JP2003007794A - Substrate carrying mechanism and substrate treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment device which is narrow in its exlusive area. SOLUTION: A semiconductor wafer treatment device 1 is constituted in a structure that a plurality of reaction chambers 70 are provided on a wafer carrying chamber wall 53 of a wafer carrying chamber 50 in a stacking manner, and a wafer delivery chamber 30 is provided on a wafer carrying chamber wall 54 of the chamber 50. A wafer holding tool 40 made of quartz is provided within the chamber 30. The chamber 50, the plurality of the chambers 70 and the chamber 30 are independently installed in a decompressive structure. A wafer carrying vacuum robot 60 is provided in the interior of the chamber 50. The whole semiconductor wafer treatment device 1 is housed in a case body 900, and cassette shelves 11 for placing each cassette 10 are provided in the interior of the case body 900. A cassette carrying machine 20 also used in combination as a wafer carrying machine is provided between the chamber 30 and the shelves 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer mechanism and a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus and a substrate transfer mechanism preferably used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 14 is a perspective view for explaining a conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and FIG. 15 is a sectional view for explaining a conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.

This conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus has a hexagonal wafer transfer chamber 150 when viewed from above, and a cassette chamber 13 provided on the side surface of the wafer transfer chamber 150.
1, 132, wafer cooling chambers 141 and 142, and reaction chambers 171 and 172. Wafer transfer chamber 15
0 is equipped with a wafer transfer robot 160, and the arm 166 of the wafer transfer robot 160 is installed in the wafer transfer chamber 150.
It is provided inside. The cassette chamber 131 (132) includes a cassette elevator 129, and the cassette 1 provided in the cassette chamber 131 (132) by the elevator 129.
Raise and lower 10. In the cassette 110, a plurality of wafers 105 are vertically stacked and mounted. A gate valve 193 is provided between the reaction chamber 171 (172) and the wafer transfer chamber 150, and the wafer transfer chamber 150
And a cassette chamber 131 (132) are provided with a gate valve 192, and the cassette chamber 131 (132) further has a front door valve 191 for loading / unloading cassettes.
Is provided.

In this conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, a cassette 110 carrying a plurality of wafers 105 is mounted.
Through the front door valve 191 to the cassette chamber 131
After loading the wafer 105 into the cassette chamber 131 (132) and raising and lowering the cassette 110 to a predetermined height by the cassette elevator 129 in the cassette chamber 131 (132), the wafer 105 is moved to the cassette chamber 1 by the arm 166 of the wafer transfer robot 160.
31 (132) to the reaction chamber 171 from the cassette 110.
After being transferred to (172) and subjected to predetermined processing such as film formation while being heated in the reaction chamber 171 (172), the wafer 1 is moved by the arm 166 of the wafer transfer robot 160.
05 is transferred to the wafer cooling chamber 141 (142) and cooled to a predetermined temperature in the wafer cooling chamber 141 (142), and then the arm 166 of the wafer transfer robot 160.
Then, the wafer is transferred to the cassette 110.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, since the high temperature wafer 105 cannot be mounted on the cassette 110, the reaction chamber 171 is not provided.
The wafer that has been processed in (172) is temporarily transferred to the wafer cooling chamber 141 (142), and the wafer cooling chamber 141
After being cooled to a predetermined temperature in (142), it is transferred to the cassette 110, so that the cassette chamber 131 (13
In addition to 2), it was necessary to provide a wafer cooling chamber 141 (142).

However, if the wafer cooling chamber 141 (142) is thus provided, the area occupied by the clean room by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is increased accordingly, and if the wafer cooling chamber 141 (142) is further provided, the wafer transfer amount is increased accordingly. The number of sides of the chamber 150 also increases, and the area occupied by the wafer transfer chamber 150 increases. As a result, the area occupied by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus in the clean room increases, which causes a problem of increased running cost.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus having a small occupied area.

[0008]

According to the present invention, cassette holding means for holding a cassette, substrate holding means for holding a substrate, and from the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means Whether to transfer the substrate, or to transfer the substrate from the substrate holding means to the cassette held by the cassette holding means,
Substrate carrying means for carrying the substrate from the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means and from the substrate holding means to the cassette held by the cassette holding means, and a cassette for the cassette holding means. A substrate transfer mechanism comprising: a cassette transfer unit configured to transfer and unload the cassette from the cassette holding unit, wherein the substrate transfer unit and the cassette transfer unit are mounted on the same elevating unit. To be done.

Further, according to the present invention, the cassette holding means for holding the cassette, the substrate holding means for holding the substrate, and the substrate are conveyed from the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means. The substrate is transferred from the substrate holding means to the cassette held by the cassette holding means, or the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means and the substrate holding means to the cassette holding Substrate transport means for transporting the substrate to the cassette held by means, and cassette transport means for transporting the cassette to the cassette holding means and unloading the cassette from the cassette holding means, the substrate transport means comprising: Board transfer where the cassette transfer means is mounted on the same lifting means A structure, a substrate processing unit for processing the substrate, the substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a are provided.

Further, according to the present invention, the substrate transfer chamber capable of reducing the pressure, the substrate processing chamber for processing the substrate, which is provided on the first side wall of the substrate transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer chamber A substrate transfer chamber provided on a second side wall of the chamber, the substrate transfer chamber being capable of depressurizing independently of the substrate transfer chamber; and a first substrate holding means for holding the substrate, First substrate holding means provided in the transfer chamber and second substrate holding means for holding the substrate, the second substrate holding means provided in the substrate processing chamber, and the second substrate holding means in the substrate transfer chamber. First substrate transfer means provided and capable of transferring the substrate between the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, and a first valve provided between the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber. And when closed, the substrate processing chamber and the front A first valve capable of forming a vacuum-tight seal with the substrate transfer chamber and allowing the substrate to move through the inside when opened, and the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber. A second valve provided between the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be vacuum-tight when closed, and when opened, the substrate is A second valve movable through the inside; an atmospheric pressure portion arranged on a side of the substrate transfer chamber different from the side where the substrate transfer chamber is provided; the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure portion; A third valve provided between the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure part when closed, in a vacuum state.
A third valve that allows the substrate to move through the inside when opened, a cassette holding means provided in the atmospheric pressure portion, and a second substrate transfer means provided in the atmospheric pressure portion. There is provided a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a second substrate transfer means capable of transferring the substrate between the cassette held by the cassette holding part and the substrate transfer chamber.

In the present invention, since the substrate transfer chamber is provided on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber, the first substrate holding means provided in the substrate transfer chamber is a heat-resistant substrate holder or the like. This substrate transfer chamber can be used as a substrate cooling chamber for cooling the high temperature substrate that has been processed in the substrate processing chamber.

Further, the substrate transfer chamber temporarily stores the substrate from the cassette to the substrate processing chamber, temporarily stores the substrate from the substrate processing chamber to the cassette, or temporarily stores the substrate from the cassette to the substrate processing chamber. In addition, since it can be used as a chamber for temporarily storing the substrate from the substrate processing chamber to the cassette, it is not necessary to provide the cassette chamber on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber. As a result, the number of chambers provided on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, and the occupied area of the clean room by the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced accordingly, and the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced to reduce the substrate transfer chamber. The area occupied by the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced, and the area occupied by the substrate processing apparatus in the clean room can be reduced.

Further, by reducing the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber as described above, the manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced. Further, if the number of sides is large, a multi-direction maintenance area is required accordingly. However, according to the present invention, since the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, the multi-direction maintenance area is correspondingly reduced. Can also be reduced. Furthermore, if the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced,
The distance to connect the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can also be shortened, and as a result, the substrate can be transferred between the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers without providing a substrate transfer machine at the connection. As a result, the substrate processing apparatus has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, since the substrate transfer chamber can be depressurized and the substrate transfer chamber can also be depressurized, the oxygen concentration can be reduced to the utmost limit, and the oxidation of the substrate in the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be suppressed.

Further, between the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be vacuum-tight when closed, and the substrate can be opened when opened. Since the second valve movable through the inside is provided, the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be independently kept airtight in a vacuum, and the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber are separated from each other. The substrate can move between them. A gate valve is preferably used as such a valve.

Further, between the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure part, when closed, the space between the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure part can be made airtight in a vacuum, and when opened, the substrate is closed. Since the third valve movable through the inside is provided, the substrate transfer chamber can be independently kept airtight in vacuum, and the substrate can be moved between the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure portion. .

Since such a second valve and a third valve are provided in the substrate transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer chamber can be depressurized independently of the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber has an atmospheric pressure portion. And a substrate transfer chamber under reduced pressure can function as a load lock chamber which is a vacuum preliminary chamber when loading / unloading a substrate.

As described above, since the substrate transfer chamber can be used as the substrate cooling chamber and the load lock chamber, it is not necessary to provide the substrate cooling chamber and the cassette chamber on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber. Also, the cassette can be placed in the atmospheric pressure section.

Since the second valve is provided between the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber can be returned to atmospheric pressure while the substrate transfer chamber is kept in a depressurized state. It is possible to allow the substrate to naturally cool while the pressure is returned to the atmospheric pressure, and to lower the temperature of the substrate when it exits the substrate transfer chamber. Therefore, even if the substrate is subsequently taken out into the atmospheric pressure, the substrate is prevented from being contaminated by the atmospheric pressure atmosphere. In this way, the step of returning the substrate to the atmospheric pressure in the substrate delivery chamber and the step of cooling the substrate are simultaneously performed, the cooled substrate is transported to the cassette under the atmospheric pressure, and the cassette containing the substrate is transported to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus. be able to.

Further, in the prior art, since the cassette chamber and the cooling chamber are provided on the side surface of the substrate transfer chamber, the first substrate transfer means in the substrate transfer chamber also transfers the substrate between the cassette chamber and the cooling chamber. Although it was necessary to carry out the present invention, this is not necessary in the present invention, and the transfer of the substrate between the substrate transfer chamber and the cassette is performed by the second substrate transfer means different from the first substrate transfer means in the substrate transfer chamber. Since it can be performed, the substrate transfer time can be shortened. Further, in the present invention, the cassette holding means and the second substrate carrying means capable of carrying the substrate between the cassette held by the cassette holding means and the substrate transfer chamber are arranged in the atmospheric pressure section. The structure of the cassette holding means and the structure of the second substrate transfer means can be simplified as compared with the case where they are in vacuum.

The cassette is preferably a cassette for loading a substrate into and / or unloading a substrate from the substrate processing apparatus.

Furthermore, between the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, when closed, the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be made airtight in a vacuum state, and when opened, the substrate can be opened. Since the first valve movable through the inside is provided, the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be independently kept airtight in a vacuum, and the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be separated from each other. The substrate can move between them. A gate valve is preferably used as such a valve.

A semiconductor wafer is preferably used as the substrate, and in that case, the substrate processing apparatus functions as a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.

Further, as the substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display element or the like can be used.

In the substrate processing chamber, preferably, an insulating film formed by various CVD methods such as a plasma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, a hot wall CVD method and a photo CVD method, a metal film for wiring, polysilicon, amorphous silicon, etc. Film formation, heat treatment such as etching and annealing, epitaxial growth, diffusion and the like are performed.

It is preferable to provide a heat-resistant substrate holding means in the substrate delivery chamber. By doing so, the substrate delivery chamber can be used as a substrate cooling chamber for cooling the high temperature substrate which has been processed in the substrate processing chamber. .

It is preferable to provide a heat-resistant substrate holder made of quartz, glass, ceramics or metal in the substrate delivery chamber. In this way, the substrate delivery chamber is kept at a high temperature after the treatment in the substrate treatment chamber. It can be used as a substrate cooling chamber for cooling a substrate, and even if the substrate transfer chamber is vacuumed, impurities such as outgas are not generated from the substrate holder, so the atmosphere in the substrate transfer chamber can be kept clean. . As ceramics, sintered SiC or SiO _{2 on} the surface of sintered SiC is used.
A film coated with CVD is preferably used.

Further, preferably, the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be independently depressurized. By doing this, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being oxidized in the substrate transfer chamber or the substrate transfer chamber, and not only can the substrate transfer chamber be used as a load lock chamber, but also the substrate processing chamber to be processed under reduced pressure. A processing chamber can be used, or the substrate processing chamber can be depressurized once and then replaced with a predetermined atmosphere gas, and a high-purity gas atmosphere can be obtained.

Preferably, the substrate processing chamber is a substrate processing chamber for performing processing under reduced pressure.

Further, the substrate processing chamber may be a substrate processing chamber for performing processing under normal pressure.

It is preferable to vertically stack a plurality of substrate processing chambers for processing the substrates on the first side wall of the substrate transfer chamber. In this way, the area occupied by the substrate processing chamber in the clean room can be reduced,
Further, the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced to reduce the size of the substrate transfer chamber to reduce its occupied area, and the occupied area of the clean room for the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced.

When the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber is reduced,
The manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, and the maintenance area in multiple directions can be reduced. Furthermore, the distance for connecting the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can be shortened, and the substrate can be transferred between the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers without providing a substrate transfer machine at the connection part. As a result, the substrate processing apparatus has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost.

It is also preferable that all of the plurality of substrate processing chambers are substrate processing chambers that perform processing under reduced pressure, and at least one of the plurality of substrate processing chambers processes substrates under normal pressure. It is also preferable that the substrate processing chamber for performing the processing is performed, and the other remaining substrate processing chambers of the plurality of substrate processing chambers are used for performing the processing under reduced pressure.

The first substrate carrying means is preferably a substrate carrying machine for carrying the substrate in the horizontal direction, and more preferably an articulated robot.

Further, it is preferable to provide an elevator capable of raising and lowering the first substrate transfer means, and it is more preferable to provide this elevator outside the substrate transfer chamber since it does not contaminate the atmosphere in the substrate transfer chamber.

Preferably, the second substrate holding means can hold a plurality of substrates, the first substrate holding means can hold a plurality of substrates, and the first substrate holding means holds them. The pitch between the formed substrates is substantially the same as the pitch between the substrates held by the second substrate holding means.

As described above, by making the second substrate holding means provided in the substrate processing chamber have a structure capable of holding a plurality of substrates, the efficiency of substrate processing in the substrate processing chamber can be improved.

Then, in this case, the first substrate holding means in the substrate transfer chamber also has a structure capable of holding a plurality of substrates, and the pitch between the substrates held by the first substrate holding means is set to the second substrate. By setting the pitch to be substantially the same between the substrates held by the holding means, it is possible to simplify the structure of the first substrate carrying means in the substrate carrying chamber where the pressure can be reduced. In addition, it is preferable that the first substrate transfer means can simultaneously transfer a plurality of substrates under reduced pressure.

If the pitch between the substrates held by the first substrate holding means and the pitch between the substrates held by the second substrate holding means are substantially the same, the structure of the first substrate carrying means Even if the structure is such that a plurality of substrates can be simultaneously transferred under reduced pressure, it is not necessary to change the pitch between the substrates during the transfer. As a result, the structure of the first substrate transfer means is simplified, and vacuum contamination can be prevented. Further, since a plurality of substrates can be transported at the same time, the efficiency of substrate transportation can be improved.

On the other hand, if the pitch between the substrates is made variable under reduced pressure, the structure of the transfer means becomes complicated,
It requires more than twice the cost and space as compared with the case under atmospheric pressure, and the increase in the mechanism makes it easier for contaminants generated from the drive shaft and the like to scatter, and the degree of vacuum cannot be maintained. However, the problem of particles is likely to occur, and contamination of the substrate is likely to occur. Since the place where the particles are generated is the substrate transfer chamber immediately before the substrate processing chamber, the influence thereof is particularly large. Further, in order to avoid such a problem, if the substrates are transferred one by one between the first substrate holding means and the second substrate holding means, the throughput becomes poor. If the transfer speed of the substrate transfer robot is increased in order to improve the throughput, the number of operations of the substrate transfer robot per unit time increases, resulting in a reduction in the life of the apparatus and a particle problem.

In order to process a plurality of substrates at the same time in the substrate processing chamber, for example, when performing film formation,
It is necessary to set the interval between the plurality of substrates not to be the cassette groove interval, but to be an interval that can maintain the film thickness uniformity and the like in consideration of the gas flow in the substrate processing chamber. Therefore, it is preferable to change the pitch between the substrates from the cassette groove interval at any place.

In the present invention, preferably, the structure of the second substrate transfer means is such that a plurality of substrates can be transferred simultaneously and the pitch between the plurality of substrates is variable. Since this second substrate transfer means is used under atmospheric pressure,
Even if the pitch between the substrates is variable, the structure is simpler than that in the case of under vacuum, the manufacturing can be performed at low cost, and the generation of particles can be suppressed.

As described above, if the pitch between the substrates is variable under the atmospheric pressure and the pitch between the substrates is fixed under the reduced pressure so that a plurality of substrates are simultaneously transported, the manufacturing cost of the transport device is reduced. It is possible to reduce the size of the transfer device, suppress the size increase of the transfer device, suppress the generation of particles, and transfer the substrate in a clean environment. Further, since a plurality of substrates are transferred at the same time, the throughput is improved and the pitch between the substrates is variable, so that it is possible to convert the pitch between the substrates so that the substrate processing can be performed with high accuracy in the substrate processing chamber.

A plurality of substrate transfer chambers may be provided on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber. By doing so, time can be saved, for example, while the substrate is being cooled in a certain substrate transfer chamber, the substrate can be carried into the substrate processing chamber by using the other substrate transfer chamber.

It is preferable to vertically stack a plurality of substrate transfer chambers on the second side wall of the substrate transfer chamber. By doing so, the area occupied by the substrate transfer chamber in the clean room can be reduced, and the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced to make the substrate transfer chamber smaller and reduce its occupied area. The area occupied by the substrate processing apparatus in the clean room can be reduced.

When the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber is reduced,
The manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, and the maintenance area in multiple directions can be reduced. Further, when a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses are arranged, the distance for connecting the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can be shortened, and the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers can be connected to each other without providing a substrate transfer device at the connecting portion. Substrates can be transferred to and from other substrate transfer chambers, etc., and the substrate processing apparatus has a correspondingly simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost, and the maintenance space between the substrate processing apparatuses interferes with each other. Without doing so, a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses can be arranged efficiently.

Two types of substrate transfer chambers for loading and unloading may be provided separately. In this way, two types of substrate transfer chambers for loading and unloading can be used alternately, which saves time.

It is preferable that the first substrate holding means can hold at least twice the number of substrates processed at one time in each of the substrate processing chambers.

Further, it is preferable that the first substrate holding means can hold at least twice as many substrates as the second substrate holding means, and the number of substrates processed at one time in the substrate processing chamber. It is possible to hold at least twice the number of substrates.

By doing so, the substrate can be efficiently transported between the substrate processing chamber and the cassette, and the throughput is improved.

The first side wall and the second side wall of the substrate transfer chamber are opposed to each other, and the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer chamber are arranged substantially in a straight line. It is preferable that the substrate transfer chamber has a minimum number of sides, for example, a rectangular shape.

The substrate transfer chamber is preferably rectangular in a plan view, and if the substrate transfer chamber is rectangular, the substrate transfer chamber can be made smaller and its occupied area can be reduced, and the substrate processing apparatus can occupy a clean room. The area can be reduced. Further, the rectangular shape can reduce the manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber. The maintenance area can also be reduced. Further, the distance for connecting the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can be shortened, and the substrate can be transferred between the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers without providing a substrate transfer device at the connection portion. The substrate can be easily transferred, and the substrate processing apparatus has a simple structure and can be manufactured inexpensively. Further, by arranging the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer chamber on a substantially straight line, it is possible to easily arrange a plurality of substrate processing apparatus units having such a configuration in parallel and reduce the occupied area.

The cassette holding means is preferably arranged on the opposite side of the substrate transfer chamber from the substrate transfer chamber.

Preferably, the second substrate transfer means is provided between the substrate transfer chamber and the cassette holding means,
The second substrate transfer means can transfer the substrate between the cassette held in the cassette holding part and the substrate transfer chamber, can transfer the cassette to the cassette holding means, and can transfer the cassette from the cassette holding means. It is preferably a substrate transfer means.

The first substrate holding means is provided with a substrate mounting groove opened in the front and rear direction of the first substrate holding means, so that the substrate can be carried into the substrate holding means from the front and rear of the substrate holding means and the substrate It is preferable that the substrate can be carried out from the holding means before and after the substrate holding means.

It is preferable to further include a housing for accommodating the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, the second substrate transfer means, and the cassette holding means, and the second substrate transfer means in the housing. And a cassette holding means, so that the surface of the substrate mounted on the cassette and the second
The surface of the substrate being conveyed by the substrate conveying means can be kept clean.

Holding the cassette in the housing after loading the cassette into the housing, holding the cassette before unloading the cassette from the housing, or holding the cassette in the housing after loading the cassette into the housing and from the housing to the cassette It is preferable to provide a cassette stage for holding the cassette before carrying out, in the housing below the cassette holding means,
By doing this, when the cassette is transported to the cassette stage, particles flowing from the outside of the housing,
It is possible to reduce the influence of particles flowing from the outside of the housing through a cassette insertion port or the like provided in the housing for loading the cassette on the cassette stage, on the substrates in the cassette held by the cassette holding means.

Preferably, the vertical elevator is provided with a cassette carrier / substrate carrier so that the cassette can be carried between the cassette stage and the cassette holding means.

A plurality of substrate processing apparatus units each having a substrate processing chamber, a substrate transfer chamber, a first substrate transfer means, and a substrate transfer chamber are provided, and a plurality of substrate processing apparatus units are provided between the substrate transfer chambers. It is preferable to connect via the second substrate transfer chamber.

The substrate transfer chamber has a rectangular shape in plan view,
It is preferable to connect the plurality of substrate processing apparatus units to the substrate transfer chambers via the second substrate transfer chamber. In this case, since the distance between the substrate transfer chambers can be shortened,
It is not necessary to provide a carrier in the substrate transfer chamber of.

[0061]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

Semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment
Includes a process unit 700, a transfer unit 500, and a front unit 100.

The process section 700 comprises a plurality of process modules 701, and each process module 701 comprises a reaction chamber 70 and a gate valve 93. The transfer unit 500 includes a transfer module 501, and the transfer module 501 includes a wafer transfer chamber 50 and a wafer transfer vacuum robot 60. The front part 100 includes a plurality of load lock modules 300 and an atmospheric pressure part 200. Load lock module 3
00 includes a wafer transfer chamber 30, a gate valve 92, and a front door valve 91. A cassette shelf 11 on which the cassette 10 is placed and a cassette carrier / wafer carrier 20 are provided in the atmospheric pressure section.

The plurality of reaction chambers 70 are vertically stacked and provided on the wafer transfer chamber wall 53 of the wafer transfer chamber 50. A gate valve 93 is provided between each reaction chamber 70 and the wafer transfer chamber 50. Each reaction chamber 70 is configured so that it can be evacuated independently via an exhaust pipe 82. A wafer boat 75 capable of mounting a plurality of (two in the present embodiment) semiconductor wafers 5 is placed in the reaction chamber 70, and a plurality of wafers 5 can be simultaneously processed. The efficiency of can be improved. Also, the wafer boat 7
With respect to the pitch between the wafers 5 mounted on the wafer 5, the uniformity of the film thickness is maintained within a predetermined range in consideration of the gas flow in the reaction chamber 70 and the like, for example, when film formation is performed. Has been decided to.

In the reaction chamber 70, for example, various types of C such as plasma CVD, hot wall CVD, photo CVD, etc.
Formation of an insulating film by VD or the like, a metal film for wiring, polysilicon, amorphous silicon, or the like, heat treatment such as etching or annealing, epitaxial growth, diffusion or the like is performed.

Since a plurality of reaction chambers 70 are vertically stacked and provided on the wafer transfer chamber wall 53 of the wafer transfer chamber 50, the area occupied by the reaction chamber 70 in the clean room can be reduced, and the wafer transfer can be performed. It is possible to reduce the number of sides of the chamber 50 to reduce the size of the wafer transfer chamber 50 to reduce the occupied area thereof, thereby reducing the occupied area of the clean room of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1.

Further, if the number of sides of the wafer transfer chamber 50 is reduced, the manufacturing cost of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced, and the maintenance area in multiple directions can be reduced. Further, the distance for connecting the wafer transfer chamber 50 to other wafer transfer chambers can be shortened, and the wafer transfer chamber 50 and other wafer transfer chambers can be connected to each other without providing a wafer transfer device at the connecting portion. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost.

The plurality of wafer transfer chambers 30 are vertically stacked and provided on the wafer transfer chamber wall 54 of the wafer transfer chamber 50. A gate valve 9 is provided between each wafer transfer chamber 30 and the wafer transfer chamber 50.
Two are provided. A front door valve 91 is provided between the right side of each wafer transfer chamber 30 and the atmospheric pressure section 200. Wafer transfer room 30
Are configured so that they can be evacuated independently via the exhaust pipes 83, 81.

A wafer holder 40 is placed in the wafer transfer chamber 30. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the wafer holder 40. The wafer holder 40 includes two column-shaped support columns 41 and 42 provided in the upper and lower sides, and two prism-shaped columns 43 and 44 provided between the column support plates 41 and 42. Inside the columns 43 and 44, a plurality of wafer mounting grooves 45 are provided so as to face each other. Since both ends of the wafer mounting groove 45 are open, the wafer can be loaded from both sides of the wafer holder 40 and can be unloaded from both sides. The wafer holder 40 is made of quartz.

Wafer mounting groove 4 of wafer holder 40
The pitch between the wafers 5, that is, the pitch between the wafers 5 held by the wafer holder 40 is the same as the pitch between the wafers 5 mounted on the wafer boat 75 in the reaction chamber 70. The pitch between the wafer mounting grooves 45 of the wafer holder 40 is larger than the pitch between the wafer mounting grooves in the cassette 10.

Further, the number of wafer mounting grooves 45 of the wafer holder 40, that is, the number of wafers 5 which the wafer holder 40 can hold is determined by the number of wafers 5 which the wafer boat 75 in the reaction chamber 70 can mount. More than twice the number of sheets,
The number of wafers 5 that can be processed at once in the reaction chamber 70 is twice or more. In this way, the reaction chamber 7
The substrate can be efficiently transported between the cassette 0 and the cassette 10, and the throughput is improved.

Since the wafer holder 40 is made of quartz, even if the inside of the wafer transfer chamber 30 is evacuated, impurities such as outgas are not generated from the wafer holder 40. Can be kept clean.

Further, since the wafer holder 40 is made of quartz and has excellent heat resistance, a high-temperature wafer that has been processed in the reaction chamber 70 is treated by the wafer holder 40.
It can be cooled while being held at. in this way,
Since the wafer holder 40 can be used for cooling the wafer, the wafer transfer chamber 30 functions as a wafer cooling chamber. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a cooling chamber for cooling the high-temperature wafer processed in the reaction chamber 70 on the side wall of the wafer transfer chamber 50, and the area occupied by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 in the clean room is reduced accordingly. In addition, the number of sides of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced to reduce the size of the wafer transfer chamber 50 to reduce its occupied area, and the occupied area of the clean room by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 can be reduced. You can Further, the manufacturing cost of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced.

The wafer holder 40 temporarily stores the wafer 5 from the cassette 10 into the wafer processing chamber 70, temporarily stores the wafer 5 from the wafer processing chamber 70 into the cassette 10, or from the cassette 10. The wafer 5 is temporarily stored in the wafer processing chamber 70 and is transferred from the wafer processing chamber 70 to the cassette 10.
Since it is a wafer holder for temporarily storing
It is not necessary to provide a cassette chamber for storing 0 on the side wall of the wafer transfer chamber 50. As a result, the wafer transfer chamber 50
The number of chambers provided on the side wall of the wafer can be reduced, and the occupied area of the clean room by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 can be reduced accordingly, and the number of sides of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced to reduce the size of the wafer transfer chamber 50. Therefore, the area occupied by the semiconductor wafer can be reduced, and the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1
The area occupied by the clean room can be reduced. Further, the manufacturing cost of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced.

In this embodiment, a plurality of wafer transfer chambers 30 are provided on the wafer transfer chamber wall 54 of the wafer transfer chamber 50.
Therefore, the time can be saved, for example, while the wafer is being cooled in one wafer transfer chamber 30, the wafer can be loaded into the reaction chamber 70 by using the other wafer transfer chamber 30. Further, two types of wafer transfer chambers 30 for loading and unloading may be separately provided. By doing so, two types of wafer transfer chambers 30 for loading and unloading can be used.
Can be used interchangeably, saving time. Further, one wafer transfer chamber 30 can be used for a monitor wafer, and another wafer transfer chamber 30 can be used for a process wafer which is an actual product.

Further, the plurality of wafer transfer chambers 30 are
The wafer transfer chamber 30 is provided on the wafer transfer chamber wall 54 of the wafer transfer chamber 50 so as to be vertically stacked.
The area occupied by the clean room can be reduced, the number of sides of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced, and the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced in size to reduce the area occupied by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1. The occupied area of the clean room can be reduced. Further, the manufacturing cost of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced.

Since the gate valve 92 is provided between the wafer transfer chamber 50 and the wafer transfer chamber 30, the wafer transfer chamber 30 can be returned to the atmospheric pressure while keeping the wafer transfer chamber 50 in a depressurized state. The wafer 5 is naturally cooled while the pressure in the chamber 30 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, and the wafer 5 is discharged at the stage of leaving the wafer transfer chamber 30.
You can allow the temperature to drop. Therefore, even if the wafer 5 is subsequently taken out to the atmospheric pressure, the wafer 5 is prevented from being contaminated by the atmospheric pressure atmosphere. In this way, the step of returning the wafer 5 to the atmospheric pressure in the wafer delivery chamber 30 and the step of cooling the wafer 5 are simultaneously performed, the cooled wafer 5 is transferred to the cassette 10 under the atmospheric pressure, and the cassette 10 containing the wafer 5 is transferred to the semiconductor. Wafer processing equipment 1
Can be transported outside.

Further, in the prior art shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the cassette chambers 131 and 132 and the cooling chambers 141 and 1 are provided.
Since 42 is provided on the side surface of the wafer transfer chamber 150, the cassette chambers 131 and 132 and the cooling chambers 141 and 142 are provided.
Although it was necessary to transfer the wafer between the wafer transfer chamber and the wafer by the wafer transfer robot 160 in the wafer transfer chamber 150,
This is not necessary in the present embodiment, and the transfer of the wafer 5 between the wafer transfer chamber 30 and the cassette 10 is performed by the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20 in the wafer transfer chamber 50 different from the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60. Therefore, the wafer transfer time can be shortened. Further, in the present embodiment, since the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20 is arranged in the atmospheric pressure section 200, the structure of the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20 is simpler than that in a vacuum. can do.

The wafer transfer chamber 50 has exhaust pipes 84, 81.
It is configured so that a vacuum can be drawn through. The plurality of reaction chambers 70, the wafer transfer chamber 50, and the plurality of wafer transfer chambers 30 are configured so that they can be evacuated independently.

Since the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be depressurized and the wafer transfer chamber 30 can also be depressurized, the oxygen concentration can be reduced to the limit, and the wafer 5 is prevented from being oxidized in the wafer transfer chamber 50 and the wafer transfer chamber 30. Can be suppressed.

Further, since the reaction chamber 70 can be evacuated independently, the reaction chamber 70 can also be used as a reaction chamber in which processing is performed under reduced pressure. Further, after the pressure inside the reaction chamber 70 is once reduced, a predetermined atmosphere is obtained. The gas can be replaced with a gas, or a high-purity gas atmosphere can be used.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of reaction chambers 70 are all reaction chambers in which processing is performed under reduced pressure.
It is also possible to use a reaction chamber in which all 0 are treated under normal pressure,
Further, at least one reaction chamber 70 of the plurality of reaction chambers 70 is used as a reaction chamber for processing a wafer under normal pressure,
The remaining reaction chambers 70 of the plurality of reaction chambers 70
Can be used as a reaction chamber in which the treatment is performed under reduced pressure.

A wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 is provided inside the wafer transfer chamber 50. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60. The wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 is an articulated robot, and has arms 63, 65, 6 that rotate and move in a horizontal plane.
7, and a rotation shaft 62 that allows each arm to rotate,
64 and 66, a biaxial drive unit 69 that applies rotation to the rotary shaft 62, a gear mechanism (not shown) that transmits the rotation of the rotary shaft 62 to the rotary shafts 64 and 66, and the drive unit 69. The drive unit accommodating portion 61 is provided. The tip of the arm 67 is a wafer mounting arm 68 for mounting a wafer.
Function as. When the rotary shaft 62 rotates, the arm 6
The wafers 3, 65, 67 rotate and move in the horizontal direction, so that the wafer can be moved in the horizontal direction.

Arm 67 and wafer mounting arm 68
The pitch between the wafer mounting arms 68 is the same as the pitch between the wafer mounting grooves 45 of the wafer holder 40 and the pitch between the wafers 5 mounted on the wafer boat 75 in the reaction chamber 70. There is. Therefore,
Since two wafer mounting arms 68 are provided, the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 can transfer two wafers at the same time, but the wafer transfer vacuum robot does not need to change the pitch between the wafers 5 during transfer. The structure of 60 is simplified, and vacuum contamination can be prevented. Since two wafers can be transferred at the same time, the efficiency of wafer transfer is increased.

Since the drive portion accommodating portion 61 has an airtight structure and the drive portion 69 is accommodated in the airtight drive portion accommodating portion 61, the atmosphere in the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be kept clean.

On the bottom surface 56 of the wafer transfer chamber 50, there is provided a convex portion 52 conforming to the outer shape of the drive portion accommodating portion 61. Therefore, the drive portion accommodating portion 61 can be accommodated in the convex portion 52. By doing so, the drive portion accommodating portion 61 of the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 can be provided without enlarging the entire wafer transfer chamber 50.
Since only the convex portion 52 accommodating the wafer need to be projected from the wafer transfer chamber 50, the space of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced, and the time required for evacuation or the like can be shortened.

A through hole 57 is formed in the bottom surface 56 of the wafer transfer chamber 50. A screw shaft 561 is provided vertically below the outside of the wafer transfer chamber 50. A motor 566 is provided above the screw shaft 561, and the screw shaft 561 is rotated by the motor 566. Screw shaft 56
1, a nut 565 forming a ball screw is provided, and an elevating table 564 is fixed to the nut 565.
Wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 56 is mounted on the lift table 564.
3, one end of which is fixed, and a support rod 563 is vertically attached to the lift table 564. The other end of the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 has the wafer transfer vacuum robot 6
It is fixed to the upper end of the drive unit accommodating portion 61 of 0. The wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 is made of stainless steel. Through hole 5 in bottom surface 56 of wafer transfer chamber 50
One end of the bellows 562 is airtightly fixed to the bottom surface 56 around 7 and the other end of the bellows 562 is airtightly fixed to the upper surface of the lift 564. The bellows 562 is made of metal and is attached so as to cover the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563.

When the screw shaft 561 is rotated by the motor 566, the nut 565 moves up and down, which moves up and down the elevating table 564 fixed to the nut 565. When the elevating table 564 moves up and down, the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 vertically attached thereto also moves up and down, and the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 attached thereto also moves up and down.

In this embodiment, since the ball screw 560 composed of the screw shaft 561 and the nut 565 is used, friction can be reduced and mechanical efficiency can be increased. Since the ball screw 560 is provided outside the wafer transfer chamber 50, the inside of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be prevented from being contaminated, and as a result, the wafer 5 can be prevented from being contaminated. Further, since the ball screw 560 is provided below the bottom surface 56 of the wafer transfer chamber 50, it is possible to prevent the inside of the wafer transfer chamber 50 from being contaminated by particles generated from the bellows 562.

Since the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 made of a rigid stainless steel mechanically connects the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 to the lift table 564, the wafer transfer vacuum robot is moved according to the elevation of the lift table 564. The 60 surely moves up and down.

Further, the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 is covered with the bellows 562,
One end of 62 is the through hole 5 in the bottom surface 56 of the wafer transfer chamber 50.
7, which is airtightly fixed to the bottom surface 56 around 7,
Since the other end of 62 is airtightly fixed to the upper surface of the elevating table 564, the airtightness is maintained by the bellows 562, so that the airtightness is ensured and the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be evacuated. Since the movement of the transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 can be separated from the problem of maintaining airtightness,
The movement of the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 is also smooth and reliable.

Furthermore, since the tip end of the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 is fixed to the upper end of the drive section accommodating portion 61 of the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60, the height of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be lowered, and by extension, the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be lowered. The overall height of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 can be reduced.

The entire semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 is a housing 90.
It is housed at 0. A filter (not shown) and a fan (not shown) are provided on the ceiling surface of the housing 900 of the front part 100.
And are provided so that the inside of the housing 900 can be downflowed. A cassette 1 is provided inside the housing 900.
A cassette shelf 11 on which 0 is placed is attached to the housing 900. The cassette shelf 11 has a wafer transfer chamber 30.
On the other hand, it is arranged substantially on the opposite side of the wafer transfer chamber 50. The cassette shelves 11 are arranged at three positions in the plane direction, and vertically stacked in two stages. By providing the cassette shelf 11 in the housing 900, the wafer surface mounted on the cassette 10 can be kept clean. Further, by providing the plurality of cassette shelves 11 in this manner, it is possible to arrange the cassettes for each type of processing in accordance with a plurality of processings. It is also possible to arrange a cassette in which the monitor wafer and the dummy wafer are stored.

A cassette insertion port 13 is provided in the lower portion of the front surface 901 of the housing 900, and a cassette stage 12 is provided inside the housing 900 at substantially the same height as the cassette insertion port 13. The cassette stage 12
The cassette 10 loaded into the housing 900 of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 from the cassette loading port 13 is temporarily held first, and the processing is completed by the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 before the cassette 10 is unloaded from the housing 900. Used to hold the cassette temporarily.

The cassette stage 12 is provided in the lower part of the cassette shelf 11, and when the cassette is loaded into the cassette stage 12, particles and the like flowing from the outside of the housing 900 through the cassette loading port 13 are stored in the cassette shelf 11. It is possible to reduce the influence on the wafer 5 in the cassette 10 placed on the.

Wafer transfer chamber 30 and cassette shelf 11
In between, a cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20 is provided which can transfer the cassette 10 into the cassette shelf 11 and can transfer the cassette 10 out of the cassette shelf 11 and transfer the wafer 5 between the cassette 10 and the wafer transfer chamber 30. Has been. This cassette carrier and wafer carrier 20
Is provided with a screw shaft 29 provided vertically and a nut (not shown) forming a ball screw, and by rotating the screw shaft 29, the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20 can be moved up and down. . Since the cassette transfer / wafer transfer device 20 is also provided in the housing 900, the surface of the wafer 5 transferred by the cassette transfer / wafer transfer device 20 can be kept clean.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the cassette carrying / wafer carrying machine 20.

The cassette carrier 21 is mounted on the bases 25 and 26.
A wafer carrier 23 is provided, and the cassette carrier 21 and the wafer carrier 23 can be independently moved in parallel in the direction of the arrow. The cassette carrying machine 21 includes a cassette carrying arm 22, and the cassette 10 is carried by mounting the cassette 10 on a cassette holder 27 attached to the tip of the cassette carrying arm 22. The wafer carrier 23 is provided with a plurality of tweezers 24, and the wafers 5 are mounted on the tweezers 24 to carry the wafers 5.

6A and 6B are views for explaining the pitch converting mechanism of the cassette carrying / wafer carrying machine, FIG. 6A is a side view, and FIG. 6B is a rear view taken along the line YY of FIG. 6A. .

In the present embodiment, the wafer carrier 23
Includes five tweezers 241 to 245. The tweezers 241 are integrated with the block 260. Nuts 23 are provided on the tweezers 242, 243, 244, and 245.
2, 233, 234 and 235 are fixed to each other. The nut 232 and the nut 234 are engaged with the screw shaft 210, and the nut 232 and the nut 234 form a ball screw with the screw shaft 210, respectively. Nut 2
The nut 33 and the nut 235 are meshed with the screw shaft 211, and the nut 233 and the nut 235 form a ball screw with the screw shaft 211. The upper end of the screw shaft 210 and the upper end of the screw shaft 211 are connected to the motor 220 via a gear mechanism (not shown), and the lower end of the screw shaft 210 and the lower end of the screw shaft 211 are rotatably attached to the block 250. It is installed. A nut 270 is attached to the blocks 250 and 260, and the nut 270 is provided so as to mesh with the screw shaft 280, and the nut 270 and the screw shaft 280 form a ball screw. When the screw shaft 280 rotates, the nut 270 moves left and right to move the tweezers 241 to 245 left and right.

The screw shaft 21 meshing with the nut 232.
A zero-pitch screw is formed in the region 212 of 0, and a double-pitch screw is formed in the region 213 of the screw shaft 211 that meshes with the nut 233, and a screw shaft that meshes with the nut 234. A region 214 of 210 is formed with a triple pitch screw, and a region 215 of the screw shaft 211 that meshes with the nut 235 is formed with a four pitch screw. Further, the vertical relative position between the block 250 and the block 260 does not change.
When the screw shaft 210 and the screw shaft 211 are rotated by the motor 220, the block 250 and the block 260 do not move up and down, but the nut 232 moves up and down by a predetermined distance, and the nut 233.
Moves up and down twice as much as the nut 232, the nut 234 moves up and down three times as much as the nut 232, and the nut 235 moves up and down four times as much as the nut 232. Therefore, the tweezers 241
Does not move up and down, the tweezers 242 move up and down a predetermined distance, the tweezers 243 move up and down twice as long as the tweezers 242, the tweezers 244 move up and down three times as long as the tweezers 242, and the tweezers 245 four times longer than the tweezers 242. Move up and down. As a result, the pitch between the tweezers 241 to 245 can be converted while keeping the pitch between the tweezers 241 to 245 uniform.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the transfer operation of the wafer 5 in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1, and the transfer and processing method of the wafer 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

The cassette 10 loaded into the housing 900 of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 from the cassette loading port 13 is
First, it is placed on the cassette stage 12. Next, the cassette transfer arm 22 of the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20
It is placed on the cassette holder 27 attached to the end of the box, transported to the upper part of the housing 900, and then placed on the cassette shelf 11. Next, the cassette carrier 21 moves to the left, and instead, the wafer carrier 23 moves to the right to mount the wafer 5 in the cassette 10 on the tweezers 24. At this time, the pitch between the tweezers 24 is the cassette 1
The distance between the grooves is 0. After that, the wafer carrier 23 is once retracted, the direction is changed by 180 degrees, and then the pitch between the tweezers 24 is converted to the pitch between the wafer mounting grooves 45 of the wafer holder 40. Then, the tweezers 24 are moved to the left and the wafer 5 is mounted on the wafer holder 40 in the wafer transfer chamber 30. In the present embodiment, five wafers 5 are transferred from the cassette 10 to the wafer holder 40 at a time by the cassette carrier / wafer carrier 2
Transport by 0. When the wafer 5 is transferred into the wafer transfer chamber 30 by the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20, the gate valve 92 is closed and the front door valve 91 is opened.

After the wafer 5 is mounted on the wafer holder 40 in the wafer transfer chamber 30, the front door valve 91 is closed and the inside of the wafer transfer chamber 30 is evacuated.

After evacuation, the gate valve 92 is opened.
The wafer transfer chamber 50 is evacuated in advance.

After that, the wafer 5 is mounted on the wafer mounting arm 68 of the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 in the wafer transfer chamber 50 in a vacuum, and is transferred from the wafer holder 40 in the wafer transfer chamber 30 to the inside of the reaction chamber 70. The wafer boat 75 is carried. At this time, the gate valve 93 is opened and the reaction chamber 70 is also evacuated. Wafer mounting groove 45 of wafer holder 40
Since the pitch between the wafers 5 mounted on the wafer boat 75 is the same, the pitch between the wafer mounting arms 68 of the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 is not changed,
It remains constant. In the present embodiment, two wafers are transferred from the wafer holder 40 to the wafer boat 75 at one time by the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60.

After the transfer, the gate valve 93 is closed and the reaction chamber 70 is set to a predetermined atmosphere, and predetermined processing such as film formation is simultaneously performed on the two wafers 5 mounted on the wafer boat 75 in the reaction chamber 70.

After the predetermined processing is performed, the reaction chamber 70 is evacuated and then the gate valve 93 is opened. The wafer 5 is transferred to the wafer holder 40 in the wafer transfer chamber 30 by the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 in vacuum. At this time, the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60
The pitch between the wafer mounting arms 68 remains unchanged and remains constant. Also, two wafers are transferred at one time.

After that, the gate valve 92 is closed, and the inside of the wafer transfer chamber 30 is brought to the atmospheric pressure with nitrogen or the like, where the wafer 5 is cooled to a predetermined temperature.

Then, the front door valve 91 is opened,
Wafer carrier 2 of cassette carrier and wafer carrier 20
The wafer 5 is transferred into the cassette 10 by 3.
At this time, the pitch between the tweezers 24 is changed from the pitch between the wafer mounting grooves 45 of the wafer holder 40 to the pitch between the grooves of the cassette 10.

When a predetermined number of wafers 5 are loaded into the cassette 10, the cassette transporter 21 of the cassette transporter / wafer transporter 20 transfers the cassette 10 to the cassette stage 12 and then unloads it from the cassette loading slot 13. To be done.

As described above, since two wafers are simultaneously processed in the reaction chamber 70, the efficiency of wafer processing is increased. Further, the wafer mounting groove 45 of the wafer holder 40.
The pitch between the wafers 5 mounted on the wafer boat 75 is the same as the pitch between the wafer mounting arms 68 of the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60. Therefore, the structure of the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 is simplified, Vacuum contamination can also be prevented. And two wafers 5
Since wafers can be transferred at the same time, wafer transfer efficiency is also improved.

Then, the cassette carrier / wafer carrier 2
Although the pitch between the wafers 5 is variable by 0,
Since the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20 is used under the atmospheric pressure, even if the pitch between the wafers 5 is changed, the structure is simpler than that in the case of under vacuum, and the manufacturing cost is low. Can be suppressed.

As described above, if the pitch between the wafers 5 is variable under atmospheric pressure and the pitch between the wafers 5 is fixed under reduced pressure so that a plurality of wafers 5 can be transferred at the same time, The manufacturing cost can be reduced, the size of the transfer device can be prevented from increasing, and the generation of particles can be suppressed, so that the wafer 5 can be transferred in a clean environment. Further, since a plurality of wafers 5 are transferred at the same time, the throughput is improved and the pitch between the wafers 5 is variable, so that the wafers 5 can be converted into a pitch between the wafers 5 that allows highly accurate wafer processing in the reaction chamber 70.

In the present embodiment, the wafer transfer chamber wall 53 and the wafer transfer chamber wall 54 of the wafer transfer chamber 50 are made to face each other, and the reaction chamber 70, the wafer transfer chamber 50, and the wafer transfer chamber 30 are placed. And are arranged on a substantially straight line, and the wafer transfer chamber 50 has a rectangular shape in a plan view. When the wafer transfer chamber 50 has a rectangular shape, the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be reduced in size to reduce its occupied area, and the occupied area of the clean room of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 can be reduced. Also,
The rectangular shape can also reduce the manufacturing cost of the wafer transfer chamber 50. The maintenance area can also be reduced. Further, the distance for connecting the wafer transfer chamber 50 to other wafer transfer chambers can be made shorter, and the wafer transfer chamber 5 can be connected without providing a wafer transfer device at the connecting portion.
The wafer 5 can be easily transferred between 0 and another wafer transfer chamber, and the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 is
Therefore, it has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost. Further, since the reaction chamber 70, the wafer transfer chamber 50, and the wafer transfer chamber 30 are arranged on a substantially straight line, a plurality of semiconductor wafer processing apparatus units having such a configuration can be easily arranged in parallel to each other and used exclusively. The area can be reduced.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment
The reaction chamber 70, the wafer transfer chamber 50, and the wafer transfer chamber 30 are provided below the housing 900, and the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60, the screw shaft 561 for moving the wafer transfer vacuum robot 60 up and down, and the like are provided above the housing 900. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is different from the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus of the first embodiment in points, but the other points are the same.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the six reaction chambers 70 are vertically stacked on the wafer transfer chamber wall 53 of the wafer transfer chamber 50, and the four wafer transfer chambers 30 are connected to the wafer transfer chamber wall of the wafer transfer chamber 50. 54 in the vertical direction. In this way, the reaction chamber 70 and the wafer transfer chamber 30
Therefore, the height of the wafer transfer chamber 50 is also increased. In order to provide a large number of reaction chambers 70 and wafer transfer chambers 30 in the housing 900 in this way, in the present embodiment, the projections 52 of the wafer transfer chamber 50,
A part of the screw shaft 561, the bellows 562, and the wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 563 is projected from the housing 900. By projecting these from the housing 900, it is possible to project them downward from the floor surface of the clean room, and as a result, the height of the wafer transfer chamber 50 can be increased and more reaction chambers can be provided. 70 can be stacked vertically, and more wafer transfer chambers 30 can also be stacked vertically, so that more wafers can be processed in a small occupied area.

FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the reaction chamber 70 (7
0 '), the wafer transfer chamber 50 (50'), the wafer transfer chamber 30 (30 '), the cassette transfer / wafer transfer device 20 (20'), and the cassette shelf 11 (11 ') on a substantially straight line. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus unit 2 (2 ′) having the configuration arranged in FIG. Reaction chamber 7
0 (70 '), the wafer transfer chamber 50 (50'), the wafer transfer chamber 30 (30 '), the cassette transfer / wafer transfer device 20 (20'), and the cassette shelf 11 (1
1 ′) and the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus units 2 and 2 ′ having such a configuration can be easily arranged in parallel, and the area occupied by the entire apparatus can be reduced.

Further, the wafer transfer chamber 50 (50 ') is rectangular in plan view. Wafer transfer chamber 50 (5
If 0 ') is rectangular, the distance for connecting the wafer transfer chamber 50 and the wafer transfer chamber 50' can be shortened, and the wafer transfer chamber 90 provided at the connection portion does not need to be provided with a wafer transfer device. A wafer can be easily transferred between the wafer transfer chamber 50 and another wafer transfer chamber 50 '. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1 has a correspondingly simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost. The wafer delivery chamber 90 can also be used as a cooling chamber for cooling the wafer or a preheating chamber for preheating the wafer.

Further, a large space can be secured between the reaction chamber 70 and the reaction chamber 70 ', which can be used as a common maintenance area 3 for the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus units 2 and 2'.

FIG. 11 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the reaction chamber 70,
A wafer transfer chamber 50, a wafer transfer chamber 30, a cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine 20, and a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus unit 6 according to the present invention having a configuration in which a cassette shelf 11 is arranged on a substantially straight line. Hexagonal wafer transfer chamber 150, cassette chambers 131 and 132 provided on the side wall of wafer transfer chamber 150, and reaction chamber 1
71 and 172 and the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus unit 7 including the wafer cooling chamber 142 are connected.

As described above, since the wafer transfer chamber 50 has a rectangular shape, it can be easily connected to the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus unit of another form through the wafer transfer chamber wall 51.

Also in this embodiment, the distance for connecting the wafer transfer chamber 50 and the wafer transfer chamber 150 can be shortened, and the wafer transfer chamber 90 provided at the connecting portion can be provided with no wafer transfer device. A wafer can be easily transferred between the transfer chamber 50 and the wafer transfer chamber 150. Therefore, the entire semiconductor wafer processing equipment
It has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost. The wafer delivery chamber 90 can also be used as a cooling chamber for cooling the wafer or a preheating chamber for preheating the wafer.

FIG. 12 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the wafer transfer chamber 55 is formed into an octagonal shape in plan view, and the reaction chambers 70 are laminated in multi-tiers on each of the seven sides.

FIG. 13 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the reaction chamber 70a shown in FIG. 12 is used.
The wafer transfer chamber 90 connects the one obtained by removing the wafer and the one obtained by removing the reaction chamber 70b in FIG. The wafer delivery chamber 90 can also be used as a cooling chamber for cooling the wafer or a preheating chamber for preheating the wafer.

[0133]

According to the present invention, the substrate transfer chamber is
Since the first substrate holding means provided in the substrate transfer chamber is a heat-resistant substrate holder or the like because it is provided on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber completes the processing. It can be used as a substrate cooling chamber for cooling a high temperature substrate.

Further, the substrate transfer chamber temporarily accommodates substrates from the cassette to the substrate processing chamber, temporarily accommodates substrates from the substrate processing chamber to the cassette, or temporarily accommodates substrates from the cassette to the substrate processing chamber. In addition, since it can be used as a chamber for temporarily storing the substrate from the substrate processing chamber to the cassette, it is not necessary to provide the cassette chamber on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber. As a result, the number of chambers provided on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, and the occupied area of the clean room by the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced accordingly, and the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced to reduce the substrate transfer chamber. The area occupied by the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced, and the area occupied by the substrate processing apparatus in the clean room can be reduced.

Also, by reducing the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber in this way, the manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced. Further, if the number of sides is large, a multi-direction maintenance area is required accordingly. However, according to the present invention, since the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, the multi-direction maintenance area is correspondingly reduced. Can also be reduced. Furthermore, if the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced,
The distance to connect the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can also be shortened, and as a result, the substrate can be transferred between the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers without providing a substrate transfer machine at the connection. As a result, the substrate processing apparatus has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, since the substrate transfer chamber can be depressurized and the substrate transfer chamber can also be depressurized, the oxygen concentration can be reduced to the utmost limit, and the oxidation of the substrate in the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be suppressed.

Then, between the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, it is possible to make the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber vacuum-tight when closed, and when opened, the substrate is transferred. Since the second valve movable through the inside is provided, the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be independently kept airtight in a vacuum, and the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber are separated from each other. The substrate can move between them.

Further, the space between the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure portion can be vacuum-tightened between the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure portion when closed, and the substrate can be opened when opened. Since the third valve movable through the inside is provided, the substrate transfer chamber can be independently kept airtight in vacuum, and the substrate can be moved between the substrate transfer chamber and the atmospheric pressure portion. .

Since such a second valve and a third valve are provided in the substrate transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer chamber can be depressurized independently of the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber has an atmospheric pressure portion. It can function as a load lock chamber that is a vacuum reserve chamber when loading / unloading a substrate between the substrate transport chamber under reduced pressure and the substrate transport chamber under reduced pressure. There is no need to provide it. Also, the cassette can be placed in the atmospheric pressure section.

Since the second valve is provided between the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber can be returned to the atmospheric pressure while the substrate transfer chamber is kept in a depressurized state. It is possible to allow the substrate to naturally cool while the pressure is returned to the atmospheric pressure, and to lower the temperature of the substrate when it exits the substrate transfer chamber. Therefore, even if the substrate is subsequently taken out into the atmospheric pressure, the substrate is prevented from being contaminated by the atmospheric pressure atmosphere. In this way, the step of returning the substrate to the atmospheric pressure in the substrate delivery chamber and the step of cooling the substrate are simultaneously performed, the cooled substrate is transported to the cassette under the atmospheric pressure, and the cassette containing the substrate is transported to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus. be able to.

Further, since the substrate transfer between the substrate transfer chamber and the cassette can be performed by the second substrate transfer means other than the first substrate transfer means in the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer time is shortened. can do. Further, in the present invention, the cassette holding means and the second substrate carrying means capable of carrying the substrate between the cassette held by the cassette holding means and the substrate transfer chamber are arranged in the atmospheric pressure section. The structure of the cassette holding means and the structure of the second substrate transfer means can be simplified as compared with the case where they are in vacuum.

Furthermore, between the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber, when closed, the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be vacuum-tight, and when opened, the substrate can be opened. Since the first valve movable through the inside is provided, the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be independently kept airtight in a vacuum, and the substrate processing chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be separated from each other. The substrate can move between them.

By providing a heat-resistant substrate holding means in the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber can be used as a substrate cooling chamber for cooling a high temperature substrate which has been processed in the substrate processing chamber.

The substrate transfer chamber is provided with a heat-resistant substrate holder made of quartz, glass, ceramics, or metal to cool the substrate transfer chamber to a high-temperature substrate that has been processed in the substrate processing chamber. Also, even if the substrate transfer chamber is evacuated, impurities such as outgas will not be generated from the substrate holder,
The atmosphere in the substrate transfer chamber can be kept clean.

If the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber can be independently depressurized, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being oxidized in the substrate transfer chamber and the substrate transfer chamber. Not only can the substrate transfer chamber be used as a load lock chamber, but the substrate processing chamber can also be used as a substrate processing chamber that performs processing under reduced pressure, and the substrate processing chamber is depressurized once and then replaced with a predetermined atmospheric gas. It is also possible to provide a high-purity gas atmosphere.

By arranging a plurality of substrate processing chambers for processing substrates on the first side wall of the substrate transfer chamber in a vertically stacked manner, the area occupied by the substrate processing chamber in the clean room can be reduced, and the substrate can be reduced. It is possible to reduce the number of sides of the transfer chamber and reduce the size of the substrate transfer chamber to reduce the occupied area thereof, thereby reducing the occupied area of the clean room by the substrate processing apparatus. When the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber is reduced, the manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, and the maintenance area in multiple directions can be reduced. Furthermore, the distance for connecting the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can be shortened, and the substrate can be transferred between the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers without providing a substrate transfer machine at the connection part. As a result, the substrate processing apparatus has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost.

Further, the second substrate holding means provided in the substrate processing chamber has a structure capable of holding a plurality of substrates, so that the efficiency of substrate processing in the substrate processing chamber can be improved.

In this case, the first substrate holding means in the substrate transfer chamber also has a structure capable of holding a plurality of substrates, and the pitch between the substrates held by the first substrate holding means is set to the second substrate. By setting the pitch to be substantially the same between the substrates held by the holding means, it is possible to simplify the structure of the first substrate carrying means in the substrate carrying chamber where the pressure can be reduced.

If the pitch between the substrates held by the first substrate holding means and the pitch between the substrates held by the second substrate holding means are substantially the same, the structure of the first substrate carrying means Even if the structure is such that a plurality of substrates can be simultaneously transferred under reduced pressure, it is not necessary to change the pitch between the substrates during the transfer, and as a result, the structure of the first substrate transfer means becomes simple. Also, vacuum contamination can be prevented. Further, since a plurality of substrates can be transported at the same time, the efficiency of substrate transportation can be improved.

By making the structure of the second substrate transfer means such that a plurality of substrates can be transferred at the same time and the pitch between the plurality of substrates is variable, the second substrate transfer means is Since it is used under atmospheric pressure, the pitch between the substrates can be changed with a simple structure, and the manufacturing can be performed at low cost, and the generation of particles can be suppressed as compared with the case under vacuum.

As described above, if the pitch between the substrates is variable under the atmospheric pressure and the pitch between the substrates is fixed under the reduced pressure so that a plurality of substrates are simultaneously transported, the manufacturing cost of the transport device can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the size increase of the transfer device, suppress the generation of particles, and transfer the substrate in a clean environment. Further, since a plurality of substrates are transferred at the same time, the throughput is improved and the pitch between the substrates is variable, so that it is possible to convert the pitch between the substrates so that the substrate processing can be performed with high accuracy in the substrate processing chamber.

By providing a plurality of substrate transfer chambers on the side wall of the substrate transfer chamber, while the substrate is being cooled in one substrate transfer chamber, the other substrate transfer chamber can be used to carry the substrate into the substrate processing chamber. , Can save time.

By arranging the plurality of substrate transfer chambers vertically on the second side wall of the substrate transfer chamber, the area occupied by the substrate transfer chamber in the clean room can be reduced, and the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced. It is also possible to reduce the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber to make the substrate transfer chamber smaller and reduce its occupied area, and thus to reduce the occupied area of the clean room by the substrate processing apparatus. When the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber is reduced, the manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber can be reduced, and the maintenance area in multiple directions can be reduced. Further, when a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses are arranged, the distance for connecting the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can be shortened, and the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers can be connected to each other without providing a substrate transfer device at the connecting portion. Substrates can be transferred to and from other substrate transfer chambers, etc., and the substrate processing apparatus has a correspondingly simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost, and the maintenance space between the substrate processing apparatuses interferes with each other. Without doing so, a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses can be arranged efficiently.

By separately providing two types of substrate transfer chambers for loading and unloading, two types of substrate transfer chambers for loading and unloading can be used alternately, saving time.

The first substrate holding means is capable of holding at least twice the number of substrates processed at one time in each of the substrate processing chambers, and the first substrate holding means. However, if it is possible to hold at least twice as many substrates as the second substrate holding means, the substrates can be efficiently transported between the substrate processing chamber and the cassette, and the throughput is increased. improves.

The first side wall and the second side wall of the substrate transfer chamber are opposed to each other, and the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer chamber are arranged substantially in a straight line. By doing so, the number of sides of the substrate transfer chamber can be minimized, for example, a rectangular shape.

If the substrate transfer chamber is rectangular in plan view,
The substrate transfer chamber can be reduced in size to reduce its occupied area, and the occupied area of the clean room of the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced. Also, if it is rectangular,
The manufacturing cost of the substrate transfer chamber can also be reduced. The maintenance area can also be reduced. Further, the distance for connecting the substrate transfer chamber to other substrate transfer chambers can be shortened, and the substrate can be transferred between the substrate transfer chamber and other substrate transfer chambers without providing a substrate transfer device at the connection portion. The substrate can be easily transferred, and the substrate processing apparatus has a simple structure and can be manufactured inexpensively. Further, by arranging the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, and the substrate transfer chamber on a substantially straight line, it is possible to easily arrange a plurality of substrate processing apparatus units having such a configuration in parallel and reduce the occupied area.

By further including a housing for accommodating the substrate processing chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, the substrate transfer chamber, the second substrate transfer means, and the cassette holding means, the surface of the substrate mounted on the cassette or the The surface of the substrate being transported by the second substrate transport means can be kept clean.

Holding the cassette in the housing after loading the cassette into the housing, holding the cassette before unloading the cassette from the housing, or holding the cassette in the housing after loading the cassette into the housing and removing the cassette from the housing By providing a cassette stage that holds the cassette before unloading the cassette inside the housing under the cassette holding means, particles that flow from the outside of the housing when the cassette is transported to the cassette stage and the cassette is loaded into the cassette stage. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the influence of particles flowing from the outside of the housing through a cassette insertion port or the like provided in the housing on the substrates in the cassette held by the cassette holding means.

By making the substrate transfer chamber rectangular in plan view and connecting a plurality of substrate processing apparatus units between the substrate transfer chambers via the second substrate transfer chamber, the distance between the substrate transfer chambers can be shortened. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a wafer holder used in the first to seventh embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a wafer transfer vacuum robot used in the first to seventh embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a cassette carrying / wafer carrying machine used in the first to seventh embodiments of the present invention.

6A and 6B are views for explaining the pitch conversion mechanism of the cassette transfer / wafer transfer machine used in the first to seventh embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 6A being a side view, and FIG. 6B.
FIG. 6B is a rear view seen from the line YY of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a wafer transfer operation in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view for explaining a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view for explaining a conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view for explaining a conventional semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 2, 2 ', 6, 7 ... Semiconductor wafer processing apparatus unit 3 ... Maintenance area 5 ... Wafer 10, 10' ... Cassette 11 ... Cassette shelf 12 ... Cassette stage 13 ... Cassette loading port 20, 20 ' ... Cassette carrier / wafer carrier 21 ... Cassette carrier 22 ... Cassette carrier arm 23 ... Wafer carrier 24, 241-245 ... Tweezer 27 ... Cassette holder 29, 210, 211, 280, 561 ... Screw shaft 30, 30 '... Wafer transfer chamber 40, 40 '... Wafer holder 41, 42 ... Strut support plate 43, 44 ... Strut 45 ... Wafer mounting groove 50, 50', 55, 55 '... Wafer transfer chamber 52 ... Convex portion 51, 51 ', 53, 54 ... Wafer transfer chamber walls 60, 60' ... Wafer transfer vacuum robot 61 ... Drive unit accommodating parts 62, 64, 66 ... Shaft 68 ... Wafer mounting arm 69 ... Drive unit 70, 70 ', 70a, 70b ... Reaction chamber 75, 75' ... Wafer boat 81, 82, 83, 84 ... Exhaust pipe 90 ... Wafer delivery chamber 91, 191 ... Front door Valves 92, 93, 94, 94 ', 192, 193 ... Gate valve 100 ... Front part 200 ... Atmospheric pressure part 220, 566 ... Motors 232-235, 270, 565 ... Nut 250, 260 ... Block 300 ... Load lock module 500 ... Transfer unit 501 ... Transfer module 560 ... Ball screw 562 ... Bellows 563 ... Wafer transfer vacuum robot support rod 564 ... Elevating table 700 ... Process unit 701 ... Process module 900 ... Housing 901 ... Device front 902 ... Device back 910 ... Housing bottom

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hisashi Yoshida             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinichiro Watabiki             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yuji Yoshida             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideo Shimura             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeshi Sugimoto             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yukinori Yukitani             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuto Ikeda             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5F031 CA02 CA11 DA01 DA17 FA01                       FA03 FA07 FA09 FA11 FA12                       FA15 FA25 GA03 GA40 GA43                       GA47 GA49 LA12 LA14 MA02                       MA03 MA04 MA13 NA02 NA04                       NA05 NA07 NA18 PA06 PA26

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cassette holding means for holding a cassette, a substrate holding means for holding a substrate, and a method for transporting the substrate from the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means, or the substrate holding means. From the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means from the cassette held by the cassette holding means and from the substrate holding means to the substrate holding means A substrate carrying means for carrying the substrate to the cassette, and a cassette carrying means for carrying the cassette to the cassette holding means and carrying out the cassette from the cassette holding means, wherein the substrate carrying means and the cassette carrying means are provided. , A substrate transfer mechanism that is mounted on the same lifting means . 2. Cassette holding means for holding a cassette,
A substrate holding means for holding a substrate and carrying the substrate from the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means, or transferring the substrate from the substrate holding means to the cassette held by the cassette holding means Or a substrate transfer means for transferring the substrate from the cassette held by the cassette holding means to the substrate holding means and from the substrate holding means to the cassette held by the cassette holding means, and the cassette. A cassette carrying means for carrying the cassette to the holding means and carrying out the cassette from the cassette holding means, wherein the substrate carrying means and the cassette carrying means are a board carrying mechanism mounted on the same lifting means; A substrate processing means for processing the substrate; Processing equipment.