JP2014045093A - Substrate transfer apparatus and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inhibit a fluent solution component obtained by vapor condensation of a solution coated on a semiconductor wafer from leaking from a gap between a roller body 111 of a guide roller 110 and a roller guide 112 loaded on the roller body 111 and accumulating at a lower end of a side wall of the roller guide 112 in a substrate transfer apparatus equipped with the guide roller composed of ceramic as a porous material.SOLUTION: A substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a semiconductor wafer comprises a guide roller 110 including a cylindrical roller body 111 and a roller guide 112 loaded on the roller body 111; and through holes 111a, 111b which are formed in the vicinity to boundaries Bn between guide loaded parts 110b on which the roller guide 112 is loaded and an exposed part 110b between the opposing roller guide. As a result, leaked fluent solution component is inhaled from the through holes 111a, 111b to the inside 111c of the roller body 111 due to negative pressure of the inside 111c of the roller body 111.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus, and in particular, a substrate processing solution in which a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer is moved by the substrate transfer apparatus in a substrate processing apparatus such as a substrate drying apparatus and applied to the substrate to be processed. (Hereinafter, simply referred to as a solution), and a structure that prevents the evaporated solution from aggregating and adhering to the transport roller of the substrate transport apparatus as a flowable stay (fluid solution component), and this The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus using a substrate transfer apparatus having such a structure.

  The semiconductor device manufacturing process includes a film forming process and a patterning process for forming a diffusion layer and a wiring layer on the semiconductor wafer, and a drying process for drying the solution applied to the semiconductor wafer and the cleaning liquid used for cleaning the semiconductor wafer. include.

  In such a drying process, a substrate drying apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) including a drying furnace for drying a semiconductor wafer and a substrate transfer apparatus for transferring the semiconductor wafer in the drying furnace is used.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining, for example, a substrate drying device used in a manufacturing process of a solar cell, and schematically shows a cross-sectional structure along the transport direction of a semiconductor wafer (solar cell substrate). FIG. 8 is a top view showing a substrate transfer device used in the substrate drying apparatus, and shows how a semiconductor wafer is transferred on the substrate transfer device.

  The substrate drying apparatus 20 is provided in a drying furnace 10a for drying the solution applied to the semiconductor wafer W, and is provided in the drying furnace 10a from the inlet 10a1 on one end side to the outlet 10a2 on the other end side of the drying furnace 10a. And a substrate transfer device 300 that transfers the semiconductor wafer W along a transfer path from the inlet 10a1 to the outlet 10a2 of the drying furnace 10a. At the upper part in the drying furnace 10 a of the substrate transport apparatus 300, heating devices (for example, heaters) 11 to 13 for drying face the substrate transport surface Sc of the substrate transport apparatus 300 along the transport path. Is provided.

  The substrate transfer apparatus 300 is arranged in the transfer direction Dt of the semiconductor wafer W and has a plurality of rotating rollers 101 and 310 having a hollow structure, roller support mechanisms 120a and 120b for rotatably supporting these rotating rollers, And a roller driving source 150 for applying a rotational force to the rotating roller. The roller driving source 150 is a driving motor M.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the guide roller 310 in detail. FIG. 9A is an enlarged plan view showing an R portion of FIG. 8, and FIG. 9B is a plan view of FIG. FIG. 9C is an enlarged view showing the cross-sectional structure of the portion B, and FIG. 9C is a view showing the cross-sectional structure taken along the line AA ′ of FIG.

  The rotating roller 101 is a conveying roller made of a ceramic cylindrical body, and the rotating roller 310 is a roller body 311 having a hollow interior 311c made of a ceramic cylindrical body, and the roller body 311 is spaced a predetermined distance from each other. 9 is a guide roller (see FIGS. 9B and 9C) having a roller guide (guide member) 312 made of a ceramic cylinder.

  The roller guide 312 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer shape of the roller body 311. Here, the guide roller 310 includes five roller guides 312 as the roller body 311, and the roller body 311 serves as each roller guide. It is attached so as to penetrate 312, and both are bonded by a ceramic adhesive (ceramic bond) 314. Here, the ceramic adhesive 314 has a porous structure with larger pores than the roller main body 311 and the roller guide 312 formed by firing ceramic, but has characteristics such as a thermal expansion coefficient, heat resistance, and acid resistance. Has the same properties as the ceramic constituting the roller body and roller guide. For convenience of explanation, both the guide roller 310 and the transport roller 101 are also simply referred to as a rotation roller.

  That is, in this substrate transport apparatus 300, the region between the adjacent roller guides 312 serves as a transport path, and the substrate transport surface Sc is firstly extended from the roller support mechanism 120a on one end side to the roller support mechanism 120b on the other end side. The first to fourth transport paths Tc1 to Tc4 are formed, and the semiconductor wafers W are transported in four rows along these transport paths.

  Further, the guide roller 310 regulates the meandering of the semiconductor wafer W on the substrate transfer surface Sc of the substrate transfer apparatus 300, and the side surface 312 a of the roller guide 312 comes into contact with the end surface of the semiconductor wafer W and the semiconductor wafer W W meandering is regulated within the corresponding transport path. The meandering along the transport path of the semiconductor wafer W is caused by the eccentricity of the rotating roller and the variation in processing accuracy caused by the manufacturing process of firing the ceramic.

  The semiconductor wafer W as a solar cell substrate has a structure in which a side surface portion of a cylindrical silicon ingot is cut off at four locations on a plane parallel to the central axis, and further sliced thinly along a plane perpendicular to the central axis. The actual planar shape of this disk is that when the disk is overlapped with a square whose center is coincident with a square whose diagonal is longer than the diameter of the disk and whose one side is shorter than the diameter of the disk. The n-type silicon substrate 101a is schematically illustrated as a square shape, although it has a substantially square shape obtained by cutting off a portion protruding from the square of the disk. Accordingly, the four corners of the semiconductor wafer are curved, and the semiconductor wafer is guided by the roller guide 312 when the corner abuts against the side surface 312 a of the roller guide 312.

  In the substrate transport apparatus 300, the guide rollers 310 and the transport rollers 101 are alternately arranged along the transport direction Dt so that the guide rollers 310 are located at the start and end of the transport path. Both ends of 101 and 310 are rotatably supported by roller support mechanisms 120a and 120b.

  Further, in the substrate transfer apparatus 300, the rotation shaft of the drive motor M is connected to the rotation rollers 101 and 310 via the roller support mechanisms 120a and 120b, and the roller support is performed by the rotation of the rotation shaft of the drive motor M. The rotating rollers 101 and 130 supported by the mechanisms 120a and 120b rotate.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  For example, when a diffusion paste applied to a semiconductor wafer by a screen printing method as a substrate processing solution, that is, a diffusion source for thermally diffusing a dopant to the semiconductor wafer is dried using the substrate drying apparatus 20, the diffusion paste is applied. When the semiconductor wafer W is put into the drying furnace 10a from the inlet 10a1 of the drying furnace 10a, the semiconductor wafer W is rotated on the rotating rollers 101 and 310 by the rotation of the rotating rollers 101 and 310, respectively, and the corresponding transport paths Tc1. The lower side of the heating devices 11 to 13 is moved along Tc4. At this time, the semiconductor wafer W is appropriately heated at a predetermined temperature by the heating devices 11 to 13, whereby the solution (diffusion paste) applied to the semiconductor wafer W is dried. The semiconductor wafer W that has reached the other end of the substrate transfer apparatus 300 is taken out of the drying furnace from the outlet 10a2 of the drying furnace 10a and introduced into the subsequent processing apparatus. Here, since a diffusion source (diffusion paste) for thermally diffusing the dopant as a substrate processing solution is applied to the semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer W after drying the diffusion paste in the drying furnace is introduced into the thermal diffusion furnace. Is done.

  In Patent Documents 1 and 2, in a drying processing apparatus in which a cleaned semiconductor wafer is transported and dried in a drying furnace by a transport apparatus having a rotating roller, a rotating roller is provided so that the semiconductor wafer does not come off the transport path. In the figure, guide rollers for guiding a semiconductor wafer are attached to both sides.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a specific dopant source or solvent of an n-type dopant diffusing agent as a diffusion source (diffusion paste).

JP 2000-230783 A JP 2003-17463 A JP 2010-205839 A

  By the way, in the conventional substrate transport apparatus having a plurality of rotating rollers, the rotating roller is made of ceramic which is a material having heat resistance and acid resistance and which does not become a diffusion source. When a compound containing a phosphorus atom such as a phosphate is used as a diffusion paste (n-type dopant diffusing agent) that is a solution to be applied, since the ceramic is a porous member, the solution applied to the semiconductor wafer is dried. When the component containing phosphate once evaporated in the furnace is agglomerated, the agglomerated solution component is absorbed by the porous ceramic material that constitutes the guide roller, etc., and the absorbed solution component exceeds the saturation amount. The phenomenon of seeping out from the rotating roller (conveying roller and guide roller) occurs.

  At this time, since the semiconductor wafer W passes on the surface of the rotating roller 101, the solution component that has oozed out on the surface of the rotating roller 101 does not accumulate in a portion that forms the conveyance path of the rotating roller 101. Similarly, the solution component that has oozed out on the surface of the roller main body 311 of the guide roller 310 passes through the surface of the roller main body 311 of the guide roller 310, so that the solution component does not accumulate.

  However, the portion where the surface of the roller main body 311 of the guide roller 310 and the side surface 312a of the roller guide 312 attached to the roller main body 311 intersect (that is, the lower end portion of the side wall of the roller guide 310) is usually a portion through which the semiconductor wafer passes. However, since it is located in the vicinity of the roller guide having a large volume, as shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. The liquid component Cm oozes out from the ceramic material that constitutes the adhesive 314 that bonds the roller body 311 to the roller body 311, and accumulates at the lower end of the side wall of the roller guide 310.

  The semiconductor wafer W moving on the transport path Tc2 (see FIG. 9A) of the guide roller 310 in a state where the solution component Cm accumulates at the lower end of the side wall of the roller guide 310 is thus transferred to one of the transport paths Tc2. When the solution component Cm is biased toward the side edge and comes into contact with the solution component Cm, the solution component Cm adheres to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer W, and the solution component adhering to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer W also moves to the surfaces of other rotating rollers 101 and guide rollers 310 It will adhere.

  When the solution applied to the semiconductor wafer as described above contains a compound such as a phosphate used as a dopant diffusion source, the dopant diffusion source which is a solution attached to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer W in the subsequent thermal diffusion step As a result, impurities are diffused, resulting in generation of defective products as a semiconductor wafer.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and when a substrate to be processed is transported by a rotating roller constituted by a porous member, a solution applied to the surface of the substrate to be processed is provided. It is possible to prevent the vapor from aggregating and accumulating as a fluid solution component at the lower end of the side surface of the cylindrical guide member attached to the roller body, and thereby the surface of the substrate to be processed during the transfer of the substrate to be processed. A substrate transfer apparatus capable of preventing the solution applied to the substrate from adhering to the back side of the substrate to be processed, and preventing the yield from being reduced due to the occurrence of defective products during the transfer of the substrate to be processed; and An object of the present invention is to obtain a substrate processing apparatus using a simple substrate transfer apparatus.

  A substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of rotating rollers arranged to form a transfer path for a substrate to be processed and rotatably supported, and the substrate to be processed is rotated by the rotation of the rotation roller. A predetermined rotation roller of the plurality of rotation rollers is mounted on the roller body and on the roller body so as to be located on both sides of the conveyance path, A guide roller having a guide member for guiding the substrate to be processed so that the substrate to be processed moving on the plurality of rotating rollers does not deviate from the transport path, and the cylindrical roller body includes the guide member Is applied to the surface of the substrate to be processed by the negative pressure inside the roller body. Solution vapor Condensed and the resulting flowable solution component is configured to be sucked from the through hole inside of the roller body.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the substrate to be processed is transported by the rotating roller constituted by the porous member, the vapor of the solution applied to the surface of the substrate to be processed aggregates as a fluid solution component. A substrate transfer device capable of suppressing accumulation at the lower end of the side surface of the cylindrical guide member attached to the roller body, and capable of suppressing a decrease in yield due to generation of defective products during the transfer of the substrate to be processed; and A substrate processing apparatus using such a substrate transfer apparatus can be realized.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view showing a substrate transfer apparatus used in the substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows a state in which a semiconductor wafer is transferred on the substrate transfer apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining in detail the structure of the guide roller constituting the substrate transport apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 3A is an enlarged plan view showing the R1 portion of FIG. 3 (b) is an enlarged view of the cross-sectional structure of the B1 portion in FIG. 3 (a), and FIG. . FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the details of the substrate transport apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a part of a guide roller constituting the substrate transport apparatus (B1 in FIG. 3A). FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a roller support mechanism and a liquid reservoir chamber of the substrate transport apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining in detail the structure of the guide roller constituting the substrate transport apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5A is an enlarged view corresponding to the R1 portion of FIG. 5 (b) shows an enlarged cross-sectional structure of the B2 portion of FIG. 5 (a), and FIG. 5 (c) shows a cross-sectional structure taken along the line A2-A2 ′ of FIG. 5 (b). . FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining a guide roller constituting the substrate transport apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and shows an enlarged B2 portion in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a conventional substrate processing apparatus (substrate drying apparatus) used in a manufacturing process of a solar cell, schematically showing a cross-sectional structure along a transport direction of a semiconductor wafer (solar cell substrate). Yes. FIG. 8 is a top view showing a substrate transfer apparatus used in a conventional substrate drying apparatus, and shows a state in which a semiconductor wafer is transferred on the substrate transfer apparatus. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining in detail the structure of a guide roller constituting a conventional substrate transfer apparatus. FIG. 9A is an enlarged view of a portion R in FIG. 8, and FIG. 9 (a) shows an enlarged cross-sectional structure of a portion B, and FIG. 9 (c) shows a cross-sectional structure taken along line AA ′ of FIG. 9 (b).

  Hereinafter, first, essential features of the present invention will be described.

  The present invention is a substrate transport apparatus that transports a substrate to be processed by a plurality of rotating rollers, and guides a cylindrical roller body and a substrate to be processed moving on the plurality of rotating rollers as the plurality of rotating rollers. A guide roller having a guide member attached to the roller body, and penetrating a boundary portion between a guide mounting portion on which the guide member is mounted and an exposed portion between the opposing guide members of the cylindrical roller body A hole was formed so that the fluid solution component generated by the aggregation of the vapor of the solution applied to the surface of the substrate to be processed by the negative pressure inside the roller body was sucked into the roller body from the through hole. Is an essential feature.

  In the present invention having such a configuration, the fluid solution component exuded from the adhesive between the roller main body and the roller guide flows into the roller main body through the through-hole, and thereby the roller guide and It is possible to suppress the solvent component that has exuded from the ceramic material constituting the adhesive that bonds the roller main body from collecting at the lower end of the side wall of the roller guide.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, the guide member is a roller guide made of a cylindrical member, and the roller guide is attached to an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical roller body, The roller guide and the roller body are preferably fixed by an adhesive.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, it is preferable that the cylindrical roller body, the roller guide, and the adhesive are made of a porous material.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, the porous material is preferably ceramic.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, the processing material applied to the surface of the substrate to be processed is a diffusion source for diffusing a dopant into the substrate to be processed, and a dopant source containing phosphate And a solvent for the dopant source and a thickener.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, the through hole is formed at a portion of the exposed portion of the roller main body adjacent to a boundary between the guide mounting portion and the exposed portion. It is preferable that it is formed over.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, the through hole is formed at a portion of the guide mounting portion of the roller body adjacent to a boundary between the guide mounting portion and the exposed portion. It is preferable that it is formed over.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transfer apparatus, the through hole preferably has a circular shape in a plane perpendicular to the central axis.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, the through hole extends across the guide mounting portion and the exposed portion at a boundary portion between the guide mounting portion and the exposed portion of the roller body. It is preferable that it is a long hole formed.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, it is preferable that a rotation roller other than the guide roller among the plurality of rotation rollers is a transport roller made of a cylindrical member.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, it is preferable that the transport roller and the guide roller are alternately arranged along the transport path.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate transport apparatus, one end side of the cylindrical roller body constituting the guide roller is sealed, and the other end side of the cylindrical roller body is connected to a suction pump. It is preferable.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate transport apparatus includes a roller support mechanism that rotatably supports the plurality of rotating rollers, and a roller driving source that generates a rotational force of the rotating rollers. It is preferable that the rotational force generated by the roller driving source is applied to the rotating roller via the roller support mechanism.

  The present invention includes a processing chamber for processing a substrate to be processed and a substrate transfer device for transferring the substrate to be processed so that the substrate to be processed passes through the processing chamber. A substrate processing apparatus that performs the above-described processing, and is characterized in that the substrate transport apparatus according to the present invention described above is provided as the substrate transport apparatus.

  In an embodiment of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus, the processing chamber is preferably a drying chamber that performs a drying process by heating the substrate to be processed.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and schematically shows a cross-sectional structure along a conveyance direction of a semiconductor wafer (here, a solar cell substrate) that is a substrate to be processed. ing.

  The substrate processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment is a substrate drying apparatus that dries a substrate processing material (solution) applied to the surface of a semiconductor wafer, and a drying furnace 10a that dries the coating solution of the semiconductor wafer by heating the semiconductor wafer. And a substrate transfer apparatus 100 that is provided across from one end side to the other end side of the drying furnace 10a and that transfers the semiconductor wafer W along a transfer path from one end side to the other end side of the drying furnace 10a. ing.

  Here, the drying furnace 10a is the same as that in the conventional substrate drying apparatus 300, and an inlet 10a1 of the semiconductor wafer W is formed on one end side of the drying furnace 10a, and on the other end side of the drying furnace 10a. An outlet 10a2 of the semiconductor wafer W is formed. Further, in the drying furnace 10a, heating devices 11 to 13 for drying are provided so as to face the substrate transport surface Sc of the substrate transport device 100 along the transport path.

  FIG. 2 is a top view for explaining the substrate transfer apparatus, and shows a state in which the semiconductor wafer W is transferred on the substrate transfer apparatus 100.

  The substrate transfer apparatus 100 includes a plurality of rotating rollers 101 and 110 that are arranged in the transfer direction Dt of the semiconductor wafer W and have a hollow structure, roller support mechanisms 120a and 120b that rotatably support these rotating rollers, A plurality of rotating rollers 101 and 110, the rotating force generated by the roller driving source 150 is supplied to the roller support mechanism 120a and the roller supporting mechanism 120a. It is configured to be applied via 120b.

  Here, the rotating roller 101 is a conveying roller formed of a cylindrical roller body, and the rotating roller 110 is mounted on the cylindrical roller body 111 having a hollow interior 111c and the roller body 111, and on a plurality of rotating rollers. Is a guide roller having a roller guide (guide member) 112 for guiding the semiconductor wafer W so as not to deviate from the corresponding transfer paths Tc1 to Tc4. For convenience of explanation below, both the guide roller 110 and the transport roller 101 are also referred to as rotating rollers.

  Here, the diameter of the roller main body constituting the guide roller 110 and the conveying roller 101 is, for example, about φ10 mm to φ20 mm, and the length is about 50 cm to 150 cm. The diameter of the roller guide 112 is, for example, about 2 to 3 times the diameter of the roller body, and the length is, for example, 30 mm to 50 mm. However, the sizes of the roller main body and the guide roller are not limited to these dimensions, and the diameter and length of these roller main bodies are the number of transport paths of the semiconductor wafer transported by the rotating roller, the strength of the roller main body. The diameter of the roller guide is determined based on the interval between adjacent rotating rollers, and the length (width) of the roller guide is determined based on the length of the roller body and the number of conveyance paths. Is done.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the guide roller in detail. FIG. 3A is an enlarged plan view showing a portion R1 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is B1 in FIG. The figure which expands and shows the cross-section of a part, FIG.3 (c) is a figure which shows the structure of the A1-A1 'line cross section of FIG.3 (b). FIG. 4A is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of a guide roller (B1 portion in FIG. 3A) constituting the substrate transfer device, and FIG. 4B is a roller of the substrate transfer device. It is a figure which shows a support mechanism and a liquid reservoir chamber.

  A cylindrical roller main body 111 constituting the guide roller 110 has a through hole formed in a boundary portion Bn between a guide mounting portion 110a on which the roller guide 112 is mounted and an exposed portion 110b between the opposing roller guides 112. 111a and 111b, and a fluid substance produced by condensation of the vapor of the solution component applied to the surface of the semiconductor wafer W due to the negative pressure inside the roller body 111 passes through the through holes 111a and 111b. It is configured to be sucked into 111c.

  That is, the roller guide 112 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical roller body 111, and the roller guide 112 and the roller body 111 are fixed by the adhesive material 114. The cylindrical roller body 111, the roller guide 112, and the adhesive material 114 are made of a porous material. The roller body 111 and the roller guide 112 are formed by firing ceramic, and the adhesive 114 is a ceramic bond. The adhesive 114 has a porous structure with larger pores than the roller main body 111 and the roller guide 112 formed by firing ceramics. However, the adhesive 114 has characteristics such as a coefficient of thermal expansion, heat resistance, and acid resistance. It has the same properties as the ceramic that constitutes the roller guide.

  Further, the solution applied to the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is a diffusion source for diffusing a dopant into the semiconductor wafer, as described in the prior art, and includes a dopant source containing phosphate and a solvent for the dopant source. And a thickener.

  Further, the through hole 111a is an outer through hole formed in the portion Ra of the exposed portion 110b of the roller body 111 adjacent to the boundary Bn between the guide mounting portion 110a and the exposed portion 110b over the entire circumference of the roller body 111. It is a hole. The through hole 111b is an inner through hole formed over the entire circumference of the roller body 111 in a portion Rb of the guide mounting part 110a of the roller body adjacent to the boundary Bn between the guide mounting part 110a and the exposed part 110b. It is.

  These through holes 110a and 110b have a circular shape in a plane perpendicular to the central axis. Here, the transport roller 101 and the guide roller 110 are alternately arranged along the transport direction Dt, and the guide roller 110 is positioned at the start end position and the end position of the substrate transport apparatus.

  Further, one end side of the cylindrical roller main body 111 constituting the guide roller 110 is closed so as to be sealed by a cap member 113a as shown in FIG. On the other hand, a liquid reservoir chamber 113b is attached to the other end side of the cylindrical roller main body 111 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4B. The liquid reservoir chamber 113b and the roller main body 111 are separated from each other. The roller body 111 is connected by an airtight joint member 113b1 so that the space is airtight and the roller body 111 is rotatable with respect to the liquid reservoir chamber 113b.

  A branch pipe 130b branched from a suction pipe 130a connected to a suction pump (P) 140 is connected to the liquid storage chamber 113b. In addition, one end of a branch pipe 161 of a drain pipe 160 for discharging the fluid solution component stored as the waste liquid Wr is connected to the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber 113b. A drain valve 160a is attached.

  The roller support mechanism 120b on the other end side is attached to a base 121 such as a frame member of the substrate transport apparatus 100, and a bearing member 122 that rotatably supports one end of a cylindrical roller main body 111 constituting a guide roller. , A gear 123 attached to one end of the roller body 111, and a worm gear 124 that is attached to a rotating shaft 125 that is rotated by a roller drive source 150 and meshes with the gear 123. Note that one end of the roller main body constituting the conveying roller is also rotatably supported by the roller support mechanism 120b and rotated by the rotational force of the roller driving source 150, similarly to one end of the cylindrical roller main body 111 constituting the guide roller. It has become. Also, the roller support mechanism 120a on one end side has the same configuration as the roller support mechanism 120b on the other end side.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  In the substrate drying apparatus 10 having such a configuration, when the roller driving source 150 is driven to rotate the rotating shaft 125, the rotating force of the rotating shaft 125 is rotated via the worm gear 124 and the gear 123 (the conveying roller 101 and the guide roller). 110), whereby the transport roller 101 and the guide roller 110 are rotated.

  In this state, when the semiconductor wafer W placed on one end side of the substrate transfer apparatus 100 enters the drying furnace 10a through the inlet 10a1 of the drying furnace 10a, the semiconductor wafer W is rotated by the rotation of the rotary rollers 101 and 110. The lower side of the heating devices 11 to 13 is moved in four rows along the corresponding transport paths Tc1 to Tc4 on the rotating rollers. At this time, the semiconductor wafer W is heated by the heating devices 11 to 13, and the solution applied to the semiconductor wafer W is dried. The semiconductor wafer W that has reached the other end of the substrate transport apparatus 100 is taken out of the drying furnace 10a from the outlet 10a2 of the drying furnace 10a, and the semiconductor wafer W is carried into a subsequent processing apparatus such as a thermal diffusion furnace. Is done.

  Thus, in the state where the semiconductor wafer W moves in the drying furnace 10a, the ceramic constituting the rotary rollers 101 and 110 is a porous member. Therefore, the solution applied to the semiconductor wafer is once evaporated in the drying furnace 10a. The agglomerated components are agglomerated, and the agglomerated solution component is absorbed by the porous ceramic material constituting the rotating roller, but the absorbed solution component is more than the saturation amount of the porous ceramic material constituting the rotating roller. As a result, the phenomenon of seeping out from the rotating roller, that is, the conveying roller 101 and the guide roller 110 occurs.

  In particular, in the guide roller 110, the absorbed solution component is stained from the exposed surface of the ceramic adhesive 114 between the roller body 111 and the roller guide 112, that is, from the vicinity of the boundary between the guide mounting portion 110a and the exposed portion 110b. put out.

  However, in the substrate transfer apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, during the transfer of the semiconductor wafer W, the liquid reservoir chamber 113b is held at a negative pressure by the suction pump 140, and thereby, the liquid reservoir chamber 113b is hermetically sealed. The inside 111c of the roller body 111 connected in this manner also has a negative pressure, and a fluid flow is generated from the periphery of the through holes 111a and 111b formed in the roller body 111 so that a fluid such as liquid or gas flows into the through hole. .

  For this reason, the fluid solution component oozing out from the adhesive 114 between the roller body 111 and the roller guide 112 flows into the roller body 111 through the outer through-hole 111a. Further, since the roller body 111 is also formed with a through hole 111b inside the boundary Bn between the guide mounting portion 110a and the exposed portion 110b, the roller body 111 is saturated particularly at a portion where the roller guide 112 is mounted. The fluid solution component thus obtained flows into the interior 111c of the roller body 111 through the inner through hole 111b.

  The fluid solution component that has flowed into the inside 111c of the roller body 111 is attracted by the negative pressure inside the roller body 111, is guided to the liquid reservoir chamber 113b on one end side thereof, and accumulates as waste liquid Wr in the liquid reservoir chamber 113b. .

  As a result, even if the solution absorbed in the ceramic material constituting the guide roller 112 is saturated and oozes out from the adhesive 114 that bonds the roller guide 112 and the roller body 111, the spilled fluid solution component remains in the roller. Accumulation at the lower end of the side wall of the guide 112 can be suppressed, and a decrease in yield due to generation of defective products during the transfer of the semiconductor wafer can be suppressed.

  The fluid solvent component accumulated as the waste liquid Wr in the liquid storage chamber 113b is opened by opening the drain valve 160a attached to the main pipe 162 of the drain pipe 160 connected to the liquid storage chamber 113b. Discharged from.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, in the substrate transport apparatus 100 that transports the semiconductor wafer W by the plurality of rotating rollers, the cylindrical roller main body 111 and the semiconductor wafer moving on the plurality of rotating rollers are guided. A guide roller 110 having a roller guide 112 attached to the roller body 111, a guide mounting portion 110a of the cylindrical roller body 111 on which the roller guide 112 is mounted, and an exposed portion 110b between the opposing roller guides. Through holes 111a and 111b are formed in the vicinity of the boundary Bn, and the fluid solution component generated by condensation of the vapor of the solution applied to the surface of the semiconductor wafer due to the negative pressure inside the roller body 111 is formed in the through holes 111a and 111b. 111b is sucked into the inside 111c of the roller body 111. Flowable solution components exuded from the adhesive 114 between the Ragaido 112, so that the flow into the interior 111c of the roller body 111 via the outer through-hole 111a. In addition, the fluid solution component accumulated in the roller guide 112 and the adhesive material 114 is sucked into the interior 111c of the roller body 111 through the inner through hole 111b. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the fluid solvent component that has exuded from the ceramic material constituting the adhesive material 114 that bonds the roller guide and the roller body from accumulating at the lower end of the side wall of the roller guide 112.

  In the first embodiment, the through-hole 111a is formed over the entire circumference of the roller body at a portion of the exposed portion 110b of the roller body adjacent to the boundary Bn between the guide mounting portion and the exposed portion. A through hole 112a is formed over the entire circumference of the roller body in a portion adjacent to the boundary between the guide mounting part 110a and the exposed part 110b of the guide mounting part 110a of the roller body. 111a is formed only on the portion of the exposed portion 110b of the roller body adjacent to the boundary Bn between the guide mounting portion 110a and the exposed portion 110b, or the guide mounting portion 110b and the exposed portion 110a of the guide mounting portion 110a of the roller body. It may be formed only in a portion adjacent to the boundary Bn.

  In the first embodiment, the liquid reservoir chamber is provided only on one end side of the guide roller, but may be provided on both end sides of the guide roller. In this case, it is desirable that the drain pipe 160 is also provided on the other end side of the guide roller.

  Furthermore, in Embodiment 1 described above, the rotational force generated by the drive motor is applied to both the one end side and the other end side of the rotary roller by the two drive motors, but the rotational force is applied only to one end side of the rotary roller. May be applied. In that case, one drive motor is sufficient.

  In the first embodiment, the guide rollers and the conveyance rollers are alternately arranged along the conveyance direction. However, the guide rollers may be provided every two or three conveyance rollers. The guide rollers may be provided with an interval between adjacent ones.

  In the first embodiment, the substrate transport apparatus having the first to fourth transport paths and transporting the semiconductor wafers W in parallel is shown. However, the transport path for transporting the semiconductor wafers in the substrate transport apparatus is as follows. Two rows may be arranged in parallel, three rows may be arranged in parallel, or five or more rows may be arranged in parallel.

  In the first embodiment, the through hole is formed so that the shape in a plane perpendicular to the central axis thereof is a circular shape, but the shape of the through hole is not limited to this.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a substrate transfer apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 5A shows a detailed structure of the guide roller in this substrate transfer apparatus, which corresponds to the R1 portion of FIG. FIG. 5B is an enlarged view showing the cross-sectional structure of the B2 portion of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is A2-A2 ′ of FIG. 5B. It is a figure which shows the structure of a line cross section. FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the guide roller shown in FIG. 5, and shows an enlarged B2 portion of FIG. 5 (a).

  The substrate transport apparatus according to the second embodiment includes a guide roller 211 having a different shape of the through hole formed in the roller body, instead of the guide roller 110 in the substrate transport apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. Similar to the substrate transport apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, the substrate transport apparatus of the second embodiment is used as a substrate transport apparatus in a substrate drying apparatus that dries a solution applied to the surface of a semiconductor wafer.

  The cylindrical roller body 211 constituting the guide roller 210 is formed at and near the boundary Bn between the guide mounting portion 210a on which the roller guide (guide member) 112 is mounted and the exposed portion 210b between the opposing roller guides. The fluid solution component generated by condensation of the vapor of the solution (not shown) applied to the surface of the semiconductor wafer W by the negative pressure inside the roller body 211 is penetrated by the through holes 211a and 211b. The holes 211a and 211b are configured to be sucked into the interior 211c of the roller body 211.

  That is, the roller guide 112 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical roller body 211, and the roller guide 112 and the roller body 211 are fixed by the adhesive 114. The cylindrical roller body 211, the roller guide 112, and the adhesive material 114 are made of a porous material, and the roller body 211 and the roller guide 112 are formed by firing ceramic, and the adhesive material 114 Is a ceramic bond.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the through holes 211 a and 211 b are long holes formed in the roller body 211. The through-hole 211a is an outer through-hole formed over the entire circumference of the roller body 111 in a portion of the roller body 211 that straddles both sides of the boundary Bn between the guide mounting portion 210a and the exposed portion 210b. The through hole 211b is an inner through hole formed over the entire circumference of the roller body 211 at a portion of the guide mounting part 210a of the roller body 211 adjacent to the boundary Bn between the guide mounting part 210a and the exposed part 210b. It is.

  Also in the second embodiment having such a configuration, similarly to the first embodiment, in the substrate transfer apparatus that transfers a semiconductor wafer by a plurality of rotating rollers, the cylindrical roller body 211 and the plurality of rotating rollers are moved. A guide roller 210 having a roller guide 112 attached to the roller main body 211 so as to guide the semiconductor wafer to be guided. The guide mounting portion 210a of the cylindrical roller main body 211 on which the roller guide 112 is mounted is opposed to the guide roller 210. Slot-shaped through holes 211a and 211b are formed in the vicinity of the boundary Bn with the exposed portion 210b between the roller guides, and the vapor of the solution applied to the surface of the semiconductor wafer condenses due to the negative pressure inside the roller body 211c. The fluid solution component produced by the suction is sucked into the inside 211c of the roller body 211 from the through holes 211a and 211b. Since the Murrell so, flowable solution components exuded from the adhesive 114 between the roller body 211 and the roller guide 112, so that the flow into the interior 211c of the roller body 211 via the outer through-hole 211a. In addition, the fluid solution component accumulated in the roller guide 112 and the adhesive 114 is sucked into the interior 211c of the roller body 211 through the inner through hole 211b. As a result, it is possible to prevent the solvent component exuded from the ceramic material constituting the adhesive material 114 that bonds the roller guide and the roller body from accumulating at the lower end of the side wall of the roller guide 21.

  In the first and second embodiments, a plurality of through-holes are formed at the boundary between the guide mounting portion on which the guide member is mounted and the exposed portion between the opposing guide members of the cylindrical roller body constituting the guide roller. However, instead of a plurality of such through holes, the roller body has a boundary portion between the guide mounting portion on which the guide member is mounted and the exposed portion between the opposing guide members. A coarse porous structure (mesh structure) in which the surface of the main body communicates with the inside may be used.

  As mentioned above, although this invention has been illustrated using preferable embodiment of this invention, this invention should not be limited and limited to this embodiment. It is understood that the scope of the present invention should be construed only by the claims. It is understood that those skilled in the art can implement an equivalent range based on the description of the present invention and the common general technical knowledge from the description of specific preferred embodiments of the present invention. Patents, patent applications, and documents cited herein should be incorporated by reference in their entirety, as if the contents themselves were specifically described herein. Understood.

  In the field of a substrate transfer device and a substrate drying device, the present invention relates to the fluidity of the solution vapor applied to the surface of the substrate to be agglomerated when the substrate to be processed is transferred by a rotating roller constituted by a porous member. As a solution component, it is possible to suppress accumulation at the lower end of the side surface of the cylindrical guide member attached to the roller main body, thereby suppressing a decrease in yield due to generation of defective products during the transfer of the substrate to be processed. And a substrate processing apparatus using such a substrate transfer apparatus can be realized.

10 Substrate processing equipment (substrate drying equipment)
10a Drying furnace 10a1 Inlet 10a2 Outlet 11-13 Heating device 100 Substrate conveying device 101 Conveying roller (rotating roller)
110, 210 Guide roller (rotating roller)
110a, 210a Guide mounting portion 110b, 210b Exposed portion 111, 211 Roller body 111a, 211a Outer through hole 111b, 211b Inner through hole 112, 211 Roller guide (guide member)
113a Cap member 113b Liquid reservoir chamber 113b1 Seal member 113b Branch pipe 114 Adhesive material 120a, 120b Roller support mechanism 121 Base 122 Bearing member 123 Gear 124 Warm gear 125 Rotating shaft 130a Suction pipe 130b Branch pipe 140 Suction pump 150 Roller drive source 160 Drain pipe 160a Drain valve 161 Branch pipe 162 Main pipe Bn Boundary Dt Transport direction Sc Substrate transport surface M Drive motor W Semiconductor wafer

Claims (15)

A substrate transport apparatus that includes a plurality of rotation rollers arranged to form a transport path for a substrate to be processed and rotatably supported, and transports the substrate to be processed along the transport path by the rotation of the rotation roller. There,
A predetermined rotation roller of the plurality of rotation rollers is
A cylindrical roller body;
A guide member that is mounted on the roller body so as to be positioned on both sides of the transport path, and that guides the target substrate so that the target substrate moving on the plurality of rotating rollers does not deviate from the transport path; A guide roller having
The cylindrical roller body is
A through hole formed in a boundary portion between the guide mounting portion on which the guide member is mounted and the exposed portion between the opposing guide members;
A fluid solution component generated by condensation of the vapor of the solution applied to the surface of the substrate to be processed by the negative pressure inside the roller body is sucked into the roller body from the through hole. A substrate transfer device. The guide member is a roller guide made of a cylindrical member,
The roller guide is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical roller body,
The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roller guide and the roller body are fixed by an adhesive.   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cylindrical roller body, the roller guide, and the adhesive are made of a porous material.   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the porous material is ceramic. The processing material applied to the surface of the substrate to be processed is a diffusion source that diffuses a dopant to the substrate to be processed.
The board | substrate conveyance apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4 containing the dopant source containing a phosphate, the solvent with respect to this dopant source, and the thickener.   The said through-hole is formed in the part adjacent to the boundary of the said guide mounting part and this exposed part of the exposed part of the said roller main body over the perimeter of this roller main body. Substrate transfer device.   The said through-hole is formed over the perimeter of the said roller main body in the part adjacent to the boundary of this guide mounting part and the said exposed part of the guide mounting part of the said roller main body. Substrate transfer device.   The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the through hole has a circular shape in a plane perpendicular to a central axis thereof.   The said through-hole is an elongate hole formed in the boundary part of the said roller main body between the said guide mounting part and the said exposed part so that this guide mounting part and this exposed part may be straddled. Substrate transfer device.   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a rotation roller other than the guide roller among the plurality of rotation rollers is a transfer roller made of a cylindrical member.   The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the transport roller and the guide roller are alternately arranged along the transport path. One end side of a cylindrical roller body constituting the guide roller is sealed,
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the other end side of the cylindrical roller body is connected to a suction pump. A roller support mechanism for rotatably supporting the plurality of rotating rollers;
A roller drive source for generating the rotational force of the rotating roller,
The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a rotational force generated by the roller driving source is applied to the plurality of rotating rollers via the roller support mechanism. A processing chamber for processing a substrate to be processed, and a substrate transfer device for transferring the substrate to be processed so that the substrate to be processed passes through the processing chamber, and processing the substrate to be processed in the processing chamber. A substrate processing apparatus,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 as the substrate transfer apparatus.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processing chamber is a drying chamber that performs a drying process by heating the substrate to be processed.

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