JP2009051654A - Substrate carrying device and substrate inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inspect a substrate while carrying, without falling wide of the depth of field, by easily, inexpensively and stably carrying the substrate without vertical vibration, without constructing complicated mechanism and system, in an inspection using an ultra-high resolution camera of the narrow depth of field. <P>SOLUTION: This substrate inspection device has a substrate floating mechanism 3 for maintaining the substrate 2 in the constant height while floating the substrate 2 by blowout and suction of air, a substrate holding mechanism 4 for spatially holding the substrate 2 in the constant height by blowout and suction of air similarly to the substrate floating mechanism 3, a substrate gripping mechanism for fixing one end part of the substrate 2 protruded from one side surface of the substrate floating mechanism 3, a floating control part arranged adjacent to the one side surface of the substrate floating mechanism 3, supplying the air to the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4 and sucking the air from the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4, and an inspection part B for inspecting a surface of the substrate 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate inspection apparatus for inspecting defects of a substrate for a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display panel or a plasma display panel, and in particular for stably transporting a large substrate without vertical fluctuation due to vibration or the like. It relates to the device.

  As a method for transporting a substrate, conventionally, a method using a conveyor using rollers has been mainly used. However, due to the increase in size of the substrate, the substrate may collide with the rollers due to, for example, bending due to the weight of the substrate being transferred, vertical vibration during transfer, etc. Various problems occurred, such as scratches during transportation that occurred as a cause.

  Therefore, for a large-sized substrate having large deflection due to weight and large vertical vibration during conveyance, a non-contact conveyance technique in which the entire surface is conveyed by air is used instead of conveyor conveyance using rollers.

  In flat panel displays, for example, color filters are inspected for defects in the manufacturing process. However, in recent years, screens have become higher in definition, and accordingly, inspection machines themselves are required to have high performance. ing. Specifically, an inspection machine using an ultra-high resolution camera with a resolution of 3 μm or less that inspects defects of 5 μm or less has become essential from the viewpoint of quality assurance.

  Techniques for inspecting a substrate by conveying the substrate by air levitation have already been described in International Publication Nos. WO2003 / 086917, JP-A-2004-279335, and JP-A-2006-258632.

International Publication Number W2003 / 086917 JP 2004-279335 A JP 2006-258632 A JP 2000-266991 A

  However, an inspection machine camera with a resolution of 5 μm or less has a shallow depth of focus and a narrow depth of field, and in order to capture an image for inspection, stable substrate transport is required so as not to deviate from the depth of field. .

  In the substrate conveyance by the roller, there is a problem that the vertical fluctuation during the conveyance of the substrate is severe due to the unevenness of the roller itself and the installation condition due to the contact conveyance, and it is deviated from the depth of field of the high resolution inspection camera. In addition, the substrate and the roller may collide with each other due to vibration caused by vertical fluctuation, and the substrate may be damaged.

  Therefore, the conveyance is performed in the air levitation that does not contact the conveyance surface. In the first non-contact air transfer technology, the substrate was only floated by blowing air, so the floating accuracy of the substrate was large, and the vertical fluctuation caused by the floating unevenness during transfer occurred, and the transfer by that There is a problem of scratches such as contact with the part, and a problem that the inspection surface deviates from the depth of field of the inspection camera due to vertical fluctuation due to vibration. Therefore, a technology has been developed to suppress the vertical fluctuation of the flying height by the air sucking force by performing air sucking and sucking in relation to the substrate floating. With this technology, the non-uniformity of the floating during transportation can be suppressed to 10 μm or less with respect to the highly precise floating, and stable substrate transportation can be performed. As a result, the inspection surface can be transported without departing from the depth of field, and the collision with the transport surface is eliminated.

  With the above technology, floating unevenness due to air conveyance has been eliminated, and the substrate can be conveyed with stable floating accuracy. However, an inspection camera for performing ultra-high resolution inspection with a resolution of 3 μm or less has been developed. When used, if the glass thickness variation itself is greater than the depth of field of the ultra-high resolution inspection camera, the substrate thickness variation itself is already present even if the substrate can be transported stably without vertical fluctuations. Since the depth of field of the high-resolution inspection camera is deviated, there is a problem that imaging cannot be performed well. As a solution technique in such a case, it is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-266691.

  In the above-mentioned patent document, an imaging system with a shallow focal depth is installed after an imaging optical system with a deep focal depth provided with a height detector, and the height detector provided for the imaging optical system with a deep focal depth is used. Based on the height displacement information of the subject, focusing is performed by relatively moving the imaging optical system having a shallow depth of focus and the subject in the focus direction.

  However, the overall system becomes complicated and expensive, such as an inspection machine that performs height inspection, an operation control mechanism of the imaging optical system of the inspection unit that moves based on the information, and operation control thereof. In addition, since the distance between the height measurement place and the inspection unit is at least a distance, it cannot be said that the data of the place where the height measurement has been performed necessarily coincides with the height data at the inspection unit. In particular, when a camera for an ultra-high resolution inspection machine is used, there is a possibility that it is out of the depth of focus due to a deviation of several μm.

  Therefore, the present invention is capable of easily and inexpensively and stably transporting a substrate without constructing a complicated system as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-266691, with less vertical fluctuation such as vibration. An object is to provide a substrate transfer device.

  According to claim 1, the substrate floating mechanism for levitating the substrate installed in the substrate transport unit, and the substrate installed so as to sandwich the substrate between at least a part of the opposing positions on the substrate floating mechanism are contactless A substrate transport apparatus comprising: a substrate holding mechanism that holds the substrate in space; and a transport mechanism that transports the substrate in one direction while holding at least one end of the substrate.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the substrate holding mechanism includes an air blowing portion constituted by a plurality of holes and an air suction portion constituted by a plurality of holes. It is.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the levitation mechanism includes a processing region having an air ejection portion configured by a plurality of holes in a region facing the substrate holding mechanism, and an air ejection configured by a plurality of holes. 3. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a transfer area having an air suction part configured by a plurality of holes and a plurality of holes.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the substrate floating mechanism is arranged so as to float the entire surface of the substrate to be transferred, and the substrate holding mechanism holds the entire surface in the width direction of the substrate to be transferred and a part in the transfer direction. 4. The substrate transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer device is arranged.

  According to claim 5, the substrate transport apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the transport mechanism includes a substrate gripping mechanism having a degree of freedom in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface. .

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the end portion on the transport direction side of the air blowing portion on the most upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate holding mechanism has a tapered shape. A substrate transfer apparatus according to any one of the above.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer apparatus according to any one of the first or sixth aspect, a processing unit that is a slit is formed in a part of the substrate holding mechanism.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inspection apparatus in which an image sensor is disposed in the processing section of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the seventh aspect or in the vicinity of the processing section.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the cross section in the transport direction of the substrate holding mechanism has a reverse taper shape in which the slit width on the substrate side is smaller than the slit width on the opposite side. Device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate floating mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism are installed vertically so as to sandwich the substrate product surface, so that the substrate can be stably conveyed with little vertical fluctuation. In addition, since the entire surface is floated, there is no influence of the bending of the substrate, and there is no worry of scratching the product.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the air blowing portion and the air suction portion are provided, the substrate can be attracted by the suction force and held at a certain height. For this reason, the upper surface of the substrate can be stabilized at a certain height.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, if the substrate is lifted only by air blowing, the air blowing amount is not uniform over the entire conveyance surface, so that the floating state is not stable. Therefore, by sucking air at the same time as blowing, it is possible to realize that the substrate is lifted to a certain height by attracting the substrate by the suction force. When the substrate is transported through the gap between the substrate floating mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism installed so as to face the substrate floating mechanism, the substrate floating mechanism blows air so as to support the weight of the substrate. On the other hand, in the substrate holding mechanism, since the substrate is lifted by the substrate floating mechanism, the balance between the surface of the substrate holding mechanism and the substrate can be obtained by the balance between the blowing of air and the suction without considering the deflection due to the weight of the substrate itself. The gap can be kept at a certain clearance.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the substrate is conveyed with the product surface on the upper side in the conveyance direction, if the substrate holding mechanism is positioned so as to face the entire conveyance path, If the floating state of the substrate changes for some reason, the product surface may be damaged. However, by placing the substrate holding mechanism only in the necessary part, the area where the base material holding mechanism is located on the substrate is reduced. Therefore, the possibility of scratching the product surface can be reduced.

  According to the invention relating to claim 5, even if the transport of the substrate holding mechanism for transporting the substrate fluctuates vertically in the direction perpendicular to the substrate transport surface, the substrate holding mechanism is perpendicular to the substrate transport surface. Since the mechanism can move freely in any direction, even if a change occurs in the direction perpendicular to the substrate transfer surface in the transfer mechanism, the substrate clamping mechanism will absorb the change, resulting in a result. As a result, the flying height of the substrate is not affected.

  According to the invention related to claim 6, when the substrate enters the gap between the substrate floating mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism, the floating amount of the substrate increases due to, for example, uneven floating of the substrate of the substrate floating mechanism. Even when the substrate and the substrate holding mechanism collide, the end of the air blowing portion on the uppermost stream side of the substrate holding mechanism has an obliquely tapered shape, so that the substrate can be moved in a state where the flying height has changed. Even if the substrate is transported to the gap between the levitation mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism, the taper-cut surface serves as a guiding guide, and the gap between the substrate, the substrate levitation mechanism, and the substrate holding mechanism does not contact the substrate holding mechanism. It can be transported.

  According to the invention according to claim 7, since the slit for the substrate to be transported is open in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction, for example, an inspection camera or an inspection light source is installed, and the gap for the slit is provided. It becomes possible to perform a transmission inspection and the like. The width of the slit should be as narrow as possible in order to maintain the clearance between the substrate and the substrate holding mechanism.

  According to the invention according to claim 8, by using the transfer device of the present invention for the inspection device, the upper surface of the transfer surface and the substrate holding mechanism surface are kept parallel with a certain clearance. Since it appears on the lower surface of the conveyance surface opposite to the inspection surface, the influence of the glass thickness unevenness is eliminated with respect to the inspection from the upper surface of the conveyance. Accordingly, since the inspection surface position with respect to the camera is always constant, stable imaging can be performed without deviating from the depth of field of the ultra high resolution inspection camera.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the width of the substrate holding mechanism on the side of the slit in the conveyance direction becomes wider as the distance from the air ejection portion increases, for example, an inspection camera and a light source are mounted on the substrate. When inspection is performed with an imaging system using specular reflection that is installed on the upper side of the transfer surface, the light path of the light source is sufficient even if the light source is installed at a position inclined obliquely from the vertical direction of the substrate transfer surface. Therefore, the inspection efficiency of the substrate to be inspected can be improved.

The apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate levitation mechanism for levitating a substrate installed in the substrate transport unit, and a non-contact space between the substrate installed so as to sandwich the substrate at at least a part of the opposing position on the substrate levitation mechanism. And a substrate holding mechanism for holding the substrate. By adopting such a configuration, the following effects are obtained.
First, the substrate is held from both sides by the substrate floating mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism opposed to the substrate floating mechanism, and stable conveyance with little vertical fluctuation is possible.
Second, since the substrate is held from the upper surface of the substrate, the position of the upper surface of the substrate is kept constant.

  By providing an opening, that is, a slit-shaped processing unit in a part of the substrate holding mechanism of the transfer device of the present invention, and arranging a processing device such as an inspection device or a coating device at a position near the processing unit or the processing unit. , The performance of each device can be improved. In other words, since the upper surface position of the substrate is constantly stable during transportation, the focus position does not shift if it is an inspection device using a camera, and if it is a coating device using a die coater, a slit coater, etc. The effect of suppressing unevenness and enabling uniform coating is produced. In the examples to be described later, specific examples in which the apparatus of the present invention is applied to a surface inspection apparatus are shown.

  The apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 exaggerates the thickness of the substrate 2 and the gap between the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4 for easy understanding.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1A, the substrate 2 is levitated and conveyed on the area 3-1 of the substrate levitating mechanism 3. In FIG. 1, a substrate holding mechanism is partially provided in regions 3-2 to 3-4 so as to face the floating mechanism. Here, if at least the end of the air blowing part on the uppermost stream side of the levitation mechanism is taper-cut obliquely, the taper-cut surface serves as a guide for guiding and does not contact the substrate holding mechanism. It becomes possible to convey the gap between the substrate floating mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism. Specific examples of the levitation mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism will be described in detail in the embodiments. As shown in the figure, the levitation mechanism and the substrate holding mechanism are realized by a plurality of air ejection holes, members having air suction holes, and pumps serving as power sources thereof. can do. In addition, although the board | substrate conveyance mechanism is not illustrated in FIG. 1, well-known conveyance mechanisms, such as what hold | maintains and conveys at least one edge part of a board | substrate using a linear guide, a linear motor, etc., can be used.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, the tip of the substrate 2 that has reached the region 3-2 of the substrate floating mechanism 3 is attracted to the substrate floating mechanism side by the adsorption effect of the substrate holding mechanism 4. Further, since the substrate levitation mechanism has only air ejection in the regions 3-2 and 3-4, which are regions (processing regions) facing the substrate levitation mechanism, the air blow-up and the amount of levitation increase, and the substrate is further increased. The holding effect is increased. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1C, the tip of the substrate 2 is actually slightly bent upward.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, when the tip of the substrate 2 reaches the region 3-3 of the divided space of the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4, due to the suction holding effect of the substrate holding mechanism 4, A region from the tip of the substrate 2 to a certain range is in a state along the surface of the substrate holding mechanism 4. In this region, the weight of the substrate 2 is canceled by the air blowing from the substrate floating mechanism 3, and the surface of the substrate holding mechanism 4 is balanced by the balance between the air blowing from the substrate holding mechanism 4 and the suction. And the upper surface of the substrate 2 are maintained with high accuracy. That is, in the slit portion that is the processing unit, for example, even when the thickness of the substrate is different between the head portion and the center portion or the tail portion of the substrate, the distance between the substrate holding mechanism and the upper surface of the substrate is kept constant. Therefore, it is possible to perform processing such as stable inspection measurement. The substrate floating mechanism may be divided as shown in FIG. 1 at a position corresponding to the processing unit according to the processing apparatus to be configured.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1D, the substrate tip that reaches the region 3-5 of the substrate floating mechanism 3 loses the effect of adsorbing the substrate by the substrate holding mechanism 4, so that the state of the region 3-1 is reached. In the same manner as described above, the substrate is positioned and conveyed along the substrate floating mechanism 3. By continuously maintaining the state of the substrate 2 in each region as described above, high-precision positioning and conveyance of the upper surface of the substrate 2 in the region 3-3 can be performed, and processing such as high-resolution substrate inspection can be realized.

  Hereinafter, a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings with specific examples.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a substrate transfer apparatus applied to the substrate inspection apparatus.

  The substrate transfer apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a substrate floating mechanism 3 that keeps the substrate 2 floating while air is blown and sucked, and a substrate that is blown and sucked by air as with the substrate floating mechanism 3. A substrate holding mechanism 4 that holds the space 2 at a constant height, a substrate gripping mechanism 5 that fixes one end portion of the substrate 2 that protrudes from one side surface of the substrate floating mechanism 3, and one side surface of the substrate floating mechanism 3 And a substrate transport mechanism 6 that transports the substrate 2 in the direction along the transport direction X via the base fixing mechanism 5, and the air to the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4. A levitation control unit A that performs supply and suction of air from the substrate levitation mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4 and an inspection unit B that performs surface inspection of the substrate 2 are provided.

  Next, the structure of the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4. In order to facilitate understanding, the thickness and the floating amount of the substrate 2 are exaggerated.

  The substrate levitation mechanism 3 in the substrate transfer apparatus 1 of the present invention is a rectangular hollow structure, and the surfaces 3a and 3b facing the substrate 2 are plate-like substances having numerous fine holes (for example, porous materials). Carbon or sintered metal). The surfaces 3a and 3b are adjacent to the internal hollow spaces 10 and 12, and by applying pressure from the levitation controller A through the pipes 10p and 12p connected to the hollow spaces 10 and 12, the surfaces 3a and 3b Uniform upward air flows 13 and 14 can be formed over the entire area 3b. This upward air flow makes it possible to slightly lift the substrate 2.

  In the substrate floating mechanism 3, suction holes 8 having a diameter of about 0.5 to 2 mm are formed on the surface 3 a other than the region facing the substrate holding mechanism 4 at an equal interval or an irregular interval in the range of about 10 to 50 mm. Are provided throughout. The suction hole 8 is not electrically connected to the hollow space 10 provided in the substrate floating mechanism 3 and is connected to the hollow space 11 provided separately. The suction hole 8 is hollowed by the floating control unit A through the pipe 11v. By reducing the internal pressure of the space 11, air can be sucked from the suction hole 8.

  By blowing air from the entire surface 3a and simultaneously sucking air from the suction hole 8, the flying height of the substrate 2 can be maintained with high accuracy.

  The substrate holding mechanism 4 in the substrate transfer apparatus 1 of the present invention is a hollow structure having the same basic structure as that of the substrate floating mechanism 3 and a rectangular hollow structure, and the surface 4a facing the substrate 2 below the structure is infinitely fine. It is formed of a plate-like substance having a perforated hole (for example, porous carbon or sintered metal). The surface 4a is adjacent to the internal hollow space 15, and by applying pressure from the levitation control unit A through a pipe 15p connected to the hollow space 15, a uniform downward air flow 17 over the entire surface 4a. Can be formed.

  The surface 4a of the substrate holding mechanism 4 is provided with suction holes 9 having a diameter of about 0.5 to 2 mm at equal intervals or irregular intervals in the range of several millimeters to 50 mm. The suction hole 9 is not electrically connected to the hollow space 15 provided in the substrate holding mechanism 4 and is connected to a hollow space 16 provided separately, and is hollowed by the levitation control unit A through the pipe 16v. By reducing the internal pressure of the space 16, air can be sucked from the suction hole 9.

  A relatively large amount of air is sucked from the suction hole 9 and at the same time, a slight amount of air is blown out from the entire surface 4a to hold the substrate 2 in a non-contact space at a position close to the surface 4a with high accuracy. Is possible.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate gripping mechanism 5 in the substrate transport apparatus 1 of the present invention moves at least two block-shaped members in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 2 by an air actuator or the like to move the end of the substrate 2. A holding part that can be sandwiched and fixed, or an adsorbing part that can adsorb the substrate 2 by an adsorbing pad embedded in a block-like member and place the substrate on the block-like member when the adsorbing pad contracts to perform positioning 2 or more. Further, the holding part or the suction part is fixed to a base plate 7 which is an operating part of the substrate transport mechanism 6 through a floating structure which is movable in the direction perpendicular to the substrate 2 as a whole. As a result, it is possible to absorb the deviation between the vertical position of the substrate 2 being transferred and the vertical position of the substrate transfer mechanism 6, and more accurate transfer of the substrate 2 can be realized.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate transport mechanism 6 in the substrate transport apparatus 1 of the present invention is provided adjacent to one side surface of the substrate floating mechanism 3, and moves the substrate 2 along the substrate transport direction X at a constant speed without unevenness. It is a uniaxial transport mechanism for transporting. For example, a combination of a linear motor and a linear guide whose speed fluctuation is smaller than a combination of a servo motor and a ball screw is suitable. However, in the future, when the required accuracy of inspection will increase and this transfer device will be applied to an ultra-high resolution inspection machine, it may be possible to combine an air levitation guide with a coreless type linear motor.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the levitation control unit A in the substrate transfer apparatus 1 of the present invention has a compressed air path 25 that supplies compressed air into the substrate levitation mechanism 3 and an exhaust that sucks and exhausts air from the substrate levitation mechanism 3. A path 26, a compressed air path 32 for supplying compressed air into the substrate holding mechanism 4, and an exhaust path 33 for sucking and exhausting air from the substrate holding mechanism 4 are provided. In FIG. 2, the levitation control unit A is disposed in the machine-side space of the substrate transfer apparatus 1 for the sake of explanation, but actually, it is housed under the substrate transfer apparatus 1 or in a separate housing.

  On the upstream side of the compressed air path 25, there are provided a pressure adjusting valve 23 for adjusting the supply pressure, and a manifold 24 for branching the piping to distribute and supply the compressed air to the substrate floating mechanism 3. A blower pump 21 serving as a power source for air suction and a ball valve 22 for adjusting the suction flow rate and pressure are provided upstream of the exhaust passage 26. By adjusting the supply pressure and the suction flow rate, the floating accuracy of the substrate on the substrate floating mechanism 3 can be increased.

  A pressure adjusting valve 30 that adjusts the supply pressure and a manifold 31 that branches the piping and distributes and supplies the compressed air to the substrate holding mechanism 4 are provided on the upstream side of the compressed air path 32. Further, on the upstream side of the exhaust path 33, a blower pump 27 serving as a power source for air suction and a ball valve 28 for adjusting the suction flow rate and pressure are provided. By adjusting the supply pressure and the suction flow rate, the air holding accuracy of the substrate 2 under the substrate holding mechanism 4 can be increased. Further, by providing the chamber 29 having a volume in the middle of the exhaust path 33, the pressure fluctuation in the substrate holding mechanism can be reduced, and the substrate 2 can be held and transported in the air with higher accuracy.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the inspection section B in the substrate transport apparatus 1 of the present invention is installed so as to straddle the substrate transport mechanism 6, the substrate floating mechanism 3, and the substrate holding mechanism 4 in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction X. The beam-like member 40 is provided at a predetermined height position from the upper surface of the substrate floating mechanism 3, and is provided below the upper surface of the substrate floating mechanism 3 by a camera device 41 that images the upper surface of the substrate 2 and an attachment member (not shown). And a light source 42 for irradiating light in the light guide direction of the camera device 7. The camera device 42 is fixed to the beam-like member 40 via an alignment stage 43 that can adjust the position in the direction perpendicular to the transport surface and adjust the angle around the rotation axis parallel to the transport direction x.

  Next, the shape and arrangement of the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate levitation mechanism 3 is horizontally arranged with the surfaces 3a and 3b having air blowing and suction holes facing upward in the entire area on the conveyance path or in an area where a process requiring high precision is required. (In FIG. 3, only a part is extracted and described). In addition, when the board | substrate conveyance apparatus 1 of this invention is applied to the board | substrate inspection apparatus, in order to ensure the attachment space 37 of the light source 42 of the said test | inspection part B, the board | substrate floating mechanism 3 was divided | segmented into the conveyance direction upstream and downstream Arranged in a state.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the base holding mechanism 4 is separated from the substrate floating mechanism 3 by a predetermined distance 36 and parallel to the substrate floating mechanism with the surface 4a having air blowing and suction holes facing downward. Be placed. When the substrate transport apparatus 1 of the present invention is applied to a substrate inspection apparatus, the substrate holding mechanism 4 is divided into an upstream side and a downstream side in the transport direction in order to secure a mounting space 38 for the camera device 41 of the inspection unit B. It is arranged in the state.

  Further, the side surface 39 that contacts the space 38 of the substrate holding mechanism 4 divided into the upstream side and the downstream side is inclined so as to open as it approaches the camera device 41 in order to secure the optical path of the camera device (imaging device) 41 for imaging. It has become a state. In order to maintain the conveyance accuracy, it is ideal that the distance between the divided substrate holding mechanisms 4 is as small as possible, but at least the imaging field width of the camera device 41 is required.

  Further, on the surface 4a having the air blowing and suction holes of the substrate holding mechanism 4, a taper is provided at the end opposite to the space 38 in each of the two divided regions. Even when the amount is larger than the specified value, the substrate 2 is not drawn into the substrate holding mechanism 4 because it is drawn along the taper.

  In the substrate transfer apparatus 1 of the present invention, the distance between the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism 4 is very important. As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate 2 is located between the substrate floating mechanism 3 and the substrate holding mechanism. In order to pass through, the distance 36 must be at least larger than the sum of the thickness 36a of the substrate 2 and the flying height 36b of the substrate 2. However, in the substrate transfer apparatus 1 of the present invention, when the substrate 2 passes over the substrate floating mechanism 3, the substrate 2 is transferred based on the lower surface position of the substrate 2, and when passing through the installation range of the substrate holding mechanism 4, the substrate upper surface position is determined. The distance 36 is preferably several micrometers larger than the sum of the thickness 36 a of the substrate 2, the flying height 36 b of the substrate 2, and the space holding distance 36 c of the substrate 2 by the substrate holding mechanism 4. A value is desirable.

  Next, the configuration of the inspection unit B (arrangement of camera device and light source) when the substrate transport apparatus 1 of the present invention is applied to a substrate inspection apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 a shows a configuration for inspecting the upper surface of the substrate 2 with transmitted light with high accuracy. The camera device 41 is installed vertically above the substrate holding mechanism 4, and the light source 42 is divided by the substrate floating mechanism 3. It is installed at the position of the space 37 so that light can be irradiated in the direction of the camera device 41. FIG. 5b shows a configuration for inspecting the upper surface of the substrate 2 with specular reflection light with high accuracy. The camera device 41 and the light source 42 are located above the substrate holding mechanism 4 and perpendicular to the substrate transport surface and in the center of the space 38. It is installed at a certain angle so as to be symmetric with respect to the plane passing through. FIG. 5c shows a configuration for inspecting the upper surface of the substrate 2 with transmitted light with high accuracy. A camera device 41 having a coaxial falling illumination prism is installed vertically above the substrate holding mechanism 4 and a light source 42. Is connected to the camera device 41 via an optical fiber or the like. In any configuration, the upper surface of the substrate 2 is transported along the surface 4a of the substrate holding mechanism 4 while keeping a high accuracy in the inspection unit B, so that the upper surface of the substrate 2 is located at the focal position of the camera device 41. By making the position fluctuation as small as possible, it is possible to realize an ultra-high resolution inspection without changing the focal position tracking mechanism of the camera device 42.

  The cross section in the transport direction of the substrate holding mechanism preferably has a reverse tapered shape in which the opening width on the substrate side is smaller than the opening width on the opposite side. This is because the surface holding position of the substrate is made as large as possible to improve the stability of the upper surface position in the processing section, and if it has an inversely tapered shape, there is an effect that it does not hinder the optical path of the detection light. . In particular, this is effective when inspecting with an obliquely incident apparatus configuration as shown in FIG.

The cross-sectional schematic diagram which showed the floating positioning state of the board | substrate in order in the board | substrate conveyance apparatus same as the above. The schematic perspective view which shows the Example of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus by this invention. The cross-sectional schematic diagram of the board | substrate floating mechanism and board | substrate holding | maintenance mechanism of a board | substrate conveyance apparatus same as the above. The cross-sectional schematic diagram which shows the space | interval with the board | substrate floating mechanism, board | substrate holding mechanism, and board | substrate of a board | substrate conveyance apparatus same as the above. Cross-sectional schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of cameras and light sources in the same substrate transport apparatus

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate conveyance apparatus 2 ... Substrate 3 ... Substrate floating mechanism 3a ... Surface (substrate floating mechanism)
3b ... Surface (substrate floating mechanism)
4 ... Substrate holding mechanism 4a ... Surface (substrate holding mechanism)
5 ... Substrate gripping mechanism 6 ... Substrate transport mechanism 7 ... Base plate 8 ... Suction hole (Substrate floating mechanism)
9 ... Suction hole (substrate holding mechanism)
10 ... Hollow space (substrate floating mechanism: blowing up)
10p ... Piping (substrate floating mechanism: blowing up)
11 ... Hollow space (substrate floating mechanism: suction)
11v ... Piping (substrate floating mechanism: suction)
12 ... Hollow space (base floating mechanism: blowing up)
12p ... Piping (base levitation mechanism: blowing up)
13 ... Air flow (substrate floating mechanism: blowing up)
14 ... Air flow (substrate floating mechanism: blowing up)
15 ... Hollow space (substrate holding mechanism: blowing up)
15p ... Piping (base material holding mechanism: blowing up)
16 ... Hollow space (substrate holding mechanism: suction)
16v ... Piping (substrate holding mechanism: suction)
17 ... Air flow (substrate holding mechanism: blowing up)
21 ... Blower pump 22 ... Ball valve 23 ... Pressure adjustment valve 24 ... Manifold 25 ... Pressure air passage 26 ... Exhaust passage 27 ... Blower pump 28 ... Ball valve 29 ... Chamber 30 ... Pressure adjustment valve 31 ... Manifold 32 ... Pressure air passage 33 ... Exhaust Path 37 ... Space 38 ... Space 39 ... Side 41 ... Camera device (imaging device)
42 ... Light source 43 ... Alignment stage

Claims (9)

  A substrate levitating mechanism for levitating a substrate installed in the substrate transport unit, and a substrate holding mechanism for holding the substrate installed so as to sandwich the substrate in a non-contact space at least at a part of the opposing position on the substrate levitating mechanism And a transport mechanism that transports the substrate in one direction while holding at least one end of the substrate.   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding mechanism includes an air blowing portion constituted by a plurality of holes and an air suction portion constituted by a plurality of holes.   The levitation mechanism includes a processing region having an air ejection portion configured by a plurality of holes in a region facing the substrate holding mechanism, an air ejection portion configured by a plurality of holes, and a plurality of holes. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer region having an air suction portion.   The substrate floating mechanism is arranged so as to float the entire surface of the substrate to be transported, and the substrate holding mechanism is disposed so as to hold the entire surface in the width direction of the substrate to be transported and a part in the transport direction. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1.   The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes a substrate gripping mechanism having a degree of freedom in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface.   6. The substrate transport according to claim 1, wherein an end of the air blowing portion on the most upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate holding mechanism has a tapered shape. apparatus.   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a processing unit that is a slit is formed in a part of the substrate holding mechanism.   The inspection apparatus which has arrange | positioned the image pick-up element in the processing part of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus of Claim 7, or the vicinity of a processing part. 9. The inspection apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a cross section in the transport direction of the substrate holding mechanism has a reverse taper shape in which the slit width on the substrate side is smaller than the slit width on the opposite side.

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