JP2016134525A - Transfer device and transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transfer device and a transfer method capable of recognizing the position of a plate-like member accurately.SOLUTION: A transfer device 10 for a wafer WF (plate-like member) includes conveyance means 20 for taking out the wafer WF from a cassette CT (housing means) by take-out operation for moving straight in the surface direction of the wafer WF, and detection means 30 capable of detecting the position of the wafer WF, in a complete take-out section until the wafer WF is taken out completely from the cassette CT by the take-out operation of the conveyance means 20. In the complete take-out section, the conveyance means 20 rotates the wafer WF, in the plane thereof, by a predetermined angle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a transfer device and a transfer method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “wafer”) is taken out from a cassette, and the transferred wafer is placed at a specified position at a transfer destination (for example, a patent). Reference 1).
The transfer method described in Patent Document 1 detects the position of a circumferential portion (regular part) that is the outer edge of the wafer that passes through the wafer removal operation from the cassette, and the center of the wafer based on the detected position. The difference between the position and the specified position of the transfer destination is calculated, and the position of the wafer is adjusted so as to eliminate the difference.

JP 2003-254738 A

  However, in the conventional method described in Patent Document 1, irregular portions such as an orientation flat (hereinafter simply referred to as “orientation flat”) and a V notch (hereinafter simply referred to as “notch”) are formed on the wafer. If the irregular portion is detected, the position of the plate member is erroneously recognized.

  The objective of this invention is providing the transfer apparatus and the transfer method which can recognize the position of a plate-shaped member correctly.

  In order to achieve the above object, the transfer device of the present invention is a plate-like member transfer device, and stores the plate-like member by a take-out operation that moves in a straight line direction along the surface direction of the plate-like member. Conveying means to be taken out from the means, and detection means capable of detecting the position of the plate-like member in the complete removal section until the plate-like member is completely taken out from the storage means by the taking-out operation of the conveying means, The said conveyance means has employ | adopted the structure of rotating the said plate-shaped member by the predetermined angle within the surface of the said plate-shaped member in the said complete extraction area.

  Further, in the transfer apparatus of the present invention, the detecting means detects a position of the plate-like member in the conveying direction before the conveying means rotates the plate-like member by a predetermined angle, and the conveying means detects the plate. It is preferable to detect the position of the plate-shaped member on the rear side in the conveying direction after rotating the plate-shaped member by a predetermined angle.

  On the other hand, the transfer method of the present invention is a transfer method of a plate-like member, and a step of taking out the plate-like member from the storage means by an extraction operation that moves in a straight line direction along the surface direction of the plate-like member. Detecting the position of the plate-like member in the complete extraction section until the plate-shaped member is completely removed from the storage means by the extraction operation; and in the plane of the plate-like member in the complete extraction section And a step of rotating the plate-like member by a predetermined angle.

According to the present invention as described above, the position of the plate-like member is detected by rotating the plate-like member by a predetermined angle in the complete take-out section, so that the plate-like member is provided during the take-out operation of the plate-like member. The position of the plate-like member can be detected by arranging the irregular portion at a position where it is not detected, and the position of the plate-like member can be accurately recognized.
Moreover, positioning accuracy can be improved by verifying the position of the plate-shaped member detected on the front side in the conveyance direction and the position of the plate-shaped member detected on the rear side in the conveyance direction.

The top view which shows the transfer apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the transfer apparatus of FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are orthogonal to each other, the X axis and the Y axis are axes within a predetermined plane, and the Z axis is an axis orthogonal to the predetermined plane. And Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when viewed from the D1 direction parallel to the Y axis, the direction is indicated by “up” being the arrow direction of the Z axis and in the near direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. “Down” is the opposite direction, “Left” is the arrow direction of the X axis, “Right” is the opposite direction, “Front” is the arrow direction of the Y axis, and “Back” is the opposite direction.

  1 and 2, the transfer apparatus 10 takes out the wafer WF from the cassette CT as the storage means by the take-out operation that moves in the forward direction as a linear direction along the surface direction of the wafer WF as the plate-like member. An optical sensor capable of detecting the position of the wafer WF in the complete extraction section EA (see FIG. 2C) until the wafer WF is completely extracted from the cassette CT by the transfer operation of the transfer means 20 and the transfer means 20. The wafer WF is taken out from the cassette CT mounted on the mounting table 40 provided at a predetermined position with respect to the transfer device 10. Thus, the transfer is performed such that the center position WC of the wafer WF coincides with the center position TC of the work table 50 arranged at a predetermined position. The cassette CT includes an opening CT1 and a plurality of ribs CT2 that support the left and right sides of the wafer WF from below and can stack the wafers WF in the vertical direction.

Here, the complete extraction section EA is a minimum operation range necessary for extracting the wafer WF from the cassette CT. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2C, the complete take-out section EA is from the opening CT1 of the cassette CT to the end opposite to the opening CT1 in the wafer WF housed in the cassette CT. , The maximum distance interval EW in the surface direction of the wafer WF (the diameter of the circumferential portion of the wafer WF), and any of the wafers WF taken out from the cassette CT that do not include backward components such as up, down, left, and right. Even if the wafer WF is moved in the direction, a distance interval obtained by adding a safety distance EM in which the wafer WF does not contact the cassette CT is set. The safety distance EM is preferably within 30% of the maximum distance in the surface direction of the wafer WF in consideration of the play of the wafer WF in the cassette CT, and more preferably within 20% of the maximum distance of the wafer WF. There is no particular limitation.
In the case of the present embodiment, the wafer WF is provided with a circumferential portion as a regular portion having a predetermined diameter, and an orientation flat OF as an irregular portion is provided on a part of the circumferential portion, and the orientation flat OF is disposed on the rear side. It is stored in the cassette CT so as to be arranged in

  The transfer means 20 is supported by an articulated robot 21 as a driving device and a tip (working arm) of the articulated robot 21 and sucks and holds the wafer WF by suction means (not shown) such as a decompression pump and a vacuum ejector. And a holding arm 22 provided with a possible suction port 22A. The articulated robot 21 is a so-called six-axis robot that can displace the holding arm 22 at any position and at any angle during the work.

  A pair of detection means 30 is provided on the front side of the mounting table 40 and at a position that does not interfere with the wafer WF taken out from the cassette CT with a predetermined interval in the left-right direction.

  The work table 50 includes a support table 51 and a lifter 52 that moves up and down with respect to the upper surface of the support table 51 by a driving device (not shown).

A procedure for transferring the wafer WF using the above transfer apparatus 10 will be described.
First, after the cassette CT containing the wafer WF is placed on the placement table 40, the diameter dimension of the circumference of the wafer WF is input via an input means (not shown) such as an operation panel or a personal computer. Input the operation start signal. Then, the transfer means 20 drives the articulated robot 21, and as shown by the two-dot chain line on the left side in FIG. 1, the holding arm 22 is inserted into the cassette CT, and the wafer WF is supported from below by the holding arm 22. The wafer WF is moved away from the rib CT2. Next, the conveying unit 20 drives a suction unit (not shown), and the holding arm 22 sucks and holds the wafer WF.

  Thereafter, the transfer means 20 drives the articulated robot 21 to move the wafer WF only in the forward direction at a predetermined speed in the complete extraction section EA and perform an extraction operation for taking out the wafer WF from the cassette CT. When the front side in the transport direction of the wafer WF passes over the detection unit 30, the detection unit 30 detects the circumferential positions P1 and P2 of the wafer WF, as shown in FIG. The transfer means 20 stores the position of the center position WC (WC1) of the wafer WF obtained based on these positions P1 and P2. Thereafter, the transfer means 20 drives the articulated robot 21, and as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the wafer WF is centered on a predetermined position (in this embodiment, the holding center position HC of the holding arm 22) with a predetermined angle θ1. It is rotated (90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction in this embodiment). Next, when the rear side in the transport direction of the wafer WF passes over the detection unit 30, as shown in FIG. 2C, the detection unit 30 detects the positions P3 and P4 of the circumferential portion of the wafer WF, The transfer means 20 stores the position of the center position WC (WC2) of the wafer WF obtained based on these positions P3 and P4.

  Here, since the wafer WF is stored in the cassette CT so that the orientation flat OF is disposed on the rear side, when the transfer means 20 does not rotate the wafer WF by a predetermined angle θ1, the detection means 30 detects the orientation flat OF. , And the center position of the wafer WF, which is obtained based on the two point positions of the circumferential portion on the rear side in the conveyance direction of the wafer WF, may be shifted. In such a case, the detection means 30 may be arranged at a position where the orientation flat OF is not detected. However, since the wafer WF is stored in the cassette CT with sufficient margin (because there is play), the orientation flat OF position is There is a case that the detection means 30 may detect the position of the orientation flat OF.

  Thereafter, the center positions WC1 and WC2 of the wafer WF stored by the transfer means 20 are verified, and when the positions are confirmed to match, the position is determined as the position of the center position WC of the wafer WF. Then, the transfer means 20 drives the articulated robot 21 to displace the wafer WF from the end of the complete extraction section EA, and the wafer stored in the transfer means 20 as indicated by the two-dot chain line on the right side in FIG. The center position WC of the WF is placed at the center of the lifter 52 that is lifted up so as to coincide with the center position TC of the work table 50. Next, after the transfer means 20 stops driving the suction means (not shown), the articulated robot 21 is driven, and the holding arm 22 is extracted from below the wafer WF to prepare for the transfer of the next wafer WF in the cassette CT. Next, the work table 50 drives a driving device (not shown), lowers the lifter 52 and supports the wafer WF on the upper surface of the support table 51 together with the upper surface of the lifter 52, and a processing device (not shown) supports the wafer WF on the work table 50. After performing a predetermined process, it is transported from the work table 50 to another process by a transport device (not shown), and thereafter the same operation as described above is repeated.

  If the center positions WC1 and WC2 of the wafer WF are different from each other as a result of the verification by the transfer unit 20 (in the case of verification NG), the transfer unit 20 is articulated after the state shown in FIG. The robot 21 is driven, and the wafer WF is rotated, for example, 10 degrees counterclockwise about the holding center position HC of the holding arm 22. Next, the transfer means 20 drives the articulated robot 21 to perform a return operation for moving the wafer WF only in the backward direction at a predetermined speed and returning it in the cassette CT direction within the complete extraction section EA. When the front side of the wafer WF in the transport direction passes over the detection unit 30, the detection unit 30 is located at two positions (P5, P6 (not shown) on the circumference of the wafer WF different from the positions P1 to P4. )) Is detected, and the transfer means 20 stores the position of the center position WC (WC3 (not shown)) of the wafer WF obtained based on these positions (P5, P6). Thereafter, the transfer means 20 drives the articulated robot 21 to rotate the wafer WF about 90 degrees clockwise, for example, around the holding center position HC of the holding arm 22. Next, when the rear side of the wafer WF in the transport direction passes over the detection means 30, the detection means 30 is located at two positions (P7, P8 (not shown) on the circumference of the wafer WF different from the positions P1 to P6. )) Is detected, and the transfer means 20 stores the position of the center position WC (WC4 (not shown)) of the wafer WF obtained based on these positions (P7, P8). Then, the center positions WC1 to WC4 of the wafer WF stored by the transfer means 20 are verified, and the position with the largest number is determined as the center position WC of the wafer WF. Then, the transfer means 20 drives the articulated robot 21 and places the center position WC of the wafer WF in alignment with the center position TC of the work table 50 in the same manner as described above. The transfer means 20 does not have to perform an operation for obtaining the center position WC4 (not shown) of the wafer WF, and after the return operation, the wafer WF is further rotated by a predetermined angle, and then an extraction operation is performed to perform the positions P1 to P1. The position of the center position WC of the wafer WF may be determined by detecting two positions of the circumference of the wafer WF different from P8, and how many times the operation for obtaining the center position WC of the wafer WF is performed. But you can.

  According to the present embodiment as described above, since the position of the wafer WF is detected by rotating the wafer WF by the predetermined angle θ1 in the complete extraction section EA, the orientation flat provided on the wafer WF during the extraction operation of the wafer WF is detected. The position of the wafer WF can be detected by arranging the OF at a position where it is not detected, and the position of the wafer WF can be accurately recognized.

  As described above, the best configuration, method and the like for carrying out the present invention have been disclosed in the above description, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the invention has been illustrated and described with particular reference to certain specific embodiments, but without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, Various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art in terms of material, quantity, and other detailed configurations. In addition, the description of the shape, material, and the like disclosed above is exemplary for ease of understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. The description by the name of the member which remove | excluded the limitation of some or all of such restrictions is included in this invention.

For example, when the transfer unit 20 performs the extraction operation in the complete extraction section EA, before performing the return operation in the verification NG, or when performing the return operation, the angle at which the wafer WF is rotated is 120 degrees or 100 degrees. The angle of the embodiment is not limited to 30 degrees, 5 degrees, 1 degree, etc., and the direction in which the wafer WF is rotated may be rotated in the opposite direction to the above embodiment.
The holding arm 22 may be configured to hold the wafer WF by magnetic adhesion, adhesion, electrostatic chuck, or the like, or may be configured to hold the wafer WF at a position where detection by the detection unit 30 is not hindered.
The shape of the holding arm 22 is not limited to the shape of the embodiment such as I type, Y type, and round type.
When the transfer means 20 rotates the wafer WF in the complete extraction section EA, the transfer operation of the wafer WF may be temporarily stopped or may not be temporarily stopped.
When the wafer WF is rotated in the complete extraction section EA, the transfer means 20 may rotate the wafer WF around the center position WC of the wafer WF detected on the front side in the transfer direction, or any other position. It is not limited to the rotation center of the embodiment.
The transfer means 20 may take out the wafer WF from the bottom to the top with respect to the cassette CT, or may take out the wafer WF from a random position of the cassette CT.
The transfer means 20 may determine either one as the position of the center position WC of the wafer WF without verifying the center positions WC1 and WC2 of the wafer WF.
If the result of verification of the center position of the wafer WF is NG as a result of verification, the transfer means 20 may stop the transfer of the wafer WF or notify the operator by sound or light notification means.

The detection unit 30 may detect only the front side of the wafer WF in the transfer direction, or may detect only the rear side of the wafer WF in the transfer direction. The wafer WF may be positioned by detecting the distance up to.
The detection means 30 can employ a light emitting / receiving sensor, a reflection sensor, a contact sensor such as a limit switch, a sound wave sensor, an electromagnetic wave sensor, or the like, and is not limited in any way.

  The work table includes a linear motor as a driving device and a support table supported by a slider of the linear motor, and the plate-like member placed on the support table is transported to a predetermined position by the linear motor. Good.

The irregular portion is not limited in any way, such as a notch, other notches, or cracks.
Irregular part detecting means such as an optical sensor and an imaging means capable of detecting irregular parts such as orientation flat OF and notches formed on the wafer WF are provided, and the irregular part detected by the irregular part detecting means is detected by means 30. In other words, the transfer unit 20 may drive the articulated robot 21 to rotate the wafer WF about a predetermined position by a predetermined angle θ1.
The safety distance EM may be 20% or more or 20% or less of the maximum distance in the surface direction of the wafer WF.
The storage means may be configured such that the plate-like member is stored vertically so that the front and back surfaces thereof are along the Z axis, or may be stored inclined with respect to the Z axis.
The storage means may store only one wafer WF or may store a plurality of wafers.
The storage means may be other containers such as cardboard boxes and wooden boxes, and is not limited at all.
The transfer apparatus 10 may position and place the wafer WF taken out from the cassette CT at a position other than the work table 50, or the cassette CT may not be placed on the placement table 40.

The plate-like member is not limited in material, type, shape, etc., for example, food, resin container, semiconductor wafer such as silicon semiconductor wafer or compound semiconductor wafer, circuit board, information recording substrate such as optical disk, glass plate Further, members and articles in any form such as steel plates, earthenware, wood plates, or resin plates can be targeted.
The means and steps in the present invention are not limited in any way as long as they can perform the operations, functions, or steps described with respect to those means and steps. The process is not limited at all. For example, the conveying means takes out the plate-like member from the storage means by a take-out operation that moves in a straight line direction along the surface direction of the plate-like member, and in the complete take-off section, the plate-like member within the plane of the plate-like member. As long as the angle is rotated by a predetermined angle, there is no limitation as long as it is within the technical scope in light of the common general technical knowledge at the time of filing (the description of other means and steps is omitted).

  The drive device in the embodiment includes an electric device such as a rotation motor, a linear motion motor, a linear motor, a single axis robot, an articulated robot, an actuator such as an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, a rodless cylinder, and a rotary cylinder. In addition to the above, it is possible to adopt a combination of them directly or indirectly (some of them overlap with those exemplified in the embodiment).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Transfer apparatus 20 Conveyance means 30 Detection means CT cassette (storage means)
EA Complete extraction section P1, P2 Front position in transport direction P3, P4 Back position in transport direction WF Wafer (plate-shaped member)

Claims (3)

A plate-shaped member transfer device,
Conveying means for taking out the plate-like member from the storage means by a take-out operation that moves in a straight line direction along the surface direction of the plate-like member;
A detection means capable of detecting the position of the plate-like member in a complete take-out section until the plate-like member is completely taken out from the storage means by the take-out operation of the conveying means;
The transfer device is characterized in that, in the complete take-out section, the transfer means rotates the plate member within a plane of the plate member by a predetermined angle.   The detecting means detects the position of the plate-shaped member in the conveying direction before the conveying means rotates the plate-shaped member by a predetermined angle, and the conveying means rotates the plate-shaped member by a predetermined angle. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein a position of the plate-shaped member on the rear side in the conveyance direction is detected. A method for transferring a plate-shaped member,
A step of taking out the plate-like member from the storage means by a take-out operation that moves in a straight line direction along the surface direction of the plate-like member;
Detecting the position of the plate-like member in the complete take-out section until the plate-like member is completely taken out of the storage means by the take-out operation;
And a step of rotating the plate-like member by a predetermined angle within the plane of the plate-like member in the complete take-out section.

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