JP2022042669A - Conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a conveyance system capable of automatically carrying containers while flexibly responding to layout changes, in the production with wafer processing equipment.SOLUTION: The conveyance system includes a self-propelling AGV 109 requiring no magnetic tape, equipped with a collaborative robot 108 that has a position-correctable camera 106 and a hand 107 that allows for small errors, and which uses a detachable plate 104 at a load port 105 of a semiconductor inspection equipment body 101. With this, an FOUP 102 is conveyed to the load port 105.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a wafer transfer technique in a wafer processing apparatus and a wafer transfer system.

The production of wafer processing equipment used in the semiconductor manufacturing process is carried out in a clean room, and adjustment using wafers is essential, and it is necessary to transport containers such as FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) for storing wafers to the equipment.

The shape of the grip of the FOUP is specified by the SEMI standard, and for the purpose of automating the semiconductor production line, an automated guided vehicle using magnetic tape and an automated guided vehicle using a ceiling carrier are used to automatically transport the FOUP. There is.

It is disclosed in Patent Document 1 as FOUP automatic transport using a ceiling transport vehicle.

However, in the above-mentioned two FOUP transfer methods, it is necessary to perform high-precision positioning according to the transfer equipment side at the time of production of the wafer processing apparatus.

Furthermore, even if the footprint of the next-generation machine is changed or the layout of the production line is changed due to fluctuations in demand, a huge amount of maintenance time is required, such as the construction of the guide rail for the ceiling carrier and the replacement of the magnetic tape.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-197705

In Patent Document 1 using a ceiling carrier, a position correction is performed using a camera to allow an arrangement error on the device side, but no consideration is given to layout changes. Furthermore, AGVs (Automatic Guided Vehicles) for transporting FOUPs that use magnetic tapes have not solved the problem of enormous maintenance time due to the work of re-covering magnetic tapes.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a transfer system that does not require a magnetic tape and can cope with layout changes.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a transfer system for transporting a container for accommodating a wafer, which is provided with a feature for position correction and can be attached to and detached from the interface portion of a wafer processing apparatus for processing the wafer. It is equipped with a plate to be installed and a self-propelled robot having a camera capable of imaging a feature for position correction and a hand capable of transporting the container with the plate installed between the container and the interface unit. The self-propelled robot provides a transport system having a configuration in which a container is attached to or removed from the interface unit based on the image processing result of the position correction feature imaged by the camera.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, it is possible to flexibly respond to a change in the layout of an apparatus, and by automating container transportation, it is possible to shorten delivery time and perform clean production. Issues, configurations and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

The figure which shows the outline of the whole FOUP transfer system which concerns on Example 1. The figure which shows the flowchart of the installation or acquisition of FOUP which concerns on Example 1. FIG. The figure which shows the correction feature removable plate which concerns on Example 1. FIG. The figure which shows the error tolerance hand which concerns on Example 1. The figure which shows the maintenance flowchart when the layout change occurs which concerns on Example 1. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be sequentially described with reference to the drawings.
In the embodiment described below, a semiconductor inspection device will be described as an example of the "wafer processing device" used in the semiconductor manufacturing process, but the wafer is not limited to this, and the wafer is observed in the semiconductor manufacturing process. It can be applied to all devices for inspection, measurement, analysis, processing, etching, cleaning, drying, heat treatment, ion implantation, and transfer (hereinafter referred to as "treatment"). In addition, as an example of a wafer processing device related to the surface treatment of a wafer, there is also a device that performs film forming treatment such as sputtering and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), surface modification treatment such as surface oxidation and surface nitriding, and further ashing treatment. , Can be applied as well.
Further, in the embodiment described below, the "semiconductor inspection device" is a device for measuring the dimensions of a pattern formed on a semiconductor wafer, a device for inspecting the presence or absence of defects in a pattern formed on a semiconductor wafer, or an apparatus. A device for inspecting the presence or absence of defects in a bare wafer on which a pattern is not formed, and includes a composite device in which a plurality of these devices are combined.
Further, in the description of the following examples, the FOUP transfer system will be described as an example, but the transfer target of the transfer system of the present invention is not limited to FOUP, and when other wafer storage pods and containers are transferred. Is also applicable.

The first embodiment is a transport system for transporting a container for accommodating a wafer, which is provided with a position correction feature, and has a plate and a container which are detachably installed at an interface portion of a wafer processing apparatus for processing the wafer. A self-propelled robot having a camera capable of imaging a feature for position correction and a hand capable of transporting a container with a plate installed between the interface unit is provided, and the self-propelled robot is a camera. This is an embodiment of a transport system having a configuration in which a container is attached to or removed from the interface portion based on the image processing result of the image-imaged position correction feature.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the entire FOUP transfer system according to the first embodiment. In the semiconductor inspection apparatus main body 101, a load port 105 for installing the FOUP 102 is arranged in the main body. The load port 105 constitutes an interface unit for moving the wafer in the FOUP 102 in and out of the main body of the apparatus. In this transfer system, the position correction feature 103 cannot be installed on the FOUP 102, which has a different shape depending on the manufacturer. Therefore, the position correction feature 103 is attached to the plate 104 that can be attached to and detached from the load port 105. A collaborative robot 110 is mounted on the upper part of the self-propelled AGV109, which is a self-propelled robot, and a camera 106 for position correction and a hand 107 capable of acquiring the flange 108 of the FOUP 102 are attached.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of installation or acquisition of the FOUP 102 at the load port 105 in the transport system of this embodiment. The operation of installation or acquisition is as follows.
Step 201: The self-propelled AGV109 starts moving from the transfer start destination.
Step 202: Stop in front of the target load port 105. At this time, since the semiconductor inspection device main body 101 is manually installed at the time of production, an error occurs in the installation position, and since it is a self-propelled AGV109 that does not use a magnetic tape, an error occurs in the stop position.
Step 203: The feature 103 for position correction is detected by taking an image with a camera.
Step 204: After detecting the feature 103 for position correction, move the camera to the upper part of the feature.
Step 205: The error of the semiconductor inspection device 101 and the self-propelled AGV 109 is detected by taking a picture of the position correction feature 103 installed on the plate 104 with the camera 106, performing position correction, and acquiring the coordinate system of the load port 105. Tolerate. However, the position correction by the camera 106 causes a minute error.
Step 206: Using the hand 107, which can tolerate an error of ± 2.5 mm, install or acquire the FOUP 102, allowing the error due to camera correction.
Step 207: The installation or acquisition operation of FOUP102 is completed.

Since the shape of the FOUP 102 of the position correction feature 103 differs depending on the manufacturer, it is difficult to attach the position correction feature 103 to the FOUP 102 at the same relative position from the flange 108. Therefore, in this embodiment, the position correction feature 103 is attached to the removable plate 104 by using the FOUP attachment guide pin of the load port 105.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the removable plate of this embodiment. The plate has a guide pin hole 301 for mounting the FOUP of the load port 105 and a sensor hole 302 for detecting the arrangement, and has a shape 303 that does not block the ID reader of the FOUP 102. Further, since the sensor position and the size of the ID reader differ depending on the type of the load port 105, the shape is sharable regardless of the type of the load port 105 to be coupled to the semiconductor inspection device 101.
After installing the FOUP 102 in the load port 105, it slides back and forth to dock with the semiconductor inspection device 101. In order not to interfere with this sliding operation, the rear part of the plate 104, that is, the upper part of FIG. 3, is sized so as not to protrude from the FOUP. Further, the rectangular hole in the center of the plate is a connecting hole having a size for a connecting mechanism in which the load port 105 clamps the FOUP 102.

In the system of this embodiment, when the FOUP 102 is installed at the load port 105, the distance between the installation surface and the FOUP 102 is 3 mm. Further, the load port 105 has a function of fixing the FOUP 102 (not shown) and a sliding function of connecting the wafer transfer mechanism of the semiconductor inspection device 101 and the FOUP 102. In order to maintain these functions, the thickness of the plate 104 was set to less than 3 mm in this embodiment.

The material of the plate 104 is a resin plate that can be attached to and detached from the load port 105 so as not to damage the installation surface and to maintain the quality of the sensor and guide. In particular, in order to minimize the error during position correction, the parallelism of the plate 104 was set to 0.3 mm or less. Further, in this embodiment, as the resin plate, a PPS (Polyphenylene sulfide) material resin plate having less warpage and capable of accurate position correction was used. This is because if the warp is large, the corrected position will be displaced in the position correction when the feature is photographed by the camera, and the FOUP cannot be installed and acquired normally.

The arrangement position 304 of the feature 103 for position correction of the plate 104 is shaped so that it can be imaged by a camera when the FOUP 102 is mounted and can be arranged in a front position where the camera 106 does not interfere with the adjacent FOUP 102. Here, the front means the side where the self-propelled AGV109 accesses the load port 105, and the rear means the device side where the FOUP 102 docks. By arranging the position correction feature 103 in front of the load port 105, it is possible to take an image with the camera 106 without contacting the FOUP 102 on the adjacent load port. When the position correction feature 103 is placed on the side surface, the position correction becomes impossible because the FOUP 102 on the adjacent load port 105 and the collaborative robot 110 come into contact with each other.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed view of the hand 107 of this embodiment. The hand is a fork-type general-purpose error-tolerant hand 401 that can be transported by scooping up the flange 108 specified in the SEMI standard so that all types of FOUP 102 can be transported without setup change. That is, the hand 401 has a structure in which the access portion to the flange 108 is inclined and an error in the XY direction can be tolerated.

In addition, by providing an inclination 402 at the acquisition part of the flange 108, an error in the XY direction is allowed and the FOUP102 can be lifted, and by providing a protrusion 403, the position of the FOUP102 is due to the weight of the FOUP102 during transportation. Was made into a shape that can be fixed. Further, by having the above-mentioned positioning mechanism, the FOUP 102 can be stably transported without increasing the placement error during repeated transport.

The hand 107 has a shape that can be attached to the collaborative robot 110 without interfering with the image pickup of the camera 106, the weight is 1.0 kg or less, and the thickness of the hand 107 is set to maintain the portable capacity of the collaborative robot 110. The size is 10 mm or less so that the flange 108 can be accessed.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart at the time of maintenance of the transport system of this embodiment. The operation is as follows.
Step 501: Layout changes are required due to the effects of production fluctuations and changes in equipment footprint.
Step 501: Change the map information of the self-propelled AGV on the map creation software without changing the magnetic tape or performing construction work.
Step 501: Completed layout change support.
As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to easily respond to the layout change.

The FOUP 102 can be transported by using a guide pin and plate for installing the FOUP on a shelf or table in the space where the semiconductor inspection device is arranged, and the layout can be easily changed or a transport location can be added.

The present invention is not limited to the examples described above, and further includes various modifications. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to the one including all the configurations described.

101 Semiconductor inspection equipment
102 FOUP
103 Position correction features
104 plate
105 load port
106 camera
107 hands
108 Flange
109 Self-propelled AGV
110 collaborative robot
301 guide pin hole
302 Sensor hole
303 shape
304 Placement position
401 Error Tolerant Hand
402 Inclined
403 protrusion

Claims (11)

A transport system that transports containers that store wafers.
The position correction feature is provided, and the plate is detachably installed in the interface portion of the wafer processing apparatus that processes the wafer, and the plate is installed between the container and the interface portion. It is equipped with a camera capable of capturing an image of a position correction feature and a self-propelled robot having a hand capable of transporting the container.
The self-propelled robot attaches the container to the interface portion or removes the container from the interface portion based on the image processing result of the position correction feature captured by the camera.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 1.
The container is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod),
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 2.
The interface unit is a load port.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 3.
The plate is
The position correction feature is provided in front of the load port.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 4.
The plate has a guide pin hole and a sensor hole for the load port.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 5.
The plate has a connecting hole for a connecting mechanism in which the load port clamps the FOUP.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 6.
The plate is a resin plate that can be attached to and detached from the load port.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 7.
The FOUP has a flange on its top
The hand has a fork-shaped shape that allows the flange to be scooped up and conveyed.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 8.
The hand has an inclination at the access to the flange and can tolerate an error in the XY direction.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 9.
The position of the hand can be fixed by the weight of the FOUP while the FOUP is being conveyed.
A transport system characterized by that. The transport system according to claim 1.
The wafer processing device is a semiconductor inspection device.
A transport system characterized by that.

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