JP2003051530A - Hand for high temperature furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hand for a high temperature furnace, with which a work can be prevented from being damaged by thermal impulse, by reducing a temperature difference from the work when putting in and putting out the work of a high temperature furnace in the production process of a semiconductor or the like. SOLUTION: In a hand 1 for a high temperature furnace for putting in and putting out a work 4 of the high temperature furnace, a main body 2 of the hand to be put in and to be put out of the high temperature furnace is made of quartz, a suction pad 3 for work placing provided on the main body 2 of the hand is made of quartz, and a heater 5 is housed for heating the adsorption pad 3 inside such a main body 2 of the hand or suction pad 3. Since the main body 2 of the hand and the suction pad 3 to be put in and to be put out of the high temperature furnace is not made of metal but is made of quartz, even when they are inserted in the high temperature furnace, a gas from a metal part, which is a conventional problem, does not occur. Further, by heating the suction pad 3 with the heater 5, the temperature difference from the work 4 in the high temperature state inside the high temperature furnace is reduced so that the work 4 can be prevented from being damaged by the thermal impulse.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high temperature furnace hand for taking a work in and out of a high temperature furnace in a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like, as a hand for putting a work in and out of a high temperature furnace,
A metal hand was used.

Here, using a metal hand, for example, a glass substrate (workpiece) for liquid crystal is an annealing furnace (high temperature furnace: approximately
400-800 degrees), gas is generated from the metal part, and this gas adversely affects the semiconductor manufacturing process. Therefore, in reality, the glass substrate cannot be put in or taken out of the annealing furnace in the high temperature atmosphere by the metal hand.

Therefore, the glass substrate is taken out from the inside of the furnace once it has become low temperature by waiting until it is cooled down to the low temperature where the gas generation does not affect. Then, a new glass substrate was put into the furnace having a low temperature, and the inside of the furnace was again heated to a high temperature.

[0005]

By the way, in such a system, since it is necessary to wait until the inside of the furnace, which has once become high in temperature, becomes low in temperature, a waiting time occurs and productivity is lowered. Also,
Energy efficiency is poor because the low temperature furnace must be heated again to high temperature. Therefore, the present inventors are developing a quartz glass hand that does not cause the problem of gas generation even when the hand is made of quartz glass and is inserted into an annealing furnace in a high temperature state.

However, even with such a quartz glass hand, when the glass substrate in the high temperature state in the annealing furnace is taken out of the furnace by the hand, the temperature difference from the hand in the room temperature state, which has been outside the furnace until then, is taken. Therefore, when the hand is brought into contact with the glass substrate, the glass substrate may be damaged due to thermal shock.

The object of the present invention, which was devised in view of the above circumstances, is to reduce the temperature difference between the work and the work when the work is taken in and out of the high temperature furnace in a semiconductor manufacturing process or the like, so that the work is damaged by thermal shock. It is to provide a hand for a high temperature furnace that can prevent the above.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, a high temperature furnace hand according to the present invention is a high temperature furnace hand for loading and unloading a work into and from a high temperature furnace. It is made of quartz, and the suction pad for mounting a work provided on the hand body is made of quartz, and a heater for heating the suction pad is housed inside the hand body or the suction pad.

According to the present invention, the hand body and the suction pad to be put in and taken out from the high temperature furnace are made of quartz instead of metal, so that even if they are inserted into the high temperature furnace, the hand portion and the suction pad are separated from the metal portion which has been a problem in the past. No gas is generated. Also,
If the suction pad is heated by the heater, the temperature difference between the suction pad and the workpiece in a high temperature state in the high temperature furnace becomes small, so that damage to the workpiece due to thermal shock can be prevented.

Further, the hand body and the suction pad may be provided with a suction passage for sucking a work on the suction pad. In this way, the work placed on the suction pad made of quartz tends to slip off from the hand due to inertial force when the work is put in and out of the high temperature furnace by the hand, but by sticking the work to the suction pad, It doesn't slip off.

The hand body is made of a cylindrical body,
The inside may be the suction passage and the housing portion of the heater. In this way, the suction passage and the heater housing can be secured with a simple structure, and the heater is shielded in the hand body, so there is no problem of dust generation from the heater when it is inserted into the high temperature furnace. That is, the dust generated from the heater is discharged to the outside of the furnace via the suction passage in the hand body.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a high temperature furnace hand for putting a glass substrate (workpiece) for liquid crystal in and out of an annealing furnace (high temperature furnace: about 400 to 800 degrees).

As shown, this high temperature furnace hand 1
Has a hand body 2 that is put in and taken out from an annealing furnace in a high temperature atmosphere, and a suction pad 3 provided on the hand body 2. The hand body 2 and the suction pad 3 are made of quartz glass. A glass substrate 4 for liquid crystal is placed on the suction pad 3. A heater 5 for heating the suction pad 3 is housed inside the hand body 2, and the hand body 2 and the suction pad 3 have a suction passage 6 a for sucking the glass substrate 4 on the suction pad 3,
6b is formed.

A plurality of such hands 1 are attached to an operation arm such as a manipulator and arranged in parallel, and a plurality of glass substrates 4 are supported and placed on the respective suction pads 3 thereof. . On the other hand, a plurality of pins for supporting the glass substrate 4 at a plurality of points are provided in the annealing furnace. The hand 1 transfers the glass substrate 4 placed on the suction pad 3 from outside the annealing furnace to a pin inside the furnace, or sucks the glass substrate 4 placed on the pin inside the furnace into the suction pad. It is used to scoop at 3 and take it out of the furnace.

The hand body 2 is formed of a bottomed cylindrical body such as a test tube, and the inside thereof serves as a suction passage 6a and also serves as a housing portion 7 for the heater 5. A hand flange 8 made of quartz glass is integrally provided in the opening of the hand body 2 by welding, shaving, or the like.
The hand body 2 is constructed such that a support flange 9 attached to an operation arm such as a manipulator is attached to a two-piece assembly collar 1.
It is attached by a bolt nut 12 via 0 and a cylindrical spacer 11 surrounding it. The support flange 9, the assembling collar 10 and the spacer 11 are made of metal because they are not inserted into the annealing furnace up to these parts.

Between the hand flange 8 and the support flange 9, in order to prevent the hand body 2 from rotating with respect to the support flange 9, a rotation preventing mechanism (key groove mechanism or the like) not shown.
Is provided. The support flange 9 has a hand body 2
A suction passage 6c communicating with the suction passage 6a therein is formed. A suction pump 14 is connected to the suction passage 6c via a heat exchanger 13 for cooling. Further, the support flange 9 is provided with a sealing material 15 (O-ring or the like) for sealing with the hand flange 8, and the inner peripheral surface of the assembling collar 10 is for sealing with the hand body 2. Material 1
6 (O-ring, etc.) are provided.

Adsorption pads 3 made of quartz glass are integrally attached to the upper surface of the hand body 2 at appropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction by welding or the like. Suction pad 3
Is a columnar body having a low height, and has a suction concave portion 17 formed in a concave shape on the upper surface thereof, a contact portion 18 formed in a circular shape around the suction concave portion 17 and substantially in contact with the glass substrate 4, and penetratingly formed in the center. And a suction passage 6b. The suction passage 6b of the suction pad 3 is communicated with the suction passage 6a in the hand body 2 through a hole 19 formed in the hand body 2.

The suction concave portion 17 is provided to increase the acting area of the suction force with respect to the glass substrate 4 and increase the suction force, and the weight of the glass substrate 4 and the suction pump 1 are provided.
The area is appropriately determined by the suction force of 4 or the like. That is, the area of the suction recess 17 is such that the glass substrate 4 is hard and slippery due to inertial force when the hand 1 is moved by the manipulator to move the glass substrate 4 on the suction pad 3 into and out of the annealing furnace. 3 The size is set to generate a suction force capable of preventing slipping down from above.

A heater 5 for heating the suction pad 3 is housed inside the hand body 2. Heater 5
Is a heating wire 5a of Fe-Cr-Al system or the like that generates heat due to electrical resistance
When the adsorption pad 3 is brought into contact with the glass substrate 4 heated to a high temperature by the annealing furnace, the glass substrate 4
The adsorption pad 3 is heated to a temperature at which is not damaged by thermal shock (a temperature lower than the annealing temperature by about 200 degrees). The heating wire 5 a is drawn out of the hand body 2 via a seal plug 20 attached to the support flange 9.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

According to the hand 1 of the present embodiment, the hand body 2 and the suction pad 3 are made of quartz glass instead of metal, so that they can be inserted into an annealing furnace in a high temperature atmosphere (about 800 degrees). The gas from the metal part, which has been a problem in the past, is not generated. Therefore, the glass substrate 4 can be put in and taken out from the annealing furnace in a high temperature state (about 400 to 800 degrees) by using the hand 1.

Therefore, according to the hand 1, the waiting time to wait until the inside temperature of the furnace once becomes high becomes low, which was necessary in the conventional metal hand to prevent the generation of gas from the metal part. Is eliminated and productivity is improved. Also,
According to the hand 1, since the glass substrate 4 can be put in and taken out by the hand 1 while keeping the furnace at a high temperature, there is no step of heating the furnace cooled to a low temperature to a high temperature, which is necessary in the conventional metal hand. Energy efficiency is improved.

Further, by heating the adsorption pad 3 to a predetermined temperature by the heater 5, a high temperature state (about 400 to 80
Since the temperature difference between the glass substrate 4 (0 degree) and the suction pad 3 outside the furnace can be reduced, it is possible to prevent the glass substrate 4 from being damaged by a thermal shock when the suction pad 3 is brought into contact with the glass substrate 4. That is, after the annealing treatment, the high temperature state (about 4
The glass substrate 4 of (00 to 800 degrees) is taken out of the furnace by the hand 1, but at this time, if the suction pad 3 at room temperature is brought into contact with the glass substrate 4 at high temperature, the glass substrate 4 is damaged by thermal shock. Therefore, the suction pad 3 is preheated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 5 before being brought into contact with each other.

In the hand 1, the glass substrate 4 placed on the suction pad 3 made of quartz glass has a low frictional resistance due to contact with quartz. Although it is easy to slip off from the hand 1 due to inertial force when it is put in and out of the furnace, it does not slip down because the glass substrate 4 is sucked onto the suction pad 3. Therefore, the glass substrate 4 can be reliably held during transfer.

Further, the hand body 2 is composed of a cylindrical body,
Since the suction passage 6a and the heater accommodating portion 7 have the same interior, the suction passage 6a and the heater accommodating portion 7 can be secured with a simple structure. Further, since the heater 5 is shielded inside the hand body 2, the heater 5 when it is inserted into the high temperature furnace
There is no problem of dust generation. That is, since the dust generated from the heater 5 is discharged to the outside of the furnace through the suction passage 6a in the hand body 2, it does not adversely affect the semiconductor (glass substrate 4) manufacturing process.

That is, the air drawn out from the suction passages 6a, 6b, 6c by the suction pump 14 functions not only as an adsorbing fluid for generating an adsorbing force for adsorbing the glass substrate 4 on the adsorbing pad 3, but also from the heater 5. It also functions as a working fluid that discharges dust generated outside the furnace. Also,
In this way, the suction pump 14 draws the air in the hand body 2 out of the furnace, so that the inside of the hand body 2 is in a negative pressure state and "the pressure of the heater accommodating portion 7 <the pressure in the furnace" is established. The dust generated from the furnace does not diffuse into the furnace.

Further, the hand body 2 is composed of a cylindrical body,
Since the inside is the heater accommodating portion 7, when the heater 5 is damaged, the bolt nut 12 is loosened and the hand body 2
By removing the heater 5 from the support flange 9, the damaged heater 5 can be easily replaced and the maintainability is improved. However, if the maintainability is not considered, the heater 5 may be embedded inside the suction pad 3. By doing so, the suction pad 3 can be efficiently heated.

If the contact portion 18 of the suction pad 3 (made of quartz glass) is processed into a ground glass shape, the friction resistance with the glass substrate 4 is increased, so that the fall prevention effect is improved.
However, if the entire suction pad 3 is ground glass,
Once dust is once attached, it is difficult to completely wash it away by washing, and this is not preferable because it causes dust generation when it is inserted into an annealing furnace in a high temperature atmosphere (about 400 to 800 degrees). Therefore, the suction pad 3 in the portion other than the contact portion 18 is in a surface slippery state.

For the same reason (dust problem), the hand body 2 (made of quartz glass) is not ground glass,
The surface is smooth.

[0031]

As described above, according to the high temperature furnace hand according to the present invention, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, etc.
When the work is put in and out of the high temperature furnace, the temperature difference between the work and the work can be reduced to prevent the work from being damaged by thermal shock.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a hand for a high temperature furnace showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a side sectional view, and FIG. 1 (b) is a sectional view taken along line bb of FIG. 1 (a). Is.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Hand for high temperature furnace 2 hand body 3 adsorption pad 4 Glass substrate as work 5 heater 6 suction passage 6a Suction passage 6b Suction passage 6c Suction passage 7 accommodation

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kengo Matsuo             3-15 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Ishikawajima             Harima Heavy Industries Tokyo Engineering Co., Ltd.             In the center (72) Inventor Toshio Hirose             3-15 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Ishikawajima             Harima Heavy Industries Tokyo Engineering Co., Ltd.             In the center (72) Inventor Takeo Hashizume             3-15 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Ishikawajima             Harima Heavy Industries Tokyo Engineering Co., Ltd.             In the center F-term (reference) 3C007 AS05 AS30 DS01 FS01 FT10                       FT11 FU00 NS13                 5F031 CA05 FA02 FA07 GA08 GA24                       GA26 GA32 GA33 GA37 MA30                       NA14 NA18 PA07 PA11 PA20                       PA26

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hand for a high temperature furnace for loading and unloading a work into and from a high temperature furnace, wherein a hand body that is loaded and unloaded into and from the high temperature furnace is made of quartz, and a suction pad for mounting a work provided on the hand body is made of quartz. A high temperature furnace hand characterized in that a heater for heating the suction pad is housed inside the hand body or the suction pad. 2. The high temperature furnace hand according to claim 1, wherein the hand body and the suction pad are provided with a suction passage for adsorbing a work to the suction pad. 3. The high temperature furnace hand according to claim 2, wherein the hand body is a cylindrical body, and the inside of the hand body is the suction passage and the housing portion of the heater.