JP2556733B2 - Semiconductor wafer dryer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus.

(Prior Art) In a semiconductor manufacturing process, there is an inspection process for inspecting a semiconductor element formed on a semiconductor wafer. In this inspection process,
A marking liquid is dropped on a defective semiconductor element, and a mark is provided to distinguish it from a good semiconductor element.

A plurality of semiconductor wafers, to which the marking liquid has been dropped, are stored in a storage chamber (called a wafer cassette or cassette) capable of stacking a plurality of semiconductor wafers at predetermined intervals in the plate thickness direction (for example, 25).

As shown in FIG. 7, the plurality of semiconductor wafers (2) stored in the transfer storage (1) are transferred to a metal storage (3) which is not deformed by temperature, and a transfer means (5). After being transferred by, the metal storage (3) is generally stored in a drying furnace (4) and dried.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional semiconductor wafer drying apparatus, since the semiconductor wafers (2) are stored in the drying oven (4) in units of the metal storage (3), it is necessary to dry them. Even the metal storage (3), which is not present, will be placed and dried.
It was not possible to store more semiconductor wafers (2) in the drying chamber (6).

Further, in the drying oven (4), when the metal storage case (3) is arranged, the metal storage case (3) and the adjacent metal storage case (3) are arranged with a constant space t therebetween. A use area (7) which is larger than the storage (3) is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus in which a storage that does not need to be dried is eliminated and the number of dried semiconductor wafers is increased.

[Structure of Invention]

(Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention provides an apparatus for drying the marking liquid by taking out the semiconductor from a storage container storing a semiconductor wafer in which the marking liquid is dropped on a semiconductor element and storing the semiconductor in a drying oven. The semiconductor wafers taken out from the at least two storages are provided on a single table and stored in a drying furnace.

(Advantageous Effects) According to the present invention, since semiconductor wafers are taken out from at least two storages and are collectively stored in the drying furnace, many semiconductor wafers are stored in the drying furnace.

Therefore, it becomes possible to perform a drying operation with high throughput.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the above description, the conventional parts and the same parts will be described using the same reference numerals. A well-known wafer prober sequentially takes out semiconductor wafers (hereinafter abbreviated as "wafers") stored in a transfer storage box by a robot hand, positions them, and then transfers the wafers to an inspection unit for electrical inspection. Based on this inspection result, liquid ink (hereinafter referred to as marking liquid) is dropped on the defective semiconductor element as defective marking. Then, the dropped wafer is stored in the storage by the loader transfer. After the inspection by the wafer prober, it is necessary to dry the marking liquid in a state where the wafer is stored in the storage case.

The marking liquid is dried by a semiconductor wafer drying device.

As shown in FIG. 6, the semiconductor wafer drying device is
The wafer (2) is provided between the drying furnace (10) and the drying furnace (10) arranged on the far side of the housing (8), for example, on the far side with respect to the transfer position of the operator or robot transfer path (8). )
It is composed of a loader section (11) provided at an opposing position for loading and unloading.

Here, the loader section (11) includes the storage box (1).
A robot transfer path (8) is provided so that the robot can be transferred by the robot transfer. A plurality of the above-mentioned storages (1) are installed at a time, four in this example at the same time.

In the drying chamber (12) of the drying furnace (10), a heater such as an electric heater is provided on the inner side surface. With this electric heater, a temperature and humidity sensor (not shown) is provided in order to maintain the temperature and humidity set in advance. The temperature and humidity information detected by the temperature and humidity sensor is input to the control means (13) and compared with a preset value, and electrically controlled so that the difference value becomes zero, that is, a constant temperature Humidity controlled. The control means (13) electrically controls the heater current and the dehumidifying means. The drying chamber (12) controlled in this way and the door (14) that shuts off the outside air
Is provided at a position facing the loader section (11).

When the wafer (2) is taken in and out, the door (14) moves up and down to open and close. The loader section (11) has a wafer (2) on which a defective mark is dropped.
Mounting stand (15) on which the storage cabinet (1) storing
And the wafer (2) from the storage (1) to the drying oven (4)
It is composed of a handling section (16) to be delivered to the customer.

The wafers (2) are collectively taken out from the storage (1) placed on the mounting table (15), for example, four storages in the figure, and automatically transferred to the drying chamber (12). Has been done.

The characteristic configuration of the present invention is that, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of, for example, four storage boxes (1 in FIG. 1) mounted on a mounting table (15) of a loader section (11) by an operator or robot transfer. ), The wafers (2) are collectively taken out, and the wafers (2) are transferred by the transfer means (17) to the singular table (1).
8) For example, it is transferred to a transfer table (also called a boat) (18a), and this transfer table (18a) is transferred to the drying chamber (1).
It is configured to be stored in 2).

The above configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. First, a loading table (15) for loading the storage (1) by an operator or robot transfer, and a wafer (1) from the storage (1). A transfer means (17) for taking out 2) and transferring it to a transfer table (18a) described later, for example, a handling section (16) and a storage for storing the transferred wafer (2) in a drying chamber (12). It comprises a means, for example, a transport table section (18a).

The mounting table (15) is configured such that the wafer (2) stored in the storage (1) is horizontally mounted on the storage (1) in a direction orthogonal to the mounting surface (15a). Storage (1)
In the upper diagram of FIG. 3, the wafer (2) is placed so that it can be taken out from the direction of the arrow.

A fixed frame (not shown) is provided on the placement surface (15a) so that the storage case (1) is not displaced. In addition, on the lower surface of the mounting table (15) along the alignment direction of the mounting table (15),
A through hole (19) is provided.

The handling section (16) is a means for lifting the wafer (2) from the storage (1), for example, a lifting mechanism (16a) and a handling arm for transferring the wafer (2) to a transfer table (18a) described later. (16b) and.

The lifting mechanism (16a) is provided below the mounting table (15) on which the storage case (1) is placed, and the wafers (2) stored in the storage case (1) are collectively processed as described above. Storage (1)
A drive unit (20 in FIG. 3) for elevating the height to a preset height is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the drive unit (20) is provided with a lifting plate (21) for raising the lowermost position of the wafer (2) from the lower side to the upper side, and a drive motor (not shown) is provided. ) Is configured to rise by driving. Here, a groove (21b) for supporting the bottom portion of the wafer (2) is carved in the top end (21a) of the lifting plate (21).

The handling arm (16b) includes a gripping mechanism (22) and a parallel movement mechanism for transferring the wafers (2) lifted up to a preset height by the lifting mechanism (16a) to a transfer table (18a) that is collectively loaded. A mechanism (not shown) is provided. Here, the handling arm (16b) is in a direction above the storage (1) and above the transport table (18a), for example, in the Y-axis direction, above the transport table (18a).
It is provided so that it can be driven in the direction of moving up and down, for example, in the Z-axis direction. The gripping mechanism (22) is a claw (22a) having a groove along the outer circumference of the wafer (2) that has been raised to the preset height, for example, the left and right outer circumferences from both sides. It is provided so as to be gripped by pressure.

The parallel movement mechanism (not shown) is the gripping mechanism (2
The wafer (2) held by 2) is moved in parallel as shown in FIG. 4 and is transferred to the transfer table (18a).

The transfer table (18a) is provided with a groove (23a) for each wafer so that the bottom of the wafer (2) is supported by two columnar members, for example, a quartz columnar member (23). In this way, the wafer supported on the quartz columnar material (23), for example, all the wafers (2) stored in the four storages in this example, has the transfer table (18a) in the drying chamber (12). It is configured to be stored as it returns to.

Next, the operation of the semiconductor wafer drying device will be described. The detection means detects the presence of the storage container transported to the mounting table of the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus, for example, the mounting tables (15) at four places by robot transfer. The Y-axis / Z-axis drive unit of the handling unit (16) is driven according to a program stored in advance by this detection information, and the handling arm (16b) is moved above the storage cabinet (1).
To place.

Then, the drive unit (20) for raising the lifting plate (21) provided on the bottom surface of the mounting table (15) on which the storage (1) is mounted is driven. With this rise, the wafer (2) is raised from the storage (1) to a preset height.

On the other hand, the handling arm (16
In b), the wafer (2) raised to the set position is driven so as to be held. Here, the number of held wafers is
All the wafers (2) in the storage (1) are held together.

A handling arm (16) holding the wafer (2)
b) is moved in parallel to a position above the carrier table (18a) by the parallel movement mechanism, and then descends, and is lowered into the groove (2) formed in each wafer (2) of the carrier table (18a).
Equipped with. The transfer table (18a) on which the wafer (2) is mounted is housed in the drying chamber (12) while maintaining a state of supporting a plurality of wafers (2). After the sensor (not shown) detects the storage, the door (14) of the drying furnace (10) is closed, and the drying is started based on the instruction of the control means (13). Similarly, the wafer (2) after drying is
The transfer table (18a) and the handling arm (16b) are interposed, and the container is returned to the storage (1) of the loader section (11).

In the above embodiment, a plurality of storage boxes, for example, a plurality of storage boxes (1) and a plurality of handling arms corresponding to the storage boxes (eg, handling arms (16b) corresponding to four storage boxes (1) in the figure) are arranged. Then, the wafer (2) is taken in and out of the storage (1), but the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 5, a single handling arm (24) is aligned in the storage direction. For example, movement control may be performed in the X-axis direction. In this case the storage (1)
Each transfer is possible.

Furthermore, since the number of the handling arms (24) is single, a lightweight wafer drying device can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the storage mechanism provided in the drying chamber (12) of the drying furnace (10) moves the transfer table (18a) to the drying chamber (1).
Although it is explained that it is stored in 2), the present invention is not limited to this, and the transport table (18a) is stopped, and the drying oven (10) itself is moved so as to approach the transport table (18a). Is also good.

The above embodiment has been described with respect to the semiconductor wafer drying apparatus for drying the wafer (2), but it is also possible to dry a liquid crystal display screen famous for a television screen.

The effect of the above embodiment is that since the wafer (2) is not stored in the metal storage box as in the conventional case, this storage box (1)
The wafer (2) is housed in a space that does not use and dried to improve the throughput.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block explanatory view for explaining an embodiment in which the apparatus of the present invention is used in a wafer drying apparatus, FIG. 2 is an oblique explanatory view for explaining the entire configuration of FIG. 1, and FIG. Sectional explanatory drawing for explaining the handling arm of FIG. 1, 4th
1 is a sectional explanatory view for explaining the transport table portion of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining another embodiment of the handling arm of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is of FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of an embodiment of a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view for explaining an embodiment of a conventional semiconductor wafer drying apparatus. 16 …… Handling part, 17 …… Transfer means, 18 …… Single table, 18a …… Transport table, 22 …… Grip mechanism.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus for taking out the semiconductor wafer from a storage containing a semiconductor wafer on which a marking liquid has been dripped on a semiconductor element, storing the semiconductor wafer in a drying oven, and drying the marking liquid. A semiconductor wafer drying apparatus, wherein semiconductor wafers taken out from a storage are provided on a single table and stored in a drying furnace.