JP2801139B2 - Substrate transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display,
The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device used to take out a substrate such as a substrate for an optical disk from a storage unit such as a cassette, mount and support the substrate, and transfer the substrate to various processing devices and measurement devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a substrate transfer apparatus of this kind, a vacuum suction hole is generally provided on an arm for mounting and supporting a substrate,
Some substrates hold the substrate by vacuum suction, but there is a problem that particles adhere to the back surface of the substrate because the suction surface of the vacuum suction is in close contact with the substrate. For this reason, it is conceivable to adopt a configuration in which the substrate can be held without using vacuum suction, and a configuration disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-18435 is conventionally known.

According to this conventional example, a fixed first holding portion is provided at the tip of each of a pair of grippers.
The other gripper is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat by a push rod and to be able to apply a pressing force by a spring. A second holding portion is provided on the gripper, and two first holding portions are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the substrate. And the second pressing portion, and the contact pressure given by the spring holds the substrate in a state where the substrate is supported at three points, and positions the substrate without contacting the front and back surfaces of the substrate to hold the substrate. It is configured to avoid adhesion of dust.

[0004]

However, in the case of the above-described conventional example, the force for holding the substrate depends on the elastic force of the spring, and a considerable elastic force is required. Therefore, when the first and second pressing portions come into contact with and contact the outer peripheral surface of the substrate, the contact portions are scraped,
On the contrary, there is a disadvantage that dust is generated. In addition, since the substrate is pinched with a considerable elastic force even while the substrate is being conveyed, the abutting portion is shaved and dust is generated, and the particles adhere to the substrate, resulting in contamination. .

Therefore, the applicant of the present application has previously proposed a technique capable of supporting a substrate in a positioning state while minimizing the adhesion of particles due to dust generation (Japanese Patent Application No. 5-95293).

In this proposed example, support members are arranged so as to be opposed to each other and the distance between the support members can be changed, and a bottom support for placing and supporting a bottom surface on the outer peripheral edge side of the substrate is provided on each of the support members. An outer edge support that abuts the surface and regulates the position in the direction along the bottom surface of the substrate, and when adjusting the facing distance between the two support members, the outer edge support has a predetermined play with respect to the substrate. When the outer edge support acts on the outer peripheral surface of the substrate, only a small force that can be moved against the inertial force and the frictional force on the lower surface of the substrate is sufficient, The configuration is such that dust generation due to contact with the outer peripheral surface of the substrate is avoided. In addition, even during the transportation, dust is avoided by preventing a large force from being applied to the outer peripheral surface of the substrate due to play between the outer peripheral surface of the substrate and the outer edge support.

However, in the case of the above proposed example, for example,
When the space below the substrate is narrow, such as when the substrate housed in a cassette or the like is taken out, it is difficult to insert the thick outer edge support below the substrate, and there is still room for improvement in practical use. This is the same in the conventional example disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-18435.

In particular, in a cassette in which substrates are stored in multiple stages in the vertical direction, a part of the substrates is stored in an inclined posture due to vibrations during the transport of the cassettes. That is, the gap between the substrates vertically adjacent to each other on the opening side of the cassette may be small. In such a case, the conventional example disclosed in the above-mentioned proposal example or Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-18435 is disclosed. Could not be used.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even in a place where the space below the substrate is narrow, the substrate support arm can be easily inserted to take out the substrate.
It is an object of the present invention to enable easy positioning and transport.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate transfer apparatus for mounting and supporting a substrate in a horizontal posture and moving the substrate in a horizontal direction. A positioning guide for receiving the end face of the substrate is provided only on the base end side of the arm, and the substrate support arm is slid so that the substrate is received by the positioning guide by tilting so that the substrate support arm is positioned at a lower position toward the positioning guide. It is configured by providing an inclination mechanism. The above-described substrate transfer device can be suitably used when transferring substrates in and out of a cassette in which substrates are stored in multiple stages in the vertical direction.

[0011]

According to the structure of the substrate transport apparatus of the present invention, a positioning guide is provided only on the base end side, and the substrate support arm whose front end side is thin is inserted into the space below the substrate,
By raising it to support the substrate, and moving in that state or in the direction opposite to the insertion direction, the tilting mechanism is operated to tilt the substrate support arm, and the substrate is slid and moved. By allowing a part of the outer peripheral end face to be received by the positioning guide, the substrate can be naturally supported on the substrate support arm while being positioned in a predetermined posture.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the thin distal end of the substrate support arm is inserted between the substrates accommodated in multiple stages, and is lifted up to the substrate support arm. After the substrate is supported and the substrate is taken out of the cassette, the tilting mechanism is operated to tilt the substrate support arm, the substrate is slid and moved, and a part of the outer peripheral end face is received by the positioning guide. The substrate can be supported in a state where the substrate is naturally positioned in a predetermined posture with respect to the support arm.

[0013]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic perspective view showing a substrate processing apparatus using a substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate W having an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface such as a semiconductor wafer.
Is a device for applying a photoresist solution to the substrate and performing a drying process. The device is roughly divided into a portion (hereinafter, referred to as an indexer module) 1 for storing an unprocessed substrate and a processed substrate, and a substrate W. And a substrate processing unit 2 for processing.

The indexer module 1 comprises four cassettes C... Mounted in a row on a fixed base 3 and a substrate transport device 4 for loading and unloading substrates W from and into these cassettes C. And The transfer of the substrate W between the indexer module 1 and the substrate processing unit 2 is performed at a predetermined substrate transfer position P between the substrate transfer device 4 and the substrate transfer unit 10 (described later) of the substrate processing unit 2. Done.
The substrate transport device 4 takes out the substrate W to be transported to the substrate processing unit 2 from the cassette C and transports the substrate W to the substrate transfer position P,
At the substrate transfer position P, the substrate W received from the substrate transporting means 10 is transported and stored in the cassette C. Each of the cassettes C can store the substrates W in multiple stages in the vertical direction.

The substrate processing unit 2 performs a first process of heating the substrate W at a predetermined temperature such as 120 ° C. to remove moisture and the like.
Holding the substrate W, a substrate heating unit 5 provided thereunder, a first substrate heat removing unit 6 provided below the substrate W after the heat treatment, and cooled to a predetermined temperature such as 23 ° C. and returned to a normal temperature. A substrate rotation type photoresist processing unit 7 for applying a photoresist liquid to the surface while rotating the substrate;
The substrate W coated with the photoresist solution is heated to, for example, 100 ° C.
A second substrate heating unit 8 that heat-treats the substrate W at a predetermined temperature such as to evaporate the solvent component and adheres the photoresist film to the substrate W, and a substrate W provided therebelow and subjected to the heat treatment, For example, it is provided with a second substrate heat removal unit 9 that cools to a predetermined temperature such as 23 ° C. and returns to normal temperature.

The substrate processing unit 2 includes a substrate transport unit 10.
And the substrate W supplied and discharged from the substrate transfer position P
Are carried in any order between the first and second substrate heating units 5 and 8, the first and second substrate heat removal units 6 and 9, and the substrate rotating photoresist processing unit 7.
It is configured to be carried out.

As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 2, a first screw shaft 13, which is rotated forward and reverse by a first electric motor 12, is mounted on a mount 11 fixed to the base 3.
A first support 15 is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction by the first guide 14 and the first guide 14. This first support 1
The moving direction of 5 is a direction along the row of the cassettes C placed on the base 3.

The second electric motor 1 is mounted on the first support 15.
The second support base 1 is vertically movable by a second screw shaft 17 and a second guide 18 which are rotated forward and backward by the second support shaft 1.
9 are provided.

A belt 21 and a third guide 22 are reciprocally movable by a third electric motor 20 rotatable forward and backward on a second support base 19, and are orthogonal to the moving direction of the first support base 15. A column member 23 is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and a substrate support arm 24 for placing and supporting the substrate W in a horizontal posture can swing vertically around a horizontal axis P1 at the upper end of the column member 23. It is provided in. The axis P <b> 1 is provided in parallel with the above-described first guide 14, that is, in parallel with the moving direction of the first support 15. The base end of the substrate support arm 24 is rotatably supported by the axis P 1, and the swing surface of the substrate support arm 24 is parallel to the third guide 22.

A positioning guide 25 having an arc-shaped guide surface F in a plan view is provided on the base end side of the substrate support arm 24 formed of a thin plate-like member. A plurality of projections 26 are provided integrally on the upper surface of the substrate support arm 24 to place and support the substrate W by point contact.

As shown in the side view of the main part of FIG. 3, an air cylinder 27 is attached to the lower part of the column member 23, and the air cylinder 27 and the positioning guide 25 are connected to a rod 28.
The substrate support arm 24 swings around the axis P1 by the expansion and contraction of the air cylinder 27. By the swing, the substrate supporting arm 24 and the positioning guide 25 are inclined integrally so as to be positioned lower toward the positioning guide 25, and the substrate W mounted and supported on the projections 26. The tilting mechanism 29 is configured to slide to the side and allow the positioning guide 25 to receive the end face of the substrate W.

Next, the operation of taking out a predetermined substrate W from the cassette C using the substrate transport device 4 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the side view of FIG. First, the substrate support arm 24 is moved to a position in front of the predetermined cassette C, and then the substrate support arm 24 is raised to a predetermined height. It is inserted below W (see FIG. 4A).

After inserting the substrate support arm 24 to a predetermined position, the substrate support arm 24 is raised to a position sufficient to lift the substrate W from the substrate insertion groove 30 of the cassette C, and the substrate W is placed and supported on the projections 26. [See FIG. 4 (b)].

With the substrate W supported on the substrate support arm 24, the substrate W is moved away from the cassette C,
The substrate W is taken out (see FIG. 4C). Thereafter, the air cylinder 27 is operated to tilt the substrate support arm 24, and the substrate W is slid on the protrusions 26 to the base end side of the substrate support arm 24. The outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W is moved so as to be in contact with the guide surface F of the positioning guide 25 and positioned (see FIG. 4D). Since the guide surface F of the positioning guide 25 has an arc shape coinciding with the outer periphery of the substrate W, the substrate W is located at a predetermined position not only in the base end-tip direction of the substrate support arm 24 but also in a direction perpendicular thereto. Positioned.

Thereafter, the substrate support arm 24 is moved to the substrate transfer position P, the substrate support arm 24 is returned to the horizontal position, and the substrate W is transferred to the substrate transfer means 10. When the substrate W is transferred from the substrate transfer position P to the cassette C and accommodated in the cassette C, the substrate W is received from the substrate transfer unit 10 at the substrate transfer position P in a state where the substrate support arm 24 is in a horizontal posture without being inclined. Thereafter, the substrate support arm 24 is moved to a position in front of the predetermined cassette C, the substrate support arm 24 is tilted, and the substrate W is positioned by the positioning guide 25. W is stored in the cassette C.

The tilt angle by the tilt mechanism 29 described above may be any angle that can move the substrate W toward the positioning guide 25 by tilting and can position the substrate W, and for example, is preferably about 15 to 30 °.

As the above-mentioned tilting mechanism 29, for example, a rotating body is provided at an intermediate position of the column member 23 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis by an air cylinder or a motor, and the rotating body and the positioning guide 25 are provided. Various modifications of the configuration are possible, such as coupling between the two via a rod.

In the above embodiment, the positioning guide 25 is provided integrally with the substrate support arm 24. However, in the present invention, the positioning guide 25 is provided separately from the substrate support arm 24, and only the substrate support arm 24 is provided. May be provided so as to receive and position the substrate W slid and moved by tilting at a position where the substrate W is inserted and removed from the cassette C and taken out of the cassette C.

The present invention can be applied not only to a circular substrate having an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface provided with a notch or an orientation flat, but also to a rectangular substrate. In this case, the positioning guide 25 receives a corner of the rectangular substrate. Thus, the guide surface F may be formed in a right angle.

Further, the length of the substrate support arm 24 is configured such that the distal end thereof protrudes beyond the substrate W, and a portion of the distal end of the substrate support arm 24 which is smaller than the thickness of the substrate W than the projection 26 for supporting the substrate. A scraping projection that protrudes by a fixed amount may be provided so as to prevent the substrate W from unexpectedly sliding toward the cassette C when the substrate W is taken out of the cassette C.

In the cassette C of the above embodiment, the surface of the substrate fitting groove 30 for receiving the substrate W is formed as an inclined surface which becomes lower toward the center of the substrate.
When a part of the outer peripheral surface of the cassette C is received and supported by the inclined surface, the supporting posture is inclined due to the vibration at the time of transporting the cassette C, and the distance between the lower substrate and the lower substrate becomes small. In addition, when the substrate having the orientation flat formed therein is accommodated, the intersection of the orientation flat and the arc surface is supported by the substrate fitting groove 30, and the substrate W is inclined in the takeout direction so as to be spaced from the lower substrate. The present invention can be suitably used when the substrate W accommodated in such a cassette C is taken out and transported. For example, the lower space is provided at a predetermined substrate standby position or the like. The present invention is also applicable to a case where a substrate placed in a narrow state is taken out and transported.

[0033]

As described above, according to the substrate transfer apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, since the positioning guide is provided only on the base end side and the tip end side of the substrate support arm can be made thin, Even in a narrow space, the substrate can be easily taken out by inserting the substrate support arm. Moreover,
By tilting the substrate supporting arm that supports the substrate by the tilting mechanism, the substrate is slid and moved, and a part of the outer peripheral end surface is received by the positioning guide, so that the substrate is naturally in a predetermined posture with respect to the substrate supporting arm. The substrate can be easily positioned and transported because the substrate is supported in the state where it is positioned. The force applied to the substrate during this positioning is only a small amount of the contact pressure that contacts the positioning guide by sliding and moving due to the frictional force on the lower surface of the substrate and the weight of the substrate,
Also, since those forces are not applied after positioning is completed,
Dust generation due to them can be suppressed.

According to the substrate transfer apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, the distal end side of the substrate support arm can be made thinner. As a result, even if the substrate is inclined and the gap between adjacent substrates in the vertical direction on the take-out side of the substrate is small, the tip side of the substrate support arm can be easily inserted between those substrates, After the substrate is taken out of the cassette, the substrate is slid and moved and positioned by tilting, so that the substrate can be easily positioned and transported. By tilting the substrate support arm for positioning the substrate outside the cassette, even if dust is generated due to the sliding of the substrate or the contact between the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate and the positioning guide, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dust. Can be prevented from dropping on the substrate below, and the adhesion of particles can be favorably suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic perspective view showing a substrate processing apparatus using a substrate transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the substrate transfer device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part.

FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining a substrate unloading operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4: substrate transfer device 24: substrate support arm 25: positioning guide 29: tilt mechanism C: cassette W: substrate

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── continued (72) of the front page inventor Mizohatake coercive ▲ Hiroshi ▼ Fushimi-ku, Kyoto Hazukashifurukawa-cho, 322 address Dainippon screen manufacturing Co., Ltd. Rakusai in the factory (58) investigated the field (Int.Cl. ^6, (DB name) H01L 21/68 B65G 49/07

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate supporting arm which supports a substrate in a horizontal posture and is movable in a horizontal direction only on a base end side of the substrate supporting arm.
A positioning guide for receiving an end surface of the substrate, and a tilt mechanism for tilting the substrate support arm so as to be positioned below the positioning guide side and slidingly moving to a side for receiving the substrate by the positioning guide. A substrate transfer device, comprising: 2. A substrate transfer apparatus, wherein the substrate support arm according to claim 1 is configured to take a substrate into and out of a cassette that stores substrates in multiple stages in a vertical direction.