JP2003110000A - Conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely place a substrate 8 on a mount table even if a distance for carrying in and delivery is long in a processing chamber 2. SOLUTION: This conveyance device is provided with a first conveyor 24 that is provided within a carrying-in chamber 16 to carry a substrate 8 set at a fitting position to a treatment chamber 2, a second conveyor 9 that is provided between the carrying-in camber 16 and a mount table 7 of the treatment chamber 2 and receives the substrate 8 from the first conveyor 24 and carries it to the mount table 7 in a horizontal direction, a third conveyor 10 that is provided between the mount table 7 of the treatment chamber 2 and a delivering chamber 38 and received the substrate 8 protruded from the mount table 7 and carries it to the delivering chamber 38, and a fourth conveyor 40 that is provided in the delivering chamber 38 and receives the substrate 8 from the third conveyor 10 and carries it to a pick-up position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device for loading a substrate into a processing chamber and setting it at a predetermined position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an apparatus for processing an object to be processed under a special processing environment filled with high vacuum or an inert gas such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a processing environment is exposed to an airtight state from the outside. An operation of loading and unloading the processing target object to and from the isolated processing chamber is necessary, and an operation of setting the processing target object on the mounting table of the processing chamber is necessary. At this time, if the loading / unloading distance from the opening / closing door provided on the partition wall of the processing chamber to the predetermined position is long, it is possible to reliably use a general transfer device that rotates the hand part to transfer the processing object. It is difficult to set on the mounting table. Therefore, conventionally, in such a processing apparatus, an operator grips a processing target object detachably using a long gripping member, so that the processing target is loaded into and unloaded from the processing chamber, and the processing table is loaded onto the mounting table. We are doing set work.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the operator is required to carry in and out and set the object to be processed each time the processing is completed, which imposes a heavy burden on the operator. There is. Further, if an object to be processed is set at a predetermined position with high positioning accuracy, not only the burden on the operator is increased, but also it takes a long time to complete the setting of the object to be processed, which significantly reduces the productivity. There is also the problem that this will happen.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the object to be processed can be reliably set on the mounting table even when the carry-in / out distance in the processing chamber is long, and the object to be processed can be positioned with high accuracy. The present invention also provides a transport device that can be used.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 sets a processing environment different from the external environment and performs processing at a predetermined position of a mounting table, and the processing chamber. In a transfer device provided in a processing apparatus having a loading chamber and an unloading chamber that are openably and closably connected to a chamber, a substrate provided in the loading chamber and set in an attachment position is transported to the processing chamber. And a second conveyor that is provided between the mounting table and the carry-in chamber in the processing chamber, receives the substrate from the first conveyor, and conveys the substrate in the horizontal direction onto the mounting table, and in the processing chamber. A third device which is provided between the mounting table and the unloading chamber and receives the substrate extruded from the mounting table and transfers the substrate to the unloading chamber.
It is characterized by having a conveyor and a fourth conveyor which is provided in the carry-out chamber and which receives the substrate from the third conveyor and conveys it to the take-out position.

According to the above construction, since the transfer between the carry-in chamber, the process chamber and the carry-out chamber is performed by the first to fourth conveyors, the process chamber has a large volume and the carrying distance to the mounting table is long. Also, the substrate can be reliably transported to the mounting table. Further, since the second conveyor horizontally conveys the substrate onto the mounting table, the newly conveyed substrate can push out the substrate on the mounting table and deliver it to the third conveyor. This allows the substrate to be loaded and unloaded from the mounting table without using a special mechanism.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the transfer apparatus according to the first aspect, when the substrate is conveyed to the mounting table by the second conveyor, the substrate is transferred from the front side of the mounting table to the mounting table. It is characterized in that it has an extruding mechanism for extruding it to a predetermined position and setting it.

According to the above arrangement, it is possible to position the substrate at the predetermined position of the mounting table with higher accuracy than in the case where the substrate is set at the predetermined position of the mounting table only by the second conveyor.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the transfer device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the conveyor section on the first to fourth conveyors on which the substrate is placed is formed of a refractory material. I am trying.

According to the above construction, even if the temperature of the substrate becomes high, the initial performance of the first to fourth conveyors can be maintained for a long period of time.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer device according to the present embodiment is applied to various processing devices such as a semiconductor manufacturing device, a steel plate processing device, and a glass plate processing device. The processing apparatus includes a vacuum tank 3 that forms the processing chamber 2, a substrate loading apparatus 15 that loads the substrate 8 into the vacuum tank 3, and a substrate unloading apparatus 37 that unloads the substrate 8 from the vacuum tank 3. 1 and the control device 51 of FIG. 4 for controlling the operation of the processing device main body 1.

A gas cylinder containing an inert gas such as argon gas or nitrogen gas is connected to the vacuum tank 3 through a valve (not shown), and the inert gas has a desired concentration in the processing chamber 2. Is made available.
A vacuum pump is also connected to the vacuum tank 3 via a valve (not shown) so that the air in the processing chamber 2 can be exhausted to the outside so as to have an arbitrary pressure (vacuum degree). As a result, the processing chamber 2 in the vacuum tank 3 can have a processing environment having a desired degree of vacuum and an inert gas concentration different from the external environment. And, in the vacuum tank 3,
As shown in FIG. 4, substrate detection including a temperature sensor 61 for detecting the temperature of the processing chamber 2, a pressure sensor 62 for detecting the pressure of the processing chamber 2, and an optical sensor for detecting the substrate 8 conveyed by the conveyors 9 and 10. Various sensors such as the sensor 63 are provided.

A support member 6 is provided at the processing position, which is the center of the processing chamber 2. A mounting table 7 that holds the substrate 8 is provided on the upper surface of the support member 6. still,
The substrate 8 is formed in a shape in which a rectangular convex engaging portion 8a is projected to the lower surface toward both ends in the traveling direction, and the substrate 8 itself is used as a processing object or an upper surface of the substrate 8 is processed. Items are placed and used.

The mounting table 7 is formed of a metal material such as stainless steel having excellent corrosion resistance, a ceramic material such as alumina having excellent corrosion resistance and fire resistance, a carbon material and the like. The upper surface of the mounting table 7 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a groove-shaped engaging portion 7a is formed. The groove-shaped engaging portion 7a is in the traveling direction of the substrate 8 (left-right direction).
Is formed over both ends, and the vertical cross section is formed in a rectangular shape. Then, the mounting table 7 allows the substrate 8 to be positioned in the orthogonal direction with respect to the traveling direction by slidably fitting the convex engagement portion 8a of the substrate 8 into the groove-shaped engagement portion 7a. .

A second conveyor 9 and a third conveyor 10 are provided on the carry-in side (right side in the figure) and the carry-out side (left side in the figure) of the mounting table 7, respectively. In these conveyors 9 and 10, the conveyor portion on which the substrate 8 is placed is made of refractory material. The second conveyor 9 is provided between the mounting table 7 and the carry-in door 4 as shown in FIG.
The third conveyor 10 is provided between the mounting table 7 and the carry-out door 5. These second and third conveyors 9 and 10
Both ends have drive rollers 9a and 10a and driven roller 9b.
・ It is placed horizontally while being stretched with 10b. The drive rollers 9a and 10a are connected to a drive mechanism provided outside the vacuum tank 3 after a drive shaft (not shown) penetrates the partition wall of the vacuum tank 3. Also, the second and third
In the conveyors 9 and 10, the height position of the upper surface on which the substrate 8 is placed is the height position of the upper surface of the mounting table 7, that is, the groove-shaped engaging portion 7a of the mounting table 7 and the convex-shaped engaging portion 8a of the substrate 8. Is set to a height position that matches the horizontal direction. As a result, the second conveyor 9 is configured to convey the substrate 8 from the carry-in door 4 side to the mounting table 7 side by being rotationally driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), while the third conveyor 10 is mounted. The substrate 8 is transferred from the table 7 side to the carry-out door 5 side.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the second conveyor 9
The substrate 8 is mounted on the side of the table 7 by the two conveyors 9.
A base extrusion mechanism 11 is provided that pushes the substrate 8 from a front side of the mounting table 7 to a predetermined position of the mounting table 7 when the substrate 8 is conveyed to. The push-out mechanism 11 includes a push-out cylinder 12 capable of moving a cylinder rod 12a forward and backward with high precision with an arbitrary amount of advance.
An extrusion plate 13 provided at the tip of the cylinder rod 12a of the extrusion cylinder 12; and a swivel mechanism 14 connected to the base end of the extrusion mechanism 11. Turning mechanism 14
As shown in FIG. 1, the extrusion plate 13 is attached to the second conveyor 9
The pushing cylinder 12 is supported rotatably in the horizontal direction at a height position where it comes into contact with the side surface of the upper substrate 8.

As a result, the pushing mechanism 11 can be turned between the pushing direction position indicated by the solid line in the drawing and the retracted position indicated by the two-dot chain line in the drawing. When the substrate 8 is transported by the second conveyor 9, the extrusion cylinder 12 is pivoted to the retracted position so that the extrusion plate 13 does not hinder the transportation of the substrate 8. On the other hand, when the substrate 8 reaches the leading front position (front side of the mounting table 7) which is the tip of the second conveyor 9,
After the push-out cylinder 12 is turned by the turning mechanism 14 to the push-out direction position shown by the solid line in the figure, the push-out plate 13 pushes the substrate 8 onto the mounting table 7 by setting the cylinder rod 12a forward. The board at the leading-in position of loading is detected by the board detection sensor 33 of FIG. 4 having this position as a detection area.

As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate loading device 15 is provided on the loading side (right side in the drawing) of the vacuum tank 3 configured as described above. The substrate loading device 15 has a loading chamber 16 in which a substrate case 20 capable of holding a plurality of substrates 8 is housed. The carry-in chamber 16 is formed by a storage partition 17, and can be evacuated or supplied with an inert gas independently of the above-described process chamber 2 to allow a processing environment to appear.

On the upper surface of the accommodation partition 17, an opening 17a used for taking in and out the substrate case 20 is formed. A lid member 19 is detachably provided in the opening 17a in an airtight state. Further, the substrate case 20 has a rectangular support frame 21 as shown in FIG. The front side and the rear side of the support frame 21 are open with respect to the transport direction of the substrate 8, and the bottom side is open. Further, on the outer surface of the upper wall of the support frame 21, a grip member 22 used when the support frame 21 is taken in and out of the carry-in chamber 16 is provided.
A plurality of support members 23 are provided on the inner surface of the left and right side walls of the support frame 21 so as to face each other so as to support the substrate 8 in the horizontal direction. These supporting members 23 are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction so that the substrates 8 are laminated at regular intervals.

Further, the substrate carry-in device 15 is capable of entering the substrate case 20 from below and conveys the substrate 8 held in the substrate case 20 to the first conveyor 24 and the substrate 8 on the first conveyor 24. Substrate case 2 to be placed
A case elevating mechanism 25 for adjusting the height position of 0 is provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the first conveyor 24, like the second conveyor 9 described above, has a conveyor portion made of a refractory material and is stretched horizontally with a driving roller 24a and a driven roller 24b. Cage, substrate 8 of substrate case 20
Can be carried to the carry-in door 4 side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the case elevating mechanism 25 includes a pair of case supporting plates 26, 26 arranged so as to contact the lower end of the side wall of the supporting frame 21, and the case supporting plates 26. A pair of rod-shaped members 27, 27 connected to both end portions of the lower surface and penetrating the housing partition wall 17 in an airtight manner so as to be movable up and down.
And a connecting member 28 for connecting both rod-shaped members 27, 27,
A nut member 29 fixed to the center of the connecting member 28,
A rod-shaped screw member 30 in which a nut member 29 is screwed and an axial center is set in the vertical direction, and bearings 31 and 31 that rotatably support an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the screw member 30.
It has a rotation drive mechanism 32 capable of rotating the screw member 30 in the forward direction and the reverse direction at an arbitrary rotation angle.

The rotary drive mechanism 32 has a screw member 30.
The gear 33 provided in the lower part of the
It has an elevating motor 34 with a, a gear 35 connected to the rotating shaft of the elevating motor 34, and a toothed belt 36 meshed with all the gears 33, 33, 35. The case lifting mechanism 25 configured as described above is used in the lifting motor 3
By rotating 4 in the forward direction or the reverse direction at a predetermined rotation angle, the substrate case 20 can be raised and lowered so as to be at a height position corresponding to the rotation angle and the rotation direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a substrate carry-out device 37 having substantially the same structure as the substrate carry-in device 15 is provided on the carry-out side (left side in the drawing) of the vacuum tank 3. That is, the substrate unloading device 37 includes the accommodation partition wall 39 having the unloading chamber 38 that allows the processing environment to appear independently of the processing chamber 2, and the drive roller 4.
0a and the driven roller 40b, and a fourth conveyor 40 stretched in the horizontal direction, and a case elevating mechanism 25 for elevating and lowering the substrate case 20 to an arbitrary height position. Since the details of each member of the substrate carry-out device 37 are substantially the same as those of the substrate carry-in device 15 described above, the description thereof will be omitted.

The processing apparatus main body 1 configured as described above
The operation is controlled by the control device 51 as shown in FIG. The control device 51 executes an arithmetic unit 52 that executes various programs, a communication unit 53 that is communicatively connected to an information processing device 60 that manages the processing content and the number of processing of the substrate 8, and the like. Memory 5 for storing various programs and data such as the board transfer routine
4, an input / output unit 55 connected to each drive device and sensor of the processing apparatus main body 1, an AD converter 56 connected to a temperature sensor 61, a pressure sensor 62, and the like, and these members can perform bidirectional data communication. And a connected signal bus 57.

The operation of the carrying device having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

When the control device 51 and the processing device main body 1 are powered on and brought into operation, the control device 51 is subsequently operated.
Becomes a state of accepting the operation start command and stands by. Then, when the operator issues an operation start command by button operation or the like, the control device 51 that receives this command executes the substrate processing routine to cause the processing chamber 2 in the vacuum tank 3 to have a desired pressure or inert gas concentration. Environment. The substrate 8 is carried in and out of the processing chamber 2 according to the flowchart of FIG. 5 by executing the substrate transfer routine while apparently paralleling the processing routine by time sharing.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, first, is the substrate case 20 set in the carry-in chamber 16 of the substrate carry-in device 15 and the carry-out chamber 38 of the substrate carry-out device 37 in an appropriate state capable of starting the processing operation? Whether or not it is confirmed (S1), and when it is not properly set (S1, NO), the fact is notified (S18). Then, in this case, the operator opens the lid member 19 to replace the substrate case 20 in each chamber 2/38 or carry the substrate case 20 into each chamber 2/38 in an empty state. Since the setting operation of the substrate case 20 is completed by placing the substrate case 20 on the case support plate 26 as shown in FIG. 3, the burden on the operator is extremely small.

On the other hand, when the substrate case 20 is properly set (S1, YES), in the substrate loading device 15, the substrate 8 is placed on the first conveyor 24 so that it can be transported. Set processing is performed. That is, FIG.
By counting the number of pulses of the encoder 34a, the substrate elevating mechanism 25 lowers the substrate case 20 while monitoring the elevating amount (height position) of the substrate case 20. As a result, the first conveyor 24 moves the substrate case 2
When the substrate 8 held in the lowermost stage of the substrate case 20 reaches the height position where it is placed on the first conveyor 24, the substrate case 20 enters The elevating operation of is stopped (S2). It should be noted that the term "bottom stage" as used herein refers to the stage of the substrate 8 located at the lowermost side of the substrates 8 if the substrate case 20 holds a plurality of substrates 8. If the substrate 8 is held, it means the step of the substrate 8.

In the substrate unloading device 37, the unloading side setting process is performed so that the substrate 8 can be held in the substrate case 20 by the fourth conveyor 40. That is, by counting the number of pulses of the encoder 34a in FIG. 4, the substrate elevating mechanism 25 lowers the substrate case 20 while monitoring the elevating amount (height position) of the substrate case 20.
As a result, the fourth conveyor 40 enters the board case 20 from the lower side, and is located at the height position of the fourth conveyor 40 where the board 8 can be carried into the uppermost support member 23 of the board case 20. At this time, the raising / lowering operation of the substrate case 20 is stopped (S3). In addition, the "top stage" here means
The lowermost substrate 8 held by the substrate case 20
It is the lower row next to the row.

Next, the carrying-in chamber 16 of the substrate carry-in device 15 and the carrying-out chamber 38 of the substrate carry-out device 37 are subjected to exhaust processing and inert gas supply processing, whereby both chambers 16 are carried out.
The environment of 38 is set to the same environment as the processing room 2 (S
4). After that, the carry-in door 4 and the carry-out door 5 are opened, and all the chambers 16, 2, and 38 are brought into communication with each other (S5).

When the substrate 8 can be started to be conveyed as described above, first, as shown in FIG.
In order that 1 does not hinder the conveyance of the substrate 8, the extrusion cylinder 12 is retracted by being swung from the extrusion direction position indicated by the solid line in the figure to the retracted position indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure (S6). After this, as shown in FIG. 1, the first conveyor 24 and the second conveyor 24
When the conveyor 9 is rotationally driven, the substrate 8 of the substrate case 20 is conveyed to the carry-in door 4 side by the first conveyer 24 and is transferred to the second conveyer 9 via the carry-in door 4 and then the second conveyer. It is conveyed to the mounting table 7 side by 9 (S7).

When the substrate 8 is transported as described above,
Based on the detection signal of the substrate detection sensor 63 of FIG.
It is determined whether or not has arrived at the carry-in leading position close to the mounting table 7 (S8). The substrate 8 by the substrate detection sensor 63
If is not detected, it is determined that the substrate 8 has not reached the loading front position (S8, NO), and the transport of the mounting table 7 in S7 is continued. On the other hand, if it is determined that the substrate 8 has reached the loading front position by detecting the substrate 8 by the substrate detection sensor 63 (S8, YE
S), the first conveyor 24 and the second conveyor 9 are stopped (S9).

After this, as shown in FIG.
The extrusion cylinder 12 is returned to the extrusion direction position indicated by the solid line in the figure (S10). Extrusion cylinder 12 is cylinder rod 1
2a is advanced, and the pushing plate 13 pushes the substrate 8 horizontally toward the mounting table 7 so that the groove-shaped engaging portion 7a of the mounting table 7 is engaged with the convex engaging portion 8a of the substrate 8 for setting. (S11). In this setting operation, the substrate 8 may be positioned at a predetermined position by controlling the advance amount of the cylinder rod 12a by the extrusion cylinder 12 with high accuracy, or the extrusion plate 13 may be placed on the side surface of the mounting table 7. The substrate 8 may be positioned at a predetermined position by bringing it into contact with each other.

Next, the processing operation for the substrate 8 is started. At this time, when the processed substrate 8 is set on the mounting table 7, the substrate 8 is pushed out onto the third conveyor 10 by the substrate 8 delivered by the extrusion mechanism 11. Therefore, it is confirmed whether or not the extruded substrate 8 exists on the third conveyor 10 (S12), and if it exists (S12, YES), as shown in FIG. By rotating the 4 conveyor 40, the processed substrate 8 is transferred to the unloading chamber 38 of the substrate unloading device 37.
Be delivered to. As a result, the substrate 8 is inserted and held in the substrate case 20 set in the carry-out chamber 38 (S13). After that, the unloading-side setting process for the above-described substrate case 20 is performed so that the substrate 8 can be held at the next lower stage (S14).

Next, when the substrate 8 does not exist on the third conveyor 10 (S12, NO), or when the setting process is completed on the unloading side of S14, the processing operation for the substrate 8 set on the mounting table 7 in S11 is performed. It is determined whether or not is completed (S15). If the processing operation is not completed (S15,
NO), the determination of the processing operation in S15 is repeated,
When the processing operation is completed (S15, YES), it is subsequently determined whether the processing operation has been completed for all the substrates 8 held in the substrate case 20 (S16). If the processing operation of all the substrates 8 has not been completed (S16, NO), the process is re-executed from S16, and the carrying and processing operations for the next substrate 8 are performed. On the other hand, if the processing operation of all the substrates 8 has been completed (S16, YES), the operator is notified of this to prompt the replacement of the substrate case 20 (S17), and this routine ends.

As described above, the carrying device of this embodiment is
A processing chamber 2 that is set to a processing environment different from the external environment and performs processing at a predetermined position of the mounting table 7, and a loading chamber 16 and a loading chamber 3 that are openably and closably connected to the processing chamber 2 in an airtight state.
And a mounting table 7 in the processing chamber 2, and a first conveyor 24 that is provided in the carry-in chamber 16 and that conveys the substrate 8 set at the mounting position to the processing chamber 2. And a carry-in chamber 16, and a second conveyor 9 that receives the substrate 8 from the first conveyor 24 and horizontally conveys it onto the mounting table 7, and the mounting table 7 and the unloading chamber 38 in the processing chamber 2. And a third conveyor 10 that is provided between the third conveyor 10 and receives the substrate 8 extruded from the mounting table 7 and conveys the substrate 8 to the carry-out chamber 38. And a fourth conveyor 40 that conveys the sheet to the.

According to the above construction, the transfer between the carry-in chamber 16, the processing chamber 2 and the carry-out chamber 38 is carried out by the first to fourth conveyors 24.9.10.40.
Even if the volume is large and the transport distance to the mounting table 7 is long, the substrate 8 can be reliably transported to the mounting table 7. Further, since the second conveyor 9 conveys the substrate 8 horizontally onto the mounting table 7, the newly conveyed substrate 8 is conveyed.
The substrate 8 on the mounting table 7 can be pushed out and transferred to the third conveyor 10. As a result, the substrate 8 can be carried in and out of the mounting table 7 without using a special mechanism.

Further, when the substrate 8 is transported to the mounting table 7 by the second conveyor 9,
The substrate 8 is pushed out from the front side of the mounting table 7 to a predetermined position on the mounting table 7 and has an extrusion mechanism 11 for setting. With such a configuration, it is possible to position the substrate 8 at the predetermined position of the mounting table 7 with higher accuracy than when the substrate 8 is set at the predetermined position of the mounting table 7 only by the second conveyor 9. You can do it.

Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiments, the present invention can be modified within the scope of the invention. For example, the work of setting the substrate 8 on the mounting table 7 in the present embodiment is performed by fitting the convex engaging portion 8a of the substrate 8 having a rectangular longitudinal section into the groove-shaped engaging portion 7a of the mounting table 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vertical cross section may be square, curved, or semicircular. Further, in the present embodiment, the case lifting mechanism 25 is configured to be lifted and lowered by the rotation of the screw member 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured to be lifted and lowered by using a cylinder device. . Further, the positioning of the raising / lowering in the case raising / lowering mechanism 25 is performed based on the rotation angle detected by the encoder 34a in FIG. 4, but the height position of the substrate case 20 is directly measured by the detection sensor arranged in each stage. It may be performed by detecting.

[0040]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the processing environment is set to a processing environment different from the external environment, and the processing chamber performs processing at a predetermined position of the mounting table, and is connected to the processing chamber in an airtight manner so as to be opened and closed. In a transfer device provided in a processing apparatus having a loading chamber and an unloading chamber, a first conveyor that is provided in the loading chamber and that transports a substrate set at an attachment position to the processing chamber, and a mounting table in the processing chamber Provided between the loading chamber and the loading chamber, the second conveyor that receives the substrate from the first conveyor and conveys the substrate in the horizontal direction onto the loading table, and is provided between the loading table and the loading chamber in the processing chamber, A third conveyor that receives a substrate extruded from the mounting table and conveys it to the unloading chamber, and a fourth conveyor that is provided in the unloading chamber and that receives the substrate from the third conveyor and conveys the substrate to an unloading position. It is configured to have.

According to the above construction, since the transfer between the carry-in chamber, the process chamber and the carry-out chamber is performed by the first to fourth conveyors, the process chamber has a large volume and the carrying distance to the mounting table is long. Also, the substrate can be reliably transported to the mounting table. Further, since the second conveyor horizontally conveys the substrate onto the mounting table, the newly conveyed substrate can push out the substrate on the mounting table and deliver it to the third conveyor. As a result, there is an effect that the substrate can be carried in and out of the mounting table without using a special mechanism.

The invention according to claim 2 is the transfer device according to claim 1, wherein when the substrate is transferred to the mounting table by the second conveyor, the substrate is transferred from the front side of the mounting table to the mounting table. This is a configuration having an extruding mechanism for extruding and setting to a predetermined position.

According to the above arrangement, it is possible to position the substrate at the predetermined position of the mounting table with higher accuracy than in the case where the substrate is set at the predetermined position of the mounting table only by the second conveyor.

A third aspect of the present invention is the transfer device according to the first or second aspect, in which the conveyor section on the first to fourth conveyors on which the substrate is placed is formed of a refractory material. .

According to the above configuration, the initial performance of the first to fourth conveyors can be maintained for a long period of time even if the temperature of the substrate becomes high.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a processing apparatus main body.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an operating state of an extrusion mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a substrate loading device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a transfer device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a substrate transfer routine.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 processor body 2 processing room 3 vacuum tank 4 carry-in door 5 carry-out door 6 Support members 7 table 7a Groove-shaped engaging portion 8 substrates 8a convex engaging portion 9 Second conveyor 10 3rd conveyor 11 Extrusion mechanism 12 Extrusion cylinder 13 Extruded plate 15 Substrate loading device 16 carry-in room 17 storage partition 20 board case 21 Support frame 24 1st conveyor 25 Case lifting mechanism 34 Lifting motor 37 Substrate unloading device 38 Delivery room 39 storage partition 40 4th conveyor 51 control device 61 Temperature sensor 62 Pressure sensor 63 Substrate detection sensor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A processing environment different from an external environment is set,
In a transfer device provided in a processing apparatus having a processing chamber that performs processing at a predetermined position of a mounting table, and a loading chamber and an unloading chamber that are openably and closably connected to the processing chamber,
A first conveyor that is provided in the carry-in chamber and that conveys the substrate set in the mounting position to the processing chamber, and is provided between the mounting table and the carry-in chamber in the processing chamber, and receives the substrate from the first conveyor. A second conveyor that horizontally conveys onto the mounting table, and a third conveyor that is provided between the mounting table and the unloading chamber in the processing chamber, receives the substrate extruded from the mounting table, and transports the substrate to the unloading chamber. A carrier device, comprising: a conveyor; and a fourth conveyor which is provided in the carry-out chamber and receives the substrate from the third conveyor and conveys the substrate to a take-out position. 2. When the substrate is conveyed to the mounting table by the second conveyor, it has an extrusion mechanism that pushes the substrate from a front side of the mounting table to a predetermined position of the mounting table and sets it. Item 2. The transport device according to Item 1. 3. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor section on which the substrate is placed on the first to fourth conveyors is formed of a refractory material.