JP5611747B2 - Substrate transfer arm and substrate transfer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for transporting a substrate.

  2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device or glass substrate production line, a transport system for transporting a substrate is incorporated in a processing apparatus or an inspection apparatus. For example, a semiconductor manufacturing process includes a plurality of processes such as a grinding process, an ion implantation process, an etching process, a cleaning process, a film forming process, and an inspection process. Transport the semiconductor substrate.

  A substrate carrier (substrate container) is used when a substrate is transported between manufacturing processes. In general, a transfer system takes out a substrate from a substrate carrier using a substrate transfer arm, and loads the substrate into a processing apparatus or an inspection apparatus. Such a structure of the substrate transfer arm is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-285823 (Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-285823 A

  In recent years, the substrate is easily bent due to its own weight as the substrate becomes larger or thinner. When trying to take out such a substrate from the substrate carrier, the tip of the substrate transfer arm collides with the end of the substrate bent by its own weight, causing damage to the substrate transfer arm or the substrate.

  The substrate transfer arm disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a side support arm that supports both end portions of the substrate, and a center support arm that supports a substantially central portion of the substrate. A step is formed between the side support arms. This level | step difference respond | corresponds to the bending shape of the board | substrate accommodated in the board | substrate storage container. By such a step, the substrate transport arm can support the substrate in a bent state without colliding with the end portion of the substrate. However, if the substrate in a bent state is placed on the substrate transport arm, the stress concentration applied to the substrate from the side support arms increases, and the substrate may be damaged.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transport arm and a substrate transport apparatus that can be taken out from a substrate container and transported without damaging the substrate in a bent state.

The substrate transfer arm according to the present invention is inserted from the opening of the substrate container into the lower side of the substrate placed horizontally in the substrate container, and the substrate is removed from the substrate container while supporting the back surface of the substrate. A substrate transfer arm for carrying out, a rear base end portion, a first end portion connected to the rear base end portion, a second end portion opposite to the first end portion, and the substrate There comprising said mounting and a mounting surface on which a substrate is mounted portion when it is unloaded, and a press top, the push-up portion, the third end portion connected to said second end And a fourth end opposite to the third end, and a position lower than the placement surface between the third end and the fourth end, An inclined surface formed so as to become lower from the end of 3 toward the fourth end, a fifth end connected to the fourth end, A sixth end opposite to the fifth end; a flat surface formed at a position lower than the placement surface between the fifth end and the sixth end; A fluid discharge hole for ejecting fluid upward, and when the substrate transport arm is inserted under the substrate, the fluid is ejected to the back surface of the substrate and below the placement portion. The center portion of the back surface of the substrate positioned is pushed up to at least the height of the mounting surface .

  The substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention includes the substrate transfer arm and an arm driving unit that drives the substrate transfer arm.

  According to the present invention, the substrate transport arm has a structure in which the substrate is placed on the placement surface while eliminating the bending of the substrate. Therefore, it can be taken out from the substrate container without damaging the substrate.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a wafer transfer arm which is a substrate transfer arm according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an upper surface of a wafer transfer arm according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a side surface of a wafer transfer arm according to the first embodiment. It is a perspective view showing the substrate carrier which is an example of a substrate storage container. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of the substrate carrier of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a top view schematically showing a conventional wafer transfer arm that attempts to carry a wafer out of a substrate carrier. FIG. 3 is a top view schematically illustrating the wafer transfer arm according to the first embodiment in which a wafer that is bent by its own weight is to be unloaded from the substrate carrier. It is a side view which shows roughly the wafer transfer arm of Embodiment 1 which is going to carry out a wafer. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the wafer conveyance arm which is a board | substrate conveyance arm of Embodiment 2 which concerns on this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an upper surface of a wafer transfer arm according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a cross section taken along line XI-XI of the wafer transfer arm in FIG. 10. It is a side view which shows roughly the wafer conveyance arm of Embodiment 2 which is going to carry out a wafer. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the wafer conveyance arm which is a board | substrate conveyance arm of Embodiment 3 which concerns on this invention. FIG. 10 schematically shows an upper surface of a wafer transfer arm according to a third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a cross section taken along line XV-XV of the wafer transfer arm in FIG. 14. FIG. 10 is a top view schematically illustrating a wafer transfer arm according to a third embodiment when a wafer is unloaded from a substrate carrier. It is a side view which shows roughly the wafer conveyance arm of Embodiment 3 which is going to carry out a wafer.

  Hereinafter, various embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a wafer transfer arm 1 which is a substrate transfer arm according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an upper surface of the wafer transfer arm 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a side surface of the wafer transfer arm 1. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer transfer arm 1 is composed of a plate-like member, and includes a rear base end portion 11, a central arm portion 12 protruding forward from the rear base end portion 11, and left and right sides of the central arm portion 12. Auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 projecting forward from the rear base end portion 11 on the side are provided.

  The central arm portion 12 includes a portion (mounting portion) having a flat placement surface 12s on which a wafer is placed and a tip portion (push-up portion) including the inclined surface 12r and the flat surface 12f. As shown in the side view of FIG. 3, the inclined surface 12r forms an acute angle θ with respect to the mounting surface 12s, and is formed at a position lower than the mounting surface 12s. In addition, the inclined surface 12r is formed in front of the mounting surface 12s and has a height that gradually decreases from the rear base end 11 side toward the front end. The flat surface 12f is formed on the tip side of the inclined surface 12r and at a position lower than the inclined surface 12r.

  On the other hand, the auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 are formed on the rear base end 11 side with respect to the inclined surface 12r of the distal end portion of the central arm portion 12, and the total length of the auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 (the length in the Y-axis direction). w4 is shorter than the full length (Y-axis direction length) w3 of the central arm portion 12. These auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 have auxiliary placement surfaces 13s and 14s on which the wafer is placed. The heights of the auxiliary placement surfaces 13 s and 14 s are substantially the same as the height of the placement surface 12 s of the central arm portion 12. The auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 have suction holes 15 and 16, respectively. The suction holes 15 and 16 communicate with an intake passage 17 formed inside the auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14. The intake passage 17 further communicates with a suction hole (not shown) of the rear base end portion 11. By sucking air from this suction hole, the lower surface (back surface) of a wafer (not shown) placed on the auxiliary placement surfaces 13s, 14s can be vacuum-sucked.

Regarding the dimensions of the wafer transfer arm 1, for example, the width (length in the X direction) w1 of the central arm portion 12, the auxiliary arm portion 13 and the auxiliary arm portion 14 is about 10 mm, and the thickness w5 of the plate-like wafer transfer arm 1 is set. The inclination angle θ of the inclined surface 12r with respect to the mounting surface 12s is about 30 ° or less, and the step (height difference) s3 between the distal end portion of the central arm portion 12 and the auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 can be about 3 mm. . The distance s1 between the central arm part 12 and the auxiliary arm part 13 is substantially equal to the distance s2 between the central arm part 12 and the auxiliary arm part 14. The diameter of the wafer is unloaded (diameter) when an R _W, the entire width (X-direction length) w2 wafer transfer arm 1 about R _W -30 mm, from the proximal end of the central arm portion 12 to the tip the full-length (Y direction length) w3 about _{R W,} the total length (Y direction length) w4 from the proximal end to the distal end of the auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 may be about two thirds of the _{R W.} The diameter _{R W} of the wafer, although the range of 6 inches (150 mm) to 12 inches (300 mm) is envisaged, but is not limited to this range.

  As a constituent material of such a wafer transfer arm 1, it is preferable to use a material that is hard and has a small coefficient of friction with the wafer. For example, a metal material such as stainless steel (SUS) can be used. Alternatively, a resin material such as PFA (perfluoroalkoxy fluororesin), PC (polycarbonate), or ABS resin, or a carbon material may be used.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a substrate carrier 100 which is an example of a substrate container, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of the substrate carrier 100 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate carrier 100 has an internal space in which a plurality of wafers W are accommodated. In this internal space, a pair of protrusions 102 and 103 extending along the horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) are arranged along the height direction (Z-axis direction). A groove is formed between the protrusions 102 and 102 adjacent in the height direction, and a groove is formed between the protrusions 103 and 103 adjacent in the height direction. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wafer W can be accommodated in the substrate carrier 100 by fitting the wafer W into a pair of grooves opposed in the horizontal direction.

  When the wafer W is processed to be thin, the wafer W is easily bent by its own weight as schematically shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. For example, if the thickness of a 6-inch diameter wafer W is processed to about 200 μm, the center of the wafer W may bend in the height direction by 1.5 mm or more due to its own weight. FIG. 6 is a top view schematically showing a U-shaped conventional wafer transfer arm 104 that attempts to carry out such a wafer W from the substrate carrier 100. The wafer transfer arm 104 constitutes a wafer transfer apparatus 110 </ b> C together with the arm drive unit 112 and the drive arm 111. As shown in FIG. 6, the arm driving unit 112 attempts to insert the wafer transfer arm 104 into the lower side of the wafer W from the opening of the substrate carrier 100 via the driving arm 111. At this time, since the wafer W is bent downward, the front end portions 104a and 104b of the wafer transfer arm 104 collide with the end portions Wea and Web of the wafer W without entering under the wafer W, and the wafer W or The wafer transfer arm 104 may be damaged.

  On the other hand, FIG. 7 is a top view schematically showing the wafer transfer arm 1 of the present embodiment in which the wafer W bent by its own weight is to be carried out from the substrate carrier 100. The wafer transfer arm 1 constitutes a wafer transfer device 110 together with the arm drive unit 112 and the drive arm 111. 8A to 8C are diagrams schematically showing a side surface of the wafer transfer arm 1 when the wafer W is unloaded.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the arm driving unit 112 moves the wafer transfer arm 1 in the horizontal direction via the drive arm 111, and moves the wafer transfer arm 1 from the opening of the substrate carrier 100 to the lower side of the wafer W. Insert it. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8A, the flat surface 12f at the tip of the central arm 12 is controlled to be lower than the peripheral edge of the wafer back surface Wb. Thereafter, when the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 1 proceeds, the end of the wafer W comes into contact with the inclined surface 12r and is guided onto the mounting surface 12s as shown in FIG. 8B. At this time, since the inclined surface 12r pushes the wafer back surface Wb up to the height of the mounting surface 12s, the bending due to the weight of the wafer W is eliminated. When the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 1 further proceeds, as shown in FIG. 8C, the wafer W from which the bending is eliminated is placed on the placement surface 12s and the auxiliary placement surfaces 13s and 14s. Thereafter, when the wafer W is completely placed on the wafer transfer arm 1, the wafer back surface Wb is vacuum-sucked on the auxiliary placement surfaces 13 s and 14 s by sucking air from the suction hole of the rear base end portion 11. The The arm driving unit 112 can lift the wafer transfer arm 1 by about 1 mm and then pull out the wafer transfer arm 1 from the substrate carrier 100, thereby unloading the wafer W from the substrate carrier 100.

  As described above, in the wafer transfer arm 1 according to the first embodiment, the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 1 into the substrate carrier 100 is deepened, and the inclined surface 12r lifts the wafer back surface Wb. The wafer W can be mounted on the mounting surface 12s and the auxiliary mounting surfaces 13s and 14s. Since the auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 are formed on the rear base end 11 side with respect to the inclined surface 12r of the central arm portion 12, the auxiliary mounting surfaces 13s and 14s are provided with the wafer W from which the bending is substantially eliminated. I can guide you. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the auxiliary arm portions 13 and 14 from colliding with the end portion of the wafer W.

  Moreover, since the unloading of the wafer W and the elimination of the bending can be performed in one step, the time required for the transfer can be shortened, and the productivity of the production line can be improved. Furthermore, since the wafer transfer arm 1 has a simple structure having no movable part, the manufacturing cost and maintenance cost of the wafer transfer arm 1 can be suppressed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing a wafer transfer arm 2 which is a substrate transfer arm of the second embodiment. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the upper surface of the wafer transfer arm 2, and FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a cross section along the line XI-XI of the wafer transfer arm 2 in FIG. 10. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the wafer transfer arm 2 is made of a plate-like member, and includes a rear base end portion 21, a central arm portion 22 protruding forward from the rear base end portion 21, and left and right sides of the central arm portion 22. Auxiliary arm portions 23 and 24 projecting forward from the rear base end portion 21 on the side are provided.

  The outer dimensions of the wafer transfer arm 2 are the same as those of the wafer transfer arm 1 except that the fluid discharge holes 27a and 27b are formed in the flat surface 22f and the inclined surface 22r of the front end portion of the central arm portion 22. Same as dimensions. Further, as the constituent material of the wafer transfer arm 2, the same material as the constituent material of the wafer transfer arm 1 of the first embodiment can be used.

  The central arm portion 22 includes a portion (mounting portion) having a flat placement surface 22s on which a wafer is placed, and a tip portion (push-up portion) including the inclined surface 22r and the flat surface 22f. The central arm portion 22 has fluid discharge holes 27a and 27b for ejecting fluid such as dry air upward. The diameter r of the fluid discharge holes 27a and 27b can be set to about 1 mm, for example. One fluid discharge hole 27a is formed in the flat surface 22f, and the other fluid discharge hole 27b is formed in the inclined surface 22r. As shown in FIG. 10, the fluid discharge holes 27 a and 27 b communicate with a fluid supply path 28 formed inside the central arm portion 22. The fluid supply path 28 further communicates with a fluid introduction hole (not shown) in the rear base end portion 21. By introducing a fluid such as compressed air into the fluid introduction hole, the fluid can be ejected from the fluid discharge holes 27a and 27b.

  The auxiliary arm portions 23 and 24 have auxiliary placement surfaces 23s and 24s on which the wafer is placed. The heights of the auxiliary placement surfaces 23 s and 24 s are substantially the same as the height of the placement surface 22 s of the central arm portion 22. The auxiliary arm portions 23 and 24 have suction holes 25 and 26, respectively, and these suction holes 25 and 26 communicate with intake passages 25h and 26h formed in the auxiliary arm portions 23 and 24, respectively. doing. These intake passages 25h and 26h further communicate with a suction hole (not shown) of the rear base end portion 21. By sucking air from the suction holes, the lower surface (back surface) of a wafer (not shown) placed on the auxiliary placement surfaces 23s, 24s can be vacuum-sucked.

  The wafer transfer arm 2 can be carried out of the substrate carrier 100 by being driven using the arm driving unit 112 and the driving arm 111 shown in FIG. FIGS. 12A to 12C are side views schematically showing the wafer transfer arm 2 according to the second embodiment for unloading the wafer W. FIG.

  When the wafer transfer arm 2 is inserted into the lower side of the wafer W from the opening of the substrate carrier 100, as shown in FIG. 12A, the flat surface 22f of the front end portion of the central arm portion 22 is formed on the wafer back surface Wb. It is controlled to be lower than the peripheral edge. Thereafter, when the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 2 proceeds, the end of the wafer W comes into contact with the inclined surface 22r as shown in FIG. 12B, and the fluid Ar flows from the fluid discharge holes 27a and 27b to the wafer back surface Wb. Erupted. At this time, the wafer back surface Wb is pushed up to the height of the mounting surface 22s by the inclined surface 22r and the pressure of the fluid Ar, so that the bending due to the weight of the wafer W is eliminated. When the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 2 further proceeds, as shown in FIG. 12C, the wafer W from which the bending is eliminated is placed on the placement surface 22s and the auxiliary placement surfaces 23s and 24s. After that, when the wafer W is completely placed on the wafer transfer arm 2, the supply of the fluid Ar is stopped, and air is sucked from the suction hole of the rear base end portion 21, whereby the auxiliary placement surfaces 23s and 24s. The wafer back surface Wb is vacuum-sucked. The arm driving unit 112 can lift the wafer transfer arm 2 by about 1 mm, and then pull the wafer transfer arm 2 out of the substrate carrier 100 to carry out the wafer W from the substrate carrier 100.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 2 into the substrate carrier 100 is deepened, and the wafer back surface Wb is lifted by the inclined surface 22r and the pressure of the fluid Ar. The wafer W can be mounted on the mounting surface 22s and the auxiliary mounting surfaces 23s and 24s while eliminating the above. Since the auxiliary arm portions 23 and 24 are formed on the rear base end portion 21 side with respect to the inclined surface 22r of the central arm portion 22, the auxiliary mounting surfaces 23s and 24s are provided with the wafer W from which bending is substantially eliminated. You can be guided. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the auxiliary arm portions 23 and 24 from colliding with the end portion of the wafer W.

  Moreover, since the unloading of the wafer W and the elimination of the bending can be performed in one step, the time required for the transfer can be shortened, and the productivity of the production line can be improved.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 13 is a perspective view schematically showing a wafer transfer arm 3 which is a substrate transfer arm of the third embodiment. 14 is a diagram schematically showing the upper surface of the wafer transfer arm 3, and FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing a part of the cross section of the wafer transfer arm 3 taken along line XV-XV in FIG. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the wafer transfer arm 3 is made of a plate-like member, and includes a rear base end portion 31, a central arm portion 32 protruding forward from the rear base end portion 31, and left and right sides of the central arm portion 32. Auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 projecting forward from the rear base end portion 31 on the side are provided. As the constituent material of the wafer transfer arm 3, the same material as the constituent material of the wafer transfer arm 1 of the first embodiment can be used.

  The central arm portion 32 has a flat surface 32s. The auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 have flat placement surfaces 33s and 34s on which the wafer is placed, respectively. As shown in FIG. 15, the flat surface 32s of the central arm portion 32 is formed at a position lower than the placement surface 33s. The heights of the mounting surfaces 33s and 34s are substantially the same.

  The central arm portion 32 has fluid discharge holes 37, 37,..., 37 for ejecting fluid such as dry air upward. These fluid discharge holes 37, 37,..., 37 are arranged over the entire flat surface 32s. The diameter r of the fluid discharge hole 37 can be set to about 1 mm, for example. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the fluid discharge holes 37, 37,..., 37 communicate with a fluid supply path 38 formed inside the central arm portion 32. The fluid supply path 38 further communicates with a fluid introduction hole (not shown) in the rear base end portion 31. By introducing a fluid such as compressed air into the fluid introduction hole, the fluid can be ejected from the fluid discharge holes 37, 37,.

  The distal ends of the auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 are located closer to the rear base end portion 31 than the distal end of the central arm portion 32, and the total length (Y-axis direction length) w9 of the auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 is the central arm portion. It is shorter than the full length (Y-axis direction length) w8 of the part 32. The auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 have suction holes 35 and 36, respectively, and these suction holes 35 and 36 communicate with intake passages 35h and 36h formed inside the auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34, respectively. ing. These intake passages 35h and 36h further communicate with a suction hole (not shown) of the rear base end portion 31. By sucking air from the suction holes, the lower surface (back surface) of a wafer (not shown) placed on the placement surfaces 33 s and 34 s can be vacuum-sucked.

Regarding the dimensions of the wafer transfer arm 3, for example, the width (length in the X direction) w6 of the central arm part 32, the auxiliary arm part 33 and the auxiliary arm part 34 is about 10 mm, and the thickness w10 of the plate-like wafer transfer arm 3 is set. The step (height difference) s6 between the central arm portion 32 and the auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 can be set to about 3 mm. An interval s4 between the central arm portion 32 and the auxiliary arm portion 33 is substantially equal to an interval s5 between the central arm portion 32 and the auxiliary arm portion 34. The diameter of the wafer is unloaded (diameter) when an R _W, the entire width (X direction length) w7 of the wafer transfer arm 3 about R _W -30 mm, from the proximal end of the central arm portion 32 to the tip total length (Y direction length) w8 a _{R W} approximately, the full length (Y direction length) w9 from the proximal end to the distal end of the auxiliary arm portion 33 may be about two thirds of the _{R W.} The diameter _{R W} of the wafer, although the range of 6 inches (150 mm) to 12 inches (300 mm) is envisaged, but is not limited to this range.

  FIG. 16 is a top view schematically showing the wafer transfer arm 3 when the wafer W bent by its own weight is unloaded from the substrate carrier 100. The wafer transfer arm 3 constitutes a wafer transfer device 110B together with the arm drive unit 112 and the drive arm 111. FIGS. 17A to 17C are side views schematically showing the wafer transfer arm 3 of the third embodiment in which the wafer W is to be carried out.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the arm drive unit 112 moves the wafer transfer arm 3 in the horizontal direction via the drive arm 111, and moves the wafer transfer arm 3 from the opening of the substrate carrier 100 to the lower side of the wafer W. Insert it. At this time, as shown in FIG. 17A, the flat surface 32s of the central arm portion 32 is controlled to be lower than the peripheral edge portion of the wafer back surface Wb. Thereafter, when the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 3 proceeds, the fluid Ar is ejected from the fluid discharge holes 37,..., 37 to the wafer back surface Wb as shown in FIG. Because of the pressure of the fluid Ar, the wafer back surface Wb is pushed up almost to the height of the mounting surfaces 33 s and 34 s, so that the bending due to the weight of the wafer W is eliminated. When the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 3 further proceeds, as shown in FIG. 17C, the wafer W from which the bending has been eliminated is placed on the placement surfaces 33s and 34s. Thereafter, when the wafer W is completely placed on the wafer transfer arm 3, the supply of the fluid Ar is stopped, and air is sucked from the suction holes of the rear base end portion 31, so that the placement surfaces 33 s and 34 s are placed. Wafer back surface Wb is vacuum-sucked. The arm driving unit 112 can lift the wafer transfer arm 3 by about 1 mm and then pull out the wafer transfer arm 3 from the substrate carrier 100, thereby unloading the wafer W from the substrate carrier 100. The number of fluid discharge holes 37 and the amount of fluid discharge may be adjusted so that, for example, the force by which the fluid Ar lifts the wafer back surface Wb is about 1/3 of the total weight of the wafer W.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the insertion of the wafer transfer arm 3 into the substrate carrier 100 is deepened, and the wafer back surface Wb is lifted by the pressure of the fluid Ar. The wafer W can be placed on the placement surfaces 33s and 34s. Since the distal ends of the auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 are formed closer to the rear base end portion 31 than the fluid discharge holes 37, 37 and 37 near the distal end of the central arm portion 32, the mounting surfaces 33 s and 34 s have It is possible to guide the wafer W in which the bending is almost eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the auxiliary arm portions 33 and 34 from colliding with the end portion of the wafer W.

  Moreover, since the unloading of the wafer W and the elimination of the bending can be performed in one step, the time required for the transfer can be shortened, and the productivity of the production line can be improved.

  Although various embodiments according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, these are examples of the present invention, and various forms other than the above can be adopted. For example, the structure of the wafer transfer arms 1 to 3 in the above embodiment is to transfer a wafer, but is not limited to this. You may apply the structure of the wafer transfer arms 1-3 of embodiment to the arm structure which conveys another board | substrate (for example, glass substrate).

  1, 2, 3 Wafer transfer arm (substrate transfer arm), 11 rear base end, 12 central arm, 12f flat surface, 12r inclined surface, 12s mounting surface, 13, 14 auxiliary arm unit, 13s, 14s auxiliary mounting Placement surface, 15, 16 Suction hole, 17 Air intake passage, 21 Rear base end, 22 Central arm portion, 22f Flat surface, 22r Inclined surface, 22s Placement surface, 23, 24 Auxiliary arm portion, 23s, 24s Auxiliary placement Surface, 25, 26 Adsorption hole, 25h, 26h Air intake path, 27a, 27b Fluid discharge hole, 28 Fluid supply path, 31 Rear base end part, 32 Central arm part, 32s Flat surface, 33, 34 Auxiliary arm part, 33s, 34 s mounting surface, 35 suction hole, 35 h, 36 h intake path, 37 fluid discharge hole, 38 fluid supply path, 110, 110 B Wafer transfer device, 111 drive arm, 112 arm drive unit.

Claims (8)

A substrate transfer arm that is inserted from the opening of the substrate container into the lower side of the substrate placed horizontally in the substrate container, and carries the substrate out of the substrate container while supporting the back surface of the substrate. ,
A rear proximal end;
A first end connected to the rear base end, a second end opposite to the first end, and a placement on which the substrate is placed when the substrate is unloaded a mounting portion having a surface,
And press the top,
Equipped with a,
The push-up part is
A third end connected to the second end;
A fourth end opposite to the third end;
It is formed at a position lower than the placement surface between the third end and the fourth end, and is formed so as to become lower from the third end toward the fourth end. An inclined surface,
A fifth end connected to the fourth end;
A sixth end opposite to the fifth end;
A flat surface formed at a position lower than the placement surface between the fifth end and the sixth end;
A fluid discharge hole for ejecting fluid upward;
Have
When the substrate transfer arm is inserted below the substrate, at least the central portion of the back surface of the substrate positioned below the mounting portion is ejected while ejecting the fluid to the back surface of the substrate. A substrate transfer arm that is pushed up to the height of the surface . The substrate transfer arm according to claim 1 ,
An auxiliary arm having a seventh end connected to the rear base end and an auxiliary placement surface having the same height as the placement surface ;
The placing portion and the push-up portion constitute a single arm portion,
The auxiliary arm portion is arranged on the side of the rear base end portion on the side of the placing portion on the side of the placing portion ,
The substrate carrying arm, wherein the auxiliary mounting surface supports a back surface of the substrate when the substrate is unloaded. 3. The substrate transfer arm according to claim 2 , wherein the auxiliary mounting surface is formed with an intake hole that adsorbs the back surface of the substrate when the substrate is unloaded. arm. A substrate transfer arm that is inserted from the opening of the substrate container into the lower side of the substrate placed horizontally in the substrate container, and carries the substrate out of the substrate container while supporting the back surface of the substrate. ,
A rear proximal end;
A mounting portion having a first end connected to the rear base end, and a mounting surface on which the substrate is mounted when the substrate is unloaded;
A push-up unit having a second end connected to the rear base end and a fluid discharge hole for ejecting fluid upward;
With
The mounting portion is disposed on the side of the rear base end side of at least one of the fluid discharge holes on the side of the push-up portion,
The push-up portion is formed by ejecting the fluid to the back surface of the substrate when the substrate transfer arm is inserted below the substrate, thereby causing the center of the back surface of the substrate located below the placement unit. A substrate transfer arm, wherein the portion is pushed up to at least the height of the mounting surface . The substrate transfer arm according to claim 4 ,
The fluid discharge hole is formed on the upper surface of the push-up part,
An upper surface of the push-up portion is formed at a position lower than the mounting surface described above. A substrate transport arm according to claim 4 or 5, substrate to the said mounting face, wherein the suction hole for sucking is formed a back surface of the substrate when the substrate is unloaded Transfer arm. A substrate transport arm according to any one of claims 1 6, wherein the substrate is a substrate conveying arm, which is a semiconductor wafer. A substrate transfer arm according to any one of claims 1 to 7 ,
A substrate transfer apparatus comprising: an arm driving unit that drives the substrate transfer arm.

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