JP2006147883A - Wafer transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wafer transfer apparatus which improves work efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: According to the wafer transfer apparatus 100, a camera 116 is arranged above the center of a fork drive unit 111, so that the transfer of a wafer 120a is unnecessary. When a worker has a difficulty in reading an identification mark 120 ax because it is upside-down or inclined to the left or right, the direction of the identification mark 120 ax at a wafer image display unit 118 can be adjusted by executing image processing. This eliminates a need of aligning the wafer 120a. The whole of the wafer 120a including its periphery is exhibited on the wafer image display unit 118 without rotating the wafer 120a, which makes work of rotating the wafer 120a unnecessary. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wafer transfer apparatus.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, an operation of dividing a plurality of wafers stored in a carrier into different carriers and storing the wafers divided and stored in a plurality of carriers in one carrier. Integration.

  The reason why a wafer is divided and stored in a plurality of carriers is that, in a custom LSI product, circuit formation on the wafer may be partially different for each carrier of the divided wafer. In custom LSI products, the data stored in the ROM differs depending on the customer and application, and because it is a small order, the wafer is divided into carriers for each different ROM data in the process of forming ROM data in the manufacturing process.・ Store and set in the manufacturing equipment in units of carriers for each ROM data, and in circuit pattern formation common to each product other than ROM data, the wafers are stored and integrated in one carrier for batch processing. Do.

  The above-described wafer dividing / integrating operations do not process the wafer itself and do not add value. However, this is performed in the semiconductor manufacturing process in order to efficiently manufacture products and quantities that meet customer needs. Therefore, it is required to perform the division / integration work in as short a time as possible. An example of the wafer transfer device is described in Patent Document 1.

  The configuration of a conventional wafer transfer apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the wafer transfer apparatus 1, the operation unit 2 having a function of transferring the wafer 12 can place the mounting units 3 a, 3 b, and 3 c on which the carriers 4 a to 4 c are set and the wafer 12 and rotate at an arbitrary angle. And a wafer stage 5 connected to a driving unit (not shown). The operation unit 2 includes an oblique sensor unit 6 for detecting an OF (Orientation Flat, a reference for aligning the whole wafer direction by straightening a part of the peripheral portion of the wafer 12) of the wafer 12. And a camera 7 for photographing the peripheral edge of the wafer 12 and an arm 8 for supporting the camera 7. Furthermore, the operating unit 2 includes forks 9a and 9b that support the wafer 12, an arm 10 that connects the forks 9a and 9b, and a fork that moves the forks 9a and 9b up, down, rotates, and translates. And a drive unit 11. Furthermore, the operation unit 2 includes a wafer image display unit 13 that displays an image of the wafer peripheral portion taken by the camera 7, and a work instruction display unit 14 that displays a work instruction for the worker from the wafer transfer device 1. And an operation panel 15 for operating the wafer transfer device 1. In FIG. 11, three carrier mounting parts are provided for the sake of simplicity.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the wafer transfer apparatus 1 according to the related art will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the carrier 4a storing a plurality of wafers 12 is set on the carrier mounting portion 3a, and the empty carriers 4b and 4c are set on the carrier mounting portions 3b and 3c, respectively (FIG. 11).

  Next, when a plurality of wafers 12 are first stored from the carrier 4a stored in empty carriers 4b and 4c, the fork 9a is first inserted between the wafers stored in the carrier 4a. The upper wafer 12a is placed on the fork 9a and taken out from the carrier 4a (FIG. 12). Then, the fork drive unit 11 causes the fork 9 a to translate 180 degrees on the plane and in the direction of the wafer stage 5 around the central part of the arm 10. The fork 9a moves between the wafer stage 5 and the oblique light sensor 6 (FIG. 13). Subsequently, the fork 9 a that supports the wafer 12 a is lowered by the fork drive unit 11 to place the wafer 12 a on the wafer table 5, and the wafer 12 a is placed on the wafer table 5.

  Next, using the operation panel 15, the operator gives an operation instruction for aligning the wafer 12a. Based on the instruction, the support 12 connected to the wafer stage 5 is rotated by driving a motor M provided at the lower portion thereof, whereby the wafer 12a is rotated. Next, the OF portion of the wafer 12a is detected by the oblique light sensor unit 6, and the rotation of the wafer 12a is stopped in the direction in which the OF portion faces the oblique light sensor unit 6 (FIGS. 13 and 16). The stop position (direction) of the wafer 12a is stored as data in the fork operation unit.

  Next, on the basis of an instruction signal from the wafer rotation operation unit on the operation panel 15, the support column connected to the wafer table 5 is rotated by the motor M located below the support column. As a result, the wafer 12a rotates, and the image displayed on the peripheral area 13a of the wafer 12a using the camera 7 is processed by the image processing unit and displayed on the display of the wafer image display unit 13. . Then, while looking at the range of the peripheral edge 12aa of the wafer 12a, the operator searches for the identification symbol 12ax that is an identification mark described as “ABC” (FIGS. 13, 16, and 17). Here, the region of the peripheral edge portion 12aa of the wafer that can be observed by the wafer image display unit 13 corresponds to a region 13a of about 23 degrees that is an angle of a fan drawn from the center of the wafer (FIG. 18). Therefore, it is necessary to rotate the wafer 12a with reference to the position where the direction of the OF portion of the wafer is aligned, and search for the identification symbol 12ax provided on the peripheral portion of the wafer 12a every 23 degrees.

  Next, after the operator finds and interprets the identification symbol 12ax, the operator uses the operation panel 15 to input and specify 4c as the carrier for storing the wafer 12a. Based on the specification of the storage location described above, the fork operation unit rotates the fork portion on which the wafer 12a is placed 45 degrees to the right and moves to the front of the carrier 4c (FIG. 14), and stores the wafer 12a in the carrier 4c ( FIG. 15).

  Through the above operation, one wafer 12a from the original carrier 4a is divided and stored in another carrier 4c. Thereafter, the wafer remaining on the carrier 4a is also divided and stored in the carrier 4b or 4c by the same method.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-187246

  However, the position of the identification symbol marked on the peripheral edge of the wafer is an area of the wafer where no shot is arranged in the shot map of the photolithography process. Therefore, in the operation of the wafer transfer apparatus 1 according to the prior art, the wafer is moved to the bottom of the camera in order to search for the wafer identification symbol, and the wafer is rotated / stopped in order to match the OF direction of the wafer. There is a problem that a three-stage operation is required, such as an operation of rotating at a fixed angle with respect to the stop position (direction) of the image, and an operation of searching for and reading the identification symbol.

According to the present invention,
An imaging unit for imaging an image of the wafer;
An image display unit for presenting the image to a user;
A transfer position determination unit that receives an instruction from the user and determines a transfer position of the wafer based on the instruction;
An operation unit for moving the wafer to the determined transfer position;
With
A wafer transfer apparatus is provided in which the imaging unit captures an entire image of one surface of the wafer fixed in a visual field region of the imaging unit.

  According to this invention, the imaging unit provided in the wafer transfer device captures an image of the entire one surface of the wafer, and the image display unit presents the image to the user. Further, based on an instruction from the user, the transfer position determining unit determines a wafer transfer position, and the operation unit moves the wafer to the determined transfer position. Therefore, it is possible to provide a wafer transfer apparatus with improved work efficiency that can move the wafer using the image displayed on the image display unit without requiring the work of rotating the wafer.

  According to the present invention, a wafer transfer apparatus with improved work efficiency is provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

  A configuration of the wafer transfer apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 5.

  A wafer transfer apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a camera 116 that is an imaging unit that captures an image of a wafer 120a (FIG. 5), and a wafer image display unit 118 that is an image display unit that presents an image to an operator who is a user. The transfer position determination unit 164 (FIG. 2) that receives instructions from the operator and determines the carriers 104b to 104c that are transfer positions of the wafer 120a (FIG. 5) based on the instructions, and the determined transfer A fork operation unit 156 (FIG. 2) for moving the wafer 120a (FIG. 5) to the mounting position, and the camera 116 is fixed in the field of view position 121 (FIG. 5) which is the field of view of the camera 116. The entire image of one surface of FIG. 5 is taken, and the wafer image display unit 118 enlarges and displays the image so that the image can be visually identified.

  Further, the transfer position determination unit 164 shown in FIG. 9 includes an instruction reception unit 115 that is a reception unit that receives a request to re-image a wafer image from an operator who is a user, and an imaging unit corresponding to the request. An imaging requesting unit 166 that requests a certain camera 116 to capture an enlarged image of the wafer 120a by changing at least one of the field of view and the imaging position of the camera 116, and a transfer position of the wafer 120a is determined based on the enlarged image. And a determination unit 154.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the wafer transfer apparatus 100, the operation unit 102 having a function of transferring a plurality of wafers 112 (FIG. 4) includes a carrier mounting unit 103a having a function of setting carriers 104a to 104c, 103b and 103c.

  The operation unit 102 includes a camera 116 having a function of photographing the whole including a peripheral part of a wafer 120a described later, and an arm 117 having a function of supporting the camera 116.

  Further, the operating unit 102 raises, lowers, and rotates the fork 109a and the fork 109b having a function of supporting the wafer 120a, the arm 110 having a function of connecting the fork 109a and the fork 109b, and the fork 109a and the fork 109b. And a fork drive unit 111 having a function of translating.

  Furthermore, the operation unit 102 includes a wafer image display unit 118 having a function of displaying an entire image of the wafer 120a taken by the camera 116, a support unit 119 having a function of supporting the wafer image display unit 118, and a wafer transfer. A work instruction display unit 114 having a function of instructing a worker from the mounting apparatus 100 and an operation panel 115 serving as an instruction receiving unit for operating the wafer transfer apparatus 100 are provided. The camera 116 is located above the central portion of the fork drive unit 111.

  In the present embodiment, a description will be given of a configuration in which three carrier mounting portions are provided for the sake of simplification. However, four or more carrier mounting portions may be provided, or two carrier mounting portions may be provided. Good.

  Next, operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus 100 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated using FIGS.

  A carrier 104a storing a plurality of wafers 112 is set on the carrier mounting portion 103a, and empty carriers 104b and 104c are set on the carrier mounting portions 103b and 103c, respectively. When the plurality of wafers 112 are divided and stored into the empty carrier 104b or the carrier 104c from the stored carrier 104a, first, the fork 109a is inserted between the wafers 112 stored in the carrier 104a. Next, the upper wafer 120a is put on the fork 109a and taken out from the carrier 104a, and the wafer 120a is moved to the visual field position 121 of the camera 116 (FIGS. 2, 4, and 5).

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an operation flow of the wafer transfer apparatus 100, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the wafer transfer apparatus 100. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the camera 116 as an imaging unit captures the entire image of the surface of the wafer 120a on the camera side at one time (step S10) and stores it in the memory 150 (step S20). Further, the camera 116 supplies information indicating that the image of the wafer 120a is stored in the memory 150 to the wafer image display unit 118 (step S30). Next, the wafer image display unit 118 reads an image stored in the memory 150 and performs image processing by the image processing unit 158, and then displays image information on the display 160 (step S40).

  At this time, the entire wafer 120a including the peripheral portion of the wafer 120a is displayed on the display 160 of the wafer image display unit 118 at an enlargement magnification of about 1.5 times the actual size (FIGS. 5 and 8). FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the display 160 of FIG. The enlargement magnification can be arbitrarily changed according to the size of the actual wafer, the size of the identification symbol, and the size of the display 160 of the wafer image display unit 118, and is large enough to allow the operator as a user to read the identification symbol. It only needs to be enlarged.

  Next, the operator looks at the peripheral edge of the wafer 120a displayed on the display 160 of the wafer image display unit 118 and reads the identification symbol 120ax, which is an identification mark described as “DEF” (step S50). Since the identification symbol is enlarged about 1.5 times the actual size and displayed on the display 160, the operator can easily read the identification symbol 120ax displayed enlarged on the display 160 of the wafer image display unit 118. (FIGS. 2, 3 and 8).

  Here, when the position of the identification symbol 120ax is in the upper part of the wafer 120a or the left and right positions in the display 160 of the wafer image display unit 118, the direction of the identification symbol 120ax is upside down in FIG. Sometimes it is difficult to read because of lying down. In such a case, the image processing unit 158 performs image processing on the image of the wafer 120a. By doing this, the display of the image of the wafer 120a is rotated by a desired angle, and the identification symbol 120ax is moved to the lower part of the display 160 of the wafer image display unit 118 in FIG. As described above, by performing image processing, the orientation of the identification symbol 120ax is corrected in the display 160 so that the correct symbol is displayed, so that the operator can easily read.

  Subsequently, after reading the identification symbol 120ax, the operator instructs the operation panel 115, which is an instruction receiving unit, to designate the carrier for storing the wafer 120a as 104c (step S60). Next, based on the instruction received by the instruction receiving unit, the determination unit 154 controls the fork operation unit 156 as an operation unit, and rotates the fork on which the wafer 120a is placed by 90 degrees to the right by the operation of the driving unit 162. And moved in front of the carrier 104c (FIGS. 2 and 3 (steps S70 and S80), FIGS. 5 and 6). Next, the wafer 120a is stored in the carrier 104c (FIG. 7). Here, the operation panel 115 and the determination unit 154 which are instruction reception units constitute a transfer position determination unit 164.

  Through the above operation, one wafer 120a initially stored in the carrier 104a is divided and stored in another carrier 104c. Thereafter, the wafer remaining on the carrier 104a is also divided and stored in the carrier 104b or 104c by the same method.

  Hereinafter, effects of the wafer transfer apparatus 100 will be described.

  In the wafer transfer apparatus 1 according to the prior art, the wafer 12a is moved from the center of the fork drive unit 11 to below the camera 7 in order to search for the identification symbol 12ax of the wafer 12a. On the other hand, in the wafer transfer apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, since the camera 116 is disposed at the upper center of the fork drive unit 111, the fork drive of the wafer 120a that is necessary in the conventional wafer transfer apparatus 1 is performed. The reciprocating movement from the central part of the part 111 to the position corresponding to the camera 7 of the wafer transfer device according to the prior art is no longer necessary.

  In the wafer transfer apparatus 1 according to the prior art, the wafer 12a is rotated in order to align the direction of the wafer 12a. However, in the wafer transfer apparatus 100, the wafer 120a is not rotated. In addition, when the orientation of the identification symbol 120ax is upside down or tilted in the left-right direction and is difficult for an operator to read, the image processing unit 158 performs image processing to thereby enable the wafer image display unit 118 to The direction of the identification symbol 120ax on the display 160 can be adjusted. Therefore, alignment of the wafer 120a is not necessary.

  Further, in the wafer transfer apparatus 1 according to the conventional technique, the position (direction) in which the direction of the wafer 12a is aligned is set to 23 degrees so that the identification symbol 12ax marked on the peripheral edge of the wafer enters the field of view of the camera 7. It was rotating every time. In addition, it is necessary to provide the oblique light sensor unit 6 in order to determine the reference point for this rotation. On the other hand, in the wafer transfer apparatus 100, the entire wafer including the wafer peripheral portion is displayed on the display 160 of the wafer image display unit 118 without being rotated. This eliminates the need to rotate the wafer 120a. Further, since the rotating operation is not necessary, it is not necessary to determine the reference point of rotation, and it is not necessary to provide the oblique light sensor unit in the wafer transfer device 100.

  As described above, in the wafer transfer apparatus 100, the conventional technique is used from the center of the fork drive unit 111 for reading the identification symbol marked on the peripheral edge of the wafer, which is necessary in the prior art. Operations such as reciprocal movement of the wafer to a position corresponding to the camera 7 of the wafer transfer device, wafer rotation, and direction alignment of the identification symbols are no longer necessary. Since the operation described above is no longer necessary, the wafer transfer operation time can be shortened by, for example, about 40% compared to the conventional technique.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, these are the illustrations of this invention, Various structures other than the above are also employable.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the identification symbol marked on the wafer peripheral portion is read and the wafer is moved. However, the identification symbol is provided at a position other than the wafer peripheral portion such as near the center of the wafer. May be. Further, the wafer image information other than the identification symbol may be read to move the wafer.

  In the above embodiment, the description has been given of the mode in which the operator reads the identification symbol 120ax and instructs the instruction receiving unit to move the wafer. However, as shown in FIGS. A certain worker looks at the image of the wafer 120a displayed on the wafer image display unit 118, searches for a rough position of the identification symbol 120ax in the wafer 120a, and causes the determination unit 154 to interpret the final identification symbol 120ax. May be. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an operation flow of the wafer transfer apparatus 100 according to another embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of an operation of the wafer transfer apparatus 100 according to another embodiment. . As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, first, the user who has seen the image of the wafer 120ax displayed on the wafer image display unit 118 issues a request to the instruction receiving unit (operation panel) 115 to capture the image of the wafer 120a again. (Step S61). Next, the instruction receiving unit (operation panel) 115 sends the above request to the imaging request unit 166 (step S71). Next, in response to the above request, the imaging request unit 166 requests the camera 116 serving as the imaging unit to capture an enlarged image of the wafer 120a by changing at least one of the field of view and the imaging position of the camera 116. (Step S72). Subsequently, in response to the request, the camera (imaging unit) 116 captures an enlarged image of the wafer 120a, causes the determining unit 154 to read the enlarged image, and the determining unit 154 reads the identification symbol (step S73). Next, the determination unit 154 operates the operation unit 156 based on the interpretation result of the identification symbol to move the wafer (step S80).

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the identification symbol 120ax expanded about 1.5 times from an actual dimension, and demonstrated the form displayed so that an image might be identified visually, the image is not identified visually. The identification symbol 120ax may be displayed. In addition, the identification symbol may be enlarged to a size that can be read by the user, the determination unit 154, or the like at an enlargement factor other than about 1.5 times the actual size.

It is the top view which showed typically the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed typically the structure of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement flow of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is the top view which showed typically operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is the top view which showed typically the wafer imaging | photography part which concerns on embodiment. It is the top view which showed typically operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is the top view which showed typically operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is the top view which showed typically the wafer image display part which concerns on embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed typically the structure of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on other embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement flow of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on other embodiment. It is the top view which showed typically the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on the prior art. It is the top view which showed typically operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on the prior art. It is the top view which showed typically operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on the prior art. It is the top view which showed typically operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on the prior art. It is the top view which showed typically operation | movement of the wafer transfer apparatus which concerns on the prior art. It is the top view which showed typically the wafer imaging | photography part which concerns on the prior art. It is the top view which showed typically the wafer image display part which concerns on the prior art. It is the top view which showed typically the wafer which concerns on a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Wafer transfer apparatus 102 Operation | movement part 103a Carrier mounting part 103b Carrier mounting part 103c Carrier mounting part 104a Carrier 104b Carrier 104c Carrier 109a Fork 109b Fork 110 Arm 111 Fork drive part 112 Wafer 114 Work instruction display part 115 Operation panel 116 Camera 117 Arm 118 Wafer image display unit 119 Support unit 120a Wafer 120ax Identification symbol 121 View position 150 Memory 154 Determination unit 156 Fork operation unit 158 Image processing unit 160 Display 162 Drive unit 164 Transfer position determination unit 166 Imaging request unit

Claims (6)

An imaging unit for imaging an image of the wafer;
An image display unit for presenting the image to a user;
A transfer position determination unit that receives an instruction from the user and determines a transfer position of the wafer based on the instruction;
An operation unit for moving the wafer to the determined transfer position;
With
The wafer transfer apparatus, wherein the imaging unit captures an entire image of one surface of the wafer fixed in a visual field region of the imaging unit. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1,
The wafer transfer apparatus, wherein the image display unit displays an enlarged image so that an image can be identified visually. In the wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The wafer transfer apparatus, wherein the transfer position determination unit receives an instruction from the user regarding the transfer position of the wafer. In the wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The transfer position determination unit
An accepting unit that accepts a request to take an image again from the user;
In response to the request, an imaging requesting unit that requests the imaging unit to capture an enlarged image of the wafer by changing at least one of a field of view and an imaging position of the imaging unit;
A determination unit for determining a transfer position of the wafer based on the enlarged image;
A wafer transfer apparatus comprising: In the wafer transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A wafer transfer apparatus, wherein an identification mark is provided on the wafer. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 5,
The wafer transfer apparatus, wherein the identification mark is provided on a peripheral portion of the wafer.

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