JP2015126203A - Substrate delivery device and substrate delivery method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique of removing particles adhered to a wafer W in a transfer container 1 with high efficiency at the time of delivery of the wafer W by a substrate transfer mechanism to the closed mold transfer container 1.SOLUTION: In a load port 11 for performing delivery of the wafer W stored in the closed mold transfer container 1, a vibrator including an ultrasonic vibrator 30 is provided in a kinematic pin 3 provided on a stage 2 which can freely advance/retreat, and a gas nozzle 56 is provided in the transfer container 1. The kinematic pin 3 is fitted with a recess 19 provided in a leg part 40 of the transfer container 1 to transmit vibration to the transfer container 1 and supply purge gas to the surface of the wafer W before processing or after processing in the transfer container 1. Therefore, vibration is applied to the wafer W and particles 100 adhered to the wafer W move on the wafer W. Consequently, the particles 100 are easily separated from the wafer W, and discharged with the purge gas by being captured by the gas flowing on the surface of the wafer W.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for cleaning a substrate in a transport container when the substrate is taken out from a sealed transport container having a lid or when the substrate is stored.

  In a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a closed transfer container, for example, a FOUP is placed on a load port, a lid of the FOUP is opened, and a substrate is taken out from the FOUP by a transfer arm. It is conveyed to the substrate processing unit. In recent years, a substrate processed by the substrate processing unit is transported into the FOUP, where particles are generated by reacting with moisture in the atmosphere, or FOUP transported by OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport), for example, for the next process. Since it may adversely affect processing, such as when particles react with the atmosphere during transport by OHT to generate particles, the purge gas is supplied into the FOUP at the load port and the moisture is discharged. .

  On the other hand, in the substrate processing apparatus, the generation of particles is suppressed by increasing the cleanliness inside the substrate processing apparatus. However, when particles are present inside the transfer container, the substrate processing apparatus passes through the substrate and the transfer arm. There is a risk of particles being brought into the interior. As the line width of semiconductor device patterns has become finer and the measurement sensitivity of particle inspection equipment has increased, tolerances for particle size and number per unit volume have become strict throughout semiconductor manufacturing equipment. As a result, even higher levels of cleanliness are required for the substrates in the transport container.

Patent Document 1 describes a technique for removing particles by supplying gas to the surface of a wafer housed in a transfer container. However, further improvements are required in order to efficiently remove even smaller particles. It has been.
Patent Document 2 describes a technique in which a substrate in a transport container is placed in a parallel posture by mainly applying vertical vibrations by a mover to the transport container. However, it does not solve the problem of the present invention.

Japanese Patent No. 4541232 JP 2008-311419 A

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances. The purpose of the present invention is to increase the particles adhering to the substrate in the transfer container when the substrate is transferred to the sealed transfer container by the substrate transfer mechanism. It is to provide a technology for efficient removal.

A substrate delivery apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate container that stores a plurality of substrates in a shelf shape, a conveyance container that includes a lid that opens and closes an opening on the front side of the container body, and a substrate conveyance mechanism. In the board transfer device for board transfer,
A placement section on which the transport container is placed;
A gas supply mechanism for supplying a purge gas into the transfer container mounted on the mounting unit;
An exhaust part for exhausting the purge gas supplied into the transfer container;
An attachment / detachment mechanism for attaching / detaching the lid to / from the container body;
A vibration generating unit for vibrating the transport container mounted on the mounting unit;
And a control unit that outputs a control signal so as to cause the vibration generating unit to generate vibration while supplying the purge gas into the transfer container.

The substrate delivery method of the present invention includes a step of placing a transport container including a container main body storing a plurality of substrates in a shelf shape and a lid body that opens and closes an opening on the front side of the container main body on the placement unit; ,
Then, removing the lid of the transport container;
Next, a step of taking out the substrate from the transport container by a substrate transport mechanism in order to transport the substrate to the substrate processing unit;
Supplying the purge gas into the transfer container and exhausting the purge gas supplied into the transfer container before taking out the substrate from the transfer container after placing the transfer container on the placement unit;
And a step of vibrating the transfer container placed on the placement portion by a vibration generating portion while supplying and exhausting the purge gas.

In the substrate delivery method of the present invention, a transport container including a container main body for storing a plurality of substrates in a shelf shape and a lid that opens and closes an opening on the front side of the container main body is placed on the placement unit. Process,
Then, removing the lid of the transport container;
Thereafter, a step of carrying the substrate processed in the substrate processing unit into the transfer container by the substrate transfer mechanism,
Supplying the purge gas into the transfer container and exhausting the purge gas supplied into the transfer container before the transfer of the substrate from the placement unit after loading the substrate into the transfer container; ,
And vibrating the transfer container placed on the placement unit with a vibration generation unit while supplying and exhausting the purge gas.

  The present invention relates to a sealed transfer container that stores a plurality of substrates and a substrate transfer device that transfers a substrate between the substrate transfer mechanism and a substrate stored in the transfer container placed on the mounting portion. Purge gas is allowed to flow on the surface and vibration is applied to the transfer container. By applying vibration to the transfer container, vibration is applied to the substrate, and particles adhering to the substrate are easily separated from the substrate and are easily captured by the purge gas. For this reason, the particles adhering to the substrate in the transport container can be efficiently removed.

It is a top view of the vacuum processing apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the load port which is embodiment of the board | substrate delivery apparatus of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the load port which is embodiment of the board | substrate delivery apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view which cuts and shows a part of conveyance container. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the bottom part of a conveyance container. It is a top view which shows the load port which is embodiment of the board | substrate delivery apparatus of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the load port which is embodiment of the board | substrate delivery apparatus of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the stage of a load port, and the bottom part of a conveyance container. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the effect | action of embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the flow of the gas on a wafer surface. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the effect | action of the other example of embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the flow of the gas in the wafer surface of the other example of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of the gas supply concerning the other example of embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows a part in cross section about other embodiment of the board | substrate delivery apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows a part in cross section about further another embodiment of the board | substrate delivery apparatus of this invention.

  An embodiment in which a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is used as a load port of a vacuum processing apparatus which is a multi-chamber system will be described. First, the overall configuration of the vacuum processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum processing apparatus 90 includes a horizontally long normal pressure transfer chamber 12 whose internal atmosphere is changed to a normal pressure atmosphere by, for example, nitrogen gas, and the front of the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 is, for example, FOUP. A plurality of load ports 11 for delivering a substrate to a certain transport container 1 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a wafer transfer port 4 for loading and unloading a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”) W is provided on the front wall of the atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12. An open / close door 17 that is opened and closed together with the lid 24 of the transfer container 1 is attached to the wafer transfer port 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a first transfer arm 20, which is a substrate transfer mechanism composed of an articulated arm for transferring the wafer W, is provided in the atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12. . As shown in FIG. 1, an alignment chamber 16 for adjusting the orientation and eccentricity of the wafer W is provided on the left side wall of the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 when viewed from the load port 11 side. Further, an exhaust port for exhausting the inside of the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 is provided on the bottom surface of the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 and is configured to be exhausted by an exhaust means such as an exhaust fan.

  As shown in FIG. 1, on the opposite side of the load port 11 in the normal pressure transfer chamber 12, the internal atmosphere is switched between the normal pressure atmosphere and the vacuum atmosphere while the wafer W is waiting, for example, two load locks. The chambers 13 are arranged so as to be lined up on the left and right sides, and each is partitioned by a door valve 18. The first transfer arm 20 plays a role of delivering the wafer W to the transfer container 1, the alignment chamber 16, and the load lock chamber 13. A vacuum transfer chamber 14 is arranged via a gate valve 23 on the back side of the load lock chamber 13 when viewed from the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 side.

  A load lock chamber 13 and a vacuum processing module 15 are connected to the vacuum transfer chamber 14 via a gate valve 23. A second transfer arm 21 is provided in the vacuum transfer chamber 14, and the wafer W is transferred between each load lock chamber 13 and each vacuum processing module 15 by the second transfer arm 21. The vacuum transfer chamber 14 is connected to a vacuum exhaust mechanism via an exhaust pipe provided on the bottom surface of the vacuum transfer chamber 14, for example, and is evacuated so as to be in a nitrogen gas atmosphere by a nitrogen gas supply mechanism. Examples of the process performed in the vacuum processing module 15 include vacuum processing such as film formation processing, annealing processing, etching processing, or cleaning processing.

  The overall processing of the wafer W in the vacuum processing apparatus will be described. For example, the wafer W before processing in the transfer container 1 carried into the load port 11 by OHT or the like is transferred from the atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12 to the alignment chamber 16. The film is transferred through the route of the load lock chamber 13, the vacuum transfer chamber 14, and the vacuum processing module 15, and a film forming process and an annealing process are performed. The processed wafer W that has been processed is transferred through the reverse path (but not through the alignment chamber 16) in the vacuum processing apparatus and returned to the predetermined transfer container 1.

  Next, the transport container 1 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transfer container 1 includes a container main body 10, a lid 24 for keeping the inside of the transfer container 1 airtight by closing the wafer W extraction port 25 on the front surface of the container main body 10, and And a leg portion 40 that supports the transport container 1. Support portions 26 that support the peripheral edge of the back surface of the wafer W are provided in multiple stages on the left and right sides inside the transfer container 1. For example, 25 wafers W are held in a shelf shape by the corresponding support portions 26 on the left and right sides. A slot 38 is formed. In FIG. 4, the number of slots 38 is reduced in order to avoid complicated description. On the upper part of the transport container 1, for example, a grip portion 28 for gripping a transport mechanism of the transport container 1 such as OHT is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, on the lower surface side of the leg portion 40, there are provided two recesses 19 for fitting to two kinematic pins 3 described later (two in the front side and one in the rear side). Two places before and after are shown).

  Engagement grooves 27 are respectively formed on the left and right upper and lower portions on the inner peripheral side of the opening edge of the outlet 25 (the lower engagement groove 27 is visible in FIG. 4). When the transfer container 1 is placed at the load position, the opening edge closely contacts the opening edge of the wafer transfer port 4, and the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 and the transfer region 1 are partitioned.

  The lid body 24 will be described. Inside the lid body 24, rotating parts (not shown) are provided on the left and right. A linear motion portion 29 extending in the vertical direction is provided above and below the rotation portion. The linear motion portion 29 moves a distance corresponding to the rotation amount of the rotation portion, and switches between a state in which the tip protrudes from the upper side and the lower side of the lid body 24 and a state in which the distal end is drawn into the lid body 24. The front end of the linear motion portion 29 engages with the engagement groove 27 of the transport container 1, whereby the lid body 24 is engaged with the container body 10 and is locked. The rotating part is provided with a key hole 31 into which a latch key 32 (described later) is inserted and engaged, and the rotating part is rotated by the rotation of the latch key 32 engaged in this way. The keyhole 31 is formed in the front surface of the lid 24 so that the latch key 32 can be inserted into the rotating portion in this way.

  At the left and right ends of the rear side and the left side of the front side of the bottom surface of the transport container 1, gas supply ports 7 that penetrate the bottom part and the leg part 40 of the container body 10 are provided as shown in FIG. A check valve 72 is provided at the gas supply port 7. The check valve 72 includes a valve body 70, and the valve body 70 has a restoring force by a spring 73 interposed between the valve body 70 and the ceiling surface of the flow chamber 75 corresponding to the valve box. The gas supply port 7 is closed by being pressed against the seat 74. When the pressure on the lower side of the valve body 70 increases, the valve body 70 moves away from the valve seat 74 against the restoring force of the spring 73 and opens the gas supply port 7. A filter 71 for removing particles in the gas is provided above the valve body 70.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, gas nozzles (snorkels) 56 extending upward are provided in the two gas supply ports 7 on the back side when viewed from the takeout port 25 side inside the transport container 1. Each gas nozzle 56 is provided with a discharge hole 57 so as to discharge purge gas toward the wafer W at a height position corresponding to the height of the surface of the wafer W held in each slot 38.
As shown in FIG. 5, an exhaust port 8 is provided at a right position on the front side of the bottom surface of the transport container 1. The exhaust port 8 includes a check valve 72 provided in the up-down direction with respect to the check valve 72 provided in the gas supply port 7, and the pressure inside the transport container 1 is the pressure outside the transport container 1. It will be opened when it gets higher. In addition, the code | symbol of the site | part relevant to the check valve 72 by the side of the exhaust port 8 uses the same code | symbol as the code | symbol of the site | part relevant to the check valve 72 by the side of the gas supply port 7. FIG.

  Next, the load port 11 will be described. For convenience, the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 side will be described as the front side, and the load port 11 side will be described as the rear side. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the load port 11 includes a stage (mounting table) 2 that is a mounting portion on which the transfer container 1 is mounted on a base body 41. The stage 2 is connected to a stage moving mechanism (not shown) having a driving unit such as a motor or an air cylinder, and the stage moving mechanism performs a forward operation and a backward operation along the rail 22 extending in the front-rear direction. be able to. Due to the advance / retreat operation of the stage 2, the transfer container 1 moves between the retracted position (unload position) and the advanced position (load position). FIG. 3 shows a state where the transport container 1 is placed at the unload position. The transport container 1 is transported to the unload position by OHT, for example. Then, the stage 2 moves forward, and the wafer W is transferred to the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 at the load position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the load port 11 includes an opening / closing door 17 for closing the wafer transfer port 4 and opening / closing the lid 24 of the transfer container 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the open / close door 17 has a door main body 33 (a portion indicated by hatching) that closes the wafer transfer port 4 from the inside of the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 and a lid holding member provided on the transfer container 1 side of the door main body 33. And a portion 39 (a portion shown in white).

  The lid holding part 39 is provided with a latch key 32 on the rear side (side facing the transport container 1), and the transport container 1 placed on the stage 2 moves forward and backward by the stage 2. The latch key 32 is inserted into and extracted from the key hole 31 of the body 24. When the wafer transfer port 4 is opened, the lid holding unit 39 is moved by the door opening / closing mechanism 34 to the separated position advanced from the position of the door main body 33 indicated by the solid line in FIG. Then, the lid holding unit 39 is lowered by the door opening / closing mechanism 34 from the separated position to the open position indicated by the chain line in FIG. 3 to open the wafer transfer port 4.

  The stage 2 and the peripheral parts of the stage 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 7, the guide rail 22 is omitted in order to avoid the complexity of illustration. On the surface of the stage 2, a kinematic pin 3 that is a protrusion for positioning the transport container 1 is provided at a position corresponding to the concave portion 19 of the transport container 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the kinematic pin 3 includes a frustoconical protrusion 35 having a hollow inside, and a cylindrical screw part 37 provided below the protrusion 35. The screw part 37 is screwed and fixed.

  Of the three kinematic pins 3, for example, the kinematic pin 3 installed on the rear side of the stage 2 is provided with a vibrator, for example, an ultrasonic vibrator 30. In this example, the ultrasonic transducer 30 is provided in the inner space of the protruding portion 35 in contact with the top surface. A power supply unit 90 is connected to the ultrasonic transducer 30, and the power supply unit 90 is controlled to supply power to the ultrasonic transducer 30 by a signal from the control unit 9, and vibration of the ultrasonic transducer 30 is turned on / off. To control. The ultrasonic vibrator 30 is installed so as to vibrate in the front-rear direction, that is, in the direction along the surface of the wafer W, for example, by supplying power. Here, the kinematic pin 3 provided with the ultrasonic transducer 30 corresponds to a vibration generating unit for applying vibration to the transport container 1.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the stage 2 is provided with a through hole 36 at a position corresponding to the gas supply port 7 and the exhaust port 8 provided in the transfer container 1. The base body 41 is provided with a gas supply connector portion 5 at a position corresponding to the gas supply port 7 of the transport container 1 when the stage 2 is positioned at the load position. As shown in FIG. 7, the connector part 5 for gas supply is comprised by the bottomed cylindrical body which the upper part opened, for example. One end 51a of a flexible gas supply pipe 51 that extends in the horizontal direction is opened at a lower portion of the side surface of the connector portion 5 for gas supply. A gas supply source 52 is connected to the other end side of the gas supply pipe 51 so that a dry purge gas such as nitrogen gas (N ₂ gas) can be supplied. In addition, V1-V3 in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 is a valve | bulb.

  The gas supply connector section 5 is configured to be lifted and lowered by an air cylinder 55 that is a lifting mechanism via an arm 53. A ring-shaped seal member 58 is provided on the periphery of the upper surface of the connector portion 5 for supplying gas. In the substrate transfer apparatus according to the embodiment, the gas nozzle 56 of the transfer container 1 corresponds to a gas supply unit, and includes a gas nozzle 56, a gas supply port 7, a gas supply connector unit 5, a gas supply pipe 51, valves V1 to V3, and The gas supply source 52 corresponds to a gas supply mechanism.

  The base body 41 is provided with the exhaust connector 6 at a position corresponding to the right through hole 36 on the front side of the stage 2 placed at the load position. The exhaust connector 6 has the same configuration as that of the gas supply connector section 5 except that one end 61a of the exhaust pipe 61 is connected to the gas supply connector section 5 instead of the gas supply pipe 51.

  Further, the substrate transfer apparatus is provided with a control unit 9 made of, for example, a computer as shown in FIGS. The control unit 9 includes a program storage unit. The program storage unit includes connection of the gas supply connector 5 and exhaust connector 6, control of gas supply, opening and closing of the lid 24, or kinematics. A program for controlling the vibration of the pin 3 is stored. This program is stored in, for example, a compact disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, etc., and installed in the control unit 9.

  Next, the operation of the substrate transfer apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. For example, a transfer container containing 25 wafers W is placed on the stage 2 set at the unload position by OHT. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the recesses 19 provided on the lower surface of the transport container 1 are respectively fitted with the three kinematic pins 3 provided on the stage 2. In FIG. 8, for the sake of convenience, a gap is interposed between the recess 19 and the kinematic pin 3. As a result, the transport container 1 is positioned and the transport container 1 is supported at three points by the kinematic pins 3. Then, the stage 2 moves forward as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, and the transfer container 1 moves toward the load position.

  At this time, the latch key 32 is inserted into the key hole 31, the latch key 32 rotates, the engagement between the lid body 24 and the transport container 1 is released, and the lid body 24 is integrated with the door body 33. Thereafter, the door main body 33 moves forward to move to a separation position away from the wafer transfer port 4, and further descends to move to the open position, thereby opening the wafer transfer port 4.

  Next, supply of purge gas into the transfer container 1 and exhaust from the transfer container 1 will be described. First, an example of supplying purge gas before opening the lid 24 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the two gas supply connector portions 5 provided on the rear side of the base body 41 rise, pass through the through holes 36, and the gas supply ports provided on the transfer container 1 side, respectively. 7 and hermetically sealed by a seal member 58. Further, the exhaust connector 6 is raised and connected to the exhaust port 8 provided on the transport container 1 side, and hermetically sealed by the seal member 58.

  When the valves V1 and V2 are opened, purge gas is supplied from the gas supply source 52 to the gas supply pipe 51 and the gas supply connector 5, and the check valves 72 of the two gas supply ports 7 of the transfer container 1 are opened. A purge gas is discharged from 56 toward the wafer W. Further, since the atmospheric pressure in the transport container 1 is increased by supplying the purge gas, the check valve 72 at the exhaust port 8 is opened, and the purge gas is exhausted from the exhaust port 8 through the exhaust connector 6 and the exhaust pipe 61. The purge gas discharged from the two gas nozzles 56 is discharged toward the wafer W as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and after colliding with each other, the direction is changed to flow toward the front side of the transfer container 1, and then the exhaust port 8 is exhausted. In this example, the exhaust port 8, the exhaust connector 6, and the exhaust pipe 61 are exhaust portions.

  Then, when a voltage is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 30 and oscillated with purge gas flowing on the surface of the wafer W, it propagates to the transfer container 1 through the substrate of the ultrasonic transducer 30 and is inserted into each slot 38. Propagated to the wafer W. The movement of the particles 100 attached to the surface of the wafer W when vibration is applied to the wafer W will be described with reference to FIGS. The groove width of the groove portion of the pattern formed on the wafer W is, for example, 20 nm, and the size (diameter) of the particle 100 that moves away by vibration is, for example, 35 nm. Therefore, for example, the particles 100 on the wafer W are attracted to the surface of the wafer W by electrostatic attraction, etc., and fit into the recesses 101 such as grooves and holes forming a pattern formed on the wafer W as shown in FIG. May be included. As described above, since the ultrasonic transducer 30 vibrates in the lateral direction (the direction along the surface of the wafer W), the particles 100 try to roll on the surface of the wafer W by inertial force as shown in FIG. To do.

By moving the particle 100, the particle 100 attracted to the wafer W by electrostatic attraction is separated from the electrostatic attraction, and the particle 100 fitted in the recess 101 comes out of the recess 101. When the particles 100 are attracted to the wafer W by electrostatic attraction or are fitted in the recesses 101, the particles 100 are not easily separated from the wafer W even if a purge gas flow is formed on the surface of the wafer W. Hard to be trapped by purge gas. When the wafer W is vibrated, resistance due to electrostatic attraction and catching can be weakened, so that the particles 100 are easily captured by the purge gas flowing on the surface of the wafer W as shown in FIG.
Accordingly, by applying vibration to the transfer container 1, vibration is applied to the wafer W, and the particles 100 attached to the wafer W are easily separated from the wafer W and are easily captured by the purge gas. For this reason, the particles 100 adhering to the wafer W in the transfer container 1 can be efficiently removed.

  Further, the purge gas may be supplied after the lid 24 of the transport container 1 is opened. First, the lid 24 is separated from the transfer container 1 and the wafer W take-out port 25 is opened. Next, similarly to the above-described embodiment, discharge of purge gas is started from the two gas nozzles 56 provided on the rear side. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the purge gas is discharged toward the wafer W, collides with each other, and then changes direction and moves forward as in the above-described embodiment. At this time, since the lid 24 is opened, the purge gas flows into the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 from the take-out port 25 of the transfer container 1 and is discharged from an exhaust port (not shown) provided at the bottom of the normal pressure transfer chamber 12. The Also in this example, since the purge gas can flow on the surface of the wafer W, the same effect can be obtained by applying vibration to the transfer container 1. In the case of this example, the take-out port 25 for the wafer W and the exhaust port in the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 correspond to the exhaust unit.

  The wafer W after the removal of the particles 100 is transferred from the transfer container 1 to the first transfer arm 20 as described above. Thereafter, processing is performed in the vacuum processing module 15, and the processed wafer W is stored in each slot 38 by the first transfer arm 20. Thereafter, when the open / close door 17 is closed, the take-out port 25 for the wafer W is closed by the lid 24, the latch key 32 is rotated, and the lid 24 is engaged with the transfer container 1.

  At this time, the processing gas used in the vacuum processing module 15 reacts with the atmosphere in the transfer container 1 to generate particles. Therefore, after the processed wafer W is returned to the transfer container 1, the lid 24 The purge gas may be supplied into the transfer container 1 before the wafer outlet port 25 is closed or after the wafer outlet port 25 is closed. When the purge gas is supplied before closing the wafer W take-out port 25, exhaust is performed from the wafer W take-out port 25 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. In the case of supply, exhaust may be performed from the exhaust port 8 as shown in FIGS.

  In the above-described embodiment, purge gas is applied to the surface of the wafer W before or after processing in the transfer container 1 in the load port 11 that transfers the substrate to the wafer W stored in the sealed transfer container 1. Vibration is applied to the transport container 1 while flowing. For this reason, vibration is applied to the wafer W, and the particles 100 attached to the wafer W move on the wafer W. As a result, the particles 100 are easily separated from the wafer W, captured by the gas flowing on the surface of the wafer W, and discharged together with the purge gas. Therefore, the particles 100 adhering to the wafer W can be efficiently removed.

Further, when vibration is applied to the wafer W, only the kinematic pins 3 on the rear side are vibrated to apply vibration to the transfer container 1. Since only a limited portion of the load port 11 is vibrated, vibration propagating to the substrate processing unit side is suppressed. Therefore, on the substrate processing unit side, the shift of the wafer W due to vibration and the generation of particles can be suppressed.
The kinematic pin 3 is for fitting and positioning in the concave portion 19 of the leg portion 40 of the transport container 1. By providing the kinematic pin 3 with the vibration generating section, the vibration generating section is moved to the transport container. There is also an advantage that it is not necessary to separately provide a structure and a mechanism for making contact with 1.

  Alternatively, the wafer W may be vibrated only when the wafer W is taken out from the transfer container 1, and the wafer W may not be vibrated when the processed wafer W is returned into the transfer container 1. Alternatively, the wafer W may be vibrated when returning the processed wafer W into the transfer container 1, and the wafer W may not be vibrated when the wafer W is taken out of the transfer container 1.

  Further, as a method of supplying the purge gas into the transfer container, nitrogen gas is supplied into the transfer container 1 from the normal pressure transfer chamber 12 side, for example, from a gas nozzle provided in a region facing the wafer transfer port 4 of the normal pressure transfer chamber 12. You may make it do. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, a gas nozzle 96 connected to a gas supply pipe and having discharge holes 97 arranged in the length direction in the atmospheric pressure transfer chamber 12 does not interfere with the transfer path of the wafer W. Provided at the left and right positions of the transport port 4. Then, gas is discharged horizontally from the gas nozzle 96 toward the inside of the transfer container 1.

When the gas is discharged from the front side of the wafer W toward the back side of the wafer W on the front side of the transfer container 1, the nitrogen gas moves to the back side of the transfer container 1 as shown in FIG. It flows so as to wrap around to the mouth 25 side and is exhausted from the take-out port 25.
The vibration frequency of the vibration generating unit is preferably 100 Hz or more because the inertial force applied to the particles becomes small regardless of whether the frequency is too low or too high. As for the vibration component of the vibration wave propagating to the transfer container 1, the vibration component along the surface of the wafer W is preferably larger than the vibration component orthogonal to the surface of the wafer W.
In the first embodiment, the ultrasonic vibrator 30 is provided on one kinematic pin 3 of the three kinematic pins 3, but the ultrasonic vibrator is provided on two or three kinematic pins 3. 30 may be provided.

The method for applying vibration to the transport container 1 is not limited to providing the ultrasonic vibrator 30 on the kinematic pin 3, and for example, a spring 81 is provided on the surface of the base 41 as shown in FIG. A vibrating body 80 including an ultrasonic vibrator may be provided, and the leg 40 may be in a state of pressing the vibrating body 80 when the transport container 1 is placed on the stage 2.
Further, as shown in FIG. 18, for example, an arm 83 that rotates around a horizontal rotation axis is provided at the rear portion of the stage 2, and a vibrating body 82 is attached to the arm 83, and the transfer container 1 is placed on the stage 2. Sometimes, the arm 83 may be erected so that the vibration unit 82 presses the rear surface of the transport container 1. Furthermore, two vibrating bodies that can be brought into and out of contact with both side surfaces of the transfer container 1 may be provided on the base of the load port 11 or the stage 2 via support members so as to press both side surfaces of the transport container 1. Good. Alternatively, a vibrating body that can be brought into contact with and separated from the upper surface of the transport container 1 may be provided on the base 41 or the stage 2 via a support member.
Further, a plurality of types of the installation structure of the vibrator described above may be combined. For example, a kinematic pin 3 may be provided with a vibrating body including the ultrasonic transducer 30 and a combined structure may be employed in which a vibrating body that contacts the side surface of the transport container 1 is used.

Further, the load port 11 is not limited to the type described in the above embodiment. As another example of the load port 11, a rotary table and an opening / closing mechanism for the lid 24 are provided therein, one surface is formed as a carry-in port for the transport container 1, and the other surface is a partition wall that is partitioned from the outside. The structure which uses the attachment / detachment chamber connected to the opening part with an opening / closing door, and attaches / detaches the cover body 24 in this attachment / detachment chamber is mentioned. In this case, after the transfer container 1 is carried into the detachable chamber, the door of the carry-in entrance is closed, the lid 24 is removed, and then the transfer container is arranged so that the take-out port for the wafer W faces the opening by the rotary table. 1 rotates.
The present invention can be applied not only to an apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing gas, but also to an apparatus for inspecting a substrate, for example, a load port of a wafer prober.

In the load port 11 for taking out a substrate before processing from the transfer container 1 and returning the processed substrate to the transfer container, at least one of the present invention before and after taking out the substrate as described above. However, the substrate may be vibrated, but is not limited to being applied to such a load port 11. For example, a substrate process in which a first port for taking out a substrate before processing from the transfer container 1 and a second port for transferring the processed substrate to another transfer container 1 are arranged separately. A method of constructing an apparatus and vibrating the substrate in the transfer container in at least one of the first port and the second port may be used.
For example, when the present invention is applied to the second port, the step of removing the lid 24 after placing the transport container 1 on the placement unit and the step of carrying the processed substrate into the transport container 1 And the step of vibrating the transport container 1 while supplying and exhausting the purge gas as described above before the transport container 1 is unloaded from the mounting portion.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer container 2 Stage 3 Kinematic pin 4 Wafer transfer port 5 Gas supply connector 6 Exhaust connector 7 Gas supply port 8 Exhaust port 11 Load port 12 Normal pressure transfer chamber 17 Opening / closing door 20 First transfer arm 24 Cover 25 Extraction port 34 Door opening / closing mechanism 51 Gas supply pipe 52 Gas supply mechanism 56 Gas nozzle (snorkel)
61 Exhaust pipe 62 Exhaust pump

Claims (12)

Substrate for transferring a substrate between a transport container having a container body for storing a plurality of substrates in a shelf shape, a lid body for opening and closing an opening on the front side of the container body, and a substrate transport mechanism In the delivery device,
A placement section on which the transport container is placed;
A gas supply mechanism for supplying a purge gas into the transfer container mounted on the mounting unit;
An exhaust part for exhausting the purge gas supplied into the transfer container;
An attachment / detachment mechanism for attaching / detaching the lid to / from the container body;
A vibration generating unit for vibrating the transport container mounted on the mounting unit;
And a controller that outputs a control signal so as to cause the vibration generator to generate vibration while supplying purge gas into the transfer container.   2. The vibration generating unit generates a vibration in which an amplitude of a vibration component along a surface of a substrate in the transport container is larger than an amplitude of a vibration component orthogonal to the surface of the substrate. The board | substrate delivery apparatus of description.   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration generating unit is provided in the mounting unit. The placement section includes a positioning projection for positioning the transport container,
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration generating unit is provided on the positioning projection.   5. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a frequency of vibration generated by the vibration generating unit is 100 Hz or more. 6.   The substrate delivery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a gas supply unit that discharges a purge gas is provided inside the transfer container. Placing a transport container having a container main body storing a plurality of substrates in a shelf shape and a lid for opening and closing an opening on the front side of the container main body on the placement unit;
Then, removing the lid of the transport container;
Next, a step of taking out the substrate from the transport container by a substrate transport mechanism in order to transport the substrate to the substrate processing unit;
Supplying the purge gas into the transfer container and exhausting the purge gas supplied into the transfer container before taking out the substrate from the transfer container after placing the transfer container on the placement unit;
And a step of vibrating the transfer container placed on the placing portion by a vibration generating portion while supplying and exhausting the purge gas. Placing a transport container having a container body for storing a plurality of substrates in a shelf shape and a lid body for opening and closing an opening on the front side of the container body on the placement unit;
Then, removing the lid of the transport container;
Thereafter, a step of carrying the substrate processed in the substrate processing unit into the transfer container by the substrate transfer mechanism,
Supplying the purge gas into the transfer container and exhausting the purge gas supplied into the transfer container before the transfer of the substrate from the placement unit after loading the substrate into the transfer container; ,
And a step of vibrating the transfer container placed on the placing portion by a vibration generating portion while supplying and exhausting the purge gas.   9. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein the vibration generating unit is a vibration in which an amplitude of a vibration component along a surface of the substrate in the transfer container is larger than an amplitude of a vibration component orthogonal to the surface of the substrate. Delivery method.   The substrate delivery method according to claim 7, wherein the vibration generating unit is provided in the mounting unit. The placement unit includes a positioning projection for positioning the transport container,
The substrate transfer method according to claim 7, wherein the vibration generating unit is provided on the positioning projection.   The substrate delivery method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein a frequency of vibration generated by the vibration generating unit is 100 Hz or more.

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