JP2513715B2 - Wafer transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] An improvement of a wafer transfer device for transferring wafers between wafer baskets, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer transfer device that can be procured easily and at low cost without causing any trouble during wafer transfer. A wafer transfer device for transferring wafers between wafer baskets, comprising a holding part R movable to the holding part frame and having a sensor at one end of its lower surface, and a holding part R facing said holding part R and also at one end of the lower surface. Has a sensor, and has a holding part L that is movable independently of the holding part R with respect to the holding part frame. The holding groove L for transferring the wafer is provided in each of the guide grooves on both sides of the wafer basket. It is constructed so that it can move following the guide groove of the wafer of the holding portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to an improvement of a wafer transfer device for transferring wafers between wafer baskets.

Various wafer baskets are used for wafer handling or processing in the wafer processing step of the semiconductor device manufacturing steps.

For this reason, it is necessary to transfer wafers between wafer baskets at various points in the process, and wafer transfer is performed several tens of times using a wafer transfer device.

Under the above circumstances, there is a demand for a wafer transfer device that can transfer wafers between wafer baskets without any trouble.

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the conventional wafer transfer device has a holding portion 33 for holding the wafer 13 between a wafer basket 31 on which the wafer 13 is currently mounted and a wafer basket 34 for transferring the wafer 13 next. And push rod
A 32 wafer transfer device is provided.

In order to transfer the wafer 13, first, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the wafer transfer device is moved onto the wafer basket 31, and the push-up bar 32 of the wafer transfer device moves along the guide groove of the wafer basket 31. The wafer 13 is pushed up, and the wafer 13 is inserted into a holding portion 33 which has a guide groove having the same pitch as the wafer basket and whose relative position is fixed.

To hold the wafer 13 with the holding part 33,
The horizontal axis 33a provided at the upper end of 33 is pivoted around the horizontal axis 33a in the direction of the arrow in the figure in which the lower ends approach each other, and the holding portion 33 is formed into an inverted V shape so that the wafer 13 does not drop.

Next, lower the push-up bar 32 to its original position, and then
This wafer transfer device is moved onto the wafer basket 34 for transferring 13 and the holding portions 33 on both sides holding the wafer 13 are provided at the upper end of the wafer basket 34 while the push-up rod is lifted to support the wafer 13. With the horizontal axis 33a as the center, the lower ends thereof are parallel to each other and are spaced outwardly from each other, and the wafer 13 is lowered to insert the wafer 13 into the groove of the wafer basket 34 as shown in FIG. 2 (c). .

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The problem with the conventional wafer transfer device described above is that even if there is no deformation in the shape of the parts in which the guide groove of the wafer basket is provided, the originally rectangular configuration is distorted and the parallelogram is distorted. Then, the guide grooves which were correctly facing each other are displaced in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the wafer 13 and are not correctly facing each other.

However, since the guide groove where the relative position of the wafer transfer device is fixed is not deformed as usual, when the guide groove of the wafer transfer device is aligned with one of the guide grooves of the wafer basket, the other is The wafer basket and the guide groove of the wafer transfer device are misaligned by a dimension corresponding to the deviation, and if the wafer is pushed up by the push-up rod in that state, the wafer is cracked or scratched by rubbing the wafer with the wafer basket, and as a result, the wafer or This is because the fine powder in the wafer basket is generated and dust is generated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and has an object to provide a wafer transfer device which can be procured easily and at low cost without causing any trouble during wafer transfer.

[Means for solving problems]

The above-mentioned problem is irrelevant to the holding portion R, which is movable to the holding portion frame and has a sensor at one end of the lower surface, and a holding portion R facing the holding portion R and also having a sensor at one end of the lower surface. A book that has a holding part L that is independently movable with respect to the holding part frame, and can be moved by following the guide grooves of the wafers of the individual holding parts to the guide grooves on both sides of the wafer basket for transferring the wafer. It is solved by a wafer transfer device according to the invention.

[Action]

That is, in the present invention, the holding portion R and the holding portion L, which are separately movable with respect to the holding portion frame and have a sensor at one end of the lower surface.
Are independently opposed to each other, and the guide grooves of the wafers of the individual holding parts can be moved separately and aligned with the guide grooves on both sides of the wafer basket where the wafers are transferred by this sensor. It is possible to prevent a failure that damages the wafer during replacement.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In the plan view shown in FIG. 1 (a), the left and right are symmetrical, so the case of the left holding portion L2 will be described.

The holding frame 3 of the wafer transfer device has a U-shape, and a pin A4 and a pin B5 are provided on the holding frame 3 as shown in the drawing, and a link A6 and a link which can be swung around the respective pins are provided.
B7 is provided.

The lever ratio of the link A6 is set to about 3: 1 in order to change a large movement on the motor 8 side into a small movement of the holding portion L2.

The holding portion L2 is connected to the link A6 and the link B7 by a pin, and can be swung in a direction indicated by an arrow by a link mechanism composed of the link A6, the link B7 and the four points of these pins. At this time, since the pin A4 and the pin B5 are centered, the pin moves slightly leftward from the position shown in the drawing, but does not affect the function of guiding the wafer 13.

Such movement is exactly the same in the case of the holding unit R1 as well, and the holding unit L2 and the holding unit R1 can be moved independently of each other.

The driving force for moving this link mechanism is a motor 8 as shown in FIG. 1 (b), which is a DC motor.

A male screw 9 is threaded on the motor shaft of this motor 8 to form a nut.
10 is screwed together, a roller 11 is axially attached to the side surface of the nut 10, and a groove that fits into this roller 11 is provided at the tip of the link A6 in a fork shape.

The guide groove of the wafer basket and the guide groove of the holding portion are aligned with each other by providing a sensor 12, for example, a reflection type small laser sensor, at the lower end of the holding portion L2 as shown in FIG. 1 (e). Edges and sensors 12
1 so that the relative positions of
Rotate to move the nut 10 left and right as
The link A6 is rocked by the pin 11 around the pin A4 shown in FIG.

The state in which the holding portion R1 is moved in this manner is shown in FIG. 1 (c).

 A specific example of the operation of the present invention is shown in FIG.

The sensor 12 of the holding portion R1 and the holding portion L2 detects the deviation between the respective guide grooves and the guide groove of the wafer basket 31, and the controller rotates the motor 8 by an amount corresponding to this deviation so that the guide grooves coincide with each other.

In that state, the push-up mechanism 32a causes the push-up rod 32 to
Is pushed up and the wafer 13 is inserted into the holding portion from the wafer basket 31.

Hold the inserted wafer 13 on the horizontal axis as before.
The lower end of the holding portion is brought close to the center of 1a so that the wafer 13 is prevented from falling.

As a result of the alignment, even if the position of the guide groove of the holding part R1 and the holding part L2 may shift and follow the guide groove of the wafer basket, the cross section of the guide groove is a trapezoid with a wide entrance, so the wafer There is no problem in guiding 13.

In this way, the holding portions are independently and separately attached to the holding portion frame 3.
By finely moving R1 and the holding part L2, the guide grooves on both sides of the wafer basket and the guide grooves of these holding parts can be independently and separately aligned. Even if the guide groove is displaced, the wafer 13 can be smoothly inserted into the guide groove of the holding portion.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by making it possible to separately move the holding portions having an extremely simple structure, it is possible to correct the deviation of the guide grooves of the wafer transfer device and the wafer basket and to smoothly perform the wafer transfer. Is possible, and it is possible to prevent a failure that damages the wafer, and it is expected to have a remarkable economic and reliability improving effect, which is extremely useful industrially.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing the operation of a conventional wafer transfer device in step order. In the figure, 1 is a holding part R, 2 is a holding part L, 3 is a holding part frame, 4 is a pin A, 5 is a pin B, 6 is a link A, 7 is a link B, 8 is a motor, 9 is a male screw, 10 Is a nut, 11 is a roller, 12 is a sensor, 13 is a wafer, 31 is a wafer basket, 32 is a push-up bar, and 32a is a push-up mechanism section.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A wafer transfer device for transferring a wafer (13) between wafer baskets, which is movable with respect to a holding part frame (3) and has a sensor (12) at one end of a lower surface.
And a holding portion R (1) having a sensor (12) facing the holding portion R (1) and also at one end of the lower surface thereof, independently of the holding portion R (1). Holding part L movable with respect to the part frame (3)
A wafer transfer device having (2), wherein the guide grooves of the individual wafers can be moved to the guide grooves on both sides of the wafer basket for transferring the wafer (13).