JP3919967B2 - Vacuum robot mounting device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an attachment device for a vacuum robot, and in particular, a vacuum robot suitable for use in attaching a substrate transfer vacuum robot used in the semiconductor and liquid crystal fields to a transfer chamber, in which a mounting bolt can be easily removed, and a vacuum. The present invention relates to a robot mounting device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Since fine particles (particles) and dirt on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in the LSI manufacturing process and on the surface of a liquid crystal (LCD) or solar cell greatly reduce the yield of the final product, the surface of the wafer or the like is extremely cleaned. is important.
[0003]
Therefore, various surface cleaning methods have been proposed in the past. Taking semiconductor manufacturing as an example, pure water cleaning combined with ultrasonic waves, chemical solution in pure water (for example, ammonia hydrogen peroxide solution or sulfuric acid hydrogen peroxide solution) A wet cleaning method is used in which an object to be cleaned is immersed in a solution to which is added and cleaned.
[0004]
However, this type of wet cleaning method has a problem that the installation area of various facilities is large and waste liquid treatment is necessary.
[0005]
On the other hand, as a dry cleaning method that does not use liquid, there is dry cleaning using a chemical reaction by adding gas, but there is a problem that contaminants on the particles cannot be removed.
[0006]
Furthermore, it is also considered to remove particles by colliding fine particles such as dry ice, ice, and argon solids on the surface of the object to be cleaned. However, when ice is used, the surface of the object to be cleaned is damaged. When dry ice is used, there is a problem of impurity contamination especially in commercial products made from steel or petroleum refining waste gas because the dry ice itself is dirty.
[0007]
On the other hand, according to the method described in JP-A-6-252114 and JP-A-6-295895, an aerosol containing fine particles of argon solid (referred to as argon aerosol) is collided in a vacuum atmosphere to perform surface cleaning. For example, the above problems do not exist.
[0008]
FIG. 1 shows a conduit diagram of the overall configuration of an example of a wafer cleaning apparatus using this argon aerosol, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the same.
[0009]
In this example, the argon gas and nitrogen gas whose flow rates are controlled by the mass flow controllers 30 and 32 pass through the filter 34 and are then cooled in a heat exchanger 38 using, for example, a helium (He) cryocooler 36. After that, an aerosol 24 is ejected from a large number of fine nozzle holes 22 opened in the aerosol nozzle 20 and ejected into a cleaning chamber 42 for wafer cleaning which is evacuated by a vacuum pump 40.
[0010]
The wafer 10 is placed on a process hand (also referred to as an XY scan stage) 46 that is scanned in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction by the wafer scanning mechanism 44, and the entire surface of the wafer can be cleaned.
[0011]
In order to improve the cleaning power, it is considered to install an acceleration nozzle 56. Nitrogen gas (referred to as acceleration gas 58) supplied to the acceleration nozzle 56 through the mass flow controller 52 and the filter 54 and blown out from the nozzle hole. ) Accelerates the aerosol 24 ejected from the aerosol nozzle 20.
[0012]
Further, for the purpose of preventing the reattachment of particles to the wafer surface, the cleaning chamber 42 is formed by using nitrogen gas flowing from one end (left end in FIG. 2) of the cleaning chamber 42 through the mass flow controller 62 and the filter 64 as the purge gas 66. It is also considered to supply the inside.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer 10 in the cassette chamber 70 evacuated to a vacuum state for carrying in the wafer 10 accommodated in the cassette 72 from the outside of the apparatus provided for two cassette exchanges is the wafer 10. For example, a horizontal articulated type in-vacuum transfer robot (referred to as a vacuum robot) 82 disposed in a transfer chamber (also referred to as a robot chamber) 80, which is attached to the tip of two robot arms 84. The hand 86 passes through the gate valves 74 and 76 and is transferred onto the process hand 46 in the buffer chamber 90 for delivering the wafer 10 to the cleaning chamber 42.
[0014]
The wafer 10 carried on the process hand 46 driven by the wafer scanning mechanism 44 is scanned in the Y-axis direction and the X-axis direction under the aerosol nozzle 20.
[0015]
The wafer 10 whose entire surface has been cleaned in this manner is returned to the cassette chamber 70 by tracing back the path carried into the buffer chamber 90.
[0016]
The attachment state of the vacuum robot 82 to the transfer chamber 80 in such a wafer cleaning apparatus is shown in FIG. 3 (plan view) and FIG. 4 (longitudinal sectional view taken along line IV-IV).
[0017]
As shown in the figure, for example, there are openings (three places in the figure) on the side surface of the transfer chamber 80 hollowed out from the center upper surface in a circular shape, which are partitioned by gate valves 74 and 76, respectively. The transfer chamber lid 81 is closed.
[0018]
A stepped and circular vacuum robot mounting opening 80 </ b> B is provided below the center of the inside of the transfer chamber 80. A plurality of non-penetrating female screws 80C are provided on the outer side of the step portion on the inner periphery of the opening 80B, and an O-ring 83 is provided on the inner side of the coaxial circle on the inner side. It is attached. Further, the stepped portion on the outer periphery of the mounting flange 82F of the vacuum robot 82 is provided with the stepped portion of the opening 80B of the transfer chamber 80, and therefore the same number of through holes 82G for mounting bolts 82B are provided at the same pitch as the screw 80C. It has been.
[0019]
In this way, by attaching the mounting bolt 82B from the upper surface of the mounting flange 82F of the vacuum robot 82 inside the transfer chamber 80, the vacuum robot 82 is fixed to the lower surface of the transfer chamber 80, so that the vacuum airtightness can be maintained.
[0020]
A robot hand 86 for mounting the wafer 10 is mounted on the mounting flange 82F via, for example, two robot arms 84.
[0021]
In such a configuration, when attaching and detaching the vacuum robot 82 for such repair and maintenance, while opening the transfer chamber lid 81 shall tighten or loosen the mounting bolts 82 B from above. At this time, when the vacuum robot 82 is in a stopped state, the robot arm 84 and the robot hand 86 are in the way, and all the mounting bolts 82B cannot be turned. Therefore, it is necessary to actuate (rotate here) the vacuum robot 82 and turn the mounting bolt 82B hidden behind the robot arm 84 and the robot hand 86.
[0022]
When all the mounting bolts 82B are removed in this way, the vacuum robot 82 is taken out from above the transfer chamber 80 to the upper side.
[0023]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the vacuum robot 82 has gears and belts inside and cannot be operated from the outside in a free state. In order to operate, the vacuum robot 82 must be turned on to give power and commands. Is troublesome and troublesome. In the first place, when the vacuum robot 82 is attached or detached, there are many cases where it is not possible to operate due to failure in wiring in the built-in initial state or failure. Further, the mounting bolt 82B is provided in a vacuum. When the mounting bolt 82B is attached or detached, particles are generated by friction between the mounting bolt 82B and the female screw 80C, and become a contamination source of the substrate. In addition, since the time during which the inside of the transfer chamber is exposed to the atmosphere is long, there is a problem that it is easily contaminated.
[0024]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is possible to attach and detach a vacuum robot without operating a robot arm or removing a robot hand, and generation of particles during attachment and detachment. The challenge is to reduce it.
[0025]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a robot hand disposed inside a room (for example, a transfer chamber) configured in a vacuum-tight sealed structure, and a drive unit disposed outside the room for driving the robot hand. And a vacuum robot mounting device that includes a mounting flange that is fixed to an opening provided in a wall of the room and that attaches and detaches the vacuum robot from the room with the robot hand attached. and is disposed on the abutment surface of the mounting flange, and the sealing material for the gas-tight seal, which is formed on the inner side of the sealing member of the opening, and the through holes for mounting bolts, said through said mounting flange formed at positions corresponding to the holes, and a non-threaded through holes for mounting bolts is provided, and removable from the outside of the room mounting bolts downwardly, Friendly removed vacuum robot above the upper side of the room With it is obtained by solving the above problems.
[0026]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 5 (plan view), FIG. 6 (longitudinal sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5), and FIG. A through hole 80D for the mounting bolt 82B is provided on the transfer chamber 80 side inside the O-ring 83 disposed at the step of the vacuum robot mounting opening 80B, and a position corresponding to the through hole 80D on the mounting flange 82F side. Further, a non-penetrating female screw 82H for the mounting bolt 82B is formed from below.
[0028]
In this way, by attaching the mounting bolt 82B from below the outside of the transfer chamber, the vacuum robot 82 is fixed to the lower surface of the transfer chamber 80, so that the vacuum airtightness can be maintained.
[0029]
In this embodiment, when attaching / detaching the vacuum robot 82, the mounting bolt 82 </ b> B can be tightened or loosened from below the outside of the transfer chamber 80. For this reason, regardless of the position where the vacuum robot 82 is stopped, regardless of the position, the robot arm 84 and the robot hand 86 can be turned and all the mounting bolts 82B can be turned. Of course, it is not necessary to operate the vacuum robot.
[0030]
When all the mounting bolts 82B are removed downward, the transfer chamber lid 81 can be opened and the vacuum robot 82 can be taken out from above the transfer chamber 80.
[0031]
In the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been applied to the attachment of a vacuum robot for wafer transfer provided in the transfer chamber of an aerosol wafer cleaning apparatus. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. Obviously, the present invention can be similarly applied to mounting of a general vacuum robot provided in another room. Moreover, the removal direction of the vacuum robot is not limited to the upward direction.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the vacuum robot can be easily attached to and detached from the transfer chamber or the like without operating the robot arm or removing the robot hand. In addition, the generation of particles in the transfer chamber or the like during attachment / detachment is small. Furthermore, since the mounting bolt is not on the vacuum side, particles generated from the thread surface during rotation of the mounting bolt do not adversely affect the vacuum in the transfer chamber or the like.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conduit diagram showing an overall configuration of an aerosol wafer cleaning apparatus as an example of an application object of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view. FIG. 3 is a vacuum robot for a transfer chamber in the wafer cleaning apparatus. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the attachment state of the vacuum robot to the transfer chamber in the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing the vacuum robot mounting portion in FIG.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Wafer 80 ... Transfer chamber 81 ... Transfer chamber lid 80B ... Vacuum robot mounting opening 80D ... Through hole 82 ... Vacuum robot 82F ... Mounting flange 82B ... Mounting bolt 82H ... Female screw 83 ... O-ring 84 ... Robot arm 86 ... Robot hand

Claims (1)

A robot hand arranged inside a room configured in a vacuum-tight sealed structure;
A driving unit disposed outside the room for driving the robot hand;
In an attachment device for a vacuum robot, which is fixed to an opening provided in the wall of the room and includes an attachment flange for attaching and detaching the vacuum robot from the room with the robot hand attached.
An airtight sealing material disposed on the contact surface of the opening and the mounting flange;
Formed on the inner side of the sealing member of the opening, and the through holes for mounting bolts,
A non-through screw hole for a mounting bolt formed at a position corresponding to the through hole of the mounting flange;
An attachment device for a vacuum robot, wherein an attachment bolt can be removed downward from the outside of the room, and a vacuum robot can be taken out from above the room .

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