JP2015207602A - Drainage mechanism and substrate processing apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drainage mechanism which is used in a transfer robot which transfers wafers and collects a liquid dropped from the wafers without scattering the liquid.SOLUTION: A drainage mechanism is used for a transfer robot which transfers substrates in a vertical direction and includes: a waterproof pan 301 which is provided below the transfer robot 300 and moves with the transfer robot 300 in a vertical direction; a gutter 303 which is erected located close to the transfer robot 300 and has a cutout formed along the vertical direction; and a drain pipe 302 having one end connected with a drain port of the waterproof pan 301 and the other end inserted into the gutter 303 through the cutout.

Description

  The present invention relates to a drainage mechanism used in a substrate processing apparatus for polishing a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a technique for draining a liquid dropped from a wafer transported by a transport robot.

  A substrate processing apparatus for polishing a wafer has a cleaning unit for cleaning the wafer after polishing. The wafer cleaned by the cleaning unit is transferred to a drying chamber by a transfer robot (Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-50436 A

  Liquids such as cleaning liquid and water droplets on the wafer after cleaning sometimes dropped during transportation. However, in conventional substrate processing equipment, a waterproof pan was provided on the bottom of the device, and the dropped liquid was collected by the waterproof pan. .

  In the conventional configuration, in order to drop the liquid from the height of the transfer robot, the liquid is scattered in the waterproof pan on the bottom of the apparatus.

  In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide a drainage mechanism capable of collecting liquid that has fallen from a wafer so that it does not scatter.

  The drainage mechanism of the present invention is a drainage mechanism used in a transport robot that transports a substrate in a vertical direction, and is provided under the transport robot and moves in a vertical direction together with the transport robot, and the transport robot And a ridge having a notch along the vertical direction, one end connected to the drain of the waterproof pan, and the other end inserted into the jar through the notch. With a drain pipe.

  Since the trough has a notch extending in the vertical direction, the drain pipe can be moved in the vertical direction while keeping the outlet end of the drain pipe inside the trough, and the transfer robot moves in the vertical direction. Even the drainage from the waterproof pan can lead to the dredge. As a result, the liquid falling from the substrate transported by the transport robot can be drained without being scattered.

  The drainage mechanism of the present invention may be arranged such that the other end of the drainage pipe is in contact with the inner wall surface of the basket. With this configuration, since the liquid that has come out from the other end of the drain pipe, that is, the end portion on the outlet side of the drain pipe, travels along the wall surface of the bowl, the liquid can be prevented from jumping out from the notch of the bowl.

  The drainage mechanism of the present invention may include a waterproof pan provided under the jar. As a result, the liquid that has fallen along the bag can be collected in the waterproof pan.

  The substrate processing apparatus of this invention is equipped with said drainage mechanism. The substrate processing apparatus may include a plurality of substrate processing units along the moving direction of the transfer robot.

  The present invention has an effect that the liquid falling from the substrate transported by the transport robot can be drained without being scattered.

It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the substrate processing apparatus with which the transfer robot of embodiment is applied. (A) is a top view which shows a washing | cleaning part, (b) is a side view which shows a washing | cleaning part. It is a figure which shows the structure of the drainage mechanism provided in the conveyance robot. It is the figure which expanded and showed a part of drainage mechanism. It is sectional drawing of a drainage mechanism, and the figure seen from the top.

Hereinafter, a drainage mechanism of a transfer robot according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus to which a transfer robot according to an embodiment is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus includes a substantially rectangular housing 1, and the interior of the housing 1 is divided into a load / unload unit 2, a polishing unit 3 and a cleaning unit 4 by partition walls 1a and 1b. It is partitioned. The load / unload unit 2, the polishing unit 3, and the cleaning unit 4 are assembled independently and exhausted independently. The substrate processing apparatus has a control unit 5 that controls the substrate processing operation.

  The load / unload unit 2 includes two or more (four in this embodiment) front load units 20 on which wafer cassettes for stocking a large number of wafers (substrates) are placed. These front load portions 20 are arranged adjacent to the housing 1 and are arranged along the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) of the substrate processing apparatus. The front load unit 20 can be equipped with an open cassette, a SMIF (Standard Manufacturing Interface) pod, or a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod). Here, SMIF and FOUP are sealed containers that can maintain an environment independent of the external space by accommodating a wafer cassette inside and covering with a partition wall.

  In addition, a traveling mechanism 21 is laid along the front load unit 20 in the load / unload unit 2, and two transfer robots that can move along the arrangement direction of the wafer cassettes on the traveling mechanism 21. A (loader) 22 is installed. The transfer robot 22 can access the wafer cassette mounted on the front load unit 20 by moving on the traveling mechanism 21. Each transfer robot 22 has two hands on the upper and lower sides. The upper hand is used to return the processed wafer to the wafer cassette, and the lower hand is used to take out the wafer before processing from the wafer cassette. Then, you can use the upper and lower hands properly. Furthermore, the lower hand of the transfer robot 22 is configured to be able to reverse the wafer by rotating around its axis.

  The polishing unit 3 is a region where the wafer is polished (flattened), and includes a first polishing unit 3A, a second polishing unit 3B, a third polishing unit 3C, and a fourth polishing unit 3D. The first polishing unit 3A, the second polishing unit 3B, the third polishing unit 3C, and the fourth polishing unit 3D are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing apparatus as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, each of the polishing units 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> D has a polishing table to which a polishing pad 10 having a polishing surface is attached, and presses the wafer against the rotating polishing pad 10. The wafer is polished.

  A first linear transporter 6 is disposed adjacent to the first polishing unit 3A and the second polishing unit 3B. The first linear transporter 6 has four transfer positions along the direction in which the polishing units 3A and 3B are arranged (first transfer position TP1, second transfer position TP2, and third transfer in order from the load / unload unit side). This is a mechanism for transferring the wafer between the position TP3 and the fourth transfer position TP4. A lifter 11 for receiving a wafer from the transfer robot 22 is disposed at the first transfer position TP1. The wafer is transferred from the transfer robot 22 to the first linear transporter 6 through the lifter 11. A shutter (not shown) is provided between the lifter 11 and the transfer robot 22 in the partition wall 1a. When the wafer is transferred, the shutter is opened so that the wafer is transferred from the transfer robot 22 to the lifter 11. It has become.

  Further, the second linear transporter 7 is disposed adjacent to the third polishing unit 3C and the fourth polishing unit 3D. The second linear transporter 7 has three transfer positions (a fifth transfer position TP5, a sixth transfer position TP6, and a seventh transfer in order from the load / unload unit side) along the direction in which the polishing units 3C and 3D are arranged. This is a mechanism for transporting the wafer between the positions TP7.

  A swing transporter 12 is arranged between the first linear transporter 6, the second linear transporter 7, and the cleaning unit 4. The swing transporter 12 has a hand that can move between the fourth transfer position TP4 and the fifth transfer position TP5, and transfers the wafer from the first linear transporter 6 to the second linear transporter 7. Is performed by the swing transporter 12. The wafer is transferred to the third polishing unit 3C and / or the fourth polishing unit 3D by the second linear transporter 7. The wafer polished by the polishing unit 3 is transferred to the cleaning unit 4 via the swing transporter 12.

  FIG. 2A is a plan view showing the cleaning unit 4, and FIG. 2B is a side view showing the cleaning unit 4. As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the cleaning unit 4 includes a first cleaning chamber 190, a first transfer chamber 191, a second cleaning chamber 192, a second transfer chamber 193, and a drying unit. It is partitioned into a chamber 194. In the first cleaning chamber 190, an upper primary cleaning module 201A and a lower primary cleaning module 201B arranged in the vertical direction are arranged. The upper primary cleaning module 201A is disposed above the lower primary cleaning module 201B. Similarly, in the second cleaning chamber 192, an upper secondary cleaning module 202A and a lower secondary cleaning module 202B arranged in the vertical direction are arranged. The upper secondary cleaning module 202A is disposed above the lower secondary cleaning module 202B. The primary and secondary cleaning modules 201A, 201B, 202A, and 202B are cleaning machines that clean a wafer using a cleaning liquid. Since these primary and secondary cleaning modules 201A, 201B, 202A, 202B are arranged along the vertical direction, there is an advantage that the footprint area is small.

  A temporary wafer placement table 203 is provided between the upper secondary cleaning module 202A and the lower secondary cleaning module 202B. In the drying chamber 194, an upper drying module 205A and a lower drying module 205B arranged in the vertical direction are arranged. The upper drying module 205A and the lower drying module 205B are isolated from each other. A filter fan unit 207 for supplying clean air into the drying modules 205A and 205B is provided above the upper drying module 205A and the lower drying module 205B. The upper primary cleaning module 201A, the lower primary cleaning module 201B, the upper secondary cleaning module 202A, the lower secondary cleaning module 202B, the temporary placing table 203, the upper drying module 205A, and the lower drying module 205B are arranged on a frame (not shown). It is fixed via bolts.

  A first transfer robot 209 that can move up and down is arranged in the first transfer chamber 191, and a second transfer robot 210 that can move up and down is arranged in the second transfer chamber 193. The first transfer robot 209 and the second transfer robot 210 are movably supported by support shafts 211 and 212 extending in the vertical direction. The first transfer robot 209 and the second transfer robot 210 have a drive mechanism such as a motor inside thereof, and are movable up and down along the support shafts 211 and 212. The first transfer robot 209 has two upper and lower hands. As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 2A, the first transfer robot 209 is disposed at a position where the lower hand can access the temporary table 180 described above. When the lower hand of the first transfer robot 209 accesses the temporary table 180, a shutter (not shown) provided on the partition wall 1b is opened.

  The first transfer robot 209 transfers the wafer W between the temporary placing table 180, the upper primary cleaning module 201A, the lower primary cleaning module 201B, the temporary placing table 203, the upper secondary cleaning module 202A, and the lower secondary cleaning module 202B. Operates to carry. The first transfer robot 209 uses the lower hand when transferring the wafer before cleaning (the wafer to which the slurry is attached), and uses the upper hand when transferring the cleaned wafer. The second transfer robot 210 operates to transfer the wafer W between the upper secondary cleaning module 202A, the lower secondary cleaning module 202B, the temporary placement table 203, the upper drying module 205A, and the lower drying module 205B. Since the second transfer robot 210 transfers only the cleaned wafer, it has only one hand. The transfer robot 22 shown in FIG. 1 takes out the wafer from the upper drying module 205A or the lower drying module 205B using the upper hand, and returns the wafer to the wafer cassette. When the upper hand of the transfer robot 22 accesses the drying modules 205A and 205B, a shutter (not shown) provided on the partition wall 1a is opened.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a drainage mechanism provided in the first transfer robot 209 and the second transfer robot 210, and FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the drainage mechanism. . In FIG. 3, the first transfer robot 209 and the second transfer robot 210 are collectively referred to as “transfer robot 300”. A waterproof pan 301 is provided below the transfer robot 300. The waterproof pan 301 is integrated with the transfer robot 300 and moves up and down together with the transfer robot 300. A discharge pipe 302 for discharging water that has entered the waterproof pan 301 is attached to the waterproof pan 301. By this discharge pipe 302, the liquid discharged from the waterproof pan 301 is guided to a tub 303 that stands in the vicinity of the transfer robot 300.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the drainage mechanism and a view from above. The lower figure of FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the drainage mechanism, and the upper figure is a view of the trough 303 and the drainage pipe 302 as seen from above. As shown in FIG. 5, a notch 303 a is formed in the collar 303 along the vertical direction. In other words, the collar 303 has a U-shaped cross-sectional shape. An end 302a on the outlet side of the discharge pipe 302 is inserted into the flange 303 through the notch 303a. Since the notch 303a extends in the vertical direction, when the transfer robot 300 moves in the vertical direction, the discharge pipe 302 can move in the vertical direction with its outlet kept inside the basket 303. . The discharge pipe 302 is disposed so that the end portion 302 a on the outlet side of the discharge pipe 302 is in contact with the inner wall surface of the flange 303. As a result, the liquid discharged from the discharge pipe 302 travels along the inner wall surface of the tub 303 and falls in the tub 303.

  The drainage mechanism of the embodiment and the substrate processing apparatus provided with the drainage mechanism have been described above. The drainage mechanism of the embodiment keeps the state where the end portion 302a on the outlet side of the discharge pipe 302 enters the inside of the basket 303 even when the transfer robot 300 moves in the vertical direction. The liquid can flow through the bag 303 to the waterproof pan 304 without splashing.

  In a substrate processing apparatus such as this embodiment for polishing a semiconductor wafer, the space inside the apparatus in which the transfer robot is used is limited, and it is difficult to use a flexible pipe as a drain pipe from a waterproof pan. The configuration of this embodiment is extremely useful.

  The embodiment described above is described for the purpose of enabling the person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs to implement the present invention. Various modifications of the above embodiment can be naturally made by those skilled in the art, and the technical idea of the present invention can be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be the widest scope according to the technical idea defined by the claims.

  In the embodiment described above, the drainage mechanism provided with the trough 303 having a U-shaped cross-sectional shape has been described as an example. However, the trough used in the drainage mechanism of the present invention has an end 302a on the outlet side of the drainage pipe 302. Can be moved in the vertical direction in a state of being placed in the inside of the bag. For example, a bag having a C-shaped cross section can be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the end 302a on the outlet side of the drainage pipe 302 is in contact with the inner wall surface of the rod 303 has been described. However, the end 302a on the outlet side does not contact the inner wall surface of the rod 303. It can also be configured.

  Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the example applied to the substrate processing apparatus that polishes the semiconductor wafer has been described. However, the drainage mechanism of the present invention is not limited to the polishing apparatus, and transports the semiconductor wafer in the vertical direction. It can be applied to a substrate processing apparatus including a robot.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has an effect that liquid falling from a wafer transported by a transport robot can be drained without being scattered, and is useful for a substrate processing apparatus such as a substrate polishing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 1a, 1b Partition 2 Load / unload part 3 Polishing part 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D Polishing unit 4 Cleaning part 5 Control part 6 1st linear transporter 7 2nd linear transporter 10 Polishing pad 11 Lifter 12 Swing transporter 20 Front load unit 21 Traveling mechanism 22 Transfer robot 180 Temporary table 190 First cleaning chamber 191 First transfer chamber 192 Second cleaning chamber 193 Second transfer chamber 194 Drying chamber 201A Upper primary cleaning module 201B Lower primary cleaning Module 202A Upper secondary cleaning module 202B Lower secondary cleaning module 205A Upper drying module 205B Lower drying module 207 Filter fan unit 300 Transfer robot 301 Waterproof pan 302 Discharge pipe 303 樋 304 Waterproof pan

Claims (5)

A drainage mechanism used in a transfer robot that transfers a substrate in a vertical direction,
A waterproof pan provided under the transfer robot and moving in the vertical direction together with the transfer robot;
A scissor that is erected in the vicinity of the transfer robot and has a notch along the vertical direction;
One end is connected to the drainage port of the waterproof pan, and the other end is a drainage pipe inserted into the bag through the notch,
Conveying robot drainage mechanism with   The drainage mechanism of the transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the drainage pipe is disposed so as to contact an inner wall surface of the basket.   The drainage mechanism of the transfer robot according to claim 1, further comprising a waterproof pan provided under the basket.   A substrate processing apparatus comprising the drainage mechanism according to claim 1.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, comprising a plurality of substrate processing units along a moving direction of the transfer robot.