JP2006261377A - Substrate conveyance robot and substrate conveyance system provided with same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate conveyance robot capable of automatically conveying a wafer and a tray and also supporting and conveying a wafer in a non-contact state, and to provide a substrate conveyance system provided with the same. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate conveyance robot has a substrate support hand 3A attached to the tip of a telescopic multi-articulated arm. A Bernoulli chuck mechanism (33) for supporting a wafer W is provided in the undersurface side of the substrate support hand 3A, and a support mechanism (30, 32) for supporting a tray 4 is provided in the upper surface side of the substrate support hand 3A. By this configuration, since the same substrate support hand 3A can perform the conveyance of the wafer W and the conveyance of the tray 4, the automation of a conveyance process of the wafer W and the tray 4 can be attained. Furthermore, since it can support the wafer in the non-contact state, the damage and contamination of the wafer W can be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer robot that transfers a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer and a plurality of trays on which the substrate is mounted, and a substrate transfer system including the substrate transfer robot.

  Conventionally, in the field of semiconductor manufacturing, a technique for transferring a plurality of wafers from a wafer cassette to a tray (or susceptor) and performing a heat treatment, a film forming process, an etching process, or the like is known (for example, the following patents). Reference 1).

  7A and 7B are perspective views showing an example of the configuration of a tray 101 that has been conventionally used. The tray 101 shown in the figure has a disk shape, and a plurality of mounting portions 102 (four places in the example shown in the figure) are formed on one surface of the tray 101 at regular angular intervals. The mounting portion 102 is formed of a circular counterbore, and the depth thereof is approximately the same as the thickness of the wafer W. The clearance between the inner peripheral wall of the mounting portion 102 and the edge portion of the wafer W is so small that the edge portion is not damaged by the collision with the mounting inner peripheral wall due to vibration or the like during tray transfer. Is set.

  The transfer of the wafer W to the tray 101 having such a configuration has been conventionally performed manually by an operator. For this reason, a part of each mounting part 102 is formed with a relief 103 for receiving the tip of a gripping tool (not shown) for gripping the periphery of the wafer W in the front and back direction.

  Note that the tray 101 on which the wafers W are transferred is carried into a vacuum processing apparatus such as a heat treatment furnace, a film forming apparatus, or an etching apparatus by an operator. After processing, the tray 101 is carried out of the apparatus, and each processed wafer W is manually transferred to a predetermined position such as a cassette.

JP-A-7-238379 JP-A-6-32499

  However, in the conventional method in which the transfer of the wafer W from the wafer cassette to the tray 101 or the transfer of the wafer W from the tray 101 to the wafer cassette is performed manually, the operation is very troublesome and the loading of the tray 101 is also difficult. There is a problem that a transfer failure of the wafer W to the mounting unit 102 is likely to occur.

  This transfer failure corresponds to a case in which the transfer of the wafer W to the mounting unit 102 is inappropriate, such as a protrusion of the wafer W from the mounting unit 102, a transfer failure, or a different wafer type. In particular, the protrusion of the wafer W from the mounting unit 102 induces processing failures such as dropping of the wafer when the tray 101 is transported, heat treatment failure, film formation failure, or etching failure. For this reason, the operator is required to be careful, and this is a factor in reducing productivity.

  Further, since the holding operation of the wafer W using a gripper is accompanied when the wafer W is transferred, there is a problem that the wafer W is accidentally dropped or the edge of the wafer W is easily damaged. In particular, in a processed wafer, the processing surface may come into contact with the gripping tool and cause damage or contamination.

  On the other hand, when the tray 101 is transported to the delivery position of the wafer W, it is generally performed manually. Conventionally, the transportation of the tray 101 is similar to the above-described manual transport of the wafer W. Have a serious problem. That is, there are problems such as damage and contamination during tray handling, and transport mistakes.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can automatically carry a wafer and a tray, and can hold and carry the wafer in a non-contact manner, and a substrate having the substrate carrying robot It is an object to provide a transport system.

  In solving the above-described problems, the substrate transfer robot of the present invention has a substrate holding hand attached to the distal end portion of a telescopic articulated arm, and holds the first substrate on the lower surface side of the substrate holding hand. A Bernoulli chuck mechanism is provided, and a support mechanism for supporting the second substrate is provided on the upper surface side of the substrate holding hand.

  With this configuration, it is possible to perform the transfer of the first substrate using the lower surface side of the substrate holding hand and the transfer of the second substrate using the upper surface side of the substrate holding hand by the same substrate transfer robot, Automation of the transfer process of these first and second substrates can be achieved.

  Here, the first and second substrates can be composed of the same or different substrates. In particular, when the second substrate is configured of a different substrate, a substrate that is larger and heavier than the first substrate can be employed. For example, a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate corresponds to the first substrate, and a tray (susceptor) on which the substrate to be processed can be placed corresponds to the second substrate.

  In particular, when a substrate to be processed is applied to the first substrate, the lower surface side of the substrate holding hand that holds the substrate has a Bernoulli chuck mechanism, so that the substrate can be held without contact with the substrate to be processed. This makes it possible to prevent damage and contamination during the transfer process of the substrate to be processed.

  On the other hand, since a large area substrate such as a tray is supported on the upper surface side of the substrate holding hand, a support mechanism capable of ensuring stable support is required. The support mechanism can be a flat substrate support surface. In addition, it is preferable to provide a substrate position regulating mechanism on the substrate support surface. As the position regulating mechanism, a non-slip member that is in close contact with the back side of the substrate, a vacuum suction mechanism, or a structure that is mechanically engaged with unevenness can be employed.

  In addition, the substrate transfer system of the present invention includes a wafer cassette storing or storing a substrate to be processed, a tray cassette storing or storing a tray on which the substrate to be processed is mounted, and supporting the tray. The transfer substrate on which the substrate to be processed is transferred onto the supported tray, and the substrate to be processed are transferred between the wafer cassette and the transfer table, and the tray is transferred between the tray cassette and the transfer table. A substrate transfer robot, and the substrate transfer robot has the above-described configuration.

  With this configuration, the substrate to be processed can be transferred and transferred and the tray can be transferred by a single substrate transfer robot. Therefore, the process of transferring the substrate to be processed and the tray can be automated. Since the substrate transfer system can be constructed, the system can be realized in a small space and at a low cost.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a substrate transfer system can be used because, for example, the transfer process of two types of substrates such as wafers and trays can be automated, and both substrates can be transferred by a single substrate transfer robot. The space can be saved and the cost can be reduced. Further, by adopting the Bernoulli chuck mechanism, it is possible to prevent damage and contamination during transfer of the first substrate (for example, the substrate to be processed).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate transfer system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate transfer system 1 includes a wafer cassette 2, a substrate transfer robot 3, a tray 4, a transfer table 5, a tray cassette 6, and a base 7 that supports these. The substrate transfer system 1 is installed, for example, in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere (clean room).

  A plurality of wafers (substrates to be processed such as semiconductor wafers) W are stored in the wafer cassette 2, and these wafers W are held one by one by the substrate transfer robot 3 and transferred to the tray 4 on the transfer table 5. It is conveyed toward. In the present embodiment, a plurality of wafer cassettes 2A, 2B,... Are prepared, and a predetermined number of wafers W are stored in each. The wafer cassette 2 has a plurality of support portions 21 that support the wafer W at each stage, and the wafers W are horizontally stored one by one in each storage portion 21.

  The substrate transfer robot 3 has a function of transferring the wafer W between the wafer cassette 2 and the transfer table 5 and a function of transferring the tray 4 between the tray cassette 6 and the transfer table 5. These wafers W and tray 4 correspond to the “first substrate” and the “second substrate” of the present invention, respectively.

  The substrate transfer robot 3 according to the present embodiment includes a substrate holding hand 3A (FIGS. 2A and 2B), a telescopic articulated arm 3B having the substrate holding hand 3A at the tip, and a drive unit 3C. The drive unit 3C rotationally drives the articulated arm 3B around the drive shaft 3D and drives it up and down along the axial direction of the drive shaft 3D. The articulated arm 3B may be a frog-leg type.

  2A and 2B show one configuration example of the substrate holding hand 3A, where A shows the upper surface side and B shows the lower surface side. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the substrate holding hand 3A, the tray 4, and a transfer table 5 described later, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views showing the relationship between the substrate holding hand 3A and the wafer W. FIG. The substrate holding hand 3A has a structure capable of transporting the tray 4 and the wafer W on the upper surface 30 side and the lower surface 31 side, respectively (FIGS. 3 and 4).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate holding hand 3A has a generally square shape, and its upper surface 30 is a flat substrate support surface so as to support the tray 4 (FIGS. 2A and 3). The substrate support surface 30 is provided with a position restricting mechanism for maintaining the stability of the tray 4 supported by the substrate support surface 30. In the present embodiment, the position restricting mechanism is in close contact with the back surface of the tray 4. Anti-slip members 32 are provided at a plurality of locations on the substrate support surface 30.

  The anti-slip member 32 is made of, for example, an elastic member such as rubber or elastomer, and can be appropriately selected according to the material of the tray 4 and the like. Further, the formation position, the formation number, and the like of the anti-slip member 32 can be appropriately set according to the shape, size, weight, and the like of the tray 4.

  The position regulating mechanism is not limited to the formation of the anti-slip member 32, and may be a vacuum suction mechanism, for example. In this case, a plurality of vacuum suction pads may be provided on the substrate support surface 30. Thereby, the support stability of the tray 4 can further be improved.

  The substrate support surface 30 and the anti-slip member 32 constitute the “support mechanism” of the present invention.

  On the other hand, a Bernoulli chuck mechanism for holding the wafer W is provided on the lower surface 31 of the substrate holding hand 3A (FIG. 2B). The Bernoulli chuck mechanism ejects air from a plurality of air ejection portions 33 formed on the lower surface 31 of the substrate holding hand 3A, so that the ejector effect and the inner space 34 of the air ejection portion 33 and the upper surface of the wafer W are reduced. An equilibrium state is created between the negative pressure generated by the Bernoulli effect and the positive pressure generated by the pressure-type air cushion effect, and the wafer W is suspended in the air by a pressure balance between this and the atmospheric pressure acting on the lower surface of the wafer W. Suspended and held in a non-contact state (FIGS. 4A and B).

  The substrate holding hand 3A is formed with such a thickness that it can enter the wafer cassette 2 and take out the wafer W. Specifically, the total thickness of the substrate holding hand 3 </ b> A is formed to a thickness (for example, 3 mm or less) smaller than the arrangement interval (about 4 mm in this example) of the wafers W stored in the wafer cassette 2.

  Here, FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a conventional Bernoulli chuck hand. In this conventional Bernoulli chuck hand 10, an arc-shaped stopper 13 that regulates the floating position in the radial direction of the wafer W is provided on the lower surface of the hand body 11 in addition to the air ejection holes 12. Then, the drive rod 15 reciprocates along the upper surface of the hand body 11 from the positioning unit 14 attached to the proximal end portion of the hand body 11. As a result, the wafer W is pushed toward the stopper 13 by the arc-shaped actuator 16 attached to the tip of the drive rod 15, and its floating position is regulated.

  In this conventional Bernoulli chuck hand 10, the positioning unit 14 is mounted so as to cover a part of the upper surface of the hand body 11, and the drive rod 15 extends from the positioning unit 14 along the upper surface of the hand body 11. Since it is configured to move, the shape of the upper surface side of the hand 10 has many steps and the form is not constant. For this reason, in the conventional Bernoulli chuck hand 10, it was not the structure which can support other board | substrates, such as a tray, in the upper surface side.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, the upper surface 30 side of the substrate holding hand 3A is configured to support the tray 4. FIG. 6 shows a specific example of the configuration of the substrate holding hand 3A. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the part corresponding to the structure of the conventional Bernoulli chuck hand 10. FIG.

  That is, in the substrate holding hand 3A of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer casing of the positioning unit 14 is attached so as not to protrude to the upper surface 30 side of the hand body 11, and the drive rod 15 is further connected to the hand The main body 11 is configured to reciprocate along the lower surface 31 side. With this configuration, the upper surface 30 side of the substrate holding hand 3A can be formed as a uniformly flat surface, and the upper surface side of the substrate holding hand 3A can be used as the “substrate support surface” according to the present invention. .

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the tray 4 is supported on the upper surface side of the substrate holding hand 3 </ b> A. It is formed flat over.

  Next, the tray 4 on which the wafer W is transferred has a disk shape as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, and is formed of a ceramic material such as quartz, alumina, silicon carbide, or a high melting point metal, for example. ing. On the upper surface of the tray 4, a plurality of (four in the figure) mounting portions 41 having a circular spot shape defining the accommodation position of the wafer W are formed at equal angular intervals on the same circumference. Note that the number of the mounting portions 41 is appropriately selected according to the inch size of the wafer W or the like. Further, the shape of the tray 4 is not limited to a circular shape, and may be a rectangular shape, for example.

  The depth of the mounting portion 41 is set to the same size as the thickness of the wafer W (for example, 50 to 200 μm) or to ± 20% of the thickness of the wafer W. The clearance between the inner peripheral wall of the mounting portion 41 and the edge portion of the wafer W is so small that the edge portion is not damaged by a collision with the inner peripheral wall of the mounting portion 41 due to vibration or the like during tray transfer. For example, it is set to 1 mm or less.

  The transfer table 5 has a circular placement surface 51 that supports the tray 4, and is placed at a position where the wafer W is delivered to the placed tray. As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting surface 51 has, for example, an advancing / retreating mechanism of a plurality of lift pins 52 </ b> A to 52 </ b> C that abut the back surface side of the tray 4 (the non-forming surface side of the mounting portion 41) and lift the tray 4 by a predetermined amount. Built-in.

  Among these, the arrangement interval of the lift pins 52A and the lift pins 52B is set to be larger than the width of the substrate holding hand 3A, and hinders the movement of the substrate holding hand 3A to the position directly above the center of the mounting surface 51 (in the direction of arrow D). I am trying not to. Further, the lift pin 52C is disposed at a position where it can enter the notch 34 formed at the center of the tip of the substrate holding hand 3A when the substrate holding hand 3A moves.

  Further, the placement surface 51 of the transfer table 5 is rotatable in the circumferential direction thereof, and the placed tray 4 is rotated so that the placement portion 41 of the tray 4 moves the wafer W by the substrate transport robot 3. The tray 4 is aligned so as to match the delivery position. As an alignment method, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a marker 42 is formed on a part of the periphery of the tray 4, and the marker 42 is optically detected by the transfer table 5. Are aligned.

  The tray cassette 6 is provided with a plurality of storage shelves 61 that can horizontally store and support the trays 4 one by one in the height direction, and the substrate holding robot 3 holds a substrate at a substantially central portion thereof. A protrusion 62 having a shape into which the hand 3A can enter is provided.

  The substrate transfer system 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, an example of this operation will be described.

  Initially, a predetermined number of unprocessed wafers W are stored in the wafer cassette 2 (2A, 2B) with the processing surface facing upward, and an empty (no wafer W is placed) tray in the tray cassette 6. A plurality of 4 are accommodated with the formation surface of the mounting portion 4 facing upward.

  The substrate transfer robot 3 takes out one tray 4 from the tray cassette 6 as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1 and then transfers the tray 4 toward the transfer table 5 as indicated by an arrow B. At this time, the substrate holding hand 3 </ b> A of the substrate transfer robot 3 enters the dent 62 formed on the storage shelf 61 of the tray cassette 6, and lifts the tray 4 by scooping up the tray 4 with its upper surface (substrate support surface 30). To support. The tray 4 is conveyed in a stable posture to the transfer table 5 by the action of the anti-slip member 32 formed on the upper surface of the substrate holding hand 3A.

  In the step of placing the tray 4 on the transfer table 5, the lift pins 52A to 52C are lifted from the placement surface 51 of the transfer table 5 (FIG. 3), and the lower end of the tray 4 is supported by the tip portions of these lift pins 52A to 52C. To do. Then, after the substrate holding hand 3 </ b> A has retreated from the position directly above the placement surface 51, the lift pins 52 </ b> A to 52 </ b> C are lowered to support the tray 4 with the placement surface 51. Thereafter, a predetermined alignment operation of the tray 4 with the marker 42 as a reference is performed on the transfer table 5.

  Next, the substrate transfer robot 3 moves in the direction of arrow C (or arrow C ′) in FIG. 1, holds one wafer W from the wafer cassette 2 </ b> A (or 2 </ b> B), and moves toward the transfer table 5. Transport. At this time, the substrate holding hand 3A of the substrate transfer robot 3 enters between the wafers in the wafer cassette 2, floats the wafer W via the Bernoulli chuck mechanism formed on the lower surface 31, and holds it without contact. To do.

  Note that the correction of the floating position of the wafer W by the positioning unit 14 (FIG. 6) may be performed in the wafer cassette 2 or in the course of conveyance from the wafer cassette 2 to the transfer table 5.

  The substrate transfer robot 3 is transferred toward the tray 4 on the transfer table 5 in a state where the wafer W is held in a non-contact manner on the lower surface of the substrate holding hand 3A (FIG. 4A). Then, the wafer W is placed on the placement portion 41 of the tray 4 that is aligned with the delivery position of the wafer W. In the placement operation of the wafer W, the substrate transfer arm 3A is lowered until the distance between the back surface of the wafer W and the top surface of the placement portion 41 reaches a predetermined height, and then the air ejection operation is canceled. Thereby, the wafer W is appropriately accommodated in the mounting portion 41.

  Thereafter, the substrate transfer robot 3 moves to the cassette 2A, holds the next wafer W, and transfers the wafer W to the wafer transfer position on the transfer table 5 again. At this time, the tray 4 is rotated by the rotation operation of the mounting surface 51 of the transfer table 5 and sends the adjacent empty mounting portion 41 to the wafer delivery position. Then, the wafer W is accommodated in the mounting portion 41 in the same manner as described above.

  By repeating the above operation, the transfer operation of the wafer W to all the placement units 41 on the tray 4 is completed.

  Thereafter, the substrate transport robot 3 transports the tray 4 from the transfer table 5 to the tray cassette 6. At this time, in the transfer table 5, the lift pins 52 </ b> A to 52 </ b> C are lifted to lift the tray 4 from the placement surface 51 by a predetermined amount, and then the substrate holding hand 3 </ b> A enters between the tray 4 and the placement surface 51. To do. Then, the tray 4 is supported on the upper surface (substrate support surface) of the substrate holding hand 3A through the lowering operation of the lift pins 52A to 52C. The tray 4 is stored in a storage shelf 61 that was initially stored in the tray cassette 6.

  Then, the substrate transport robot 3 takes out the next empty tray 4 in the tray cassette 6 and transports it toward the transfer table 5. Further, by performing the same operation as described above, the wafer W is transferred to each mounting portion 41 of the tray 4.

  After all the trays 4 stored in the tray cassette 6 have been transferred to the wafer, the tray cassette 6 is transported to the next process, while the plurality of empty trays 4 are stored next. Instead, the tray cassette 6 is installed at a predetermined position on the base 7. These tray cassettes 6 are transported by a robot (not shown) or an operator.

  When the wafer cassette 2A becomes empty, the substrate transfer robot 3 takes out the wafer W stored in the adjacent wafer cassette 2B. At this time, the wafer transfer path by the substrate transfer robot 3 can be made constant by adopting a configuration in which the wafer cassette 2B is automatically slid to the position of the cassette 2A.

  In the above description, an example in which the unprocessed wafers W stored in the wafer cassette 2 are transferred to the tray 4 has been described. However, by performing an operation reverse to the above, a heat treatment, a film forming process, an etching process, etc. The processed wafers W that have been subjected to the above can be transferred from the tray 4 to the wafer cassette 2.

  In this case, the tray 4 on which the processed wafers are placed is stored in the tray cassette 6, and the tray 4 is transferred to the transfer table 5 by the substrate transfer robot 3. Then, after performing the alignment operation of the tray 4 by the transfer table 5, the processed wafers W are stored one by one in the empty wafer cassette 2A (or 2B) via the substrate transfer robot 3.

  As described above, according to the substrate transfer robot 3 of the present embodiment, since the wafer W and the tray can be held by the substrate holding hand 3A, the transfer of the wafer W and the transfer of the tray 4 are performed by a single substrate transfer robot. 3, which makes it possible to construct the substrate transfer system 1 inexpensively and simply.

  Further, according to the substrate transfer robot of the present embodiment, since the Bernoulli chuck mechanism is adopted as the transfer means for the wafer W, it becomes possible to hold the wafer W on its surface in a non-contact manner. Damage and contamination during the transfer process can be prevented. Further, it can easily cope with transport of a substrate which is easily broken such as a thin wafer and is difficult to handle.

  In particular, since the wafer W can be taken out from the mounting portion 41 of the tray 4 in a non-contact manner, it is not necessary to form a niger into which the tip of the gripper enters, as in the prior art.

  Further, by providing the transfer table 5 with an alignment mechanism, the mounting portion 41 of the tray 4 can be surely aligned with the transfer position of the wafer W, whereby a slight clearance from the wafer W is mounted. An appropriate transfer operation of the wafer W with respect to the mounting portion 41 can be ensured.

  Then, according to the substrate transfer system 1 of the present embodiment, the transfer of the wafer W between the wafer cassette 2 and the transfer table 5, the transfer of the tray 4 between the tray cassette 6 and the transfer table 5, Is performed by the common substrate transfer robot 3, the transfer of the wafer W and the tray 4 can be automated, and at the same time, the transfer of the wafer W between the wafer cassette 2 and the tray 4 is automatically performed. be able to. Thereby, a board | substrate conveyance system is realizable with space saving and low cost.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, as a support mechanism for the tray 4 provided on the upper surface of the substrate holding hand 3A of the substrate transport robot 3, a flat substrate support surface 30 having a width capable of supporting the tray 4 and a slip attached thereto. Although it comprised with the stop member 32, it can replace with this and the said support mechanism can also be comprised with a Bernoulli chuck mechanism. In this case, the tray 4 can be transported while being supported in a non-contact manner on the upper surface (not necessarily flat) side of the substrate holding hand 3A, and the alignment operation of the mounting portion 41 is performed while the tray 4 is being transported (floating). Can also be performed.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the wafer transferred tray 4 is transported to the tray cassette 6 as the next process has been described. Instead, the wafer transferred tray 4 is placed on standby in the processing chamber. You may make it convey directly to a chamber or a load lock chamber. Similarly, the tray 4 on which the processed wafers W are placed may be directly transferred from the standby chamber or the load lock chamber of the processing chamber to the transfer table 5.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the plurality of lift pins 52A to 52C are used to place the tray 4 on the placement surface 51 of the transfer table 5, but instead of this, this placement is performed. By providing a notch that allows the substrate holding hand to enter the mounting surface, and lowering the substrate holding hand within the sink, the tray 4 may be transferred and removed without using the lift pins. .

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the board | substrate conveyance system 1 by embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the substrate holding hand 3A of a substrate transfer robot. 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between a substrate holding hand 3A, a tray 4 and a transfer table 5. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a substrate holding hand 3A and a wafer W. FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional side view which shows the structural example of the conventional Bernoulli chuck hand. It is a fragmentary sectional side view which shows the specific structure of 3 A of substrate holding hands in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the conventional tray, A has shown the state before a wafer transfer, B shows the state after a wafer transfer, respectively.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate transfer system 2 Wafer cassette 3 Substrate transfer robot 3A Substrate holding hand 3B Articulated arm 4 Tray 5 Transfer table 6 Tray cassette 30 Substrate support surface 32 Non-slip member 33 Air ejection part 41 Placement part W Wafer

Claims (9)

In a substrate transfer robot with a substrate holding hand attached to the tip of a telescopic articulated arm,
A Bernoulli chuck mechanism for holding the first substrate is provided on the lower surface side of the substrate holding hand,
A substrate transport robot, wherein a support mechanism for supporting a second substrate is provided on an upper surface side of the substrate holding hand.   The substrate transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the support mechanism has a flat substrate support surface formed on an upper surface side of the substrate holding hand.   The substrate transport robot according to claim 2, wherein the substrate support surface is provided with a position restriction mechanism for a substrate supported by the substrate support surface.   The substrate transfer robot according to claim 3, wherein the position regulating mechanism is a non-slip member.   The substrate transfer robot according to claim 3, wherein the position regulating mechanism is a vacuum suction mechanism.   The substrate transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the support mechanism is a Bernoulli chuck mechanism.   The substrate transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate is a substrate to be processed, and the second substrate is a tray on which the substrate to be processed can be placed.   The substrate transport robot according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding hand has a thickness of 3 mm or less. A wafer cassette storing or storing a substrate to be processed;
A tray cassette storing or storing a tray on which the substrate to be processed is placed;
A transfer table having a mounting surface for supporting the tray and disposed at a position where the wafer W is delivered to the tray;
A substrate transfer robot for transferring the substrate to be processed between the wafer cassette and the transfer table, and for transferring the tray between the tray cassette and the transfer table;
The substrate transfer robot has a substrate holding hand at the distal end of a telescopic articulated arm, and a Bernoulli chuck mechanism for holding the substrate to be processed is provided on the lower surface side of the substrate holding hand. A substrate transport system, wherein a support mechanism for supporting the tray is provided on an upper surface side of the hand.

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