JP2003092324A - Wafer carrier mechanism, vacuum chamber and wafer processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small vacuum chamber not requiring a load lock chamber. SOLUTION: The vacuum chamber is provided with a first timing belt 105b which is tensioned between a first and second pulleys 104e and 104d on an internal side wall in a vacuum chamber and is rotated by a single motor, a table 109 fixed on the belt 105b and guided by a linear guide 103b to move, a third pulley 104c rotated by a fixed timing belt 107 according to the movement of the table, a third geared belt 105a tensioned between a fourth and fifth pulleys 104a and 104b provided on the table and rotated by the pulley 104c through a second timing belt 105c, and a fork 102 fixed on the belt 105a, guided by a linear guide 103a to mount a wafer 101, etc., and capable of holding a wafer 101, etc., thereon to carry it in a distance longer than the distance between the first and second pulleys.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mechanism mainly for transferring a wafer, a vacuum chamber, a wafer processing apparatus using the vacuum chamber, which is used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like, a horizontal articulated robot is often used as an apparatus for carrying a wafer inside a vacuum chamber as shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows a vacuum chamber having a transfer capability when a conventional horizontal articulated robot is used to transfer a wafer in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10, that is, a wafer transfer mechanism is mounted in the vacuum chamber. It is a top view of the general schematic diagram of a conveyance chamber. In this case, since the horizontal articulated robot 803b normally processes the wafer 101 in a vacuum state, the wafer is transferred to the process chamber 807 in a vacuum state. The transfer chamber 702 is also generally in a vacuum state,
Gate valves 501a and 501b for isolation from the atmosphere
This gate valve 501 is used only when the wafer is transferred.
Open or close a or 501b. Horizontal articulated robot 803
When the wafer 101 is transferred in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the first b
The fork 102 is moved by rotating the arm 1001 and the second arm 1002 of the wafer 10 and
1 is conveyed. When the wafer 101 is transferred to the gate valve 501a side, the first arm 1001 and the second arm 1001
18 in the direction of 501a with the arm 1002 of the
Wafer transfer is performed by turning 0 ° and rotating the first arm 1001 and the second arm 1002 again.
FIG. 11 is a top view of a schematic configuration of a typical wafer processing apparatus that employs the transfer chamber using the horizontal articulated robot shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 12 shows a side sectional view of the same structure. In FIG. 11, the wafer processing apparatus is arranged on the carrier opener 802 in order to process the wafer inside the process chamber 807.
The wafer stored in the carrier 801 is first loaded into the load lock chamber 1 by the horizontal articulated robot 803a.
The wafer is transferred to the wafer table 1102 inside 101. Since the load lock chamber 1101 always keeps the transfer chamber 702 and the process chamber 807 in a vacuum state, the gate valve 501a is closed and the exhaust pump 806a performs exhaust to form a vacuum state, and the gate valve 501b is opened. The horizontal multi-purpose robot 803b makes the wafer transferable. After that, the horizontal articulated robot 803
b, the wafer is transferred to the process chamber 807 after the gate valve 501c is opened. At this time, the wafer stage of the load lock chamber 1101 fulfills its role while moving up and down when transferring the wafer to the horizontal articulated robot 803b. Also, the process chamber 80
When the wafer processing in 7 is completed, the wafer is returned to the carrier 801 by performing the above reverse procedure.

[0003]

However, there are the following problems in the apparatus using the transfer chamber using the horizontal articulated robot, which is a conventional technique. First, in the case of FIG. 10, a horizontal articulated robot 803
b indicates an operation range 1003 when the wafer 101 is transferred.
The operating area shown in is necessary. This is the required transport distance, that is, the first arm 1001 or the second arm 1
002 or the length of the fork 102 is an operation area at the time of turning, and becomes large in proportion to the required transfer area. This operation area 1003 must always be taken into consideration when a wafer is transferred using a horizontal articulated robot, and it is necessary to check whether there is an interfering object around the horizontal articulated robot. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the transfer chamber 702 in which the horizontal articulated robot is mounted needs to have a volume in the vacuum chamber so as not to interfere with its operation range 1003. This not only increases the material cost of the transfer chamber 702, but also increases the fabrication time. Also,
Since the transfer chamber 702 is in a vacuum state, the capacity of the exhaust pump is increased, resulting in an increase in cost. Next, with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, problems of the whole processing apparatus when a conventional chamber, that is, a transfer chamber using a horizontal articulated robot is used as a transfer mechanism for a wafer in a vacuum chamber will be described.

FIG. 11 is a top view showing a conventional wafer processing apparatus using a transfer chamber having a horizontal articulated robot mounted on a wafer transfer mechanism in a vacuum chamber.
The configuration of a typical wafer processing apparatus as shown in FIG.
When the transfer chamber 702 of the horizontal articulated robot 803b like 0 is used, the installation of the load lock chamber 1101 becomes necessary first. Since the wafer processing performed inside the process chamber 807 is performed in a vacuum state, the vacuum state is always maintained. Therefore, originally, in the transfer chamber 702, when the internal transfer mechanism transfers a wafer into or out of the process chamber 807, the gate valve 501b is closed and the exhaust pump 806B is evacuated, and then the gate 501c. Should be opened and wafers should be loaded and unloaded. However, the transfer chamber 702 has a large volume in order to secure an operation range of the horizontal articulated robot 803b, which is a conventional transfer mechanism, and therefore, it takes a very long time when exhausted by the exhaust pump 806b and when returned to the atmospheric state. The number of processed wafers per unit time, that is, the throughput as the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. 11 is significantly reduced. That is,
In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to have a space which can realize a vacuum state and an atmospheric state in a short time and which can receive and deliver wafers. For this reason, a load lock chamber 1101 having a smaller volume than that of the transfer chamber 702 is usually installed in such an apparatus, and an exhaust pump 806a and a vent device 805 for returning the inside to an atmospheric state are used to remove the load lock chamber 1101. The vacuum state and the atmospheric state can be realized in a short time, and the wafer can be delivered between the vacuum state and the atmospheric state. However, this has a problem that the load lock chamber 1101 is installed first of all, so that the entire apparatus becomes large. This is because the footprint, that is, the installation area of the device becomes a problem for a clean room in which the semiconductor manufacturing device is installed. Secondly, the manufacturing cost of the load lock chamber itself is increased. Third, the load lock chamber 1
A new exhaust pump 806a is required to bring the 101 into a vacuum state, and the gate valve 501a is further added.
These costs increase because of the need for a stand. Fourth, it is necessary to install the wafer table 1102. Normally, the horizontal articulated robot 803b installed in the transfer chamber 702 is a horizontal articulated robot 803a installed in the front end module 804 or the like.
Unlike this, since it is used in a vacuum environment, it has a structure that does not move up and down in order to simplify its structure. That is, the horizontal articulated robot 803a usually has a vertical movement axis for the delivery of wafers to and from the carrier 801, but the horizontal articulated robot 803b does not have it. For this reason, it is necessary to install a wafer table 1102 having a vertically movable mechanism for enabling delivery of wafers between the horizontal articulated robot 803b and the load lock chamber 1101. This causes a problem that the manufacturing cost is further increased. Therefore, according to the present invention, by mounting a wafer transfer mechanism which is compact as a whole and can easily transfer a wafer longer than a distance between a pair of pulleys, the volume of the chamber can be significantly reduced to a vacuum state or an atmospheric state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum chamber that enables switching of wafers in a short time and speeds up wafer transfer. Furthermore,
The present invention uses a single motor as a drive source instead of a horizontal articulated robot having a wide operation area as a wafer transfer mechanism, and uses a simple mechanism that combines a pulley, a belt, and a linear guide to achieve a minimum linear movement. It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact wafer transfer mechanism having a small operation area and capable of transferring a wafer over a required distance. Further, the present invention eliminates the load lock chamber for pressure regulation by using a compact and efficient vacuum chamber,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly efficient wafer processing apparatus that is compact, has a small installation area, and has a high processing speed.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of a wafer transfer mechanism according to claim 1 drives a transfer mechanism for a wafer or the like fixed to an outer wall surface of a vacuum chamber. A motor for rotating the first and second pulleys on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber which is rotated by the motor, and a first rotor which is stretched between the first and second pulleys and rotates in accordance with the rotational movement of the pulleys. Toothed belt, a table fixed to the first toothed belt and movable linearly guided by a first linear guide on the inner wall surface of the chamber, and a table arranged on the table and moving along with the chamber. A third pulley fixed on the inner wall surface and rotatable according to the teeth of the toothed belt, and a front rotatable by the rotational movement of the third pulley via the second toothed belt. Fourth and fifth on the table
Two pulleys, a third toothed belt stretched between the fourth and fifth pulleys, and a second linear guide fixed to the third toothed belt and arranged on the table. And a fork capable of carrying a wafer or the like which is linearly guided and movable and which can be conveyed longer than the distance between the first and second pulleys or the fourth and fifth pulleys. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the wafer transfer mechanism according to the first aspect, the third pulley arranged on the table is arranged so as to sandwich the table and to be concentric with the fourth pulley. By doing so, the mechanism is simplified by eliminating the second toothed belt. Claim 3
According to the invention, in the wafer transfer mechanism according to claim 1, the stationary toothed belt fixed on the inner wall surface of the chamber, the third pulley and the second toothed belt rotatable in accordance therewith are eliminated, and the chamber It is fixed to both the inner wall surface and the third toothed belt, and when the table moves, the third
It is characterized in that a fixing portion for rotating the toothed belt is provided. The invention according to claim 4 is a vacuum chamber provided with a gate valve and an exhaust port,
The wafer transfer mechanism according to any one of 1 to 3 is mounted inside. The invention according to claim 5 is the vacuum chamber according to claim 4, wherein
It is characterized in that two wafer transfer mechanisms described in the item are mounted inside. The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in the vacuum chamber according to claim 5, the height positions of the first fork and the second fork of the two wafer transfer mechanisms are configured in two stages. . According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a process chamber for processing a wafer, a transfer chamber for transferring a wafer or the like to the process chamber, a load for transferring the wafer to the transfer chamber by adjusting the atmospheric pressure of the transfer chamber and the process chamber. A wafer processing apparatus comprising a lock chamber and a front end module for delivering a wafer of a carrier to the load lock chamber, wherein the transfer chamber comprises the wafer transfer mechanism according to claim 1. It is characterized by The invention according to claim 8 is the wafer processing apparatus according to claim 7, which is provided with both functions of pressure adjustment and transfer / delivery of a wafer or the like to / from the front end module and the process chamber. With the above configuration,
Since the whole is compact and a wafer transfer mechanism that can easily transfer wafers longer than the distance between one set of pulleys is installed, the chamber volume can be greatly reduced and switching between vacuum and atmospheric conditions can be done in a short time. Thus, a vacuum chamber capable of speeding up wafer transfer can be obtained. Furthermore, instead of a horizontal articulated robot, which has a wide operating area as a wafer transfer mechanism, a simple mechanism that combines a pulley, a belt, and a linear guide with only one motor as the drive source operates with minimal linear movement. Since the area is small, a compact wafer transfer mechanism that can transfer a wafer to a required distance can be obtained. Further, since the vacuum chamber is downsized and efficient, the load lock chamber for adjusting the atmospheric pressure can be omitted, and a compact, highly efficient wafer processing apparatus with a small installation area and a high processing speed can be obtained.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a wafer transfer mechanism of a vacuum chamber according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation of the wafer transfer mechanism shown in FIG. In the following claims, the wafer transfer mechanism and the vacuum chamber in which it is mounted are separate claims, but
In the embodiments, the same mechanism will be described as a “vacuum chamber equipped with a wafer transfer mechanism” without being divided. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 108 denotes a bottom surface of the vacuum chamber 502, and 104.
a, 104b, 104c, 104d, 104e are rotatable toothed pulleys having the same diameter, and 105a, 105
Reference numerals b and 105c are toothed belts that transmit the rotational movements of the pulleys 104a to 104e, 107 is a fixed belt that is fixed to the base 108 and can rotate the pulley 104c, and 109 is linearly guided by the linear guide 103b and movable. A table 102 is a fork that is linearly guided by a linear guide 103a and is movable to mount a wafer, 106b is a clamp that fixes the table 109 and the belt 105b, 106a is a clamp that fixes the fork 102 and the belt 105c, and 101 is Fork 10
2 is a wafer to be mounted.

Next, the operation will be described. In FIG. 1, when the pulley 104e rotates, the pulleys 104e and
The toothed belt 105b stretched between 4d rotates. Then, the table 109 fixed to the linear movement portion of the belt by the clamp 106b is linearly guided by the linear guide 103b to perform linear movement. When the table 109 makes this linear movement, the rotatable pulley 104c fixed to the table 109 is fixed to the bottom surface 108 of the vacuum chamber and starts the rotational movement according to the teeth of the stationary belt 107 that does not move. At the same time, the pulley 104c is
In order to rotate the pulley 104b via the toothed belt 105c stretched between the pulley 104b and 4b, the toothed belt 105a stretched between the pulley 104b and the pulley 104a is further rotated. The fork 102 fixed to the linear movement portion of the toothed belt 105a by the clamp 106a is linearly guided by the linear guide 103a to perform linear movement. That is, the transported object, that is, the wafer 101, mounted on the fork is linearly transported. This wafer transfer state is a state in which the wafer 101 is transferred farthest from the vacuum chamber bottom surface 108, as shown in the following view of the operation of the wafer transfer mechanism portion in FIG. The next state 201b is a state in which the wafer 101 is being transported, and the next state 201c is a state in which the transport mechanism is not operating. In other words, due to the mechanism of these operations, the wafer transfer mechanism 201
By repeating the state of a and the state of 201c, the wafer can be transferred in a state where the movement region is small by the minimum linear movement. In this case, the stroke of the fork 102 is determined by the distance between the pulleys 104e and 104d between the required movement distance of the fork 102, that is, the wafer 1
The distance between the pulleys 104a and 104b is set to about half the transport distance of 01, and the pulleys 104e and 104d are
It is set to the same level as the distance between them.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a top view of the vacuum chamber of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the vacuum chamber shown in FIG. The second embodiment is a modification of the mechanism of the first embodiment to a simple and stable mechanism. The improvements are the pulley 104c and the pulley 104 shown in FIG.
It is a portion of the toothed belt 105c stretched on b. In FIG. 1, the fixed belt 107 and the pulley 104c are attached to the table 1
When the 09 moves, the teeth of the pulleys 104c mesh with each other so that the pulley 104c can rotate, and the pulley 104c and 104b are rotated so as to transmit the rotational movement to the pulley 104b.
A toothed belt 105c is stretched between and. However, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pulley 104c is arranged so that the table 109 is sandwiched between the pulley 104b and the pulley 104b.
And the fixed belt 107 with the idler 301 in order to ensure the meshing of the teeth with the fixed belt 107.
While maintaining the tension with 07, the pulley 104b is used as a drive source of the rotational movement. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, each pulley is supported by a rolling bearing 401 or the like like a pulley 104e and can be rotated by a motor or the like. Linear guide 103a
Is the one that can withstand the moment of the fork 102 and the wafer 101, and the linear guide 103b is the table 1
Designed to withstand the momentum of everything installed on 09. As a power source for driving the wafer transfer mechanism portion, a motor 402 is installed outside the bottom surface 108 of the vacuum chamber, that is, on the outer wall, as shown in FIG. 4, via a sealing mechanism for sealing the vacuum. Further, as a method of simplifying the mechanism, a mechanism for rotating the pulley 104b, that is, the pulley 104c and the belt 105 is used.
c and the fixing belt 107 are omitted, a fixture for fixing the bottom surface 108 of the vacuum chamber and the belt 105a at the same time is installed, and the table 109 moves and the belt 105 moves.
Even if a is rotated, the wafer transfer mechanism can be further downsized. In other words, when designing the wafer transfer mechanism part, the required transfer distance can be obtained by combining the mechanism of the pulley and the belt, which is shorter than the required transfer distance of the wafer, with only one motor as the drive source. A simple and stable operation, compact wafer transfer mechanism can be manufactured.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a top view of the vacuum chamber according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the vacuum chamber shown in FIG. The third embodiment relates to the improvement of the components of the vacuum chamber. First, the table 109 passes through the opening of the gate valve 501b, that is, the gate valve frontage 601 as shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG.
The design must be thin enough to pass through. This can be achieved by allowing the table 109, the fork 102, and the wafer 101 to pass through at a minimum. or,
Since the vacuum chamber (transfer chamber) 502 is brought into a vacuum state by an exhaust pump, it is possible to shorten the exhaust time and the open time to the atmospheric state by designing the inner volume to the minimum. Further, generally, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, there is a concern that particles adhere to the wafer due to a fine processing step of the wafer. Therefore, in order to suppress particles generated from this mechanism, a cover 503 may be installed on the mechanism section. Also, to remove particles for the same reason,
The exhaust port 504 for exhausting the vacuum chamber 502 is
It is preferable to install it at a position as shown in the figure and suck particles generated from the movable part of the wafer transfer mechanism part.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a vacuum chamber according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The fourth embodiment is an example in which two wafer transfer mechanisms are mounted in the same vacuum chamber 502. As shown in FIG. 7, a two-stage configuration may be used, such as a first fork 701a and a second fork 701b of the two wafer transfer mechanism portions. At this time, the forks 701a and 701b and the respective tables 109 may be designed to pass through the gate valve front opening 601. By doing so, the wafers can be delivered to and from other devices, and the number of wafers transferred per unit time can be increased.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a top view of the wafer processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a side sectional view of the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. The fifth embodiment is an example in which a vacuum chamber equipped with a wafer transfer mechanism is incorporated in a wafer processing apparatus. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 801 is a carrier for housing the wafer 101, 802 is a carrier opener capable of mounting the carrier, and 803a is a horizontal articulated robot for carrying out the wafer from the carrier 801 and carrying it to the vacuum chamber (transfer chamber) 502 side. There is. An exhaust pump 806b and a vent device 805 are installed in the vacuum chamber 502. A front end module 804 indicates a range including a carrier opener 802, a horizontal articulated robot 803a, and the like. Next, the operation will be described. The horizontal articulated robot 803a
The wafer 101 is unloaded from the carrier 801 and transferred to the fork 102 of the wafer transfer mechanism in the vacuum chamber. That is, the fork 102 is the horizontal articulated robot 80.
It is manufactured and placed so that the wafer can be delivered to and from 3a. At that time, the gate valve 501b is closed,
The gate valve 501a is open. After that, the gate valve 501a is closed, the air in the vacuum chamber 502 is exhausted by the exhaust pump 806a, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 502 becomes a vacuum state. Process chamber 80
7 is always in a vacuum state for processing the wafer,
The gate valve 501b is opened in a state where there is no pressure difference between the inside of the process chamber 807 and the wafer 10 is transferred to the process chamber 807 by the above-described transfer method.
1 is conveyed. Further, when the processing of the wafer in the process chamber 807 is completed, the wafer transfer mechanism portion in the vacuum chamber 502 carries out the wafer 101, and the gate valve 50
After closing 1b, the venting device 805 returns the inside of the transfer chamber 502 to the atmospheric state this time, and the horizontal articulated robot 803a returns the wafer 101 to the carrier 801 again.

Thus, the vacuum chamber 502 of the present invention.
Is mounted on a wafer processing apparatus as shown in FIG.
A conventional load lock chamber 1101 as shown in FIG.
The wafer stage 1102, the exhaust pump 806a, and the gate valve 501a are omitted, and the vacuum chamber 502 of the present invention is directly connected to the front end module 804 and the process chamber 8.
Can be installed between 07. The reason is that the vacuum chamber 50
This is because the vacuum chamber 502 can be designed with a very small volume if the configuration and design of 2 are as described above. That is, according to the present invention, the role of the conventional load lock chamber 1101 shown in FIG. 11, which realizes a vacuum state and an atmospheric state in a short time, and a wafer transferable space is realized as the vacuum chamber 502. Because it was possible.
That is, since the vacuum chamber of the present invention is a very small chamber, it can function as a conventional load lock chamber.
It can be configured as a vacuum chamber with the ability to transfer wafers. This is apparent from the difference in configuration when comparing the wafer processing apparatus utilizing the conventional technique shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 with the wafer processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Therefore, the vacuum chamber of the present invention can solve various problems of the horizontal articulated robot which is the conventional transfer mechanism and the conventional wafer processing apparatus which uses the robot. Note that, up to this point, the new wafer transfer mechanism has been described as a vacuum chamber wafer transfer mechanism directly connected to the process chamber, but the invention is not limited to this.
It can also be used for other wafer transfer mechanisms.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By using only one motor and combining the pulley, belt and linear guide, the vacuum chamber is configured with a small wafer transfer part that can easily transfer wafers longer than the distance between one set of pulleys. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a vacuum chamber equipped with a very compact wafer transfer mechanism that is simpler and less expensive than the conventional horizontal articulated robot that is a wafer transfer mechanism. Also, since the volume of the vacuum chamber has become extremely small, the exhaust time to the vacuum state by the exhaust pump and the switching time to the atmospheric state by the vent mechanism can be shortened. If the processing equipment is configured, the load lock chamber, wafer stage, exhaust pump of the load lock chamber, and vent mechanism of the conventional wafer processing equipment are not required, and the gate valve can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to greatly reduce the cost and install the entire equipment. There is an effect that a wafer processing apparatus that can reduce the area can be provided. Further, if two wafer transfer mechanisms are installed in the vacuum chamber, the number of wafers transferred per unit time is increased, and the efficiency of the wafer processing apparatus is increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a wafer transfer mechanism of a vacuum chamber according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an operation of the wafer transfer mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a vacuum chamber according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the vacuum chamber shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a vacuum chamber according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the vacuum chamber shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a vacuum chamber according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a wafer processing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a side sectional view of the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a wafer transfer mechanism including a conventional horizontal articulated robot.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a conventional wafer processing apparatus.

12 is a side sectional view of the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 wafers 102,701 fork 103 Linear guide 104 pulley 105 belt 106 clamp 107 Fixed belt 108 Bottom of vacuum chamber 109 table 301 idler 401 rolling bearing 402 motor 501 gate valve 502 vacuum chamber 503 cover 504 exhaust port 601 Gate valve frontage 801 carrier 802 Carrier opener 803 Horizontal articulated robot 804 Front-end module 805 Vent device 806 Exhaust pump 807 process chamber

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoshiaki Kubota             2-1, Kurosaki Shiroishi, Hachiman Nishi-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture               Yasukawa Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5F031 CA02 GA03 GA43 GA48 GA50                       LA07 LA13 NA05

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A transfer mechanism for a wafer or the like fixed to an outer wall surface of a vacuum chamber, wherein one motor for driving the transfer mechanism and first and second inner wall surfaces of the vacuum chamber rotated by the motor are provided. A second pulley; a first toothed belt stretched between the first and second pulleys and rotating in accordance with the rotational movement of the pulley; and a first toothed belt fixed to the first toothed belt on the inner wall surface of the chamber. A table that is linearly guided and movable by a linear guide, and a third pulley that is arranged on the table and that is fixed on the chamber inner wall surface as the table moves and is rotatable according to the teeth of a toothed belt that does not move. , Fourth and fifth pulleys on the table rotatable by rotational movement of the third pulley via a second toothed belt, and fourth and fifth
A third toothed belt stretched between the two pulleys of
No. 1 and No. 2 or No. 4 and No. 5 pulleys in which a movable linear wafer is mounted on a second linear guide that is fixed to the toothed belt and is arranged on the table. A wafer transfer mechanism including a fork that can be transferred longer than a distance. 2. A second toothed belt is eliminated by arranging a third pulley arranged on the table so as to sandwich the table and to be concentric with the fourth pulley. The wafer transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism is simplified. 3. The stationary toothed belt fixed on the chamber inner wall surface, the third pulley and the second toothed belt rotatable in accordance therewith are eliminated, and the chamber inner wall surface and the third toothed belt are eliminated.
2. The wafer transfer mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing portion which is fixed to both of the toothed belts and rotates the third toothed belt as the table moves. 4. A vacuum chamber having a gate valve and an exhaust port, wherein the wafer transfer mechanism according to claim 1 is mounted inside. 5. A vacuum chamber according to claim 4, wherein two wafer transfer mechanisms according to any one of claims 1 to 3 are mounted inside. 6. The vacuum chamber according to claim 5, wherein the first fork and the second fork of the two wafer transfer mechanisms are arranged in two height positions. 7. A process chamber for processing a wafer, a transfer chamber for transferring a wafer or the like to the process chamber, a load lock chamber for adjusting the atmospheric pressure of the transfer chamber and the process chamber, and transferring the wafer to the transfer chamber. And a front end module for delivering a wafer as a carrier to the load lock chamber, wherein the transfer chamber comprises the wafer transfer mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Wafer processing equipment. 8. The wafer processing apparatus according to claim 7, which has both functions of adjusting the atmospheric pressure and carrying and delivering a wafer to and from the front end module and the process chamber.