JP5097959B2 - Chuck mechanism, transfer device, and frequency adjustment device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport device for transporting a carrier on which a substrate is mounted, a chuck mechanism used therein, and a frequency adjusting device using the transport device.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional transfer device used in a frequency adjusting device such as a piezoelectric element. In FIG. 7, the frequency adjusting device includes a carrier device including a chuck mechanism 60 and a drive mechanism 20, a carrier 40 that is guided to the guide rail 70 and mounts a substrate to be processed, and an ion gun 50 that irradiates an ion beam from below the carrier 40. Consists of.
In this specification, the transport direction of the carrier 40 is the x axis, the axis perpendicular to the x axis and defining the substrate surface is the y axis, and the direction perpendicular to the x axis and the y axis is the z axis.

  The drive mechanism 20 is composed of a ball screw arranged parallel to the guide rail 70 (that is, in the x-axis direction), and the chuck mechanism 60 is transferred along the ball screw. The chuck mechanism 60 includes an arm base 61 and a magnet unit 63. The end surface 41 of the carrier 40 is made of a magnetic material and can be coupled to the magnet unit 63. The carrier 40 is provided with openings for aligning and holding a large number of substrates 45 (see FIG. 6).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a general frequency adjustment device. The frequency adjusting device includes a preparation / extraction chamber 51 and a processing chamber 52, and the carrier 40 on which the substrate 45 is mounted is carried into the processing chamber 52 from the preparation / extraction chamber 51. In addition to the above configuration, the processing chamber 52 includes measuring means including a contact 53, a mask 54, a shutter 55, a control unit 56, and the like. The operating frequency of each substrate 45 (piezoelectric element or the like) is measured by this measuring means, and an ion beam is irradiated from the ion gun 50 onto the rows of the substrates 45 so that the frequency becomes a desired value.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the chuck mechanism 60 pulls the carrier 40 and conveys it in the x-axis direction, whereby the rows of the substrates 45 are sequentially processed by the ion gun 50.

  Such a chuck mechanism or a conveying device is not limited to a frequency adjusting device, and can be used in various conveying systems as shown in Patent Document 1, for example.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-124625

  By the way, in the transport apparatus as shown in FIG. 7, in order to ensure the slidability between the guide rail 70 and the carrier 40, the dimension (for example, the inner width) constituting the guide rail 70 and the dimension of the carrier 40 (for example, the outer width). ) Designed with play.

Here, it is assumed that the carrier 40 enters the guide rail 70 at an angle with respect to the play range. FIG. 8 exaggerates this case. As shown in the figure, since the magnet part 63 and the carrier end face 41 are not parallel to each other, they are substantially contacted / coupled at a point. When the chuck mechanism 60 tries to pull the carrier 40 in this state, the carrier 40 is detached from the magnet portion 63 due to the weak coupling force.
Even if the carrier 40 does not detach, the carrier 40 is pulled in a state where it is inclined in the range of play of the guide rail 70, that is, in a state where the rows of the substrates 45 are not aligned parallel to the y-axis. Since the ion gun 50 is set so that the ion beam irradiation positions are aligned in the y-axis direction, accurate frequency adjustment cannot be performed when the substrate 45 is not parallel to the y-axis.

In the above description, the carrier 40 is inclined in the xy plane. However, the same problem occurs when the carrier 40 is inclined in the xz plane or the yz plane.
As described above, the conventional transport apparatus has a problem that a carrier that does not enter in the correct direction cannot be transported, or even if it can be transported, it cannot be transported with a correct angle.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a chuck mechanism (10) that is magnetically coupled to an end face of a carrier (40) and is transferred in a predetermined direction (x-axis direction) by a drive mechanism (20). A fixed arm base (11), a magnet part (13) held rotatably with respect to the fulcrum of the arm base, and an elastic member for restricting rotation of the magnet part with respect to the fulcrum by elastic force A chuck mechanism provided with (14).

  Here, the fulcrum members (12, 121) constituting the fulcrum are fixed on the arm base, the magnet part (13) includes a magnet bar (131) having a magnetic body, a bearing (132) attached to the fulcrum member, and It comprises a housing (133) for coupling the magnet bar and the bearing. Furthermore, it is desirable that the bearing is a spherical bearing.

The elastic member (14) is composed of first and second elastic bodies (141, 142) that receive a tensile load, and one end of each of the first and second elastic bodies is attached at a symmetrical position of the housing. The end was attached to the arm base.
Here, it is desirable that the first and second elastic bodies are arranged so that the elastic shafts of the first and second elastic bodies pass through the rotation center of the bearing.
Furthermore, a third elastic body (143) for applying a force for holding the magnet bar horizontally may be included.

The second aspect of the present invention is a transport device including the chuck mechanism (10) and the drive mechanism (20) of the first side.
Furthermore, a guide rail (31, 32) for regulating the movement of the carrier in the x-axis direction may be provided so that a part of the chuck mechanism (for example, the bearing 114) slides on the guide rail.

  The third aspect of the present invention is a frequency adjusting device including the transfer device (10, 20) of the second side and an ion gun (50) for irradiating a substrate on the carrier with an ion beam.

It is a figure which shows the frequency adjusting device of this invention Example. It is a figure explaining the Example of this invention. It is a bird's-eye view of the chuck mechanism of the embodiment of the present invention. It is an exploded view of the chuck mechanism of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a bird's-eye view of the guide rail of this invention Example. It is a figure explaining a general frequency adjusting device. It is a figure which shows the conventional frequency adjustment apparatus. It is a figure explaining a prior art.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The transport device includes a chuck mechanism 10 that is magnetically coupled to the end surface 41 of the carrier 40, and a drive mechanism 20 (for example, a ball screw) that moves the chuck mechanism 10 in the x-axis direction. The chuck mechanism is different from the conventional transfer device of FIG. Furthermore, the guide rail is also improved. Since the configuration other than the chuck mechanism 10 and the guide rail is the same as that shown in FIG. Naturally, the conveying apparatus of FIG. 1 can be used in the frequency adjusting apparatus of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the chuck mechanism 10 has an arm base 11 fixed to the drive mechanism 20, a fulcrum member 12 fixed to the arm base 11, and a fulcrum member 12 as a fulcrum (if there is nothing to interfere with it). ) In order to hold the longitudinal direction of the magnet part 13 in the y-axis direction by restricting the rotation of the magnet part 13 that is rotatably held and is opposed to the end face 41 of the carrier 40 and the rotation of the magnet part 13 by an elastic force. The elastic member 14 is provided.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the carrier 40 has entered the guide rails 31 and 32 obliquely. Of course, the inclination of the carrier 40 with respect to the x-axis in the drawing is exaggerated from the actual inclination for convenience of explanation.
First, as shown in (a), the magnet portion 13 is rotated with respect to the fulcrum member 12 by the attractive force of the magnet portion 13 and the carrier end surface 41, and the magnet portion 13 and the carrier end surface 41 are coupled by the surface. At this time, the two elastic members 14 are extended more than usual.
Next, as shown in (b), the longitudinal end surface of the magnet portion 13 returns to the initial position, that is, the position parallel to the y-axis, by the contraction force of the elastic member 14. Thereby, the carrier 40 is correctly accommodated in the guide rails 31 and 32 as originally planned.

Next, details of the chuck mechanism 10 will be described.
FIG. 3 shows a bird's-eye view of the chuck mechanism 10 of the present invention. The arm base 11 includes first to third bases 111 to 113. In addition, what is necessary is just to determine the division | segmentation or coupling | bonding of each base suitably. The fulcrum member 12 includes a bearing shaft 121 extending in the z-axis direction and is fixed to the second base 112. The bearing 114 is incorporated in one guide rail 31 and slides. Thereby, sinking of the arm base 11 in the z direction is suppressed.

  The magnet unit 13 includes a magnet bar 131, a spherical bearing 132 (not shown in FIG. 3, see FIG. 4) attached to the bearing shaft 121, a housing 133 that couples the magnet bar 131 and the spherical bearing 132, and an attachment member 134. With this configuration, the magnet unit 13 is held rotatably in all directions assuming that there is nothing to interfere with.

The elastic member 14 includes first and second tension springs 141 and 142 that receive a tensile load, and one ends of the first and second tension springs 141 and 142 are attached at symmetrical positions with the housing 133 interposed therebetween. The other end is attached to the arm base 11 (second base 112). Here, the elastic shafts of the first and second tension springs 141 and 142 are preferably oriented so as to pass through the rotation center of the spherical bearing 132. By such an arrangement of the tension spring, the force of the tension spring can be most efficiently applied to the restriction of rotation.
In addition, although the above was shown as the most suitable example, the attachment position and angle of the 1st and 2nd tension spring can be selected suitably.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the chuck mechanism 10 of FIG. The magnet bar 131 includes a magnet mounting plate 131a, a magnet 131b, and a magnet presser 131c. The spherical bearing 132 is interposed between the housing 133 and the bearing shaft 121. Here, by using the spherical bearing 132 as a bearing, the magnet bar 131 can rotate in all directions with respect to the bearing shaft 121.
In addition, when it is desired to rotate the magnet bar 131 not only in all directions but in the xy plane with respect to the bearing shaft 121, a cylindrical bearing may be used instead of the spherical bearing.

  As one of the elastic members 14, it is desirable to include a third elastic body 143 for applying a force for holding the magnet bar 131 horizontally. The third elastic body 143 prevents the magnet bar 131 from facing downward due to the gravity by applying a force repelling the gravity. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the third elastic body 143 is a compression spring. In the embodiment, in order to simplify the configuration, the compression spring 143 is disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the bearing shaft 121 so as to support the entire housing 133. For example, the compression spring 143 is disposed near the magnet bar 131 of the housing 133. The point may be configured to be supported, or the point may be suspended from the top by a tension spring.

According to the above-described embodiment, even when the carrier 40 is inclined with respect to the guide rails 31 and 32, the carrier 40 can be transported without being detached from the chuck mechanism 10. Even in such a case, the carrier 40 is not pulled while being oriented obliquely, and the orthogonality between the carrier 40 and each axis can always be ensured.
Furthermore, since the carrier conveyance speed of the above embodiment always coincides with the speed of the fulcrum member 12 (bearing shaft 121), that is, the driving speed of the ball screw 20, the carrier conveyance speed can also be accurately controlled.

  In the present invention, one guide rail 31 is used as a reference (that is, one that defines the x axis), and the other guide rail 32 is provided with a bearing 33 with a spring as shown in FIG. By this bearing 33 with a spring, the carrier 40 is pressed against the guide rail 31, the longitudinal direction of the magnet portion 13 is adjusted in the y-axis direction, and the substrate on the carrier can be aligned in parallel with the x-axis and the y-axis. Further, the force (for example, gravity) applied to the chuck mechanism 10 in the z direction can be adjusted by the third elastic body 143 and the guide rail configurations 31 to 33.

  Due to the above characteristics, when the chuck mechanism of the present invention is used in a frequency adjusting device, the substrate 45 mounted on the carrier 40 is reliably conveyed at a desired speed in a state orthogonal to the x-axis and the y-axis. Accurate frequency adjustment of elements on the substrate can be performed.

  Although a frequency adjusting device such as a piezoelectric element is shown as a typical use example of the chuck mechanism of the present invention, the transport device of the present invention can be applied to any device for transporting a carrier on a guide rail. The effect similar to the above can be expected.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a ball screw is used as the driving mechanism 20 as the most preferable example, but other motion techniques may be used as long as the chuck mechanism 10 can be moved in the x-axis direction.
Further, although various springs are used as the elastic member 14, other elastic bodies such as rubber may be used.
In the above description, the magnet bar 131 is a magnet, and the carrier end face 41 is a magnetic metal, but it is only necessary that both can be magnetically coupled. For example, either one may be a magnet, the other may be a non-magnet metal, or both may be magnets.

10. 10. Chuck mechanism Arm base 12. Fulcrum member 13. Magnet part 14. Elastic member 20. Drive mechanisms 31, 32. Guide rail 33. Spring bearing 40. Carrier 41. Carrier end face 45. Substrate 50. Ion gun 51. Charge take-out chamber 52. Processing chamber 53. Contact 54. Mask 55. Shutter 56. Control unit 111. First base 112. Second base 113. Third base 114. Bearing 121. Bearing shaft 131. Magnet bar 131a. Magnet mounting plate 131b. Magnet 131c. Magnet presser 132. Spherical bearing 133. Housing 134. Mounting members 141, 142. Tension spring 143. Compression spring

Claims (9)

A chuck mechanism that is magnetically coupled to an end face of a carrier and is transferred in a predetermined direction (x-axis direction) by a drive mechanism,
An arm base fixed to the drive mechanism;
A chuck mechanism comprising: a magnet portion that is rotatably supported with respect to a fulcrum on the arm base, and is disposed to face the end surface; and an elastic member that restricts rotation of the magnet portion with respect to the fulcrum by an elastic force. The chuck mechanism according to claim 1, wherein
A chuck mechanism comprising: a fulcrum member constituting the fulcrum is fixed to the arm base; and the magnet portion includes a magnet bar having a magnetic body, a bearing attached to the fulcrum member, and a housing coupling the magnet bar and the bearing. .   3. The chuck mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the bearing is a spherical bearing. The chuck mechanism according to claim 2, wherein
The elastic member is composed of first and second elastic bodies that receive a tensile load, each one end of the first and second elastic bodies is attached to a symmetrical position of the housing, and each other end is attached to the arm base. Chuck mechanism.   5. The chuck mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the first and second elastic bodies are arranged so that the elastic shafts of the first and second elastic bodies pass through the rotation center of the bearing.   5. The chuck mechanism according to claim 4, further comprising a third elastic body for applying a force for holding the magnet bar horizontally.   A transport device comprising the chuck mechanism according to claim 1 and the drive mechanism.   8. The transport device according to claim 7, further comprising a guide rail for regulating movement of the carrier in the x-axis direction, wherein a part of the chuck mechanism slides on the guide rail. apparatus.   8. A frequency adjusting device comprising the transfer device according to claim 7 and an ion gun for irradiating a substrate on the carrier with an ion beam.

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