JP2008311419A - Load port device, and wafer state correction method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a load port device capable of stably carrying a wafer by detecting a forward sagging state of the wafer, and correcting the forward sagging state by using a simple mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: This load port device equipped with a table for mounting a carrier for housing a wafer therein is provided with a mechanism for allowing a movable element to execute projecting/retracting operations from a carrier mounting surface of the table. When the wafer in the carrier is in a forward sagging state, vibration is applied to the carrier by operating the movable element to correct the forward sagging state of the wafer to a state parallel to a robot hand. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a load port apparatus for taking out a wafer from a carrier and a method for correcting the state of the wafer in the carrier in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

  A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a mini-environment apparatus having a locally improved degree of cleanness and a wafer processing apparatus that accommodates a manufacturing apparatus or an inspection apparatus. The mini-environment apparatus includes a load port device and a robot for transporting the wafer to the wafer processing apparatus. The load port device includes a carrier placement table, and places a carrier capable of storing a plurality of wafers. In the carrier, for example, 25-stage slots are provided on the inner wall in order to store the wafers therein at regular intervals. The carrier is provided with an opening for the robot to take out the wafer from the carrier and transport it to the wafer processing apparatus. The wafer in the carrier is stored in parallel with the hand of the robot that transports the wafer, and the robot inserts the hand into the gap between the wafer and performs the transport operation.

  In order to take out the wafer from the carrier, it is necessary to align the height of the wafer to be transferred and the height of the robot hand that performs the transfer operation. For example, there is a method of moving the robot hand vertically. When the heights of the two are equal, the robot hand is extended between the slots of the carrier, the wafer to be transferred is taken out and transferred to the wafer processing apparatus.

  By the way, the carrier may be deformed or scratched or distorted due to aging or the like. In such a carrier, when the wafer is repeatedly transferred, the wafer may be stored in the carrier in a state of being inclined with respect to the robot hand. In particular, if there is a scratch or distortion on the inner wall of the carrier facing the carrier opening, the wafer is caught by the scratch or distortion, and the hooked part is lifted from the regular wafer support part of the slot. And may not be parallel to the robot's hand. Such a state is referred to as a “front drooping state” because it is a state in which the wafer hangs down from the inner wall on the back side of the carrier toward the opening. If this kind of wafer sagging occurs and you try to transport the wafer by inserting the robot's hand into the carrier, the robot's hand It may be damaged by contact with the wafer.

  Therefore, if the robot's hand may damage the wafer by checking the position and storage state of the wafer with an optical sensor or the like provided in the mini-environment device or load port device, the robot hand can be extended or contracted. Stops the transfer operation and stops the transfer operation, or corrects the height of the robot hand and corrects the transfer operation (refer to Patent Document 1), tilts the carrier for storing the wafer to an arbitrary angle, and collides the robot hand There is a publicly known example that prevents this (see Patent Document 2). Further, in Patent Document 3, in a wafer loading apparatus, after a plurality of wafers are stored in a loading cassette, a swing base (mounting table) on which the loading cassette is placed is lifted together with the loading cassette on the wafer insertion port side. Such a tilting technique is disclosed. In this technology, by tilting the loading cassette, the end of the wafer stored in each shelf of the cassette is brought into contact with the rear surface of the cassette so that the alignment of the wafers matches. Not disclosed.

JP2003-168715A JP 2002-305224 A JP-A-11-204615

  As described above, when the wafer is stored in a state that is not parallel to the robot hand, particularly in the case of a drooping state, if the robot hand is inserted into the carrier and the wafer is transferred, The hand may come into contact with the wafer and cause damage. In order to prevent such damage to the wafer, in the conventional techniques including Patent Documents 1 and 2, the operation of the robot hand is stopped to stop the transfer, and the transfer operation is performed by correcting the height at which the robot hand is extended. Alternatively, a means for preventing the robot hand from colliding by tilting the carrier for storing the wafer to an arbitrary angle is provided.

  However, the mechanism for tilting the carrier at an arbitrary angle is complicated, and there is a problem that maintenance becomes complicated and costs increase. In order to prevent a decrease in throughput, it is desirable that the wafer transfer can be performed without interruption as much as possible.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention does not stop the transfer operation even if it is detected that the wafer is in the front-slung state, but uses a simple mechanism as much as possible to remove the wafer in the front-slung state from the robot hand. It is an object of the present invention to provide a load port device capable of stably transporting a wafer by correcting to a state parallel to the above.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a mechanism for projecting and retracting a movable element from a carrier mounting surface of the table in a load port device including a table for mounting a carrier for storing a wafer. Is provided.

  According to the above configuration, the support by the mover is removed after the carrier is lifted from the carrier placement surface by the projecting and retracting operation of the mover, so that the carrier placement surface is returned with an impact. . This impact can be set to an impact force that removes the catch of the wafer that causes the forward sag without giving an excessive impact to the carrier and thus the wafer by appropriately setting the carrier to be pushed up (floating). . The degree of the impact force varies depending on the shape, size, and weight of the carrier, and thus cannot be specified uniformly, and is determined by a trial of an actual machine test.

  In the load port apparatus according to the present invention, even if it is detected that the wafer is in the front drooping state, the transfer operation is not stopped, but the wafer in the front drooping state is parallel to the robot hand using a simple mechanism as much as possible. The state can be corrected, and the wafer can be stably conveyed.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall view of a wafer transfer system including a load port apparatus 100 having a wafer sag correction mechanism according to the present invention. In addition to the load port device 100, the system includes a mini-environment device 101 having a locally improved cleanness, a wafer processing device 102 that accommodates a manufacturing device or an inspection device, and the position of the wafer in the carrier. It has a mapping unit 103 for checking the state and a robot 104 for transporting the wafer.

  The mini-environment apparatus 101 is installed along the surface of the wafer processing apparatus 102 where the wafer loading / unloading port is located, and includes a load port apparatus 100 on the side facing the wafer processing apparatus 102.

  The load port apparatus 100 includes a stage 400 and a carrier placement table 202, and can place a carrier 105 that can store a plurality of wafers. Further, the load port apparatus 100 is provided with an opening 100a for transporting the wafer, and the opening 100a can be opened and closed by a door (not shown).

  The carrier 105 is provided with slots for holding the wafers at regular intervals. The carrier 105 is provided with an opening for transporting the wafer, and the opening can be opened and closed by an opening / closing lid (not shown). When the door of the load port device and the opening / closing lid of the carrier are opened, the wafer in the carrier 105 can be carried into the wafer processing chamber 102 by the hand 106 of the transfer robot 104.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the carrier 105 storing a plurality of wafers 203 on the carrier mounting table 202, the mapping unit 103, and the sensor arms 200 and 201 of the mapping unit 103. As shown in FIG. . Only the outline of the outer shape of the carrier 105 is represented by a solid line. The mapping is to check the position and storage state of the wafer stored in the carrier 105 by the mapping unit 103 before the wafer 203 is transferred by the hand 106 of the transfer robot 104.

  The mapping unit 103 is movable in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) of the load port device 100 by a driving mechanism (not shown), and has a mapping sensor 103a. The mapping sensor 103a includes an arm having a light emitting element 200 (hereinafter also referred to as “light emitting side sensor arm 200” or “sensor arm 200”) and an arm having a light receiving element 201 (hereinafter referred to as “light receiving side sensor”). Arm 201 "or" sensor arm 201 "). The sensor 103a is attached to the mapping unit 103 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction by a drive mechanism (not shown).

  The sensor 103a in FIG. 2 can move forward into the carrier when the mapping unit 103 is at the uppermost position (position indicated by the one-dot chain line Z1 in FIG. 1), and the sensor arms 200 and 201 can detect the front drooping state of the wafer 203. The state set to the position is shown. The sensor arms 200 and 201 are set at a mapping start position (a predetermined position above the uppermost slot provided in the carrier 105), and the light emitting side sensor arm 200 is caused to emit light while the sensor arms 200 and 201 are emitted. Is moved downward to a predetermined position below the lowermost slot position. As the sensor arm descends, light emitted from the light emitting side sensor arm 200 (represented by a dotted line in FIG. 2) is shielded by a part of each wafer at a position where each wafer exists. For this reason, the amount of light detected by the light receiving side sensor arm 201 changes, and the position and storage state of each wafer can be checked from the change in the amount of light. Specific steps of the mapping will be described later.

  The mapping unit 103 maps a plurality of wafers 203 stored in the carrier 105, and stores the mapping data in the controller 407 shown in FIG. Further, the data of the mapping start position, the reference thickness of the wafer, and the reference interval of the wafer are stored in advance in the controller 407 in the load port apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

  From the mapping data and the mapping start position, wafer reference thickness, and wafer reference interval data stored in advance in the controller 407, the position information and storage state of the wafer in the carrier 105 can be calculated. In general, the position and time at which the amount of light on the light receiving side of the mapping unit 103 is changed are calculated, and the mapping start position is compared with the wafer reference thickness and wafer reference interval data. In this state, it is calculated whether the wafer 203 is placed.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the carrier 105 and shows a state in which some of the wafers in the carrier 105 are drooping forward. Each wafer 203 is stored in the carrier 105 by being supported by each slot (wafer support portion) 108 provided on both side walls inside the carrier 105. This is a wafer in which the wafer 203a is in a drooping state. Since part of the wafer 203a is caught by the scratch 107 formed on the inner wall (back inner wall) facing the opening of the carrier 105, the part is lifted from the wafer support part 108 of the slot. It is stored in a state that is not parallel to it. If the robot hand 106 is inserted into the carrier 105 in this state, the wafer 203a may be damaged.

  FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the load port device 100 according to the present embodiment. The load port apparatus 100 includes a stage 400 and a carrier mounting table 202 for mounting the carrier 105. FIG. 5 is a top view of the carrier mounting table 202. What is indicated by a one-dot chain line is the outline of the carrier 105 when the carrier 105 is placed. The carrier mounting table 202 is configured so that the positioning pins 410 for determining the position for mounting the carrier 105, the clamp pins 402 for fixing the carrier 105, and the wafer 203 in the carrier 105 are parallel to the robot hand 106. Movable elements 403 and 403a for correcting the state are provided. The number of movers 403, 403a and positioning pins 410 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is three, and each of them is arranged at three points, but this mode is an example, and the number of this example and It is not limited to the position.

  The positioning pin 410 protrudes from the mounting surface of the carrier mounting table 202, and enters the concave portion (positioning hole) 411 provided at the bottom of the carrier 105 when the carrier 105 is mounted. decide.

  The clamp pin 402 performs a clamp operation and a clamp release operation by the actuator 412. The clamp pin 402 and its actuator 412 are mounted on the carrier mounting table 202. During the clamping operation, the clamp pin 402 protrudes from the mounting surface of the carrier mounting table 202 and is locked to the clamped portion provided on the bottom of the carrier 105 to fix the carrier 105. Fixing the carrier 105 in this way is called a clamp. The clamp is released by tilting the clamp pin 402 backward from the solid line position in FIG.

  The mover 403 is installed on the carrier mounting table 202 such that the tip thereof faces the plus side (upper side) in the Z-axis direction, and can be moved in the Z direction by the power of the mover actuator 406. When the mover 403 is moved to the plus side in the Z-axis direction, the tip of the mover 403 protrudes from the carrier placement surface of the carrier placement table 202. When the mover 403 is moved to the minus side (lower side) in the Z-axis direction from this projecting state, the tip of the mover 403 is located below the placement surface and retracted. The mover actuator 406 moves the mover 403 in the Z direction by supplying, for example, air as power. An enlarged view of the mover 403 is shown in FIG. In this example, the carrier mounting table 202 is provided with a mover 403 and an outlet side port 408 of the air supply path.

  The stage 400 includes a rail 404, and a guide 405 is provided on the rail 404. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the guide 405 is fixed by a carrier mounting table 202 and a bolt 700, and the carrier mounting table 202 can be moved in the X-axis direction by the power of the table actuator 401. The power of the table actuator 401 is, for example, a screw mechanism, and moves the guide 405 and thus the carrier mounting table 202 in the X-axis direction.

  The table actuator 401 and the mover actuator 406 are controlled by a controller 407. When the wafer 203 in the carrier 105 is taken out by the hand 106 of the transfer robot (wafer transfer process), the carrier mounting table 202 approaches the opening 100a of the load port device as shown by an arrow A in FIG. To control the movement. Thus, when the carrier mounting table 202 is moved to the plus side (arrow A direction) in the X-axis direction by the table actuator 401, the outlet side port 408 and the stage side port 409 of the air supply path do not coincide with each other. It has become. Therefore, during the wafer transfer, the air supply ports 408 and 409 do not match, so the air supply path is blocked. For this reason, even if air leaks during wafer transfer, the mover 403 does not move in the Z-axis direction by mistake.

  The processing procedure of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In order to transfer the wafer 203 to the wafer processing chamber 102, the carrier 105 in which a plurality of wafers 203 are stored is transferred from a person not shown or a self-propelled carriage to the carrier mounting table 202 provided in the load port device 100. Installed. The position of the carrier 105 on the carrier mounting table 202 is determined by the positioning pins 410. Then, the wafer transfer operation is started by a carry-in start command issued from the wafer processing chamber.

  This series of operations will be described in detail below.

  First, the carrier 105 positioned and placed on the carrier placement table 202 is clamped by operating the clamp pin 402 (step 800).

  After confirming the clamped state, the table 202 on which the carrier 105 is placed is moved to the plus side in the X-axis direction by the power of the table actuator 401. When the carrier 105 has moved to the vicinity of the opening of the load port device, an opening / closing lid (not shown) of the carrier 105 is opened by a door opening / closing mechanism (not shown) to open the carrier 105 (step 801).

  Then, a mapping operation is executed to calculate in which position in the carrier 105 and in what state the wafer is stored (step 802).

  Here, the lid opening / closing mechanism of the carrier will be briefly described. The opening / closing lid of the carrier is adsorbed and held by an adsorbing mechanism provided at a door (not shown) of the load port device opening. The door of the opening portion of the load port device moves to the inside of the mini-environment device 101 by the door moving mechanism of the opening portion (not shown) while holding the carrier open / close lid, and then descends. By this series of operations, the carrier 105 and the load port device 100 are opened, and the wafer can be transferred.

  The mapping operation is executed in parallel with the lid opening / closing operation of the carrier. Here, the mapping operation will be briefly described.

  When the door of the opening portion of the load port device moves into the mini-environment device 101 while holding the opening / closing lid of the carrier, a sensor 103a (sensor arm 200) of the mapping unit 103 is operated by a mapping unit operating mechanism (not shown). And 201) enter the carrier 105 from the inside of the mini-environment device 101 and move to the mapping start position. The mapping start position is above the uppermost slot provided in the carrier 105 as described above.

  As described above, when the door of the load port device opening is lowered inside the mini-environment device 101 while holding the opening / closing lid of the carrier, the mapping unit 103 is moved in accordance with the lowering operation. While the light emitting side sensor arm 200 emits light, the light emitting side sensor arm 200 is lowered to a predetermined position below the lowest slot position. While the mapping unit 103 is lowered, the light emitted from the light emitting side sensor arm 200 is shielded and does not pass through the position where each wafer exists. By detecting the change in the light amount by the light receiving side sensor arm 201, calculating the position and time at which the light amount has changed, and comparing it with the wafer reference thickness and wafer reference interval data stored in the controller 407 in advance. The position and storage state of each wafer can be checked. The sensor 103a (sensor arms 200 and 201) of the mapping unit 103 lowered to a predetermined position is moved from the inside of the carrier by a mapping unit operating mechanism (not shown) so as not to interfere with the wafer state correction process and the wafer transfer operation. It moves (retreats) into the mini-environment device 101 again. In this way, a plurality of wafers 203 stored in the carrier 105 are mapped, and the mapping data is stored in the controller 407 shown in FIG.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. The controller 407 calculates the wafer state in the carrier 105 from the information obtained in the mapping step, and determines whether or not there is a front drooping state (step 803).

  If there is no wafer hanging forward in the carrier 105 and the stored state of the wafer is normal, the wafer carry-in preparation process ends.

  If there is a wafer that hangs forward in the carrier 105, it is determined whether the number of correction retries is less than a predetermined number (step 804). The number of correction retries is the number of times that the wafer sag correction process described below has been executed.

  When the number of correction retries is less than the predetermined number stored in the controller 407 in advance, the carrier mounting table 202 is moved in the X-axis direction with the power of the table actuator 401 while the opening / closing lid of the carrier 105 is opened. Moving to the minus side, the outlet side port 408 and the stage side port 409 of the air supply path are matched. As a result, the mover 403 moves to a standby state. Next, the clamp between the carrier 105 and the clamp pin 402 is released (step 805).

  Next, air is supplied by a mover actuator (pneumatic actuator) 406, and the mover 403 is moved to the plus side in the Z-axis direction by the pressure of the air, and protrudes from the placement surface of the carrier placement table 202. (Step 806). At this time, since the carrier 105 and the clamp pin 402 are not clamped, the carrier 105 is pushed up by the mover 403, and its bottom part is separated from the placement surface of the carrier placement table 202. The height at which the mover 403 protrudes from the placement surface of the carrier placement table 202 is set lower than the height of the positioning pin 410. For this reason, even if the carrier 105 is pushed up on the mounting surface of the carrier mounting table 202, the positioning pin 410 maintains a state in which the positioning pin 410 is fitted in the recess 411 provided at the bottom of the carrier 105. Therefore, even if the carrier 105 is pushed up by the mover 403, the carrier 105 is not displaced.

  In this state, the air supply is stopped, then the air is removed to lower the pressure of the air acting on the mover 403, the mover 403 is moved to the negative side in the Z-axis direction, and the tip of the mover 403 is above the mounting surface. It is located below and is in a retracted state (step 807). The speed for moving the mover 403 to the minus side in the Z-axis direction is faster than the speed for moving the mover 403 to the plus side in the Z-axis direction. The pushed carrier 105 returns to the carrier mounting table 202 with an impact because the support of the movable element 403 is lost. At this time, the push-up amount of the carrier 105 is such that it does not exceed the height of the positioning pin 410, so that an excessive impact is not applied to the carrier 105. By applying such a moderate impact to the carrier 105, the wafer that has been in the front-sag state inside the carrier is released from the front-sag state due to vibration caused by the impact and the front-sag state is eliminated. Is corrected to a state parallel to.

  The carrier 105 may be lifted at least partially from the placement surface and returned to the placement surface so as to cause an impact. That is, in the case of an apparatus having a plurality of the above-described movers, all the movers may be operated, or only some of the movers may be operated. 4 and 5 are examples of a device having three movers 403, all three movers may be moved, or only one or two of the three movers may be moved. Good.

  When only a part of the mover is moved, vibration is applied to a part of the carrier, but in order to correct the sag, the wafer is caught on the scratched or distorted part of the inner wall of the carrier. It is more effective to add vibration to a close position. That is, when the mover close to the inner wall facing the opening of the carrier, that is, the mover 403a in the example of FIGS. 4 and 5, is moved, the forward sagging state can be effectively corrected.

  Here, even if the steps 806 and 807 are executed with the opening / closing lid of the carrier 105 closed, the wafer 203 does not have a room to move in the carrier 105 and therefore does not become parallel to the robot hand 106.

  Steps 806 and 807 are executed while maintaining the state where the positioning pin 410 is fitted in the recess provided in the bottom of the carrier 105. For this reason, since the position of the carrier 105 is fixed even while Steps 806 and 807 are executed, the position of the carrier 105 is not shifted by an impact when returning to the placement surface of the carrier placement table 202.

  The movement of the mover 403 in the Z-axis direction in Step 806 and Step 807 is performed a predetermined number of times previously stored in the controller 407 (Step 808).

  When the mover 403 is moved a predetermined number of times, the correction retry count is incremented by 1, and the carrier 105 and the clamp pin 402 are clamped again (step 800). Then, a carrier lid opening / closing operation (step 801) and a mapping operation (step 802) are performed to determine the storage state of the wafer 203 in the carrier 105. As a result, if the wafer that has been drooping is parallel to the robot hand 106, the wafer is not damaged even if the robot hand 106 is inserted, and thus the wafer carry-in preparation process ends. However, if the sag state is not corrected, the sag correction process is performed again.

  The sag correction process is repeated, and if the sag state of the wafer is corrected within a predetermined number of correction retries, the wafer is not damaged even if the robot hand 106 is inserted. . However, if the front sag state of the wafer is not corrected within the predetermined number of correction retries, an error signal is transmitted to the control device of the mini-environment apparatus (not shown), and the front sag correction process is terminated.

  In the first embodiment described above, the state of the wafer 203 in the carrier 105 is first mapped, and when there is a wafer in the front droop state, the mover 403 is moved in the Z-axis direction to change the front droop state of the wafer. Explained how to fix. In the second embodiment of the present invention, when the carrier 105 is placed on the carrier placing table 202, the movable element 403 is first moved in the Z-axis direction to correct the front drooping state of the wafer before mapping. The operation is executed. The procedure is shown in FIG. This embodiment is effective for carriers in which a relatively large amount of forward sagging occurs.

  As described above, in the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the installation location of the mover 403 is inside the carrier placement table 202, but is not limited to this location. For example, the mover 403 can be installed inside the stage 400. In this case, the mover 403 projects from the stage 400 through the through-hole (movable element guide hole) provided in the carrier placement table 202 on the placement surface of the carrier placement table 202 by air supply control. What should I do? If the air is removed, the mover 403 is retracted into the stage 400 through the through hole.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when the wafer in the carrier is in a front-hanging state, it can be corrected to a state parallel to the robot hand. Therefore, even when a wafer in a drooping state exists in the carrier, the wafer transfer process can be stably executed without stopping.

1 is a configuration example of a wafer transfer system. The top view of the carrier mounting table which showed the positional relationship of a carrier and a mapping unit. Sectional drawing of the carrier which showed the wafer of the front drooping state. Side surface sectional drawing of the load port apparatus which showed the moving mechanism of a needle | mover and a carrier mounting table. The top view of the carrier mounting table which showed the needle | mover, the positioning pin, and the clamp pin. The enlarged view which showed the operation mechanism of the needle | mover. The enlarged view which showed the coupling | bond part of the carrier mounting table and a guide. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of a sag correction process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram of a sag correction process according to a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Load port apparatus, 100a ... Opening part of load port apparatus, 101 ... Mini-environment apparatus, 102 ... Wafer processing apparatus, 103 ... Mapping unit, 103a ... Sensor for mapping, 104 ... Transfer robot, 105 ... Carrier, 106 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Transfer robot hand, 107 ... Scratches generated on inner wall of carrier, 108 ... Wafer support part of carrier slot, 200 ... (light emitting side) sensor arm, 201 ... (light receiving side) sensor arm, 202 ... carrier mounting table , 203 ... wafer, 203a ... wafer in a drooping state, 400 ... stage, 401 ... table actuator, 402 ... clamp pin, 403 ... movable element, 403a ... movable at a position close to the inner wall facing the opening of the carrier Child, 404 ... rail, 405 ... guide, 06 ... Actuator for mover, 407 ... Control controller, 408 ... Outlet side port of air supply path, 409 ... Stage side port of air supply path, 410 ... Positioning pin, 411 ... Recessed part provided at bottom of carrier 105 (positioning Hole), 412 ... Clamp pin actuator, 700 ... Bolt.

Claims (8)

In the load port device provided with a carrier mounting table for mounting a carrier for storing a plurality of wafers,
A load port device comprising a mechanism for projecting and retracting a mover from a carrier mounting surface of the table. The load port device of claim 1,
A carrier positioning pin provided on the carrier mounting surface;
A carrier positioning hole provided in the bottom surface of the carrier for fitting with the carrier positioning pin;
A clamping mechanism for clamping the carrier on the carrier mounting surface;
A mapping device for mapping the storage state of the wafer in the carrier when taking out the wafer in the carrier;
As a result of mapping, when a wafer that is not stored in a proper state in the carrier is detected, a control mechanism that releases the clamp on the carrier and causes the movable element to protrude and retract from the carrier mounting surface of the table; With
The amount of protrusion of the mover from the carrier mounting surface is set to a movement amount that allows the carrier to be pushed upward within a range in which the fit between the carrier positioning pin and the carrier positioning hole is not removed. And load port device. The load port device of claim 1,
The mechanism for operating the mover is constituted by a pneumatic actuator that operates the mover by air supply control. The load port device of claim 3,
The load port apparatus is configured so that an air supply path of the pneumatic actuator for projecting and retracting the movable element is interrupted during transfer of the wafer. In the semiconductor manufacturing process,
After floating at least a part of the carrier storing a plurality of wafers from the carrier mounting surface, with a mover provided so as to project and retract from the mounting surface of the carrier mounting table on which the carrier is mounted. A wafer state correcting method, wherein the wafer mounting surface is returned with an impact capable of correcting a wafer position. The wafer state correcting method according to claim 5, wherein
The wafer condition correcting method, wherein the mechanism for operating the mover is constituted by a pneumatic actuator for operating the mover by air supply control. The wafer state correcting method according to claim 6,
A wafer state correcting method, wherein an air supply path of the pneumatic actuator for projecting and retracting the movable element is interrupted during wafer transfer. A step of placing a carrier storing a plurality of wafers on a carrier placement table of a load port device;
Mapping the position and state of the wafer in the carrier with a mapping unit;
As a result of mapping, when a wafer that is not properly stored in the carrier is detected, a mover is provided so as to project and retract from the carrier mounting surface of the carrier mounting table. Returning the wafer placement surface with an impact capable of correcting the wafer position after pushing up the part;
The process of mapping the position and state of the wafer with the mapping unit again,
As a result of mapping, when a wafer whose position has not been corrected is detected in the carrier, an impact capable of correcting the wafer position on the carrier mounting surface after pushing up at least a part of the carrier again by the operation of the mover Returning with
A wafer state correcting method characterized by comprising:

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