JP2002329764A - Wafer transfer apparatus and transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wafer transfer apparatus and a method which can reduce a stress to a wafer, realizes simplification of the apparatus, and the temperature variation of the wafer is little. SOLUTION: The wafer transfer apparatus is equipped with heat stages 20, 21, 22 on upper surfaces of which grooved channels 23 parallel in a direction A of transferring wafer are formed, pawls 35 inserted into the grooved channels 23, and a transfer means which holds the pawls 35, moves them up/down, and removes them in a direction of transferring. An inclined plane 35a is formed at a tip of the pawl 35 in the transfer direction, the inclined planes 35a are formed so as to extrude little over the heat stages 20, 21, 22 when the pawls 35 are positioned in the grooved channels 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a wafer transfer device and a transfer method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional wafer transfer device will be described with reference to FIG. A pair of transfer arms 40A disposed opposite to each other
And 40B have two pairs of claws 41A and 41, respectively.
B is fixed. The transfer arms 40A and 40B
It is opened / closed by an arm opening / closing mechanism (not shown) provided on the transport means 42, and is vertically moved and horizontally moved by a vertical driving mechanism and a horizontal driving mechanism.

Therefore, when transporting the wafer 1 placed on the heat stage 43, as shown in FIG.
With the pair of transfer arms 40A and 40B open, the transfer arms 40A and 40B are closed by an arm opening / closing mechanism (not shown) of the transfer means 42. As a result, FIG.
As shown in (b), the side surface of the wafer 1 is sandwiched between the claws 41A and 41B. Next, the transfer arms 40 </ b> A and 40 </ b> B are raised by a vertical drive mechanism (not shown), and the wafer 1 is lifted from the heat stage 43. Subsequently, the transport arms 40A and 40B are horizontally moved and transported by a horizontal drive mechanism (not shown).

[0004]

Although the wafer 1 heated by the heat stage 43 is not transported from the heat stage 43, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-1772 discloses that the wafer 1 has a temperature caused by heating and cooling. It is disclosed that there is one made of a thermoelectric material charged by the difference. When the wafer 1 made of such a thermoelectric material is lifted from the heat stage 43, in the related art, the wafer 1 is sandwiched between the claws 41A and 41B and lifted upward, so that the vertical drag acts as it is and stress is applied to the wafer 1.

In the prior art, the transfer arms 40A and 4A
Since the wafer 1 is sandwiched between the claws 41A and 41B by opening and closing 0B, an arm opening and closing mechanism is required, and the apparatus becomes complicated. Also, since the entire wafer 1 is lifted from the heat stage 43, the temperature change of the wafer 1 is large,
This has an adverse effect on the wafer 1.

[0006] Even if the wafer 1 is not a thermoelectric material, the above-described problem similarly occurs when the wafer 1 is in close contact with the heat stage 43. As a device for removing the charge on the substrate surface, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 177, 177, it has been proposed to spray an ionized gas onto a substrate surface. However, according to this method, even if the charge on the substrate surface is removed, the charge on the contact surface between the heat stage and the substrate or wafer cannot be removed.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the stress applied to a wafer and to simplify the apparatus,
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a wafer transfer device and a transfer method in which a change in wafer temperature is small.

[0008]

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a heat stage having a groove formed on an upper surface thereof, the groove being parallel to the conveying direction, a claw inserted into the groove, and a claw holding the claw. The claw is formed with a slope at the tip in the conveyance direction, and the slope is slightly smaller than the heat stage when the claw is located in the groove. It is characterized by being formed at a protruding height.

According to the method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, a wafer placed on a heat stage is pushed up with a claw on a rear surface rear side when viewed from the transfer direction, and separated from the heat stage with the claw. It is characterized in that it is conveyed by pushing while pushing up the rear.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, a loader-side magazine 2 for storing wafers 1 in a stacked form and an unloader-side magazine 3 for storing processed wafers 1 in a stacked form are a loader-side elevator 4 and an unloader-side elevator, respectively. 5 is positioned and mounted. Between the loader-side elevator 4 and the unloader-side elevator 5,
An orientation flat aligning mechanism 10, a pre-heat stage 20, a main heat stage 21, and an after-heat stage 22 are provided.

The orientation flat aligning mechanism 10 includes a rotary table 11 disposed at the center of the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10.
A fixed wafer positioning block 12 disposed on the preheat stage 20 side;
And a pair of opening / closing wafer positioning blocks 13 arranged at right angles to each other. Here, the rotary table 11 is driven to rotate vertically and rotationally by driving means (not shown). The upper surface of the wafer positioning block 12 is lower than the upper surface of the preheat stage 20. The wafer positioning block 13 is driven to open and close by driving means (not shown).

Lower wafer 1 in loader side magazine 2
A belt conveyor 14 is provided from the loader side magazine 2 to the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10 in order to transport the sheet to the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10. Since the above configuration is a well-known structure, further description is omitted.

Each of the preheat stage 20, the main heat stage 21 and the afterheat stage 22 is provided with two grooves 23 along the transfer direction A of the wafer 1.

The guide rails 30 extending horizontally in parallel with the transfer direction A of the wafer 1 are provided from the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10 to the side of the main heat stage 21 and from the preheat stage 20 to the side of the unloader-side elevator 5, respectively.
A and 30B are provided. Guide rail 30A, 3
Sliders 31A and 31B are slidably fitted to OB, respectively. The sliders 31A and 31B are provided with vertically extending guide rails 32A and 32B, respectively, and the first and second transfer arms 33A and 33B are slidably fitted into the guide rails 32A and 32B, respectively. Have been. First and second transfer arms 33A, 3A
3B are driving means (not shown) each of which is a guide rail 3B.
0A, 30B and horizontal drive and guide rail 32
A and 32B are driven up and down.

As shown in FIG. 2, claw blocks 3 are provided on the lower surfaces of the first and second transfer arms 33A and 33B, respectively.
4 are fixed, and the claw block 34 has two grooves 2
3, two claws 35 are formed. An inclined surface 35a is formed at the tip of the claw 35 in the transport direction A. When the claw 35 is located in the groove 23, the upper surface of the inclined surface 35a is the preheat stage 20, the main heat stage 21, and the after heat. The height is slightly higher than the stage 22.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the wafer 1 in the loader side magazine 2 is moved to the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10.
Transported to In this case, the claw 35 of the first transfer arm 33A is positioned above the belt conveyor 14 so as not to interfere with the wafer 1 transferred by the belt conveyor 14. The turntable 11 is located below the belt conveyor 14. In this state, the loader-side magazine 2 is lowered, and the lower wafer 1 in the loader-side magazine 2 is placed on the belt conveyor 14.
Next, the belt conveyor 14 is driven, and the wafer 1 is transported above the turntable 11 from the loader-side magazine 2, and the front end of the wafer 1 contacts the wafer positioning block 12.

Next, the wafer 1 is positioned by the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10. This operation is opened after the pair of wafer positioning blocks 13 is closed and the center of the wafer 1 is positioned. Subsequently, the upper surface of the turntable 11 is raised so as to be flush with the upper surface of the preheat stage 20. As a result, the wafer 1 is lifted from the belt conveyor 14. Thereafter, the rotary table 11 is rotated, and the orientation flat 1a of the wafer 1 is positioned so as to be positioned on the front surface of the claw block 34.

Next, the wafer 1 on the turntable 11 is moved to the preheat stage 20 by the first transfer arm 33A.
The operation of transporting upward is performed. In this operation, the slider 31A moves forward along the guide rail 30A with the inclined surface 35a of the claw 35 corresponding to the back surface edge on the rear side of the wafer 1, and the first transfer arm 33A moves backward of the preheat stage 20. Move to the position. As a result, the wafer 1 on the turntable 11 is placed on the preheat stage 20 by pressing the orientation flat 1 a of the wafer 1 on the front surface of the claw block 34. Next, the first transfer arm 33A
Slightly retreats and waits.

The wafer 1 on the preheat stage 20 is heated from a normal temperature to a set temperature (for example, 150 ° C.), and there is no wafer 1 on the main heat stage 21;
And the second transfer arm 33B is the main heat stage 2
When the first transfer arm 33A is located in front of the first transfer arm 33, the first transfer arm 33A moves forward along the guide rail 30A. Thereby, the nail 3
5 pushes up the back surface edge of the wafer 1 to separate the wafer 1 from the preheat stage 20, and the front surface of the claw block 34 moves the wafer 1 from the preheat stage 20 to the main heat stage 21 while pressing the orientation flat 1a of the wafer 1. Transport.

Thereafter, the first transfer arm 33A retreats to move the claw 35 away from the back surface edge of the wafer 1, and then moves up and retreats to be positioned in front of the loader side magazine 2,
It descends to the initial state. As described above, the wafer 1 is moved from the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10 to the preheat stage 2.
When the wafer 1 is transported to 0, the rotary table 11 is lowered, and the next wafer 1 in the loader-side magazine 2 is transported to the orientation flat aligning mechanism 10 by the above-described operation, and the wafer 1 is positioned.

The wafer 1 placed on the main heat stage 21 is maintained at a set temperature (for example, 150 ° C.) by the main heat stage 21 and processed into the wafer 1, for example, a bump is formed on the wafer 1 by a bonding apparatus. You. When the processing of the wafer 1 is completed, the second transfer arm 33B moves the claw 3 of the second transfer arm 33B.
5 is moved along the guide rail 30B so as to be positioned above the wafer 1 on the main heat stage 21 and then lowered along the guide rail 32B, and the claw 35 is inserted into the groove 23. You.

Next, the second transfer arm 33B advances along the guide rail 30B. As a result, the first
Similarly to the operation of the transfer arm 33A, the slope 35a of the claw 35 of the second transfer arm 33B pushes up the back surface edge of the wafer 1 to move the wafer 1 to the main heat stage 21.
Then, the wafer 1 is transferred from the main heat stage 21 to the after-heat stage 22 while the front surface of the claw block 34 presses the orientation flat 1 a of the wafer 1. Thereafter, the second transfer arm 33 </ b> B retreats, and the claw 35 separates from the back surface edge of the wafer 1. Thereby, the wafer 1
Is mounted on the after-heat stage 22.

Wafer 1 on After Heat Stage 22
Is cooled to a normal temperature from a set temperature (for example, 150 ° C.), the second transfer arm 33B again moves the guide rail 30B
Is advanced along. Thus, similarly to the above, the inclined surface 35a of the claw 35 of the second transfer arm 33B pushes up the back surface edge of the wafer 1 to separate the wafer 1 from the after-heat stage 22, and the front surface of the claw block 34 Wafer 1 while pressing the orientation flat 1a
From the after-heat stage 22 in the unloader-side magazine 3. Subsequently, the second transfer arm 33B retreats and rises after the claws 35 are separated from the back surface edge of the wafer 1, and waits until the processing of the next wafer 1 on the main heat stage 21 is completed. When the processing of the wafer 1 on the main heat stage 21 is completed, the second transfer arm 33B performs a series of operations described above.

As described above, since a part of the back surface edge of the wafer 1 is pushed up by the inclined surface 35a of the claw 35,
This push-up separates the vertical drag into the wafer 1
Is applied to the wafer 1 when moving away from the heat stages 20, 21, and 22. Further, since the wafer 1 is pushed and transferred by the claw block 34, there is no need for an arm opening / closing mechanism for holding the wafer 1 separately from the transfer means.

When the back surface edge of the rear end side of the wafer 1 is pushed up by the inclined surface 35a of the claw 35, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the edge of the opposite side (front end side of the wafer 1) is grounded to the heat stages 20, 21, and 22. Therefore, as shown in FIG. , 22 and the wafer 1 are small, and are susceptible to radiant heat. Therefore, as shown in [Table 1], the temperature change can be smaller than in the prior art. As is clear from Table 1, when the height H for lifting the wafer 1 is 0.3 to 0.5 mm, the temperature change is
In contrast, in the present invention, the temperature is as low as 2 to 3 ° C.

[0026]

[Table 1]

In the present embodiment, favorable results were obtained when the amount by which the back surface edge of the wafer 1 was lifted by the inclined portion 35a of the nail 35, that is, the allowable range was 0.5 mm or less.

[0028]

According to the present invention, there is provided a heat stage having a groove formed on an upper surface thereof in parallel with a conveying direction, a claw inserted into the groove,
The claw is provided with conveying means for holding and moving the claw up and down and moving in the conveying direction, wherein the claw has a slope portion formed at a leading end in the conveyance direction, and the slope portion is heated when the claw is located in the groove. Since it is formed at a height slightly above the stage, the stress applied to the wafer can be reduced, the apparatus can be simplified, and the temperature change of the wafer is small.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of a wafer transfer device of the present invention.

2A and 2B show a transfer state, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view when a nail abuts on a wafer, FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2A, and FIG. (B2) is a sectional view taken along line CC of (b1).

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a measuring unit, wherein FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram in the case of the conventional technique, and FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram in the case of the present invention.

4A and 4B show a conventional wafer transfer device, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan view showing a wafer before being caught by a nail, FIG. 4B is a plan view showing a state where the wafer is held by a claw, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 wafer 2 loader-side magazine 3 unloader-side magazine 4 loader-side elevator 5 unloader-side elevator 10 orientation flat aligning mechanism 11 rotation table 12, 13 wafer positioning block 14 belt conveyor 20 preheat stage 21 main heat stage 22 after heat stage 23 groove 30A, 30B Guide rail 31A, 31B Slider 32A, 32B Guide rail 33A First transfer arm 33B Second transfer arm 34 Claw block 35 Claw 35a Slope

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5F031 CA02 DA01 FA01 FA07 FA11 FA12 FA14 GA48 GA49 GA51 GA55 HA37 HA58 HA59 KA02 KA11 KA13 MA35 PA11

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heat stage having a groove formed on an upper surface thereof in parallel with a transfer direction, a claw inserted into the groove, and a transfer means for holding the claw and vertically moving and moving in the transfer direction; A wafer transfer device, wherein the claw has a slope portion formed at a leading end in a transfer direction, and the slope portion is formed at a height slightly protruding from the heat stage when the claw is located in the groove. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rear surface edge of the wafer placed on the heat stage as viewed from the transfer direction is pushed up with a nail to separate the heat stage from the heat stage, and the wafer is pushed and transferred with the claw pushing up the rear of the wafer. Wafer transfer method. 3. The pushing amount of the back edge of the wafer is:
3. The wafer transfer method according to claim 2, wherein the wafer temperature falls within an allowable range.