JP2021158246A - Device for detecting positional deviation amount of work-piece, aligner device, and method for correcting positional deviation of work-piece - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an aligner device configured to detect a positional deviation amount of a plurality of work-pieces.SOLUTION: An aligner device comprises: a robot hand 1 which can mount a plate-like work-piece, and has a plurality of hand bodies arranged in a vertical direction; a work-piece lift mechanism 5 which is conveyed by the robot hand, lifts separately the plate-like work-piece mounted on each hand body, and can fall down it from a lifting state; a plurality of sensors 31, 32, and 33 which has an upper directed sensor face, can detect an outer shape of the plate-like work-piece which is approached to or is contacted to the sensor face by the work-piece lift mechanism 5, and is arranged with a predetermined interval to the vertical direction; and positional deviation amount calculation means 6 of calculating a positional deviation amount from a reference position of each plate-like work-piece from each plate-like work-piece acquired by each sensor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a work misalignment detection device, an aligner device, and a work misalignment correction method. Specifically, the present invention detects a misalignment amount with respect to a reference position of a plate-shaped work such as a semiconductor wafer, and detects the misalignment amount. The present invention relates to a technique for correcting the position of a plate-shaped workpiece based on the above.

In the semiconductor process, for example, a wafer carried into a load lock chamber is carried into a processing chamber by a transfer robot. Depending on the content to be processed in the processing chamber, it is necessary to accurately carry the wafer to the reference position in the processing chamber. Therefore, conventionally, in the stage before the work is carried into the processing chamber, for example, Patent Document 1 The aligner device shown in is intervening. This aligner device is configured to be able to detect the amount of misalignment in the plane direction (XY direction) and the rotation direction (θ direction) of the wafer, and by using this misalignment amount information, the wafer is conveyed. The robot can transport the wafer to the reference position in the processing chamber while correcting the misalignment in the XY and θ directions.

On the other hand, in order to shorten the transfer tact time in the semiconductor process, for example, a transfer robot equipped with a multi-stage hand as shown in Patent Document 2 has been proposed. According to a transfer robot equipped with such a multi-stage hand, a plurality of wafers can be transferred by one transfer operation, so that a load lock chamber, a processing chamber, or the like can hold a plurality of wafers stacked at predetermined intervals. By configuring it so that it can be performed, the transport tact time can be shortened at once.

However, when the content of processing in the processing chamber requires that the wafers be accurately arranged at the reference position, the conventional alignment device as shown in Patent Document 1 has an amount of misalignment of each wafer. It is virtually impossible to shorten the transfer tact time using a transfer robot equipped with a multi-stage hand because it can only detect.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-195328 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-13509

The present invention has been conceived under the above circumstances, and provides a work misalignment detection device configured to be capable of detecting the misalignment amount of a plurality of workpieces. This is the main issue.

In order to solve the above problems, the following technical means are adopted in the present invention.

That is, the aligner device provided by the first aspect of the present invention can each place and hold a plate-shaped work, and is conveyed by a robot hand having a plurality of hand bodies arranged in the vertical direction and the robot hand. It has a work lift mechanism that can lift each plate-shaped work mounted on each hand body and lift it from the lifted state, and an upward sensor surface. It is possible to detect the outer shape of the plate-shaped work that is in close proximity or in contact with each other, and a plurality of sensors arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction and the outer shape of each plate-shaped work acquired by each of the sensors. It is characterized by comprising a position deviation amount calculating means for calculating the position deviation amount from the reference position of each plate-shaped work from the shape.

In a preferred embodiment, when the plate-shaped workpieces are separately lifted by the work lift mechanism and transferred onto the hands, the displacement amount is calculated based on the displacement amount calculation means. A control means for controlling the robot hand is further included so that each plate-shaped work is placed at a reference position on each hand body.

In a preferred embodiment, the plate-shaped work is a semiconductor wafer.

The misalignment correction method for the plate-shaped work provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a robot hand having a plurality of hand bodies arranged in the vertical direction, each of which can place and hold the plate-shaped work, and the robot hand. It has a work lift mechanism that allows the plate-shaped workpieces that are conveyed and placed on each hand body to be lifted separately and lifted from the lifted state, and an upward sensor surface. The sensor surface is provided by the work lift mechanism. It is possible to detect the outer shape of the plate-shaped work that is close to or in contact with the sensor, and a plurality of sensors arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and each of the plate-shaped works acquired by each of the sensors. The position deviation amount calculating means for calculating the deviation amount of each plate-shaped work from the reference position from the external shape and the work lift mechanism lift each plate-shaped work separately and transfer it onto each hand body. A control means for controlling the robot hand is provided so that each of the plate-shaped workpieces is placed on a reference position on each of the hands based on the amount of misalignment calculated by the misalignment calculation means. A plate for correcting the misalignment of a plate-shaped work using an aligner device, in which the robot hand is moved so that the plate-shaped work placed on each of the hand bodies is located at the correction reference position above each of the sensors. The plate-shaped work loading step, the plate-shaped work lifting step of lifting the plate-shaped work from each of the hand bodies by the work lift mechanism, the hand body retracting step of retracting each of the hand bodies, and the plate-shaped work by the work lift mechanism. The outer shape acquisition step of holding down and bringing it close to or in contact with the sensor surface of each of the above sensors to acquire the outer shape of each of the plate-shaped workpieces by each of the above sensors, and from the acquired outer shape, each of the plate-shaped workpieces. In the position deviation amount calculation step for calculating the position deviation amount in the XY directions from the reference position of the above, each plate-shaped work is lifted by the work lift mechanism, and a gap is provided between each plate-shaped work and each sensor. A gap forming step for forming a gap, a hand body re-moving step for moving each hand body to the correction reference position in each gap, and a work lift mechanism for sequentially lifting each plate-shaped work separately and holding each hand body separately. When transferring to the top, the robot hand is placed in the XY directions so that each of the plate-shaped workpieces is placed on the reference position on each of the hands based on the amount of misalignment calculated by the misalignment calculation means. Control to It is characterized by including a position correction step.

In a preferred embodiment, the position correction step is performed by controlling the first robot hand used for the plate-shaped work loading step.

In a preferred embodiment, the position correction step is different from the first robot hand, in which a second robot hand, each of which can mount and hold the plate-shaped workpiece and has a plurality of hand bodies arranged in the vertical direction, is provided. It is done by controlling.

In a preferred embodiment, the plate-shaped work is a semiconductor wafer.

According to the aligner device according to the present invention, the outer shape of the plate-shaped work is acquired by a sensor having a flat sensor surface, and the amount of misalignment from the reference position of the plate-shaped work is obtained from the image of the outer shape thus obtained. Can be calculated. Therefore, the physical structure for detecting the amount of displacement of the plate-shaped work can be made thin.

Therefore, the position deviation correction method for the aligner device and the plate-shaped workpiece according to the present invention is to collectively detect and correct the displacement amount for a plurality of plate-shaped workpieces conveyed by the multi-stage robot hand. For example, the transport tact time of the semiconductor wafer including the position shift correction in the semiconductor process can be shortened at once.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the drawings.

It is a plane schematic diagram of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a side schematic diagram of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the aligner device which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, and is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is an operation explanatory drawing of the aligner device which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 1, (b) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow X direction of FIG. Is. It is a plane schematic diagram of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a side schematic diagram of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is. It is explanatory drawing of the operating state of the aligner device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the explanatory view seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. Is.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 15 show the aligner device B1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The aligner device B1 includes a work misalignment detection device A1, and the work misalignment detection device A1 operates in cooperation with the robot hand 1 and is arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. Positions for calculating the amount of displacement of the work Wa, Wb, Wc ... With respect to the reference position based on the work outer edge shape information from the sensors 31, 32, 33 ..., the work lift mechanism 5, and each sensor 31, 32, 33 ... A deviation amount calculation means 6 is provided.

The robot hand 1 has a structure in which, for example, a plurality of hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction are provided on a support 12 installed on an end arm (not shown) of an articulated robot. The hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Can hold the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... As the work on the upper surface. The hand bodies 131, 132, 133, and the like may also be capable of changing the distance between the vertically adjacent hand bodies, or may not be changed. The robot hand 1 has a function of being able to move in a plane direction (XY directions) while keeping at least each hand body 131, 132, 133 ... In a horizontal posture under the control of a manipulator (not shown). The planar shape of the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Is a bifurcated fork shape as shown in FIG. 1, but may be another shape such as a three-pronged fork shape. ..

Sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Have a function of capturing the outer shape of a flat object located close to the sensor 31, 32, 33 ... as an image by contact or non-contact. Each of the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Is attached to the upper surface of the stage plate 41 extending in the horizontal direction from the frame body 4 with the sensor surfaces 311, 321, 331 ... facing upward. Examples of such sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Are those using a technique for electrostatically recognizing the existence of an object, such as those used in a touch panel, or an image sensor such as a CCD. There are a plurality of planes arranged in a plane, and the like. In the present invention, as will be described later, since it is sufficient that the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Can recognize the outer shape of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ..., the X- of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... It suffices to have a planar shape sufficient to recognize the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer within the range of the possibility of misalignment in the Y direction, but in the present embodiment, the lift pin 51 of the work lift mechanism 5 described later, In order to project 52 and 53 from below, the shape is a donut having central opening holes 312, 322, 332, and the like, and correspondingly, a through hole 411 is also formed in the stage plate 41. The shape of the outer edge of the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Is not limited to a circle. For example, it may be a quadrangle. Further, the shape of the central opening holes 312, 322, 332 ... Is not limited to a circular shape. As long as the lift pins 51, 52, and 53 can be projected from below, for example, a quadrangle may be used. Further, the number of lift pins is not limited to 3, and may be 4, for example.

The work lift mechanism 5 lifts the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Which are held by the robot hand 1 and have entered the frame body 4 by a certain height from the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ..., Or the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb. , Wc ... Has a function of bringing the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Close to or in contact with the upper surface of each sensor 31, 32, 33 ... In the present embodiment, three lift pins 51, 52, 53 that penetrate the central opening holes 312, 322, 332 ... of each sensor 31, 32, 33 ... And the through holes 411 of each stage plate 41 and project upward. ... is provided. A plurality of sets of lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Are provided corresponding to a plurality of sensors 31, 32, 33 ..., And each set is an actuator such as an air cylinder arranged outside the frame 4 (not shown). It is independently operated in the vertical direction by a predetermined distance.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Usually have a circular plate shape, and a notch Wa1 for detecting a rotational posture in the circumferential direction is formed on the outer periphery thereof. Alternatively, a notch (not shown) called an orientation flat is formed. In the semiconductor process, such semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Are carried into the processing chamber and subjected to a predetermined process, but depending on the content of the process, the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... It is necessary to accurately position it at the reference position in the Y direction and the θ direction. In such a case, the present invention can correct the misalignment before the multi-stage robot hand 1 collectively carries a plurality of semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Into the processing chamber. It makes it possible.

The misalignment amount calculating means 6 is based on the outer shape of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... acquired as images by the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... From the reference position of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... The amount of misalignment in the XY and θ directions is calculated. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the semiconductor wafer at the center of the image of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ..., For example, the center O1 of the outer peripheral circle in the images Wa', Wb', Wc'... of the semiconductor wafer. The amount of deviation in the X and Y directions from the reference position C1 where the center of Wa, Wb, Wc ... Should be located is calculated as δxa, δxb, δxc ..., δya, δya, δya ... The deviation amounts δθa, δθb, δθc ... Of the notch Wa1 in Wc'... in the θ direction from the reference position N1 where the notch Wa1 of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Should be located are calculated.

The work misalignment detection device A1 having the above configuration constitutes the aligner device B1 in cooperation with the robot hand 1 and the work lift mechanism 5 which are driven and controlled by the control device 7, and the aligner device B1 is, for example, the following. It works in this way.

As shown in FIG. 4, each set of lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Is in a predetermined downward movement position with respect to the stage plate 41, and semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... The robot hand 1 on which the wafer is placed and held moves, for example, in the X direction, and the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Enter the correction reference position in the frame body 4, and the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... It is positioned above each of the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... At this time, the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Are collectively conveyed from the multi-stage cassette (not shown) or the load lock chamber (not shown), and the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... The above semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Are in a state of being displaced from the reference position C1 to which they should be located in the XY directions and the θ directions.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, after each set of lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Is raised to lift each semiconductor wafer Wa, Wb, Wc ... From each hand body 131, 132, 133 ..., FIG. 6 As shown in the above, the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Are temporarily retracted to the outside of the frame body 4.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, each set of lift pins lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Is lowered to bring each semiconductor wafer Wa, Wb, Wc ... Close to the corresponding sensors 31, 32, 33 ... In this state, each of the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Acquires the outer shapes of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... As image data as described above. As described above, the misalignment amount calculating means 6 that has received this image data has, for each of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ..., the misalignment amount δxa, δxb, δxc ... The misalignment amounts δya, δyb, δyc ... In the Y direction and the misalignment amounts δθa, δθb, δθc ... In the θ direction are calculated.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9, each set of lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Is raised to open a gap between each semiconductor wafer Wa, Wb, Wc ... And each sensor 31, 32, 33 ... As shown in FIG. 10, the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Are brought into the lower portions of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... To the correction reference position. After that, for example, in order from the lowest semiconductor wafer Wa, the semiconductors are corrected for the displacement amounts δxa, δxb, δxc ... In the X direction and the displacement amounts δya, δyb, δyc ... In the Y direction as follows. The wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Are delivered to the corresponding hand bodies 131, 132.133 ....

As shown in FIG. 11, in order for the lowest hand body 131 to correct the misalignment amounts δxa and δya of the lowest semiconductor wafer Wa, the lowest hand body 131 moves by δxa and δya from the correction reference position. As shown in FIG. 12, the robot hand 1 is moved and controlled, and in this state, the set of the lowest lift pin 51 is moved downward, and the semiconductor wafer Wa lifted by the lift pin 51 is moved to the lowest hand. Hand over to body 131. In this state, the semiconductor wafer Wa mounted on the lowest hand body 131 is located at the reference position C1 with respect to the lowest hand body 131.

As shown in FIG. 13, each hand body 131, 132, 133 ... Is returned to the correction reference position once, and then, as shown in FIG. 14, the second hand body 132 from the bottom is the second semiconductor wafer from the bottom. In order to correct the misalignment amounts δxb and δyb of Wb, the robot hand 1 is moved and controlled so that the second hand body 132 from the lowest position moves by δxb and δyb from the correction reference position. As shown in FIG. 15, the set of the second lift pin 52 from the bottom is moved downward, and the semiconductor wafer Wb lifted by the lift pin 52 is delivered to the second hand body 132 from the bottom. In this state, the semiconductor wafer Wb mounted on the second hand body 132 from the bottom is located at the reference position C1 with respect to the second hand body 132 from the bottom.

Hereinafter, in the same manner, the misalignment of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... On the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... In the XY directions is corrected. In the series of steps up to this point, each of the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Can perform the above operation without retracting from the frame body 4.

After that, the robot hand 1 is retracted from the frame body 4 in a state where the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Are placed and held at the reference positions C1 in the XY directions of the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... The semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Of the above can be conveyed to a predetermined next step.

In the present embodiment, the positional deviation of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... In the θ direction cannot be corrected, but the displacement amounts δθa, δθb, δθc ... In the θ direction are calculated, and if necessary. In a separate step, the displacement of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... In the θ direction can be corrected.

The correction of the positional deviation in the θ direction is performed in another device as needed. Therefore, the misalignment amount calculating means 6 or the control device 7 has a function of outputting the calculated misalignment amount to the outside. As another device, for example, a turntable is provided, and the position shift in the θ direction can be corrected by the rotation of the turntable. If the processing chamber has a function of correcting the positional deviation in the θ direction, the processing chamber can correct the positional deviation in the θ direction. Of course, not only the misalignment in the θ direction but also the amount of misalignment in the XY directions may be output to the outside. In FIG. 3, the amount of misalignment is shown to be output from the control device 7 to the outside.

16 to 28 show an aligner device B2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a work misalignment amount detecting device A2 included therein. In the work misalignment amount detection device prevention device A2 according to the present embodiment, the first robot hand 1 for loading the work and the second robot hand 2 for carrying out the work whose misalignment has been corrected cooperate with each other. The semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... As the work are configured to function as the aligner device B2 for correcting the positional deviation with respect to the reference position. In these figures, members or parts similar to or equivalent to those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

The first robot hand 1 and the second robot hand 2 basically have the same configuration as the robot hand 1 described above for the first embodiment. That is, for example, a plurality of hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ..., 231, 232, 233 ... Arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction are provided on the supports 11, 22 installed on the end arms (not shown) of the articulated robot. A function that has a structure and can move at least in the plane direction (XY directions) while keeping at least each hand body 131, 132, 133 ..., 231,232, 233 ... in a horizontal posture by controlling a manipulator (not shown). Has. The hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ..., 231,232, 233 ... Have a bifurcated fork-like planar shape, and the distance between the vertically adjacent hand bodies may or may not be changed. It may not be possible.

The configurations of the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Have the same configurations as described above for the first embodiment, and the outer shape of a flat object located above the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Is used as an image by contact or non-contact. A sensor having a function of being able to capture is adopted, and a plurality of sensors 31, 32, 33 ... It is attached. Also in this embodiment, in order to project the lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Of the work lift mechanism 5 from below, the donut shape has a central opening hole, and along with this, a through hole 411 is also formed in the stage plate 41. ing.

The work lift mechanism 5 lifts the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Held by the first robot hand 1 and entered into the frame body 4 by a certain height from the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... It has a function of delivering semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... To the hand bodies 231, 232, 233 ... Of the robot hand 2. The configuration of this work lift mechanism is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. A plurality of sets of three lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Are provided corresponding to a plurality of sensors 31, 32, 33 ..., And each set is an actuator such as an air cylinder arranged outside the frame body 4. It is independently operated in the vertical direction by a predetermined distance (not shown).

The misalignment amount calculating means 6 is the same as described above for the first embodiment, based on the external shapes of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Acquired as images by the sensors 31, 32, 33 .... The displacement amounts of Wa, Wb, Wc ... In the X direction δxa, δxb, δxc ..., the displacement amounts in the Y direction δya, δyb, δyc ... And the displacement amounts in the θ direction δθa, δθb, δθc ... 8).

The work misalignment detection device A2 having the above configuration constitutes the aligner device B2 in cooperation with the first and second robot hands 1 and 2 and the work lift mechanism 5 which are driven and controlled by the control device 7. The aligner device B2 operates as follows, for example.

As shown in FIG. 18, the sets of the lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Are in the predetermined downward movement positions, and the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Are placed and held on the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... The robot hand 1 moves in the X direction, each hand body 131, 132, 133 ... Enters the correction reference position in the frame body 4, and each semiconductor wafer Wa, Wb, Wc ... Is pressed by each sensor 31, 32, 33. Position above ... At this time, the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Are displaced from each other in the XY and θ directions with respect to the reference positions C1 and N1 on the hand bodies 131, 132, 133. be. At this stage, the second robot hand 2 is retracted from the frame 4 on the opposite side of the first robot hand 1 in the X direction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 19, each set of lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Is raised to lift each semiconductor wafer Wa, Wb, Wc ... From each hand body 131, 132, 133 ..., and then FIG. 20 As shown in the above, the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Are temporarily retracted to the outside of the frame body 4.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21, each set of lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Is lowered to bring each semiconductor wafer Wa, Wb, Wc ... Close to the corresponding sensors 31, 32, 33 ... In this state, each of the sensors 31, 32, 33 ... Acquires the outer shape of each semiconductor wafer Wa, Wb, Wc ... As image data as described above. As described above, the misalignment amount calculating means 6 that has received this image data has, for each of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ..., the misalignment amount δxa, δxb, δxc ... The misalignment amounts δya, δyb, δyc ... In the Y direction and the misalignment amounts δθa, δθb, δθc ... In the θ direction are calculated (FIG. 8).

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 22, each set of lift pins 51, 52, 53 ... Is raised to leave a gap between each lower surface of each semiconductor wafer and each sensor, and the following is performed, for example. , In order from the lowest semiconductor wafer Wa, while correcting the deviation amounts δx, δy in the XY directions, the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Hand over to ...

As shown in FIG. 23, the second robot hand 2 is brought into the frame body 4, and the correction reference positions are set on the hand bodies 231, 232, 233 ... Let me take it. This correction reference position is a position that substantially coincides with the correction reference position when the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... Of the first robot hand 1 enter the frame body 4, and each hand body 231,232 ... , 233 ... The reference position C1 in the XY direction above coincides with the reference position C1 in the XY direction above the hand bodies 131, 132, 133 ... When the first robot hand 1 takes the correction reference position. ..

Next, as shown in FIG. 24, in order to correct the displacement amounts δxa and δya of the semiconductor wafer Wa with respect to the lowest hand body 231 so that the lowest hand body 231 moves by δxa and δya from the correction reference position. In this state, the second robot hand 2 is moved and controlled, and in this state, the lowermost lift pin 51 is lowered to deliver the lowermost semiconductor wafer Wa to the lowermost hand body 231. .. In this state, the semiconductor wafer Wa mounted on the lowest hand body 231 is located at the reference position C1 with respect to the lowest hand body 231.

As shown in FIG. 26, each hand body 231, 232, 233 ... Is once returned to the correction reference position, and then, as shown in FIG. 27, the second hand body 232 from the bottom is the second semiconductor wafer from the bottom. In order to correct the misalignment amounts δxb and δyb of Wb, the second robot hand 2 is moved and controlled so that the second hand body 232 from the bottom moves by δxb and δyb from the correction reference position, and in this state. As shown in FIG. 28, the set of the second lift pin 52 from the bottom is moved downward, and the semiconductor wafer Wb lifted by the lift pin 52 is delivered to the second hand body 232 from the bottom. In this state, the semiconductor wafer Wb mounted on the second hand body 232 from the bottom is located at the reference position C1 with respect to the second hand body 232 from the bottom.

Hereinafter, in the same manner, the misalignment of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... On the hand bodies 231, 232, 233 ... In the XY directions is corrected.

After that, in the second robot hand 2, a plurality of semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Can be transported to a predetermined next step. Also in this embodiment, the positional deviation of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... In the θ direction cannot be corrected, but the displacement amounts δθa, δθb, δθc ... In the θ direction are calculated, and if necessary, The point that the positional deviation of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... In the θ direction can be corrected in a separate step is the same as described above for the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the misalignment amount detecting devices A1 and A2 of the work having the above configuration and the aligner devices B1 and B2 including these, the outer shape of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... As the plate-shaped work is flat. The position of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... The quantities δxa, δxb, δxc ..., the amount of misalignment in the Y direction δya, δyb, δyc ... And the amount of misalignment in the θ direction δθa, δθb, δθc ... Can be calculated. Therefore, the physical configuration for detecting the amount of misalignment of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Can be made thin.

Therefore, the aligner devices B1 and B2 can collectively detect the amount of misalignment and correct the misalignment of a plurality of semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Transported by the multi-stage robot hand 1. This makes it possible to reduce the transport tact time of the semiconductor wafers Wa, Wb, Wc ... Including the position shift correction in the semiconductor process at once.

Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and any modification within the scope of the matters described in each claim is included in the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the displacement correction is performed in order from the lower semiconductor wafer Wa toward the upper side, but the order is not limited.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, for example, as described in [0033], when the misalignment correction is performed, each hand body 131, 132, 133 ... Is once returned to the correction reference position, but it is not always the case. It is not necessary to return to the correction reference position, and this step may be omitted and the next step may be carried out. However, if the step of returning to the correction reference position is omitted, problems such as contact between the hands 131, 132, 133 ... And the stays 51, 52, 53 ... Or the lift pins 521, 522, 532 ... Occur. Requires a step of temporarily returning to the correction reference position as described in the above embodiment.

A1, A2: Misalignment amount detection device, B1, B2: Aligner device, Wa, Wb, Wc ...: Semiconductor wafer (work), Wa', Wb', Wc': Image of semiconductor wafer, O1: Image center, C1 : Center reference position, N1: Notch reference position, δxa, δxb, δxx ...: X-direction displacement amount, δya, δyb, δyc ...: Y-direction displacement amount, δθa, δθb, δθc ...: θ-direction displacement amount, 1: Robot hand, 12: Support, 131, 132, 133 ...: Hand body, 2: Robot hand, 22: Support, 231,232, 233 ...: Hand body, 31, 32, 33 ...: Sensor, 311 , 321,331 ...: Sensor surface, 312,322,332: Central opening hole, 4: Frame body, 41: Stage plate, 411: Through hole, 5: Worklift mechanism: 51,52,53 ...: Lift pin, 6 : Position deviation amount calculation means, 7: Control device

Claims (5)

A robot hand, each of which can place and hold a plate-shaped work, and has multiple hand bodies arranged in the vertical direction,
A work lift mechanism that can lift and lower the plate-shaped workpieces that are transported by the robot hand and placed on the body of each hand.
A plurality of plate-shaped workpieces having an upward sensor surface and being close to or in contact with the sensor surface by the work lift mechanism can be detected, and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. With the sensor
A position deviation amount calculating means for calculating the position deviation amount from the reference position of each plate-shaped work from the outer shape of each plate-shaped work acquired by each of the sensors.
An aligner device, characterized in that it comprises. When each of the plate-shaped workpieces is lifted separately by the work lift mechanism and transferred onto each of the hand bodies, each of the plate-shaped workpieces is described above based on the displacement amount calculated by the displacement amount calculation means. The aligner device according to claim 1, further comprising a control means for controlling the robot hand so as to be placed at a reference position on each hand body. A robot hand having a plurality of hand bodies arranged in the vertical direction, each of which can place and hold a plate-shaped work, and a plate-shaped work conveyed by the robot hands and placed on each of the hand bodies are individually lifted and lifted. It has a work lift mechanism that can be lifted from the standing state and an upward sensor surface, and the outer shape of the plate-shaped work that is close to or in contact with the sensor surface can be detected by the work lift mechanism. Positional deviation that calculates the amount of deviation from the reference position of each plate-shaped work from a plurality of sensors arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction and the outer shape of each plate-shaped work acquired by each of the sensors. When each of the plate-shaped workpieces is separately lifted by the amount calculation means and the work lift mechanism and transferred onto each of the hands, each of the above is based on the amount of misalignment calculated by the misalignment calculation means. A method for correcting misalignment of a plate-shaped work using an aligner device including a control means for controlling the robot hand so that the plate-shaped work is placed on a reference position on each of the hands.
The plate-shaped work loading step of moving the robot hand so that the plate-shaped work placed on each of the hand bodies is located at the correction reference position above each of the sensors.
A plate-shaped work lifting step that lifts the plate-shaped work from each of the hand bodies by the work lift mechanism.
Hand body evacuation step to evacuate each of the above hand bodies,
The outer shape acquisition step, in which each of the plate-shaped workpieces is lifted by the work lift mechanism and brought close to or in contact with the sensor surface of each of the sensors, and the outer shape of each of the plate-shaped workpieces is acquired by each of the sensors.
A position shift amount calculation step for calculating the position shift amount in the XY directions from the reference position of each of the plate-shaped workpieces from the acquired outer shape.
A gap forming step in which each plate-shaped work is lifted by the work lift mechanism to form a gap between each of the plate-shaped works and each of the sensors.
The hand body re-movement step of moving each of the hand bodies to the correction reference position in each of the gaps,
When each of the plate-shaped workpieces is sequentially lifted by the work lift mechanism and transferred onto each of the hand bodies, the plate-shaped workpieces are moved based on the displacement amount calculated by the displacement amount calculation means. A position correction step that controls the robot hand in the XY directions so as to be placed on the reference position on each hand body.
A method for correcting misalignment of a plate-shaped workpiece, which comprises. The misalignment correction method for a plate-shaped work according to claim 3, wherein the position correction step is performed by controlling a first robot hand used for the plate-shaped work loading step. The position correction step is performed by controlling a second robot hand, which is different from the first robot hand, in which each of the plate-shaped workpieces can be placed and held, and has a plurality of hand bodies arranged in the vertical direction. The method for correcting misalignment of a plate-shaped workpiece according to claim 3.

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