JP5357694B2 - Position shift prevention device, substrate holder provided with the same, substrate transport device, and substrate transport method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position-deviation prevention device capable of suppressing position-deviation of a substrate retained to a substrate holder even in the vacuum state. <P>SOLUTION: The position-deviation prevention device 201 detachably attachable to a fork 101 includes a body 203; a plurality of movable pins 205 projectedly provided on an upper surface 203a of the body 203; and coil springs 207 for each independently urging the movable pins 205 in an upper direction (projecting direction). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a misalignment prevention device, a substrate holder including the same, a substrate transport device, and a substrate transport method.

  In an FPD manufacturing process typified by a liquid crystal display (LCD), various processes such as etching and film formation are performed on a substrate such as a glass substrate under vacuum. In manufacturing the FPD, a so-called multi-chamber type substrate processing system including a plurality of substrate processing chambers is used. Such a substrate processing system has a transfer chamber in which a substrate transfer device for transferring a substrate is provided, and a plurality of process chambers provided around the transfer chamber. Then, the substrate is carried into each process chamber by the substrate carrying device in the carrying chamber, or the processed substrate is carried out from each process chamber. A substrate holder called a fork is usually used for transporting the substrate. The fork has a structure in which a plurality of support picks are formed in a comb-teeth shape on a common base that is attached to a transfer arm that can be moved forward and backward, swiveled, and the like.

  In the atmospheric pressure state, the substrate is usually transported while the substrate is fixed by a vacuum chuck provided on the fork. On the other hand, a vacuum chuck cannot be used in a vacuum state. For this reason, a device has been devised to prevent positional displacement due to a side slip or the like of the substrate by attaching a small elastic member made of a material such as rubber having a large friction coefficient to the fork to the fork and bringing it into contact with the substrate. Has been made. However, conveyance in a vacuum state has the following problems.

  Since the holding of the substrate in a vacuum state depends on the frictional force between the elastic member and the substrate as described above, there has been a problem that the substrate transfer operation speed cannot be increased. The fork attached to the transfer arm of the substrate transfer apparatus performs a transfer operation with acceleration / deceleration such as advancement / retraction / turning while holding the substrate, so there is a limit in holding by frictional force. Therefore, in order to realize safe transfer, in addition to suppressing the transfer operation speed, it has become a major factor that reduces the throughput of substrate processing in the substrate processing system.

  In addition, if the elastic member is brought into contact with the back side of the region (device forming region) where the electronic component is formed on the substrate, there is a concern that the yield of the electronic component may be reduced due to electrostatic breakdown. It is necessary to bring an elastic member into contact with the back surface of the region. Therefore, only a very small elastic member compared to the substrate area can be used, and the number of elastic members and the arrangement position thereof are also restricted, so that the contact area with the substrate is limited and sufficient. Can not get a good frictional force. As a result, even if the holding force cannot be obtained and the transfer operation speed is lowered, the substrate may move and drop off on the fork, or the holding position may be greatly displaced, resulting in trouble with substrate processing and delivery. It was.

  In recent years, in order to increase production efficiency, the size of a substrate such as an FPD has been increased, and in a holding method that relies on the frictional force between an elastic member mounted on a fork and the substrate, it is increasingly possible to obtain sufficient holding force and throughput. It has become difficult. For this reason, the present inventor has studied to prevent side slipping and displacement by providing a protrusion on the fork that restricts the movement of the substrate in the horizontal direction and bringing it into contact with the end of the substrate. However, since the holding position often changes during the delivery of the substrate, the substrate may ride on the protrusion during delivery. As a result, there is a concern that the holding of the substrate becomes rather unstable and drops off. Further, in order to avoid such a situation, it is necessary to provide a protrusion with a sufficient margin, and thus it is inevitable that a positional deviation corresponding to the margin occurs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a misalignment prevention apparatus that can suppress misalignment of a substrate held by a substrate holder even in a vacuum state.

The misalignment prevention device of the present invention includes a main body fixed to a substrate holder for holding a substrate,
A portion that protrudes from the upper surface of the main body at a first height, and is provided independently of each other so as to be lower than the first height when a substrate load is applied to the protruding portion; A plurality of movable members,
Urging means for urging each of the plurality of movable members in the protruding direction;
With
The side portions of the one or more movable members protruding at the first height are in contact with the end portions of the substrate held by the substrate holder, thereby restricting the movement of the substrate and preventing displacement. .

  In addition, a substrate holder according to the present invention includes a substrate support member that supports a substrate, and the position shift prevention device that is fixed to the substrate support member.

  Moreover, the board | substrate conveyance apparatus which concerns on this invention is equipped with the said board | substrate holder.

  Moreover, the board | substrate conveyance method based on this invention uses the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus, hold | maintains and conveys a board | substrate to the said board | substrate holder.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the holding position from being shifted due to a side slip of the substrate regardless of whether it is a vacuum transfer or an atmospheric pressure transfer, and to securely hold the substrate on the substrate holder. Therefore, the reliability of substrate conveyance can be improved. In addition, the throughput of substrate processing in the substrate processing system can be improved.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a vacuum processing system. It is a top view of the vacuum processing system of FIG. It is a perspective view explaining the schematic structure of a conveying apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of a fork. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the position shift prevention apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of a position shift prevention apparatus. It is principal part sectional drawing of another state of a position shift prevention apparatus. It is drawing explaining the state which mounted the board | substrate on the fork with which the position shift prevention apparatus was mounted | worn. It is drawing explaining the other state which mounted the board | substrate on the fork with which the position shift prevention apparatus was mounted | worn. It is drawing explaining the further another state which mounted the board | substrate on the fork with which the position shift prevention apparatus was mounted | worn. It is drawing explaining the example of arrangement | positioning of a position shift prevention apparatus. It is a figure explaining another example of arrangement of a position gap prevention device. It is a perspective view explaining the structural example of a movable pin. It is drawing explaining the state which correct | amended the attitude | position of the board | substrate with the position shift prevention apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the position shift prevention apparatus of a modification. It is drawing explaining the state which applied the position shift prevention apparatus to the circular board | substrate. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the external appearance structure of the position shift prevention apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the position shift prevention apparatus 301 of FIG. It is drawing which shows the state which mounted | wore the misalignment prevention apparatus at the front-end | tip of a support pick. It is drawing explaining the state which supported the board | substrate on the support pick with which the position shift prevention apparatus was mounted | worn. It is drawing explaining the stopper effect | action by a movable pin. It is a top view which shows the state which mounted | wore the misalignment prevention apparatus at the front-end | tip of a support pick.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, description will be made by taking as an example a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a substrate processing system including the substrate transfer apparatus. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a vacuum processing system 100 as a substrate processing system, and FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the inside of each chamber. The vacuum processing system 100 has a multi-chamber structure having a plurality of process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c. The vacuum processing system 100 is configured as a processing system for performing plasma processing on a glass substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) S for FPD, for example. Examples of the FPD include a liquid crystal display (LCD), an electro luminescence (EL) display, a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like.

  In the vacuum processing system 100, a plurality of large chambers are connected in a cross shape in plan view. A transfer chamber 3 is disposed in the center, and three process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c for performing plasma processing on the substrate S are disposed adjacent to the three side surfaces thereof. A load lock chamber 5 is disposed adjacent to the remaining one side surface of the transfer chamber 3. These three process chambers 1a, 1b, 1c, the transfer chamber 3 and the load lock chamber 5 are all configured as vacuum chambers. An opening (not shown) is provided between the transfer chamber 3 and each of the process chambers 1a, 1b, 1c, and a gate valve 7a having an opening / closing function is provided in the opening. A gate valve 7 b is provided between the transfer chamber 3 and the load lock chamber 5. The gate valves 7a and 7b hermetically seal between the chambers in the closed state, and allow the substrate S to be transferred by communicating between the chambers in the open state. Further, a gate valve 7c is also provided between the load lock chamber 5 and the outside air atmosphere so that the airtightness of the load lock chamber 5 is maintained in the closed state and the inside and outside of the load lock chamber 5 are opened. The substrate S can be transferred between the two.

  Two cassette indexers 9 a and 9 b are provided outside the load lock chamber 5. On each cassette indexer 9a, 9b, cassettes 11a, 11b for accommodating the substrates S are placed. In each cassette 11a, 11b, substrates S are arranged in multiple stages at intervals in the vertical direction. Moreover, each cassette 11a, 11b is comprised by the raising / lowering mechanism parts 13a, 13b so that raising / lowering is possible respectively. In this embodiment, for example, an unprocessed substrate is accommodated in the cassette 11a, and a processed substrate is accommodated in the other cassette 11b.

  A transport device 15 for transporting the substrate S is provided between the two cassettes 11a and 11b. The transport device 15 includes a fork 17a and a fork 17b as substrate holders provided in two upper and lower stages, a drive unit 19 that supports the fork 17a and the fork 17b so that the fork 17a and the fork 17b can be advanced, retracted, and swiveled. And a support base 21 for supporting the.

  The process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c are configured so that their internal spaces can be maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere (vacuum state). In each process chamber 1a, 1b, 1c, as shown in FIG. 2, a susceptor 2 as a mounting table on which the substrate S is mounted is arranged. In each of the process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c, with the substrate S placed on the susceptor 2, the substrate S is subjected to plasma processing such as etching processing, ashing processing, and film formation processing under vacuum conditions. It is.

  In the present embodiment, the same type of processing may be performed in the three process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c, or different types of processing may be performed for each process chamber. The number of process chambers is not limited to three and may be four or more.

  The transfer chamber 3 is configured so that it can be maintained in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere in the same manner as the process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c, which are vacuum processing chambers. As shown in FIG. 2, a transfer device 23 is disposed in the transfer chamber 3. Then, the substrate S is transferred between the three process chambers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c and the load lock chamber 5 by the transfer device 23.

  The transfer device 23 includes transfer devices provided in two upper and lower stages, and is configured so that the substrates S can be taken in and out independently. FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of an upper transfer device 23a having a fork 101 as a substrate holder. The transfer device 23a has, as main components, a pedestal portion 113, a slide arm 115 that is slidable with respect to the pedestal portion 113, and is slidably provided on the slide arm 115 and holds the substrate S. And a fork 101. The fork 101 includes a pick base 117 as a base, and a plurality of (for example, four) support picks 119 connected to the pick base 117. The two support picks 119 arranged on the outermost sides are each provided with four misregistration prevention devices 201 each for preventing misregistration of the substrate S held on the fork 101. The detailed configuration of the misalignment prevention device 201 will be described later.

  A guide 121 for sliding the slide arm 115 with respect to the pedestal portion 113 is provided on the side of the slide arm 115. The base portion 113 is provided with a slide support portion 123 that slidably supports the guide 121.

  Further, a guide 125 for sliding the fork 101 with respect to the slide arm 115 is provided in parallel with the guide 121 on the side of the slide arm 115. A slider 127 that slides along the guide 125 is provided, and the fork 101 is mounted on the slider 127.

  Although the upper transport device 23a has been described with reference to FIG. 3, the lower transport device (not shown) has the same configuration as the upper transport device 23a. The upper and lower transport devices are connected by a connection mechanism (not shown) and are configured to be integrally rotated in the horizontal direction. Further, the conveying device configured in two upper and lower stages is connected to a driving unit (not shown) that performs the sliding operation of the slide arm 115 and the fork 101 and the rotating operation and the elevating operation of the pedestal 113.

  The load lock chamber 5 is configured to be able to be maintained in a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, like the process chambers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c and the transfer chamber 3. The load lock chamber 5 is for transferring the substrate S between the cassettes 11a and 11b in an atmospheric atmosphere and the transfer chamber 3 in a reduced pressure atmosphere. The load lock chamber 5 is configured to have a small internal volume as much as possible because of the repeated atmosphere and reduced pressure atmosphere. The load lock chamber 5 is provided with substrate accommodation portions 27 in two upper and lower stages (only the upper stage is shown in FIG. 2), and each substrate accommodation portion 27 is provided with a plurality of buffers 28 that support the substrate S. . Further, a positioner 29 is provided in the load lock chamber 5 for abutting and positioning near the corners of the rectangular substrate S facing each other.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each component of the vacuum processing system 100 is connected to and controlled by a control unit 30 having a computer function (not shown in FIG. 1). The control unit 30 includes a controller 31 including a CPU, a user interface 32, and a storage unit 33. In the vacuum processing system 100, the controller 31 controls each component such as the process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c, the transfer device 15, and the transfer device 23 in an integrated manner. The user interface 32 includes a keyboard on which a process manager manages command input in order to manage the vacuum processing system 100, a display that visualizes and displays the operating status of the vacuum processing system 100, and the like. The storage unit 33 stores a recipe in which a control program (software) for realizing various processes executed in the vacuum processing system 100 under the control of the controller 31 and processing condition data are recorded. The user interface 32 and the storage unit 33 are connected to the controller 31.

  If necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 33 by an instruction from the user interface 32 and is executed by the controller 31, so that a desired process in the vacuum processing system 100 is performed under the control of the controller 31. Is done.

  Recipes such as the control program and processing condition data that are stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a flexible disk, or a flash memory can be used. Alternatively, it can be transmitted from other devices as needed via, for example, a dedicated line and used online.

Next, the operation of the vacuum processing system 100 configured as described above will be described.
First, the two forks 17 a and 17 b of the transfer device 15 are driven to receive the substrate S from the cassette 11 a that accommodates unprocessed substrates, and are respectively received in the buffers 28 of the upper and lower two-stage substrate accommodating portions 27 of the load lock chamber 5. Place.

  After the forks 17a and 17b are retracted, the gate valve 7c on the atmosphere side of the load lock chamber 5 is closed. Thereafter, the inside of the load lock chamber 5 is evacuated, and the inside is depressurized to a predetermined degree of vacuum. Next, the gate valve 7 b between the transfer chamber 3 and the load lock chamber 5 is opened, and the substrate S accommodated in the substrate accommodating portion 27 of the load lock chamber 5 is received by the fork 101 of the transfer device 23.

  Next, in a state where the substrate S is held by the fork 101 of the transfer device 23, the substrate S is transferred by the slide operation of the slide arm 115 and the fork 101, the rotation operation of the pedestal 113, and the lifting operation. These transfer operations are performed in a state where the substrate S is securely held because the movement of the substrate S on the fork 101 is restricted by the misalignment prevention device 201. Then, the substrate S is carried into one of the process chambers 1 a, 1 b, 1 c and transferred to the susceptor 2. In the process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c, the substrate S is subjected to a predetermined process such as etching. Next, the processed substrate S is transferred from the susceptor 2 to the fork 101 of the transfer device 23 and is unloaded from the process chambers 1a, 1b, and 1c.

  And the board | substrate S is accommodated in the cassette 11b by the conveying apparatus 15 through the load lock chamber 5 by the path | route reverse to the above. The processed substrate S may be returned to the original cassette 11a.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 12, the misalignment prevention device 201 and the fork 101 having the same according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. First, the configuration of the fork 101 to which the misalignment prevention device 201 is attached will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the fork 101. As described above, the fork 101 includes the pick base 117 fixed to the slider 127 and a plurality of (for example, four) support picks 119 as substrate support members connected to the pick base 117.

  The configuration of the pick base 117 is not limited as long as a plurality of support picks 119 (four in this embodiment) provided in a comb shape can be securely fixed and connected to the slide arm 115 (slider 127). Absent. Further, the connection structure between the pick base 117 and the support pick 119 is also arbitrary. For example, the pick base 117 may be a fixed structure using two plate materials capable of sandwiching the base end portion of the support pick 119, or may be a fixed structure using a single plate material capable of supporting a plurality of support picks 119. . Further, the pick base 117 and the support pick 119 may be formed integrally. In the present embodiment, the pick base 117 is made of a plate material bent into, for example, a U shape in a sectional view. And each base end part of the some support pick 119 is inserted in the clearance gap between the bent board | plate materials, and it fixes with the fixing means which is not shown in figure, such as a screw.

  The support pick 119 of the fork 101 has, for example, a long plate shape or a hollow rectangular tube shape. As a material of the support pick 119, for example, CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) is used as a material having high rigidity so that the light-weight and large-sized substrate S is not bent due to a load. It has been.

  On the upper surface of each support pick 119 of the fork 101, support protrusions 200 that support the substrate S from the back surface side are detachably provided at a plurality of locations (two locations in one support pick 119 in FIG. 4). The support protrusion 200 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, PEEK (polyether ether ketone) resin, or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) resin. The shape of the support protrusion 200 is not limited, and may be a hemispherical shape or an annular shape such as an O-ring. The support protrusions 200 are for abutting against the back surface of the substrate S to increase the holding force of the substrate S on the fork 101 by frictional force. Since it can hold | maintain on the fork 101 reliably, the support protrusion 200 does not necessarily need to be provided.

  The fork 101 is equipped with an arbitrary number of misalignment prevention devices 201 at arbitrary positions. FIG. 4 shows a state in which a pair of left and right misalignment prevention devices 201 are mounted near the bases of the two support picks 119 at both ends of the four. FIG. 4 also shows another pair of misalignment prevention devices 201 before being mounted. As described above, the misalignment prevention device 201 can be detachably attached to the support pick 119 constituting the fork 101.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the misalignment prevention device 201 will be described. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the external configuration of the misalignment prevention device 201. FIG. 6 and 7 are principal part cross-sectional views for explaining the mechanism of the misalignment prevention device 201. FIG. The misalignment prevention device 201 has, as main components, a main body 203, a plurality of movable pins 205 provided as protrusions provided on the upper surface 203a of the main body 203, and these movable pins 205 independently of each other. And a coil spring 207 as an urging means for urging in the upward direction (projecting direction).

  In the misalignment prevention apparatus 201 according to the present embodiment, the main body 203 is a housing made of a material such as aluminum or synthetic resin as shown in FIG. It is preferable that the upper surface 203 a of the main body 203 is the same height as the upper surface of the support pick 119 in a state where the position shift prevention device 201 is mounted on the support pick 119. In FIG. 5, the main body 203 has seven movable pins 205, but the number of movable pins 205 is not limited.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the interior of the main body 203 is partitioned into individual rooms 213 by partition walls 211. Each room 213 has a bottom wall 213a and a ceiling portion 213b. Each room 213 accommodates a pair of movable pins 205 and coil springs 207. The movable pin 205 includes a columnar portion 205a that is a “projecting portion” from the upper surface 203a of the main body 203, and a flange 205b that has a diameter larger than that of the columnar portion 205a in the middle of the columnar portion 205a. The flange 205b functions as a spring receiving portion. The upper part of the movable pin 205 is inserted through an opening 213 c provided in the ceiling 213 b of each room 213.

  The columnar portion 205a and the flange 205b of the movable pin 205 may be integrally formed of the same material, or may be formed of separate members. The material of the movable pin 205 is not particularly limited, but at least the upper portion of the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 is in contact with the back surface or end portion of the substrate S, and thus is formed of a material such as synthetic resin or rubber. It is preferable. Of course, you may form the whole movable pin 205 with the same material (synthetic resin, rubber | gum, etc.). Moreover, it is preferable that the upper part of the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 has rigidity and toughness that can receive the end portion of the substrate S. From the above, as the material of the movable pin 205, it is desirable to use a synthetic resin such as a PEEK (polyether ether ketone) resin or a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) resin.

  In the present invention, the shape of the movable member is not limited by the shape of the movable pin 205 illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. For example, the columnar portion 205a, which is the “projecting portion” of the movable member, is not limited to the cylindrical shape as shown in the figure, and the cross section has a polygonal shape such as a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, and an octagon. It may be columnar. Further, the entire movable member or the protruding portion may be a hollow cylindrical shape or a hollow rectangular tube whose cross section is a polygonal shape such as a triangle, quadrangle, pentagon, hexagon, or octagon. Further, the entire movable member or the protruding portion may be formed in a plate shape (for example, a square plate shape, a disk shape, etc.). Further, from the viewpoint of reducing the contact area with the back surface of the substrate S, although not shown, the tip of the movable member (movable pin 205) can be rounded.

  The coil spring 207 is an urging unit that urges the movable pin 205 upward to keep the upper portion of the columnar portion 205 a protruding from the upper surface 203 a of the main body 203. The lower part of the columnar portion 205 a of the movable pin 205 is inserted into the coil spring 207. The lower end of the coil spring 207 is fixed to the bottom wall 213a of the room 213 using an arbitrary method such as a fastener. The upper end of the coil spring 207 is in contact with the flange 205b of the movable pin 205, and may be fixed by any method as necessary.

In the misalignment prevention device 201, the plurality of movable pins 205 are configured to be independently displaced up and down by the load of the substrate S. That is, the movable pin 205 independently protrudes or retracts in a direction orthogonal to the surface direction of the substrate S. In a state where no load is applied to the substrate S, the movable pin 205 is urged upward by a coil spring 207 engaged with the flange 205b. For this reason, the upper part of the columnar portion 205 a of the movable pin 205 inserted through the opening 213 c provided in the ceiling 213 b protrudes upward from the upper surface 203 a of the main body 203. At this time, based on the upper surface 203a of the body 203, and the height _{H 1} of the protrusion amount first tip of the movable pin 205 with respect to the upper surface 203a. Further, in a state where no load is applied, the flange 205 b of the movable pin 205 urged by the coil spring 207 is pressed against the ceiling portion 213 b of the room 213. The flange 205b can be used as a stopper that defines the _first height H1. By providing a structure in which the position of the flange 205b in the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 can be variably adjusted, it is easy to arbitrarily set the _first height H1. Although the illustration of the structure capable of variably adjusting the position of the flange 205b is omitted, for example, the columnar portion 205a may have a male screw structure and the flange 205b may have a female screw structure.

When the fork 101 receives the substrate S, when the load of the substrate S is applied to an arbitrary movable pin 205, the coil spring 207 is contracted by the load, and the movable pin 205 is pushed down as a whole. During this displacement state, based on the upper surface 203a of the body 203, and the height _{H 2} the amount of projection of the second tip of the movable pin 205 with respect to the upper surface 203a.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the movable pin 205 which only the movable pins 205 which the substrate S is placed on the top is not sunk second height H _2, and the substrate S is Nora, the first high as H ₁ can be maintained. Then, the lateral movement of the substrate S can be limited by the side portion of the movable pin 205 in a state of protruding at the _first height H1. For example, in FIG. 6, the left side and the center of the two movable pins 205 becomes the second height H ₂ sinks under the weight of the substrate S to the paper, one movable pin on the right side 205 protrudes at a _first height H1. The first right side of the projecting height H ₁ of the movable pin 205 moves the substrate S becomes a stopper is restricted. Further, in FIG. 7, one movable pin 205 on the left side toward the paper surface sinks with the weight of the substrate S to become the _second height H _2, and the two movable pins on the right side and the center are formed. 205 protrudes at a _first height H1. In this case, the movable pin 205 protruding in the center serves as a stopper to restrict the movement of the substrate S. 6 and 7 show a state in which the movable pin 205 protruding at the _first height H1 serving as a stopper and the substrate S are not yet in contact with each other. When the substrate S is likely to slide sideways due to acceleration during transportation on the fork 101, the end of the substrate S abuts against the movable pin 205 serving as the stopper, so that the movement of the substrate S on the fork 101 is controlled. The amount will be very small.

As described above, the end portion (edge) of the substrate S abuts on the side of the movable pin 205 protruding at the _first height H1, thereby minimizing the lateral movement of the substrate S on the fork 101. It is possible to prevent the substrate S from being displaced in the horizontal direction on the fork 101 at the time of conveyance, and further from falling from the fork 101 during transportation.

Second height H ₂ is set lower than the first height H _1. Second height _{H 2} is zero (i.e., the tip of the movable pin 205 is flush with the upper surface 203a of the body 203) is more than the first less than the height _{H 1.} In particular, the second height H ₂ is set to be greater than zero, and the tip of the movable pin 205 at the second height H ₂ is the first height H ₁ and the height of the upper surface 203 a of the main body 203. It is preferable to be located in the middle. In this way, the substrate S can be supported by the tip of the movable pin 205 in a state where the substrate S sinks under the load of the substrate S and is displaced to the _second height H2 and protrudes, so that electrons formed on the surface of the substrate S are formed. The adverse effect on parts can be avoided as much as possible. The difference (H ₁ −H ₂ ) between the _first height H ₁ and the second height H ₂ is preferably set to be equal to or greater than the thickness of the substrate S. In this way, a sufficient height of the movable pin 205 as a stopper that restricts the movement of the substrate S is obtained, and the substrate S is supported by the tip of the movable pin 205 in a state of protruding at the _second height H2. However, the horizontal movement of the substrate S can be reliably limited by the movable pin 205 protruding at the _first height H1.

Second height H ₂ can be adjusted by the magnitude of the elastic force of the coil spring 207 against the load of the length and a substrate S of the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205.

  The biasing means for biasing the movable pin 205 is not limited to the coil spring 207, and for example, a leaf spring can be used.

The holding position of the substrate S on the fork 101 may be slightly different for each substrate due to a positional deviation or the like that occurs during delivery. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the edge of the substrate S may be held so that it is near the tip of the fork 101 (supporting pick 119). In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the edge of the substrate S may be held so that it is closer to the base side (indicated by the arrow) of the fork 101 than the position of FIG. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the substrate S may be held at an angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the fork 101 (supporting pick 119) (in a state where it is slightly rotated in the horizontal direction as indicated by an arrow). is there. Since the misalignment prevention device 201 includes a plurality of movable pins 205 that advance and retreat independently by the load of the substrate S, it can flexibly correspond to any holding position illustrated in FIGS. The movement of S can be surely limited. In other words, the displacement prevention device 201, be different from the holding position for each substrate S is gradually, in correspondence with the difference, the movable pin 205 which projects in the first height H ₁ which serves as a stopper Take turns. Therefore, it is possible to limit the movement of the substrate S at any holding position and to minimize the displacement. The movement of the substrate S can be made more precise by increasing the number of positions of the displacement prevention devices 201, or by increasing the number of movable pins 205 in one displacement prevention device 201 and making the movable pins 205 dense. It can be easily understood that it is possible to limit and prevent displacement of the holding position.

  As described above, the misalignment prevention device 201 is detachably attached to the support pick 119 of the fork 101. The method for fixing the misalignment prevention device 201 is not particularly limited. For example, the main body 203 of the misalignment prevention device 201 can be fixed to the support pick 119 by a detachable fixing means such as fastening and fitting with bolts and nuts. At this time, an auxiliary fixture such as a stopper may be used as necessary. Note that the misalignment prevention device 201 can be fixed to the support pick 119 by, for example, a bonding method, without being configured to be detachable from the support pick 119.

  The number of misregistration prevention devices 201 attached to one fork 101 can be appropriately set in consideration of the size of the substrate S and fork 101, the direction in which a large acceleration is applied in the transport operation, and the like. The misalignment prevention device 201 can be mounted, for example, at 2 to 12 locations on the fork 101, preferably 4 to 8 locations.

  The misalignment prevention device 201 can be disposed only on the front end side or only on the base side of the support pick 119 of the fork 101, for example. However, from the viewpoint of reliably restricting the movement of the substrate S, the movable pin 205 serving as a stopper can come into contact with at least two opposite sides of the substrate S so as to sandwich the substrate S held by the fork 101 therebetween. Arrangement is preferred. Further, the misalignment prevention device 201 is preferably arranged so as to be symmetric with respect to the center of the substrate S, and more preferably in the vicinity of the four corners of the substrate S.

  11 and 12 show a preferable arrangement example of the misalignment prevention device 201. FIG. In FIG. 11, the misalignment prevention device 201 is mounted so as to overlap the two short sides SS of the substrate S from below. This restricts the movement of the substrate S mainly in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119.

  In the fork 101, the position where the misalignment prevention device 201 is mounted should be outside the device formation region, avoiding the position immediately below the portion (device formation region) where the electronic component is formed on the substrate S held there. preferable. In FIG. 11, the device formation region R on the substrate S is drawn with a broken line. The misalignment prevention devices 201 are mounted at eight locations on the fork 101 so as to be located outside the device formation region R. As described above, by disposing the misalignment prevention device 201 outside the device formation region R, electrons formed on the front surface side due to electrostatic breakdown when the movable pin 205 contacts / separates on the back surface side of the substrate S. It is possible to prevent the parts from being adversely affected.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, an arrangement in which the misalignment prevention device 201 overlaps the four corners of the substrate S is more preferable. If arranged in this way, the substrate S can be regulated from four directions, so that not only the movement of the substrate S in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119 but also the movement of the substrate S in the direction transverse to the support pick 119, or the substrate S The movement which tries to rotate in the horizontal direction is also restricted, and the positional deviation can be prevented more reliably. In the example of FIG. 12, the four misregistration prevention devices 201 arranged at the positions overlapping with the four corners of the substrate S are compared with the four misregistration prevention devices 201 arranged at other positions. The number is increasing. Specifically, the four misregistration prevention devices 201 arranged at the positions overlapping the four corners of the substrate S have eleven movable pins 205 each. On the other hand, in the misalignment prevention device 201 disposed on the opposite side (inner side) of the support pick 119 so as to make a pair with the misalignment prevention device 201 disposed at the four corners of the substrate S, each of the seven movable pins 205. have. Thus, the number of the movable pins 205 can be changed according to the place where the misalignment prevention device 201 is arranged, the number of arrangement, and the like.

  As can be understood from a comparison between FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, even if the size of the substrate S changes, the mounting position of the misalignment prevention device 201 on the support pick 119 can be changed according to the size of the substrate S. it can. Therefore, regardless of the size of the substrate S, the displacement on the fork 101 can be reliably prevented.

Even when the misalignment prevention device 201 is attached to one fork 101, the number and arrangement interval of the movable pins 205, the first height H ₁ , and the second height H depending on the portion to be attached. ₂ etc. can be changed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the columnar portion 205 a of the movable pin 205 may be configured to be able to rotate horizontally with its longitudinal direction (vertical direction) as a rotation axis. As the columnar portion 205a that contacts the edge of the substrate S rotates, the contact portion with the substrate S changes each time. As a result, the degree of deterioration of the movable pin 205 due to wear or damage due to contact with the edge of the substrate S can be reduced, the life until replacement of the movable pin 205 can be extended, and the holding position due to wear or damage of the columnar portion 205a. The decrease in accuracy can be suppressed. The columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 can be configured to be easily rotatable by using a known mechanism such as a double structure on the upper portion of the columnar portion 205a.

  As described above, by disposing the misalignment prevention device 201, the substrate S slides sideways due to accelerations generated during various operations such as advancement, retraction, and turning of the fork 101, and the holding position shifts. It can be surely prevented from falling. Therefore, the reliability of the substrate transfer by the transfer device 23 in the vacuum processing system 100 can be improved. Further, by providing the misalignment prevention device 201, the substrate S can be securely held on the fork 101 even when the transfer operation speed is increased, so that the substrate transfer throughput can be improved.

  Next, a function for correcting the holding posture of the substrate S using the misalignment prevention apparatus 201 of the present embodiment will be described. The support pick 119 constituting the fork 101 is bent in the longitudinal direction due to its own weight or the weight of the substrate S, and the height position of the distal end portion is likely to be lowered compared to the base side. Along with this bending, the posture of the substrate S held on the fork 101 tends to be inclined. The misregistration prevention device 201 also has a function of supporting the substrate S from below by bringing the movable pins 205 into contact with the back surface of the substrate S. Therefore, the misalignment prevention device 201 is used to change the holding state of the substrate S. Can be close to horizontal.

FIG. 14 schematically shows a state in which the substrate S is supported by the misalignment prevention device 201A attached to the front end side of the support pick 119 (not shown here) of the fork 101 and the misalignment prevention device 201B attached to the base side. Is shown. Here, the movable pin of the misalignment prevention device 201A on the distal end side is denoted by reference numeral 205A, and the movable pin of the misalignment prevention device 201B on the base side is denoted by reference numeral 205B. Then, than the second height H _2B when subducting movable pin 205B of the displacement prevention apparatus 201B of the base side, when the movable pin 205A of the displacement prevention device 201A on the distal end side is subducting The second height _H2A is set large. For example, the biasing force of the coil spring 207 for biasing the movable pin 205A of the misalignment prevention device 201A is made stronger than the biasing force of the coil spring 207 for biasing the movable pin 205B of the misalignment prevention device 201B. The second height H _2A can be easily made larger than the second height H _2B by forming 205A longer than the movable pin 205B.

In this way, the bending width of the support pick 119 is offset by using the difference between the second height H _2A of the movable pin 205A and the second height H _2B of the movable pin 205B, and the substrate S is bent. Can be relaxed. Accordingly, the support pick 119 is bent due to the weight of the substrate S or the weight of the support pick 119, and the position of the misalignment prevention device 201A on the distal end side is relatively lower than the position of the misalignment prevention device 201B on the base side. Even in this case, the substrate S on the fork 101 can be transported while being stably held as close to horizontal as possible.

Further, in FIG. 14, the first height H _1A of the movable pin 205A of the misalignment prevention device 201A on the distal end side is set to be larger than the first height H _1B of the misalignment prevention device 201B on the base side. Yes. As a result, the difference (H _1A −H _2A ) between the first height H _1A and the second height H _2A can be sufficiently secured in the misalignment prevention device 201A on the distal end side. In this way, even if the load of the substrate S is concentrated on the front end side of the fork 101 due to the bending of the support pick 119, the movable pin 205A protruding at the first height H _1A can reliably function as a stopper. it can. In order to obtain the effect of correcting the holding posture of the substrate S using such a misregistration prevention device 201, the position is not limited to the base side and the front end side of the support pick 119, but is located near the middle in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119. A deviation prevention device 201 can also be arranged.

  In FIG. 4, the example in which the misalignment prevention devices 201 are mounted on both the left and right sides of the single support pick 119 is described. However, the misalignment prevention device 201 is mounted only on one side of the single support pick 119. May be.

  As a modification of the misalignment prevention device 201, a pair of main bodies 203 each having a plurality of movable pins 205 may be connected. For example, the misalignment prevention device 201C shown in FIG. 15 has two main bodies 203, which are connected by a connecting portion 209, and the movable pins 205 can be arranged on the left and right sides of one support pick 119. Yes. In this case, a recess 203 b into which the support pick 119 can be inserted is formed between the left and right main bodies 203. The recess 203b is formed with a depth and width corresponding to the thickness and width of the support pick 119. Although it is not essential to provide the connecting portion 209 and the concave portion 203b, fixing and positioning are facilitated when the misalignment prevention device 201C is attached to the support pick 119. That is, when the misalignment prevention device 201C is mounted on the support pick 119, the connecting portion 209 functions as a fixed portion, and the concave portion 203b functions as a positioning portion. The connecting portion 209 can be formed of, for example, a plate material made of the same material as that of the main body, but the form thereof is not limited as long as the two main bodies 203 can be connected.

  Further, the main body 203 is not necessarily a casing, and can be formed of, for example, two plates.

  Further, the misregistration prevention device 201 is not limited to a rectangular substrate, and can be mounted on a fork 101A that holds a circular substrate S such as a semiconductor wafer as shown in FIG. 16, for example. In FIG. 16, the same components as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a misregistration prevention apparatus 301 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 17 is an enlarged perspective view showing the external configuration of the misalignment prevention device 301. FIG. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part for explaining the mechanism of the misalignment prevention device 301. The misalignment prevention device 301 includes, as main components, a main body 303, a plurality of block-shaped movable pins 305 that are provided protruding from the upper surface 303 a of the main body 303, and these movable pins 305. A coil spring 307 is provided as an urging means for urging independently upward (projecting direction). Further, in the misalignment prevention device 301 of this embodiment, a block 309 that supplements the stopper function of the movable pin 305 is provided adjacent to the movable pin 305. In FIG. 17, four movable pins 305 are provided at three locations on the main body 303, but the location and number of movable pins 305 are not limited.

  In the misalignment prevention apparatus 301 of the present embodiment, the main body 303 is a plate material made of a material such as synthetic resin, for example, as shown in FIG. The main body 303 has a through opening 311 for mounting the movable pin 305. At the upper part of each through opening 311, a part of the main body 303 projects to the inside of the through opening 311 to form an engaging portion 303 b. The opening area of the through opening 311 is narrowed by the engaging portion 303b. Reference numeral 303 c denotes a screw hole for attaching the main body 303 to the support pick 119.

  In each through opening 311, four sets of movable pins 305 and coil springs 307 are arranged. The movable pin 305 has a U-shape (a cross-sectional shape like a shallow dish), and a substrate support portion 305a that is in contact with the lower surface or end portion of the substrate S, and both ends of the substrate support portion 305a are outside. And a bent portion 305b formed by bending the same. The substrate support portion 305 a of the movable pin 305 is inserted between the engaging portions 303 b facing each through opening 311. A recessed portion 305c for receiving a spring is provided at substantially the center of the lower surface of the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305. In addition, a pedestal portion 313 is stretched over the lower end of each through opening 311. The pedestal 313 is detachably fixed to the main body 303 by a fitting mechanism (not shown). The pedestal 313 is provided with a spring receiving recess 313a.

  The substrate support portion 305a and the bent portion 305b of the movable pin 305 may be formed of separate members, but are preferably formed integrally of the same material. The material of the movable pin 305 is not particularly limited, but at least the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 is in contact with the back surface or the end portion of the substrate S, so that it is formed of a material such as synthetic resin or rubber. Is preferred. In addition, the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 preferably has rigidity and toughness that can receive the end portion of the substrate S. From the above, as the material of the movable pin 305, it is desirable to use a synthetic resin such as a PEEK (polyether ether ketone) resin or a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) resin.

  Note that the shape of the movable pin 305 is not limited by the shape illustrated in FIGS.

  The coil spring 307 is a biasing unit that biases the movable pin 305 upward so that the upper portion of the substrate support portion 305 a of the movable pin 305 protrudes from the upper surface 303 a of the main body 303. The upper end of the coil spring 307 is in contact with a spring receiving recess 305 c on the lower surface of the substrate support 305 a of the movable pin 305, and the lower end of the coil spring 307 is in contact with the spring receiving recess 313 a of the pedestal 313. The coil spring 307 may be fixed by any method as necessary. Note that the biasing means for biasing the movable pin 305 is not limited to the coil spring 307, and for example, a leaf spring can be used.

In the misalignment prevention device 301, the plurality of movable pins 305 are configured to be independently displaced up and down by the load of the substrate S. That is, the movable pin 305 independently protrudes or retracts in a direction orthogonal to the surface direction of the substrate S. The movable pin 305 on the left side in FIG. 18 shows a state in which it has sunk due to a load, and the movable pin 305 on the right side shows a non-loaded state in which it is biased upward (the substrate S is shown in FIG. 18). (Not shown). That is, in a state where no load is applied to the substrate S, the movable pin 305 is urged upward by the coil spring 307, and the upper portion of the substrate support portion 305 a of the movable pin 305 inserted through the through opening 311 is the upper surface of the main body 303. Projecting upward from 303a. At this time, based on the upper surface 303a of the body 303, and the height _{H 1} of the protruding amount of the tip first movable pin 305. In a state where no load is applied, the bent portion 305 b of the movable pin 305 urged by the coil spring 307 is pressed against the engaging portion 303 b of the through opening 311. The bent portion 305b functions as a stopper that defines the _first height H1.

When the fork 101 receives the substrate S and the load of the substrate S is applied to an arbitrary movable pin 305, the coil spring 307 is contracted by the load, and the movable pin 305 is pushed down as a whole. In this case the displacement state, based on the upper surface 303a of the body 303, and the height H ₂ the amount of projection of the second tip of the movable pin 305. The first height H ₁ and the second height H ₂ can be set as in the first embodiment.

In the misalignment prevention apparatus 301 according to the present embodiment, the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 is formed in a U-shape and the coil spring 307 is accommodated inside the substrate support portion 305a. compared to the displacement preventing device 201, it becomes possible to suppress the displacement prevention apparatus 301 overall height (sum of the thicknesses of the first height H ₁ of the main body 303) small. Therefore, the misalignment prevention device 301 can be mounted on the upper surface of the support pick 119, for example. In addition, with the above configuration, each movable pin 305 is provided so as to be slightly tiltable in the width direction (the direction in which the movable pins 305 are arranged).

  A block 309 is an auxiliary support part that assists the stopper function of the movable pin 305. The block 309 assists the movable pin 305 when the edge of the substrate S abuts on the movable pin 305 and a lateral force is applied. In other words, the block 309 acts as an auxiliary stopper that indirectly restricts the movement of the substrate in cooperation with the movable pin 305. Therefore, the block 309 is provided adjacent to the movable pin 305 at the farthest position as viewed from the substrate S side. The block 309 may be formed integrally with the main body 303 of the misalignment prevention device 301, or may be formed of a member different from the main body 303. In this embodiment, the block 309 is not movable but fixed. Note that the block 309 has an arbitrary configuration and is not necessarily provided.

Next, the operation of the misalignment prevention device 301 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21 show a state in which the misalignment prevention device 301 is attached to the tip of the support pick 119. The misalignment prevention device 301 is fixed to the support pick 119 by a fixing means such as a screw. In the misalignment prevention device 301 of the present embodiment, four movable pins 305 are provided close to each other. Here, for convenience of explanation, the movable pins 305A, 305B, 305C, and 305D are referred to in order from the base side to the tip side of the support pick 119. As shown in FIG. 19, the movable pin 305A~305D while not supporting the substrate S are both made first height _{H 1.}

FIG. 20 shows a state in which the substrate S is supported on the support pick 119 of the fork 101. Substrate S takes on the movable pin 305A and 305B, these movable pins 305A and 305B are sunk by the load of the substrate S to a second height _{H 2.} The movable pins 305C and 305D on which the substrate S is not placed maintain the _first height H1 as it is. In this state, if the substrate S is likely to be displaced toward the front end side of the fork 101 while the substrate S is being transferred by the fork 101, the front end of the substrate S is enlarged as shown in FIG. The side edge abuts on the side portion of the movable pin 305C to prevent displacement. At this time, since the distance between the movable pin 305C and the movable pin 305D is narrow, the movable pin 305C provided to be tiltable in the width direction is supplementarily supported by the adjacent movable pin 305D. That is, when the force applied by the substrate S is large, the movable pins 305C and 305D cooperate with each other as a stopper, not the movable pin 305C alone.

  In addition, since the misalignment prevention device 301 of this embodiment includes the block 309 in the vicinity of the movable pin 305D, when the force applied by the substrate S is large, the block 309 is also cooperated with the movable pins 305C and 305D. It works and acts as a stopper, and the positional deviation of the substrate S can be prevented more reliably.

  As described above, in order for the movable pins 305A, 305B, 305C, and 305D to function as a stopper in cooperation, the interval between the adjacent movable pins 305 is in contact or can be easily contacted by a lateral force. It is preferable that they are close to each other. Therefore, in the misalignment prevention device 301, it is preferable that the four movable pins 305A, 305B, 305C, and 305D are arranged adjacent to each other without being spaced from each other in the through opening 311. By arranging a plurality of movable pins 305 in this manner, not only the movable pins 305 that directly contact the substrate S but also other movable pins 305 can function indirectly as stoppers.

  From the same point of view, the distance between the movable pin 305D arranged at the most distal end side of the support pick 119 and the block 309 is also arranged close to a state where it is in contact or can be easily contacted by a lateral force. It is preferable to do.

  Next, the arrangement of the movable pins 305 in the misalignment prevention device 301 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 22 is a plan view showing a state where the misalignment prevention device 301 is attached to the tip of the support pick 119. Through holes 311 are provided at three locations of the main body 303, and four movable pins 305 are provided in each of the through openings 311. Here, for convenience of explanation, the plurality of movable pins 305 on the left side as viewed in the plane of FIG. 22 are moved from the base side of the support pick 119 to the movable pins 305A1, 305B1,. , 305B2,..., And a plurality of movable pins 305 on the right side are similarly expressed as movable pins 305A3, 305B3,.

  The position of each through-opening 311 is provided by shifting the position little by little in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119. The three blocks 309 are not the same size, and are provided with different sizes so that the position of the boundary with the movable pin 305 is slightly shifted in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119. Specifically, for example, the boundary between the movable pin 305C1 and the movable pin 305D1 is arranged so as to be located in the middle of the width direction (the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119) in the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305D2. Has been. Further, for example, the boundary between the movable pin 305D2 and the movable pin 305C2 is arranged so as to be located in the middle in the width direction of the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305D3.

As described above, by disposing the movable pin 305 by sequentially shifting the position in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119 (for example, by 1/2 pitch), the amount of displacement of the substrate S from the initial support position can be suppressed. . That is, if, rests the edge of the substrate S on the movable pin 305A3, if only the movable pins 305A3 is in the second height H _2, even when positional deviation in the substrate S during transport, the substrate S edges further movement is limited by contact with the side surface of the movable pin 305A2 protruding at the first height H _1. Since the difference between the positions where the movable pins 305A3 and 305A2 are provided is ½ of the width of the substrate support portion 305a, the positional deviation amount of the substrate S is set to 1 / maximum of the width of the substrate support portion 305a. Can be kept within 2. Similarly, when the edge of the substrate S is placed on the movable pin 305A2 and the movement of the substrate S is limited by the movable pin 305A1, the positional deviation amount of the substrate S is 1 of the width of the substrate support portion 305a at the maximum. / 2 or less. As described above, it is preferable that the movable pins 305 are arranged with the pitch being gradually shifted in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119 rather than arranging the movable pins 305 in a horizontal row.

  As described above, in the misalignment prevention apparatus 301 according to the present embodiment, one or a plurality of movable pins 305 and, if necessary, the block 309 are added to limit the movement of the substrate S. The positional deviation of the substrate S can be reliably prevented, and the positional deviation amount of the substrate S can be made small. Further, by disposing the movable pin 305 by gradually shifting the position in the longitudinal direction of the support pick 119, the amount of positional deviation of the substrate S can be made extremely small.

  Other configurations and effects in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. The misregistration prevention device 301 can be mounted not only on the front end of the support pick 119 but also on a side portion (for example, a side portion on the front end side or a base side side of the support pick 119).

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not restrict | limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible. For example, in the above embodiment, the transport device 23 that transports the substrate S in a vacuum state has been described as an example, but the misalignment prevention devices 201 and 301 transport the substrate 15 in an atmospheric pressure state. It is also applicable to. When applied to conveyance in an atmospheric pressure state as in the conveyance device 15, as urging means for urging the movable pins 205, 305 of the position shift prevention devices 201, 301, for example, pressure-adjusted air, highly viscous oil A mechanism using a fluid such as can also be employed.

  In addition, the configuration of the substrate transport apparatus that can use the substrate holder of the present invention is not limited to the slide arm type arranged in the upper and lower two stages, and may be a one-stage configuration or a three-stage configuration. An articulated arm type substrate transfer apparatus may be used.

  The misalignment prevention devices 201 and 301 are not limited to a substrate holder that transports a substrate for FPD manufacturing, but are also applied to a substrate holder that transports a substrate for various uses such as a substrate for a solar cell. it can.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a, 1b, 1c ... Process chamber, 3 ... Transfer chamber, 5 ... Load lock chamber, 100 ... Vacuum processing system, 101 ... Fork, 117 ... Pick base, 119 ... Support pick, 201 ... Position shift prevention device, 203 ... Main body 205 ... movable pin, 205a ... columnar portion, 205b ... flange, 207 ... coil spring, 211 ... partition, 213 ... room, 213a ... bottom wall, 213b ... ceiling, 213c ... opening, S ... substrate

Claims (11)

A body fixed to a substrate holder for holding the substrate;
A portion that protrudes from the upper surface of the main body at a first height, and is provided independently of each other so as to be lower than the first height when a substrate load is applied to the protruding portion; A plurality of movable members,
Urging means for urging each of the plurality of movable members in the protruding direction;
An auxiliary support that indirectly restricts the movement of the substrate together with the movable member;
With
Misalignment prevention that restricts movement of the substrate and prevents misalignment by the side of one or more movable members protruding at the first height coming into contact with the end of the substrate held by the substrate holder apparatus.   The position shift prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the movable member protrudes or retracts in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the substrate.   The position shift prevention device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a portion of the movable member that contacts the substrate is formed of synthetic resin or rubber.   The movable member is displaced to a second height lower than the first height with respect to the upper surface of the main body in a state where a substrate load is applied to the protruding portion. The position shift prevention apparatus of any one of these.   5. The misregistration prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of movable members are provided close to each other to restrict the movement of the substrate in cooperation. 6. A substrate support member for supporting the substrate;
  The misalignment prevention device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is fixed to the substrate support member,
A substrate holder comprising: A substrate support member for supporting the substrate;
A displacement prevention device fixed to the base side and the tip side of the substrate support member , respectively ;
A substrate holder comprising :
The positional deviation prevention device is
A body fixed to a substrate holder for holding the substrate;
A portion that protrudes from the upper surface of the main body at a first height, and is provided independently of each other so as to be lower than the first height when a substrate load is applied to the protruding portion; A plurality of movable members,
Urging means for urging each of the plurality of movable members in the protruding direction;
The side portions of the one or more movable members protruding at the first height are in contact with the end portions of the substrate held by the substrate holder, thereby restricting the movement of the substrate and preventing misalignment. Is,
The amount of protrusion from the upper surface of the main body of the movable member of the misalignment prevention device disposed on the distal end side is greater than the amount of protrusion of the movable member of the position misalignment prevention device disposed on the base side from the upper surface of the main body. Largely set substrate holder . The position shift prevention device so that a movable member that is lower than the first height in a state where a load is applied to the substrate is in contact with a back surface outside a device formation region that forms an electronic component on the substrate. The substrate holder according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the substrate holder is disposed. Movable member projecting in the first height, so as to contact at least two opposing sides of the substrate held by the substrate holder, wherein claim 6 the displacement prevention device disposed two or more Item 9. The substrate holder according to any one of items 8 to 9 . Substrate transfer apparatus having a substrate holder according to any one of claims 6 to claim 9. A substrate transfer method using the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 10 to hold and transfer a substrate to the substrate holder.

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