as an upper arm 341A, and the lower arm is described as a lower arm 341B, as necessary.

However, although the compressor that can be mounted on the AGV 3 uses the mounted battery as a power source, as described above, only a low-capacity battery of, for example, about 25 V can be mounted, so that the vacuum suction of the arm mechanism 34 is performed. The air flow is insufficient for use as a mechanism. That is, the air is directly ejected from the ejector 347 by the small compressor 344 using the battery mounted with the AGV 3 as a power source.
Even if the air is exhausted from A, the air flow in the compressor 344 is small, so that the air in the exhaust passage 341C of the arm 341 cannot be sufficiently sucked and exhausted, and the wafer W cannot be vacuum-adsorbed on the arm 341. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the following ingenuity is applied to the vacuum suction mechanism 343 to compensate for the insufficient flow rate of the compressor.

That is, the vacuum suction mechanism 343 of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 3, a pipe 344 is formed in an exhaust passage 341C formed in the arm 341 and opened at the front end of the upper surface.
A, and a compressor 344 connected through A and an air tank 345 for storing compressed air pressure-fed from the compressor 344 via a pipe 344A. The compressed air is stored at a predetermined pressure (for example, 0.45 MPa). Further, the vacuum suction mechanism 343 includes a gas pressure adjusting mechanism 346 disposed in the pipe 344A, an ejector 347A including a switching valve 347, a check valve 348 with a pilot, and a pressure sensor 349, and in this order from the air tank 345 side. It is arranged facing the arm 341 side. The vacuum suction mechanism 343 is driven under the control of an AGV controller 4 (not shown).

The compressor 344 sends air under pressure and temporarily stores compressed air in the air tank 345 at a predetermined pressure.
Even if the air flow rate of the small compressor 344 using the battery mounted with the AGV 3 as a power source is small, the wafer W is temporarily stored in the air tank 345 with a predetermined amount of compressed air.
The air flow rate required for vacuum suction of can be secured.
That is, by using the compressed air stored in the air tank 345, an air flow rate necessary for vacuum suction of the wafer W can be secured. The gas pressure adjusting mechanism 346 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the air filter 346A and the pressure reducing valve 346
B, and has a pressure gauge 346C, stores compressed air in the air tank 345, and exhausts compressed air from the ejector 347A to the outside at a constant flow rate required for vacuum suction of the wafer W. The shaded portion of the pipe 344A in FIG. 3 is a decompression portion.

The switching valve 347 is constituted by a solenoid valve as shown in FIG. 4. When the solenoid is energized, the switching valve 347 communicates the gas pressure adjusting mechanism 346 with the arm 341. Otherwise, the switching valve 347 operates the gas pressure adjusting mechanism 346. It is disconnected from the arm 341. Therefore, air at a constant pressure flows from the gas pressure adjusting mechanism 346 to which the switching valve 347 is energized, and the ejector 347
A and exhaust air from the arm 341
Air is sucked from 1C and exhausted. At this time, the arm 34
1 holds the wafer W, the opening of the exhaust path 341C of the arm 341 is closed by the wafer W. Therefore, the exhaust path 341C (in FIG.
41C) is in a reduced pressure state, and the wafer W is vacuum-sucked on the arm 341. The degree of vacuum at this time is detected by the pressure sensor 349, and the ON / OFF of the solenoid valve 347A is controlled based on the detected value. In addition, since the air in the air tank 345 is consumed, the compressor 3 based on the detection value of the pressure gauge 346C is used.
44 is turned on and off. When the solenoid is energized, the check valve 348 with the pilot
The exhaust path 341C communicates with the ejector 347A side to suck air from the exhaust path 341C, and when the solenoid is no longer in a biased state, the check valve 348 with the pilot
1C is closed to maintain a predetermined degree of reduced pressure. When the vacuum suction by the arm 341 is released, the check valve 34 with the pilot is used.
The solenoid 8 may be energized to make the exhaust path 341C communicate with the ejector 347A to open the exhaust path 341C to the atmosphere.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure sensor 349 has a first pressure switch 349A and a second pressure switch 349B, and detects different pressures. The first pressure switch 349A is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the wafer W on the arm 341. The first pressure switch 349A detects a pressure in the exhaust path 341C, for example, 25 kPa lower than the atmospheric pressure, and determines whether or not the wafer W exists based on the detected value. To inform. Also,
The second pressure switch 349B is a sensor that detects a pressure leak in the exhaust path 341C. The second pressure switch 349B detects a pressure in the exhaust path 341C that is 40 kPa lower than the atmospheric pressure, for example, and detects a pressure leak when the internal pressure becomes higher than this detection value. That there is. When the second pressure switch 349B detects a pressure leak, that is, when the pressure in the exhaust path 341C increases (when the degree of vacuum decreases), the solenoid valve 347 is energized based on the detection result of the second pressure switch 349B and the pilot Check valve 348 is opened to supply compressed air to the ejector 34.
7A, the pressure in the exhaust path 341C is reduced, and the pressure of the second pressure switch 349B becomes 4
When the pressure reaches 0 kPa or lower, the solenoid valve 34
7 is turned off, and the check valve with pilot 348 is closed to maintain the reduced pressure state. When the value of the pressure gauge 346C falls below a predetermined value, the compressor 344 is driven to replenish the compressed air into the air tank 345.

AGV3 is the wafer W of the prober 2.
, The arm mechanism 34 is driven in the AGV 3 to take out the wafers W in the carrier C one by one. However, the grooves C ₁ of the inner surface of the carrier C such as 25 stages in the vertical direction is formed as shown in FIG. 5, it is accommodated horizontally by inserting the wafer W for each of these grooves C _1. Therefore, the wafer W is placed in the groove C ₁ in the carrier C.
After the wafer W is taken out of the carrier C using the arm mechanism 34, the centering needs to be performed using, for example, an optical sensor. However, in the present embodiment, the centering of the wafer W is performed using the carrier C.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Side toward the back on the back of the carrier C is gradually narrows inclined surface C ₂ are formed symmetrically. Therefore, use of this inclined surface C ₂ when performing centering of the wafer W. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the arm mechanism 34 is driven, the vacuum suction mechanism 343 is turned off, and the arm 3 is turned off.
41 is inserted into the cassette C from below the predetermined wafer W. During this time, the arm mechanism 34 rises slightly and the arm 34
The wafer W is placed on the wafer 1. When the arm 341 is further inserted into the back of the carrier C in this state, the wafer W is in contact with the inclined surface C ₂ of the left and right of the carrier C while moving to the back from the position shown by the broken line in FIG via an arm 341 The arm 341 enters the back while stopping. Automatically this time, the inclined surface C ₂ of the left and right because the device has a symmetric, by contacting the wafer W on the arm 341 to the left and right inclined surfaces C ₂ while the arm 341 pushes the wafer W into the carrier C Centering can be performed. After centering, the vacuum suction mechanism 343 is driven to hold the wafer W by the arm 341. In this state, the arm 341 retreats from inside the carrier C, and takes out the wafer W from the carrier C. When taking out one wafer W from the carrier C as described above, the arm mechanism 34 rotates 90 ° and delivers the wafer W to the adapter 23 of the prober 2. Since the centering of the wafer W can be performed in the AGV 3 in this manner, A
When the wafer W is directly transferred from the GV 3 to the main chuck 26 in the prober chamber 22, there is no need to newly align the wafer W. In other words, the centering of the wafer W in the AGV 3 performs the positioning when the wafer W is directly transferred from the AGV 3 to the main chuck 26 in the prober chamber 22.

When the arm mechanism 34 of the AGV 3 transfers the wafer W to and from the adapter 23 of the prober 2, the optical coupling PI between the prober 2 and the AGV 3 as described above.
O communication is performed. Therefore, the AGV 3 and the prober 2 are provided with PIO communication interfaces 11A and 11B (see FIGS. 1 and 7), respectively, so that one wafer W can be transferred accurately using PIO communication with each other.
Since the AGV 3 has the arm mechanism 34 which has not existed in the related art, the AGV 3 controls the signal line for controlling the vacuum suction mechanism 343 of the arm mechanism 34 and the arm 341 in addition to the communication line defined by the conventional SEMI standard. Signal lines.

Further, the prober 2 has the wafer W as described above.
One adapter (hereinafter, also referred to as a “load port” as necessary) 23 is provided as a load port for the transfer of the data. However, load port 23
In the case of one, the prober 2 cannot insert the next wafer W until the inspected wafer W is taken out,
There was a limit to throughput improvement. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, at least one virtual load port 23V is set in the prober 2 separately from an actual load port (hereinafter, referred to as an "actual load port") 23 by software. They are handled as if there are multiple load ports. That is, the AGV 3 performs the PIO communication via the software when performing the PIO communication using the optical signal L even when the inspected wafer W exists in the prober 2 as shown in FIG. By switching the load port numbers of the signal lines of the interfaces 11A and 11B, a new wafer W can be loaded even if a wafer W exists in the prober 2.

When the virtual load port 23V is designated to the prober 2 via the PIO communication between the AGV 3 and the prober 2, it is not necessary to return the inspected wafer W to the actual load port 23, for example, the unload arm 241 or the unload arm. A load table (not shown) functions as a virtual load port 23V, which can hold the inspected wafer W, leave the adapter 23 open, and wait for the next wafer W. By providing the virtual load port 23V in this manner, the unload arm 241 and the unload table (not shown) can be fully utilized, the throughput can be improved, and the extra real load port can be achieved. It is not necessary to provide a device, and an increase in footprint and an increase in cost of the apparatus can be prevented.

By the way, the object transfer system E of the present embodiment has its own PIO communication interfaces 11A and 11B for accurately transferring the wafer W between the arm mechanism 34 of the AGV 3 and the adapter 23 of the prober 2. It has. These PIO communication interfaces 11
7A and 11B are composed of 8 bits each having 8 ports as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, and the first to eighth bits correspond to FIGS. 7A and 7B. Signal is assigned.

Therefore, the PIO communication interface 11
A method of transferring a wafer W between the AGV 3 and the prober 2 using PIO communication using A and 11B will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12 show AGV3.
13 shows a method of loading the wafer W from the prober 2 into the prober 3, FIG. 13 shows a flow of the wafer W in the prober 2, and FIGS. 14 to 16 show a method of unloading the wafer W from the prober 2 to the AGV 3.

First, the wafer W is transferred from the AGV 3 to the prober 2.
A method of loading a transferred wafer will be described. When the host computer 1 transmits a transfer command of the wafer W to the AGV controller 4 via the SECS communication, the AGV 3 moves to the front of the prober 2 (wafer transfer position) under the control of the AGV controller 4 as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Move (step S1). When the AGV 3 reaches the prober 2 as shown in FIG. 10A, the mapping sensor 33 detects the carrier C as shown in FIG.
After the arm mechanism 34 moves up and down, the arm mechanism 34 moves up and down, and while the arm mechanism 34 moves up and down, the accommodation state of the wafer W in the carrier C is mapped via the mapping sensor 33.
As shown in FIG. 10C, the upper arm 341A of the arm mechanism 34 advances and enters the carrier C from slightly below a predetermined wafer W. During this time, the centering of the wafer W is performed via the upper arm 341A and the carrier C as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 (step S2). That is, as shown in FIG. 10C, while the upper arm 341A enters the innermost part of the carrier C, the arm mechanism 34 slightly rises and places the wafer W on the upper arm 341A. 341A reaches the innermost part. The upper arm 341A during this time by contacting the wafer W to the inclined surface C ₂ symmetric carrier C carry out the centering of the wafer W. Next, after the vacuum suction mechanism 343 of the arm mechanism 34 is driven to vacuum suction the wafer W by the upper arm 341A, the upper arm 341A retreats from the carrier C and takes out the centered wafer W from the carrier C (step S2). . The alignment of the wafer W with respect to the main chuck 26 is automatically performed by this centering process.
The wafer W can be delivered directly to the main chuck 26 from V3.

Wafer W is transferred to carrier C by upper arm 341A.
10D, the sub chuck 35 moves up to receive the wafer W from the arm 341 as shown in FIG. 10D, and then the wafer W is pre-aligned via the pre-alignment sensor 36 while the sub chuck 25 rotates. Perform alignment. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 10E, the sub chuck 35 stops rotating and then descends, and while returning the wafer W to the upper arm 341A, the arm mechanism 34 rises and the OCR 3
After the ID code attached to the wafer W is read in step 7 to identify the lot of the wafer W, the arm mechanism 34 rotates 90 degrees as shown in FIG. The orientation is adjusted to the state shown in FIG. I of wafer W identified by OCR 37
The D code is notified from the AGV 3 to the host computer via the AGV controller 4, and further from the host computer 1 to the prober 2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.
The optical coupling PIO communication between the prober 2 and the prober 2 is started. First,
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the AGV 3 transmits a High-level CS_0 signal to the prober 2 and then transmits a High-level VALID signal. CS_0 signal is High
If valid in the h state, the VALID signal maintains the High state, and the adapter (load port) 23 of the prober 2 confirms the receivable state of the wafer W (step S).
3). When the prober 2 receives the VALID signal, as shown in FIG. 9, the L_REQ signal of the prober 2 changes to the high state, and the prober 2 transmits the L_REQ signal to the AGV 3 to instruct the AGV 3 to carry the wafer.

The AGV 3 determines whether or not the L_REQ signal has been received as shown in FIG. 8 (step S4).
When the prober 3 determines that the L_REQ signal has not been received, the prober 2 transmits the L_REQ signal to the AGV 3 (step S5). When the AGV 3 determines that the L_REQ signal has been received, the TR_REQ signal of the AGV 3 changes to the high state to start the transfer of the wafer W, and transmits the TR_REQ signal to the prober 3 (step S6).
Notifies the prober 2 that the transfer of the wafer W is started. When the prober 2 receives the TR_REQ signal as shown in FIG.
A READY signal is transmitted to the GV3 to notify the AGV3 that the load port 23 is accessible.

The AGV 3 determines whether a READY signal has been received from the prober 2 (step S7).
Determines that no READY signal has been received, the prober 2 transmits a READY signal to the AGV 3 (step S8). When the AGV 3 determines that the READY signal has been received, the BUSY signal goes high in the AGV 3 as shown in FIG. 9 and the signal is transmitted to the prober 3 (step S9), and the transfer of the wafer W to the prober 2 is performed. Notify to start.

Next, the AGV3 sets the AE as shown in FIG.
It is determined whether an NB signal has been received (step S1).
0), when the AGV 3 determines that the AENB signal has not been received, the prober 2 sets the AENB signal to a high state as shown in FIG. 9 and starts transmission (step S1).
1). The AENB signal is transmitted to the AGV 3 when the prober 2 receives the BUSY signal from the AGV 3 in the High state, and is a signal defined for the transfer of the wafer W in the present invention. That is, the AENB signal is transmitted to the sub chuck 232 of the adapter 23 when the wafer W is loaded.
Is in the lowered position, does not hold the wafer W, and enters a high state in a state in which the wafer W can be loaded (accessible state of the upper arm 341A). At the time of unloading, the sub chuck 232 is in the raised position and the wafer W is removed. When the wafer W is held and the wafer W can be unloaded (the upper arm 341A can be accessed), the wafer W enters a high state. In addition, when the wafer W is detected by the sub chuck 232 of the adapter 23 at the time of loading and the loading of the wafer W is confirmed, the AENB signal becomes a low state.
In a state where the wafer W has not been detected and the unloading of the wafer W has been confirmed in step 2, the AENB signal goes to a low state.

Thus, in step S10, AGV3
Determines that the AENB signal has been received in the High state, the transfer (loading) of the wafer W from the AGV 3 is started (step S11), and the upper arm 341A of the arm mechanism 34 is moved from the state shown in FIG. Then, the wafer W is advanced toward the second adapter 23, and the wafer W is transferred to a position right above the load port 23 as shown in FIG.

Next, AGV3 sends PENB to prober 2.
After transmitting the signal (step S12), the wafer W is detected by the prober 2 and the AENB signal is in the low state and L_
It is determined whether or not the REQ signal is in a low state (step S13). If the prober 2 determines that all signals are in a high state, the sub chuck 232 does not hold the wafer W at the lowered position, and is in an accessible state, As shown in FIG. 11C, the sub chuck 232 is raised, and the vacuum suction mechanism 343 of the arm mechanism 34 releases the vacuum suction. The PENB signal is a signal defined in the present invention, and is high when the vacuum suction mechanism 343 is turned off during loading and the wafer W is released from the upper arm 341A.
When the upper arm 341A returns to the AGV3 side and the loading of the wafer W is completed, the state is changed to the low state. The PENB signal is output from the vacuum suction mechanism 3 during unloading.
When the lower arm 341B is turned ON when the wafer W is sucked by the lower arm 341B by turning ON the lower arm 341B,
3 when the unloading of the wafer W is completed
It becomes w state.

As described above, the upper arm 341A is connected to the wafer W
Is released, the sub chuck 23 in the load port 23 is released.
2 receives the wafer W by performing vacuum suction as shown in FIG. 9 (step S14). Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, the prober 2 sets the AENB signal to a low state and sets the AGV3
The sub-chuck 323 transmits a signal indicating that the wafer W is held by the sub chuck 323 (step S15). At the same time, the prober 2 sets the L_REQ signal to a low state and transmits the signal to the AGV 3 (step S16).
Notify the AGV3 of the end of loading. With this, AGV3
Recognizes that the prober 2 cannot currently load the next wafer W.

Thereafter, the flow returns to step S13, and the prober 2 detects the wafer W again to determine whether the AENB signal is in the low state and the L_REQ signal is in the low state, and all the signals are in the low state. When it is determined that the loading is completed, the upper arm 341A is connected to the load port 23.
To AGV3 (step S17). In AGV3, when the upper arm 341A returns, the TR_REQ signal, BUSY
Both the signal and the PENB signal are set to the Low state, and the respective signals are transmitted to the prober 2 to notify that the loading of the wafer W has been completed (step S18).

Next, as shown in FIG.
After the MPT signal is set to the high state and transmitted to the prober 2 to notify that the transfer operation of the wafer W is completed (step S19), the AGV 3 is switched from the prober 2 to the RE in the low state.
It is determined whether an ADY signal has been received (step S2).
0), if the AGV 3 determines that the READY signal has not been received, the prober 2 sends the READY signal to the Low state and transmits it to the AGV 3 as shown in FIG. S21). AGV
3 determines that the READY signal in the low state has been received, the AGV 3 outputs the CS_0 signal and the VA signal as shown in FIG.
The LID signal is set to the low state, the respective signals are transmitted to the prober 3 (step S22), the transfer operation of the wafer W is completed, and the arm mechanism 34 is rotated 90 ° in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. Then, the system waits for an instruction from the host computer 1 and enters a delivery mode for the next wafer W.

In the prober 2, as shown in FIG. 11 (e), the sub chuck 232 which has received the wafer W in the adapter 23 once descends to perform centering of the wafer W in the adapter 23. As shown in (f), the adapter 23 is lowered to the position where the wafer W is transferred to and from the arm mechanism 24, and the sub chuck 232 is raised to rise above the adapter body 231. In this state, the upper arm 241A of the arm mechanism 24 advances to the adapter 23 side as shown in FIG. 7 (g), the sub chuck 231 of the adapter 23 descends, and the upper arm 241A vacuum sucks and receives the wafer W. .

When the wafer W is received by the upper arm 241A, the arm 241 turns to the direction of the main chuck 26 in the prober chamber 22 as shown in FIG. After that, similarly to the conventional prober, after the arm mechanism 24 and the sub chuck 25 perform the pre-alignment of the wafer W in cooperation with each other as shown in FIG. Then, the wafer W is delivered to the main chuck 26.
Further, as shown in FIG.
After the alignment is performed, the wafer W and the probe 281 of the probe card 28 are brought into electrical contact with each other while the main chuck 26 is being index-fed as shown in FIG. Perform an inspection.
In FIGS. 12B and 12C, 26A is the wafer W.
Lifting pins.

The above-described AGV 3, which has finished transferring the wafer W while the prober 2 having received the wafer W is performing the inspection, transfers the wafer W of the same lot to another plurality of probers 2 under the control of the host computer 1. According to the request of
After transferring the wafer W to and from the other plurality of probers 2 in the manner described above, the same inspection can be performed in parallel at the prober 2.

When the inspection of the electrical characteristics of the wafer W by the prober 2 is completed, the elevating pins 26A of the main chuck 26 move up to lift the wafer W from the main chuck 26 as shown in FIG. (B) of FIG.
The lower arm 241B of the arm mechanism 24 advances to the main chuck 26 to receive the wafer W as shown in (1), and rotates the arm mechanism 24 by 90 ° as shown in (c) of FIG.
After the distal end is directed to the adapter 23, the arm mechanism 24 advances to the adapter 23 as shown in FIG. 4D, and the sub chuck 2 in the adapter 23 as shown in FIG.
32 rises to receive the wafer W from the lower arm 241B. Thereafter, the AGV 3 moves before the prober 2 under the control of the AGV controller 4 as shown in FIG. When AGV3 confronts prober 2, adapter 23
Rises from the position shown by the two-dot chain line to the solid line position for transferring the wafer W as shown in FIG.

Next, a method of unloading a wafer for transferring the wafer W from the prober 2 to the AGV 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, when the AGV 3 moves in front of the predetermined prober 2 based on an instruction from the AGV controller 4, (Step 3)
1), PIO communication between the AGV 3 and the prober 2 is started. After transmitting the CS_0 signal to the prober 2, the AGV 3 transmits a VALID signal (step S3).
2). When the prober 2 receives the VALID signal,
As shown in (2), the U_REQ signal of the prober 2 changes to the high state, and the U_REQ signal is transmitted to the AGV 3 to instruct transfer to unload the wafer W.

AGV3 is U_REQ as shown in FIG.
It is determined whether a signal has been received (step S33).
When determining that the GV3 has not received the U_REQ signal, the prober 2 transmits a U_REQ signal to the AGV3 (step S34). Accordingly, when the AGV 3 determines that the U_REQ signal has been received in step S33,
AGV3 sets TR_RE to start transfer of wafer W.
The Q signal is set to the High state, and the signal is transmitted to the prober 3 (step S35).
Is notified to start transporting.

Next, AGV3 receives REA from prober 2.
It is determined whether a DY signal has been received (step S3).
6) If the AGV3 determines that the READY signal has not been received, the prober 2 sends the READY signal to the AGV3 at H level.
The transmission is made in the high state (step S37). AGV
3 receives the READY signal and determines that access to the prober 2 is possible, and as shown in FIG.
The USY signal is set to the High state and the signal is transmitted to the prober 3 (step S38), and the transfer of the wafer W to the prober 2 is started.

Next, the AGV 3 determines whether or not the high state of the AENB signal has been received from the prober 2 as shown in FIG. 14 (step S39).
When judging that no signal has been received, the prober 2 sets the AENB signal to a high state and transmits it, as shown in FIG. (Step S40). In step S39, A
When the GV 3 receives the high-level AENB signal, detects the wafer W in the prober 2 and determines that the sub-chuck 232 in the load port 23 can be unloaded in the raised state, the transfer of the wafer W from the AGV 3 is started. Then, as shown in FIG. 16A, the lower arm 341B of the arm mechanism 34 is moved to just above the adapter 23 of the prober 2 (step S41).

Next, after the AGV 3 turns on the vacuum suction mechanism 343 and transmits a high-state PENB signal to the prober 2 (step S42), the prober 2 detects that there is no wafer W, and outputs an AENB signal from the prober 2. Low
It is determined whether the U_REQ signal is in the low state and the U_REQ signal is in the low state (step S43). When the prober 2 determines that all the signals are in the high state and the sub chuck 232 is in the accessible state, FIG. As shown in the drawing, after the adapter 23 is raised and the sub chuck 232 is lowered, the lower arm 341B of the arm mechanism 34 suctions the wafer W by vacuum to transfer the wafer W from the adapter 23 to the arm mechanism 3.
(Step S44). When the prober 2 detects that the wafer W has been removed, the prober 2 sets the U_REQ signal to a low state as shown in FIG.
To the AGV 3 that the wafer W has been removed (step S45). Subsequently, prober 2
The ENB signal is set to the low state and transmitted to the AGV 3 to notify the adapter 23 that there is no wafer W (step S4).
6).

Thereafter, the flow returns to step S43, where the prober 2 detects that there is no wafer W in the adapter 23 and executes AE.
It is determined whether the NB signal is in the low state and the U_REQ signal is in the low state, and if it is determined that the unloading of the wafer W by the adapter 23 is completed in any state in the low state, the lower arm 341B is set to the load port. 23 to A
Return to GV3 (step S47). AGV3 returns TR_REQ signal, BUSY signal, P when lower arm 341B returns.
After setting the ENB signal to the low state and transmitting each signal to the prober 2 to notify the prober 2 that the unloading operation has been completed (step S48), the AGV
3, the COMPT signal is set to a high state as shown in FIG. 15 and transmitted to the prober 2 to notify the completion of the unloading operation (step S49).

Next, AGV3 is transferred from prober 2 to Low.
It is determined whether the READY signal in the state has been received (step S50), and if the AGV 3 determines that the READY signal has not been received, as shown in FIG.
The EADY signal is transmitted in a low state (step S5).
1). When the AGV 3 determines that the READY signal in the Low state has been received, the AGV 3 performs the CS operation as shown in FIG.
The _0 signal and the VALID signal are set to the low state, and the respective signals are transmitted to the prober 3 (step S52), the transfer of the wafer W is completed, and the arm mechanism 34 is moved 90 degrees in the reverse direction as shown in FIG. After rotation, Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 6 (c), the sub chuck 35 moves up to receive the wafer W from the lower arm 341B, and the pre-alignment sensor 36 detects the orientation flat. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3D, the sub chuck 35 descends to return the wafer W to the lower arm 341B, and the arm mechanism 34 rises to read the ID code of the wafer W by the OCR 37. The lower arm 341B is stored in the original place in the carrier C as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
A plurality of probers 2 for inspecting electrical characteristics of the wafers W under the control of the host computer 1; and a wafer W for each carrier for transferring the wafers W one by one to these probers 2 in accordance with respective requests. AG that automatically transports
V3 and the AGV controller 4 that controls the AGV 3 under the control of the host computer 1 can automatically transfer the wafer W in a carrier unit using the transfer system E for the object to be processed. Since the work can be automated and the number of operators can be reduced, the prober 2 can transfer the wafer W in single wafer units, inspect the wafer W, and process the wafer W in parallel with a plurality of probers 2. , The TAT of the wafer W can be shortened. In addition, the reduction in the number of operators can contribute to a reduction in inspection costs and an increase in cleanliness of the clean room.

According to the present embodiment, the prober 2 has the adapter 23 for transferring the wafers W one by one, and the AGV 3 has the carrier mounting portion 32 for mounting the wafers W on a carrier basis. And the arm mechanism 34 for transferring the wafers W one by one between the carrier mounting portion 32 and the prober 2, so that the wafer W transported in the carrier unit can be transmitted to the plurality of probers 2 with respect to each request. , The wafers W can be accurately transferred one by one, and the prober 2 can be more reliably realized on a single wafer basis.

The prober 2 and the AGV 3 are mutually optically coupled PIO interfaces 11A and 11B, respectively.
, The sub chuck 232 of the adapter 23 and the arm mechanism 34 of the AGV 3 can be reliably driven synchronously to transfer the wafers W one by one more reliably and accurately. Moreover, since the interfaces 11A and 11B conforming to the SEMI standard are used,
Optical communication can be realized at low cost.

Further, since the AGV 3 has the OCR 37 for identifying the type of the wafer W, the wafer W before the inspection can be reliably identified, and the inspection can be performed without error for each lot. Further, since the AGV 3 can perform alignment of the wafer W by performing centering of the wafer W via the arm mechanism 34 and the carrier C when transferring the wafer W, the AGV 3 can transfer the wafer W to the main chuck 26 of the prober 2 from the AGV 3.
Can be delivered directly to the wafer W.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment at all, and the design can be appropriately changed as needed. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the prober 2 has only the adapter 23 has been described, but a place for accommodating a plurality of wafers W may be provided. In this case, this wafer storage location can be used as a virtual load port. Further, the vacuum suction mechanism 343 used for the arm mechanism 34 of the AGV 3 can also adopt an appropriate circuit configuration as needed. Further, the prober 2 of the present embodiment can perform the inspection in the carrier unit as in the related art only by making a simple change to the loader chamber.

[0062]

According to the first to tenth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to automate the work of transporting the object and reduce the number of operators, and to reduce the TAT of the object. An object-to-be-processed conveyance system and an object-to-be-processed conveyance method capable of realizing shortening can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a conceptual diagram illustrating an embodiment of a transport system for a workpiece according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of an AGV.

2A is a plan view conceptually showing a state of transferring a wafer between a prober and an AGV, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a vacuum suction mechanism of an arm mechanism used in an AGV.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a vacuum suction mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a wafer centering method using a carrier.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining transfer of a wafer when a virtual load port is set in a prober.

FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) are configuration diagrams each showing an interface used for PIO communication of the transport system shown in FIG. 1;

8 is a flowchart showing a wafer loading method applied to the wafer transport method using the transport system shown in FIG.

9 is a timing chart of optical communication applied to the loading method shown in FIG.

FIGS. 10A to 10F are process diagrams showing a loading process corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8;

FIGS. 11A to 11G are process diagrams showing a loading process corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8;

FIGS. 12A to 12E are process diagrams showing a flow of a wafer in a prober.

FIGS. 13A to 13F are process diagrams showing a loading process corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a wafer unloading method in the wafer transfer method using the transfer system shown in FIG. 1;

15 is a timing chart of optical communication applied to the unloading method shown in FIG.

16 (a) to (e) are process diagrams showing an unloading process corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

E Workpiece transport system C Carrier W Wafer (workpiece) 1 Host computer 2 Prober (Inspection equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment) 3 AGV 4 AGV controller 11A, 11B Optical coupling PIO communication interface (communication means) 23 Adapter (No. 1 delivery mechanism) 32 carrier mounting part 34 arm mechanism (second delivery mechanism) 37 OCR (identification means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4M106 AA01 BA01 CA01 DD30 DJ02 DJ07 5F031 CA02 DA08 FA01 FA03 FA07 FA09 FA11 FA12 GA04 GA08 GA36 GA47 GA48 GA49 GA50 HA13 HA57 HA58 HA59 JA04 JA25 JA27 JA34 JA49 KA06 KA07 KA08 KA10 KA18 MA MA06 MA13 PA02 PA18

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A host computer for managing the production of a semiconductor device, a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses for producing a semiconductor device from an object to be processed under the control of the host computer,
An automatic transfer device that automatically transfers the object to be processed in a carrier unit in order to transfer the object to be processed one by one to each of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses in accordance with each request; and A transfer system for an object to be processed, comprising: a transfer control device controlled under management. 2. A host computer for managing the production of semiconductor devices, a plurality of inspection apparatuses for inspecting an electrical characteristic of an object to be processed under the control of the host computer, and a request for each of these inspection apparatuses An automatic transport device that automatically transports the workpiece in a carrier unit in order to deliver the workpiece one by one in response thereto, and a transport control device that controls the automatic transport device under the control of the host computer. A transfer system for an object to be processed. 3. A host computer for managing the production of semiconductor devices, a plurality of inspection devices for inspecting electrical characteristics of an object to be processed under the management of the host computer, and a request for each of these inspection devices. In accordance with an automatic transfer device that automatically transfers the object to be processed in a carrier unit to deliver the object to be processed one by one, and a transfer control device that controls the automatic transfer device under the control of the host computer, The inspection device has a first transfer mechanism that transfers the object to be processed one by one, and the automatic transport device includes a mounting unit that mounts the object to be processed on a carrier basis,
And a second transfer mechanism for transferring the workpieces one by one between the mounting section and the inspection device. 4. The inspection device and the automatic transport device,
4. The processing target according to claim 1, further comprising an optical communication unit that performs optical communication with each other, and transferring the processing target via the optical communication unit. 5. Body transport system. 5. The transport system for an object to be processed according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transport device has an identification unit for identifying a type of the object to be processed. . 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transfer device includes a unit for performing positioning of the object when transferring the object. Object transfer system. 7. A step of transporting an object to be processed in a carrier unit through an automatic transport device, and a step of taking in and out the objects to be processed in the carrier one by one through a transfer mechanism of the automatic transport device; Transferring the object to and from the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus one by one via the transfer mechanism. 8. A step of transporting an object to be processed in a carrier unit via an automatic transport device, and a step of taking in and out the objects to be processed in the carrier one by one via a transfer mechanism of the automatic transport device; Transferring the object to and from the inspection apparatus one by one via the transfer mechanism. 9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of performing positioning of the object to be processed via the transfer mechanism and the carrier. 10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the object is transferred using optical communication.
The method for transporting an object to be processed according to the above section.