JP2549338Y2 - Semiconductor substrate automatic processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus for performing a cleaning process by immersing a plurality of semiconductor substrates such as silicon wafers and glass substrates in a processing solution in a processing bath.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus, there is one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-54827.

In this conventional semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus, semiconductor substrates as objects to be cleaned are arranged and stored in a box-shaped holder, and immersed in a processing liquid in a processing tank in this stored state. We are doing cleaning work. During the cleaning, ultrasonic vibration is applied by an ultrasonic vibrator, and the shock wave destroys and cleans the dirt attached to the semiconductor substrate.

In addition, the cleaning effect is enhanced by generating a flow of the processing solution to the semiconductor substrate, and the shadow of the ultrasonic wave generated on the semiconductor substrate by being blocked by the holder is suppressed as small as possible. In order to achieve a further improvement, a pedestal supporting a holder in a processing tank is oscillated as a oscillating type oscillating table.

In such a conventional apparatus, the processing liquid becomes turbid due to dust adhering to the holder and the semiconductor substrate is contaminated. On the other hand, since the space occupied by the holder is large, not only the volume of the processing tank but also the entire apparatus is increased. There is a disadvantage that it is difficult to reduce the size.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present applicant has considered a device for cleaning a semiconductor substrate without using a holder as described above. In such a case, it was considered that the following problems should be solved together.

First, it is indispensable to apply ultrasonic vibration during the cleaning operation in order to exert a certain cleaning effect. As described above, in the related art, the holder holding the semiconductor substrate is swung to reduce the shadow of the ultrasonic wave generated on each semiconductor substrate by being blocked by the holder. Therefore, if the holder is not used, this shade can be further removed, but it is desired to further remove the shade. In addition, there is another method of removing the shadow by increasing the output of the ultrasonic wave. However, this method has a disadvantage that the non-shade portion has an effect of peeling and the like and the ultrasonic efficiency is low.

On the other hand, in the above-described conventional apparatus, the semiconductor substrate is swung with the swing center below the center thereof, but in such a configuration, the amount of displacement of each semiconductor substrate at the time of stopping the swing operation is described. And it is difficult to perform positioning with high accuracy. Then, an automatic transfer mechanism (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-52138) for grasping each of these semiconductor substrates and bringing them into the processing bath or carrying them out of the processing bath.
(Disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-163,036), the automatic transfer mechanism fails to grip each semiconductor substrate when carrying out the semiconductor substrate out of the processing tank, or conversely, when the semiconductor substrate is carried in, Delivery error may occur.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which has solved all of the above problems.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a processing tank for storing a processing liquid, excitation means provided in the processing tank for exciting the processing liquid by ultrasonic waves, and disposed in the processing tank. Means for holding a plurality of semiconductor substrates in alignment so that their main surfaces are parallel to each other, and swinging the substrate holding means in a plane substantially parallel to the main surface of the held semiconductor substrate. A semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus comprising: a support mechanism for supporting the substrate holding means; and a driving means for swinging the substrate holding means. A plurality of receiving grooves extending in parallel with each other, each engaging with the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate and receiving the same, are formed of a plurality of substrate holding members arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction. Is caused by the substrate holding means. Is obtained by configured to substantially coincide with the center of the semiconductor substrate held.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing tank 2 filled with a processing liquid 1. The bottom of the processing tank 2 is slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and the bottom of the lower side is a drain pipe 2a.
Are connected.

An ultrasonic vibrator 3 for generating ultrasonic waves is provided below the processing tank 2. This ultrasonic transducer 3
The processing liquid 1 is driven by an ultrasonic oscillator (not shown) disposed at a predetermined position in the housing of the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus. The ultrasonic vibrator 3 and the ultrasonic oscillator are collectively referred to as excitation means. By providing this excitation means, a remarkable cleaning effect can be obtained.

Inside the processing tank 2, a substrate holding means 7 comprising a plurality of, in this case, three rod-shaped substrate holding members 4, 5, and 6, is disposed. The substrate holding means 7 holds a large number, for example, 50 semiconductor substrates 9 carried into the processing tank 2 by the automatic transfer mechanism 8 shown in FIG. The automatic transfer mechanism 8 includes a plurality of gripping arms 8a that operate relatively, and the gripping arms 8a cause the semiconductor substrates 9 to stand upright so that their main surfaces are parallel to each other. It is aligned and held at regular intervals in the state. Then, the semiconductor substrate 9 moves along the transport paths X _{1 to} X ₄ shown in the figure to carry each semiconductor substrate 9 into or out of the processing tank 2.

The above-mentioned substrate holding means 7 holds the semiconductor substrates 9 carried in by the automatic transfer mechanism 8 while maintaining the aligned state.

Here, each of the substrate holding members 4 to 6 constituting the substrate holding means 7 will be described in detail.

As is apparent from the drawing, the three substrate holding members 4 to 6 provided are formed with the same length, and extend in parallel with each other in the direction in which the semiconductor substrates 9 are aligned. . And one of the substrate holding members 4
Is formed in a long rectangular plate shape, and is arranged so as to engage with the lowermost end of the semiconductor substrate 9. The remaining two substrate holding members 5 and 6 are formed in a columnar shape and have the same shape as each other, and are arranged on both sides of the substrate holding member 4.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show details of the substrate holding member 5. As shown in the drawing, receiving grooves 5a that engage with and receive the outer peripheral portions of the semiconductor substrate 9 are arranged in the substrate holding member 5 at equal pitches in the longitudinal direction. As is apparent from FIG. 4, these receiving grooves 5a have, for example, a V-shaped cross section. As is apparent from FIG. 5, each receiving groove 5a is formed by cutting out a part of the substrate holding member 5, and the bottom surface thereof has a radius (100 m) of the semiconductor substrate 9 which engages with it. / M).

As described above, the substrate holding member 6 of the other two substrate holding members 4 and 6 has the same shape as the above-described substrate holding member 5, and the remaining rectangular plate-shaped substrate holding member 5 has the same shape. Since the member 4 has only the same receiving groove as that of the substrate holding member 5, the detailed description is omitted.

Next, a supporting mechanism for swingably supporting the substrate holding means 7 comprising the above-described substrate holding members 4 to 6 and a driving means for applying a driving force to the substrate holding means 7 to swing the substrate holding means 7 will be described. explain.

As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus has a main body frame 14 provided so as to surround the processing tank 2.
Two shafts 17 and 18 are provided for concentric rotation via 5 and 16. In addition, both shafts 1
Reference numerals 7 and 18 extend in the horizontal direction. Then, substantially rectangular plate-shaped vertical arms 21 and 22 are fixed to one end of each of the shafts 17 and 18. The vertical arms 21 and 22 are provided to extend in the vertical direction, and are attached to the shafts 17 and 18 at lower ends thereof.

Horizontal arms 24 and 25 extending in the horizontal direction are fastened to the upper ends of both vertical arms 21 and 22 by bolts (not denoted by reference numerals) at one ends thereof. L-shaped support frames 27 and 28 are bolted to the other ends of the horizontal arms 24 and 25 in a hanging state.

The supporting frames 27 and 28 are provided in the processing tank 2.
Each of the substrate holding members 4 to 6, which is a component of the above-described substrate holding means 7, extends between the lower ends of the support frames 27 and 28.

The above-described bushes 15, 16; shafts 17, 18; vertical arms 21, 22;
The support mechanisms 4 and 25 and the support arms 27 and 28 support the substrate holding means 7 in a swingable manner. The substrate holding means 7 is configured to swing in a plane parallel to the main surface of each semiconductor substrate 9 held.

The vertical arm 21 and the horizontal arm 2
4 and the support frame 27, and the vertical arm 22, the horizontal arm 25, and the support frame 28 may be integrally formed instead of individual members.

The swing center of the substrate holding means 7, that is, the axial center of each of the shafts 17 and 18 is matched with the center of each semiconductor substrate 9 held by the substrate holding means 7.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, gears 31 and 32 are fixed to the other ends of both shafts 17 and 18 acting as support shafts of the above-mentioned swinging portion, respectively. The torque applying means for applying a torque to each of the gears 31 and 32 is not shown, but the torque applying means includes a motor and the like, and the two gears 31 and 32 are rotated forward by a predetermined angle in the same rotational direction. It is configured to be able to reverse. This torque applying means and both gears 31 and 32
Thus, a driving means for applying a driving force to the substrate holding means 7 and swinging the driving force is constituted.

As described above, in the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the center of swing of the substrate holding means 7 coincides with the center of the semiconductor substrate 9 held by the substrate holding means 7. In such a configuration, the semiconductor substrate 9 is always kept at a constant position during the swinging operation of the substrate holding means 7 and at the time of stopping, and no displacement occurs.

Therefore, when the automatic transfer mechanism 8 shown in FIG. 2 attempts to carry out each semiconductor substrate 9 out of the processing tank 2, each semiconductor substrate 9 can be surely gripped by the gripping arm 8a. . Conversely, when the automatic transport mechanism 8 carries the semiconductor substrate 9 into the processing tank 2 and delivers it to the substrate holding means 7, there is no possibility that a delivery error occurs.

In the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the semiconductor substrate 9 is
The shaded portion of the ultrasonic wave generated in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a shaded portion generated when the substrate holding member 5 of the substrate holding means 7 is located at the top dead center of the swing stroke is indicated by a hatched line surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The shaded area generated when the substrate holding member 5 is located at the bottom dead center becomes the shaded area 44 surrounded by another two-dot chain line, and swings over the entire section from the top dead center to the bottom dead center. The shaded area that always occurs is a shaded area 45 surrounded by a solid line. Although the other substrate holding members 4 and 6 are not shown in the drawing, shaded portions are generated similarly to the above.

Here, in order to make a comparison with the configuration of the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention and its effects,
A case will be described in which the swing center of the substrate holding means 7 is shifted downward by a predetermined distance from the center of the semiconductor substrate 9.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration.

As shown in the figure, in such a configuration, the semiconductor substrate 9 also swings greatly with the swinging operation of the substrate holding means 7, and when the swing is stopped, the semiconductor substrate 9 always stops at a fixed position. Not exclusively. Therefore, as in the above-described automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, a reliable operation of attaching and detaching the semiconductor substrate 9 to and from the substrate holding means 7 by the automatic transfer mechanism 8 cannot be expected.

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, on each semiconductor substrate 9, for example, a shaded portion (a hatched region 5 surrounded by a solid line in the drawing) caused by being blocked by the substrate holding member 5.
Corresponding to 5. In the drawing, a hatched area 53 surrounded by a two-dot chain line is a shaded portion generated when the substrate holding member 5 is located at the top dead center. The shaded area generated at the time of being located at the bottom dead center is shown. The shaded area 55 surrounded by the solid line represents the shaded area that is always generated when swinging over the entire section from the top dead center to the bottom dead center. ) Occurs, and the detergency of such a shadow portion 55 is reduced.

As is clear from the comparison of the area of the shadow portion 55, which always occurs, with the area of the shadow portion 45 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the swing angles are set to the same swing angle θ. When set, the area of the shadow portion 45 by the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is significantly reduced as compared with the area of the shadow portion 55 shown in FIG.

[0036]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention,
Since each semiconductor substrate is directly mounted on the substrate holding means in the processing tank, the box-shaped holding tool conventionally used is not required, and the turbidity of dust with respect to the processing liquid can be extremely reduced. This has the effect of achieving a reduction in volume and, consequently, the overall size of the device. Also, in the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus according to the present invention, the center of swing of the substrate holding means is substantially coincident with the center of the semiconductor substrate on the substrate holding means. Therefore, there is an effect that the semiconductor substrate is always kept at a fixed position, and the operation of attaching and detaching the semiconductor substrate to and from the substrate holding means by the automatic transfer mechanism is always performed reliably. Further, in such a configuration, there is an effect that the shaded portion of the ultrasonic wave constantly generated on the semiconductor substrate by being blocked by the substrate holding means can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a main part of the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and an automatic transport mechanism for loading and unloading the semiconductor substrate into and from the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a substrate holding member that is a component of the automatic semiconductor substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a configuration for comparison with the configuration shown in FIG. 3;

[Description of sign]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Processing liquid 2 Processing tank 3 Ultrasonic vibrator 4, 5, 6 Substrate holding member 7 Substrate holding means 8 Automatic transfer mechanism 9 Semiconductor substrate

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A processing tank for storing a processing liquid, an exciting unit provided in the processing tank to excite the processing liquid by ultrasonic waves, and a plurality of semiconductor substrates disposed in the processing tank, A substrate holding means for aligning and holding the main surfaces so as to be parallel to each other, a support mechanism for swingably supporting the substrate holding means in a plane substantially parallel to the main surface of the semiconductor substrate holding the substrate, A semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus provided with a driving unit for swinging the substrate holding unit, wherein the substrate holding units are each formed in a substantially rod shape and extend in parallel with each other in the alignment direction of the semiconductor substrate, and A plurality of receiving grooves which engage with the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate and receive them are formed of a plurality of substrate holding members arranged in parallel in a longitudinal direction, and a swing center of the substrate holding means is held by the substrate holding means. Semiconductor substrate Semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus characterized by being caused to substantially match the heart.