JP7148825B2 - Load port and substrate transfer system with load port - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a load port provided with a rotating mechanism for rotating a container containing substrates, and a substrate transfer system provided with the load port.

Conventionally, when a substrate is taken in and out between a container such as a FOUP (Front-Opening Unified Pod) that accommodates a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and a transfer chamber in which a transfer means for transferring the substrate is installed, the container is used. A device called a load port is known. The load port constitutes a substrate transfer system such as an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) together with the transfer means and the transfer chamber.

Usually, the container is placed on the load port with the lid provided on the side of the container and the door provided on the load port for opening and closing the lid facing each other. The container may not be placed at For example, when a stocker that stores containers in a factory does not have a rotation mechanism for rotating the containers, the containers can be placed on the load port in the opposite direction. In such a case, it is necessary to rotate the container so that the lid of the container faces the door. Load ports equipped with rotating means for this purpose are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3.

The load port described in Patent Literature 1 includes a placement section on which a container is placed, a movement mechanism that moves the placement section, and a rotation mechanism that rotates the movement mechanism. The placement section has a transfer position where the container is transferred between a transfer machine having a fork (that is, a transfer machine that runs on the floor) and a door opening/closing position where the lid of the container opens and closes together with the door. It is possible to move between The rotating mechanism rotates the container together with the placing section, so that the lid of the container faces the door. The rotation position for rotating the container is between the delivery position and the door opening/closing position.

Similarly to Patent Document 1, Patent Documents 2 and 3 also disclose a load port having a rotating mechanism for rotating the container. , is the same as the delivery position where the container is delivered to and from a device or the like that carries the container to the load port.

On the other hand, automatic guided vehicles such as OHTs (Overhead Hoist Transfers) that travel along pre-installed tracks are known as transportation means for transporting containers in factories such as semiconductor factories. To improve transport efficiency when a load port with a rotating mechanism and a load port without a rotating mechanism (hereinafter referred to as a normal load port) coexist in a factory where such transportation means are arranged. Therefore, there is a desire to arrange the container delivery positions at both load ports along the trajectory of the vehicle. The distance between the track of the transportation means and the wall surface of the transfer chamber where the load port is arranged is determined by standards. It is defined to be around 243 mm in plan view.

JP 2013-219159 A Japanese Patent No. 4168724 Japanese Patent No. 4816637

As in the load ports described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, if the delivery position of the container is not premised on the delivery of the container by an automatic guided vehicle such as an OHT, and the delivery position can be set to a position sufficiently far from the door opening/closing position, the container can be set to be the same as the delivery position or closer to the door opening/closing position than the delivery position. However, if the delivery position is set close to the door open/close position in compliance with the above-mentioned standards, the container will collide with the door or the surrounding wall surface during rotation due to the dimensions of these load ports. For this reason, the delivery position at the load port equipped with these rotation mechanisms and the delivery position at the load port without the rotation mechanism cannot be arranged along the same trajectory of the transportation means, and the transportation efficiency of the containers is reduced. I have a problem with falling.

An object of the present invention is to set a delivery position at which a container is delivered from a transportation means to a placement section in a load port equipped with a rotation mechanism along the same trajectory of the transportation means as the delivery position in a load port without a rotation mechanism. To avoid collision of a container with a door or the like when the container is rotated even when the container is arranged.

A load port according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a mounting section on which a container for accommodating substrates is mounted, and the mounting section travels along a previously installed track to transport the container. a load port for delivering the container to and from the transportation means when the container is in a delivery position capable of delivering the container between a door portion that opens and closes the opening; a frame that projects forward from the base in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the base and supports the mounting portion; a rotating mechanism for rotating, after the container has been placed on the placing portion by the transportation means, before or during rotation of the placing portion by the rotating mechanism, the door portion and the and a moving mechanism for moving at least one of the mounting portions away from the other.

In a load port having a rotating mechanism, after the container is placed on the placing section by the transport means, the door section and the placing section are separated before or during the rotation of the placing section by the rotating mechanism. The distance in the front-to-rear direction becomes relatively distant. Therefore, in a load port equipped with a rotation mechanism, even if the delivery position at which the container is delivered from the transportation means to the placement section is arranged along the same track of the transportation means as the delivery position in the load port without the rotation mechanism. , the collision of the container with the door part and the base can be avoided when the container rotates.

A load port according to a second aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the moving mechanism moves the placement section forward and backward from a delivery position where the container is delivered to and from the placement section with respect to the transportation means. after the container has been placed on the placement section at the delivery position by the transportation means, before or during rotation of the placement section by the rotating mechanism Secondly, the placement section is moved forward of the delivery position.

After the container is placed on the placement section, the placement section is moved forward from the delivery position by the moving mechanism before or while the rotating means rotates the placement section. can be avoided from colliding with the door or base. Compared to when the door is retracted, the air on the load port side is less likely to enter the rear space through the opening, so there is less concern about contamination of the rear space.

A load port according to a third aspect of the invention is the load port according to the second aspect, wherein after the moving mechanism moves the mounting portion to the rotational position forward of the delivery position, the loading port It is characterized by rotating the part.

Since the placement section is rotated by the rotation mechanism after being moved to the rotation position forward of the delivery position by the movement mechanism, it is possible to more reliably prevent the container from colliding with the door section or the base when the container rotates. can.

A load port according to a fourth aspect of the invention is the load port according to the third aspect, wherein the moving mechanism moves the mounting portion to the rotational position by projecting the mounting portion forward from the frame. It is characterized by

According to the present invention, since only the mounting portion protrudes to the rotating position, there is no need to protrude the frame to the rotating position, the size of the frame in the front-rear direction becomes compact, and the installation area of the load port can be reduced. can be done.

A load port according to a fifth aspect of the invention is the load port of the fourth aspect, further comprising: detecting means for detecting an obstacle in front of the frame; and control means for restricting movement to the rotational position.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the placement section and the container from jumping forward from the frame when a person or the like passes nearby, so that safety can be ensured.

A load port according to a sixth aspect of the invention is the load port according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, wherein the moving mechanism supports the rotating mechanism from below and has a movable portion capable of moving in the front-rear direction. The mounting portion is supported from below by the rotating mechanism, and has a connection position connected to a nozzle insertion port formed on the lower surface of the container mounted on the mounting portion, and a nozzle insertion port. A nozzle for injecting or discharging gas, which can move up and down between a spaced position spaced downward from the mouth, is supported by the movable part.

According to the present invention, the rotating mechanism is supported by the movable portion of the moving mechanism, and the mounting portion is supported by the rotating mechanism. Nozzles for gas injection or exhaust are not rotated. Therefore, the mounting section can be rotated without the movement of the rotation mechanism being hindered by the gas injection or discharge pipe connected to the nozzle.

A load port according to a seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the sixth aspect, before the movement mechanism moves the placement section to a door opening/closing position where a lid provided on the side surface of the container is opened and closed together with the door section. or during the movement, the nozzle is moved to the connecting position, and the injection or discharge of gas into or from the container is started via the nozzle.

Since the nozzle for injecting or discharging gas is provided on the upper surface of the movable part, the relative position between the nozzle and the mounting part in the front-rear direction does not change even while the mounting part is moved by the moving mechanism. . Therefore, before or during the movement of the placement section to the door open/close position, gas can be started to be injected into or discharged from the container. Therefore, injection of gas can be completed earlier than starting injection of gas after completion of movement of the placing section, and the time required to open and close the door can be shortened.

A substrate transfer system according to an eighth aspect of the invention includes a first load port, which is the load port of any one of the first to seventh aspects of the invention, and the mounting section, and does not include the rotation mechanism. a second load port; and a transfer chamber having transfer means for taking the substrate in and out of the container, wherein the transfer position of the mounting section of the first load port and the placement of the second load port are provided. The delivery position of the unit is arranged along the track of the transportation means.

With respect to the first load port provided with the rotating mechanism and the second load port not provided with the rotating mechanism, the delivery positions taken by the mounting portions of the respective load ports are arranged along the same travel track of the transportation means. Therefore, containers can be delivered to and from each load port using the same transportation means.

(a) is a schematic plan view of a semiconductor device including a load port according to the present embodiment and its surroundings, and (b) is a front view of the same. 3 is a perspective view of a load port; FIG. It is a right side view of a load port. It is a right side view which shows the position of a mounting tray, (a) shows an intermediate position, (b) shows a front position, and (c) shows a rear position. It is a right side view which shows the raising/lowering of a nozzle, (a) shows the state in which a nozzle is in a separated position, and (b) shows the state in which a nozzle is in a connection position, respectively. It is an enlarged view of Fig.1 (a). 4 is a flow chart of the operation of the load port; FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the operation of the load port; FIG. 5 is a right side view showing the operation of the load port; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a load port according to a modified example; It is a right side view of a load port. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the operation of the load port; FIG. 11 is a plan view of an EFEM according to another modified example;

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the horizontal direction is the direction in which the plurality of load ports 4 and 5 are arranged. The direction perpendicular to the left-right direction and in which the load ports 4 and 5 face the transfer chamber 6 is defined as the front-rear direction. In the front-rear direction, the load ports 4 and 5 side is the front side, and the transfer chamber 6 side is the rear side.

(Semiconductor Device Including Load Port and Schematic Configuration of Peripherals)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 installed in a semiconductor factory and its surroundings. As shown in FIG. 1A, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a substrate processing apparatus 2 for processing substrates such as wafers, and an EFEM 3 (substrate transfer system of the present invention) for transferring substrates between the substrate processing apparatuses 2. and The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 performs the following series of operations. First, the EFEM 3 receives a FOUP 300 (container of the present invention) containing substrates from an OHT 400 (transport means of the present invention) or the like, which will be described later. Next, the EFEM 3 takes out the substrate from the FOUP 300 and transfers the substrate to the substrate processing apparatus 2 . The substrate processing apparatus 2 processes the substrate received from the EFEM 3 and returns the substrate to the EFEM 3 . EFEM 3 returns the substrate to FOUP 300 . After that, the FOUP 300 is carried by the OHT 400 or the like.

The substrate processing apparatus 2 includes a substrate processing mechanism (not shown) and a control device 10 . The control device 10 controls the substrate processing mechanism to process the substrate, transfer the substrate to and from the EFEM 3, and communicate with the host 200 or the like, which is a host computer.

The EFEM 3 includes one load port 4 (load port and first load port of the present invention), two load ports 5 (second load port of the present invention), a transfer chamber 6, and a transfer robot 7 (this and a control device 11 . A major difference between the load port 4 and the load port 5 is the presence or absence of a rotation mechanism 24, which will be described later. That is, the load port 4 has the rotation mechanism 24 and the load port 5 does not have the rotation mechanism 24 .

The load ports 4 and 5 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction so that their rear ends are aligned with a partition wall 8 on the front side of a transfer chamber 6, which will be described later. A FOUP 300 is placed on the load ports 4 and 5 . FOUP 300 is transported within the factory by OHT 400 . As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the OHT 400 travels along rails 401 (tracks of the present invention) pre-installed on the ceiling of the factory and accesses the load ports 4 and 5 from above. It is an unmanned guided vehicle. OHT 400 transfers FOUP 300 to load port 4 or load port 5 based on a command from host 200 .

The transfer chamber 6 constitutes a transfer space 9 isolated from an external space by a partition wall 8 . A distance L in the front-rear direction between the rail 401 and the partition wall 8 in front of the transfer chamber 6 is, for example, about 243 mm defined by the SEMI standard.

The transfer robot 7 is installed in the transfer chamber 6 and transfers substrates between the FOUPs 300 placed on the load ports 4 and 5 and the substrate processing apparatus 2 . The control device 11 not only controls the transfer robot 7, but also communicates with the control device 10 of the substrate processing apparatus 2, the control device 29 of the load port 4 (to be described later), the host 200, and the like.

(Load port configuration)
Next, the configuration of the load port 4 will be explained. The directions shown in FIG. 2 are the front, rear, left, right, up and down directions.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the load port 4 includes a base 20, a door portion 21, a frame 22, a loading tray 23 (mounting portion of the present invention), a rotation mechanism 24, It includes a moving mechanism 25, a nitrogen gas purge unit 27, a control device 29 (control means of the present invention), and the like.

The base 20 is a substantially rectangular plate-like portion when viewed from the front. The base 20 is erected so as to constitute a part of the partition wall 8 of the transfer chamber 6 . A substantially rectangular opening 30 is formed in the upper portion of the base 20 when viewed from the front. The opening 30 has a size that allows the lid 301 provided on the side surface of the FOUP 300 to pass therethrough.

The door section 21 has a door 31 and a door arm 32 . The door 31 is a substantially rectangular plate-like member, and has a size capable of closing the opening 30 from behind. The door 31 has an adsorption portion 33 that adsorbs the lid 301 of the FOUP 300 and a latch key 34 that opens and closes the lock of the lid 301 . The door arm 32 is a member that is attached to the rear portion of the door 31 and supports the door 31 from below. Also, the door arm 32 is connected to the door moving portion 35 . The door moving part 35 is provided behind the base 20 and moves the door 31 and the door arm 32 in the front-back direction and the up-down direction.

The frame 22 is a portion projecting forward from the base 20 . The frame 22 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and has an area larger than that of the FOUP 300 . A sensor 26 (detection means of the present invention) is provided on the front surface of the frame 22 . The sensor 26 is, for example, an optical sensor having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion. The light emitting section emits light in front of the frame 22 , and when there is an obstacle in front of the frame 22 , the light receiving section detects the light reflected by the obstacle and sends a detection signal to the control device 29 .

The loading tray 23 is a substantially rectangular member in plan view, and has an area on which the FOUP 300 can be stably placed. The loading tray 23 is supported from below by the frame 22 via a rotating mechanism 24 and a moving mechanism 25, as will be described later.

Three positioning pins 36 , 37 and 38 are provided on the upper surface of the loading tray 23 . The positioning pins 36, 37, and 38 are arranged so as to engage with three holes (not shown) provided on the bottom surface of the FOUP 300 when the FOUP 300 is placed in a regular orientation, which will be described later. It should be noted that the orientation of the loading tray 23 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is the orientation when the lid 301 and the door 31 of the FOUP 300 face each other. That is, when the positions of the positioning pins 36 and 37 in the front-rear direction are substantially the same, and the positioning pin 38 is positioned forward of the positioning pins 36 and 37, the lid 301 and the door 31 of the FOUP 300 face each other. The orientation of the loading tray 23 is referred to as normal orientation.

Further, the mounting tray 23 is formed with two nozzle passage holes 39 and 40 that penetrate from the upper surface to the lower surface of the mounting tray 23 . These nozzle passage holes 39 and 40 are arranged so that an injection nozzle 55 and a discharge nozzle 56, which will be described later, can pass therethrough when the mounting tray 23 is in the normal orientation.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the rotation mechanism 24 has a motor 41 and a shaft 42 . For example, a rotary air motor or the like is used as the motor 41 . The motor 41 is supported by a movable portion 47 of the moving mechanism 25, which will be described later. The shaft 42 is attached to the upper part of the motor 41 and the lower part of the loading tray 23 so as to extend in the vertical direction, supports the loading tray 23 from below, and transmits the rotational power of the motor 41 to the loading tray 23 . By rotating the shaft 42 with the motor 41 of the rotating mechanism 24 having the above configuration, the loading tray 23 rotates around the vertical axis.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the moving mechanism 25 has a cylinder 45, a transmission portion 46, a movable portion 47, slide rails 48, and rail blocks 49. As shown in FIGS. For the cylinder 45, for example, a three-position air cylinder is used in which the rod 50 that constitutes the cylinder 45 can take three positions. A cylinder 45 is provided within the frame 22 so that the rod 50 can move in the front-rear direction. The transmission part 46 is attached to the end of the rod 50 and the lower part of the movable part 47 and installed so as to transmit the power of the cylinder 45 to the movable part 47 . The movable portion 47 is connected to the upper portion of the transmission portion 46 and installed so as to move in the front-rear direction. Also, the movable portion 47 supports the motor 41 of the rotation mechanism 24 from below. The slide rail 48 is attached to the lower portion of the movable portion 47 along the front-rear direction. The rail block 49 is fixed to the upper surface of the frame 22 and supports the slide rail 48 from below so that it can move back and forth.

When the cylinder 45 of the moving mechanism 25 configured as described above moves the rod 50 in the front-rear direction, the loading tray 23 can be moved between three positions in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. When the load port 4 is arranged as shown in FIG. 1 and the loading tray 23 is at an intermediate position in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. located just below. That is, the loading tray 23 can receive the FOUP 300 from the OHT 400 . The above position of the loading tray 23 is called a delivery position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the loading tray 23 is in front of the delivery position, the loading tray 23 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 24 as described later. This forward position is referred to as the rotated position. Further, as shown in FIG. 4(c), when the loading tray 23 is located behind the delivery position, the lid 301 of the FOUP 300 on the loading tray 23 approaches the door portion 21, and the lid 301 moves toward the door portion 21. is opened and closed with This rearward position is referred to as the door open/close position.

The load port 4 also includes a nitrogen gas purge unit 27 for injecting and discharging nitrogen gas into the FOUP 300, as shown in FIG. The nitrogen gas purge unit 27 includes a gas supply means 51 for supplying nitrogen gas, an exhaust means 52 for discharging air previously filled in the FOUP 300, pipes 53 and 54, an injection nozzle 55 and an exhaust nozzle 56 (the present invention). nozzle) and motors 57 and 58 .

The injection nozzle 55 is provided so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the movable portion 47 of the moving mechanism 25, and is arranged so as to be able to pass through the nozzle passage hole 39 when the mounting tray 23 is in the normal orientation. The injection nozzle 55 is connected to the pipe 53 and can be moved up and down by a motor 57 . The pipe 53 is connected to the gas supply means 51 . Similarly, the discharge nozzle 56 is arranged so as to be able to pass through the nozzle passage hole 40 when the tray 23 is oriented properly, is connected to the pipe 54 , and is movable up and down by a motor 58 . The pipe 54 is connected to the exhaust means 52 .

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 are lowered most, the upper ends of the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 are positioned below the tray 23 (separated position). be. As shown in FIG. 5B, when the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 are raised to the maximum, the upper ends of the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 are connected to the nozzle insertion openings 302 and 303 on the bottom surface of the FOUP 300, respectively. position (connection position).

The control device 29 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The control device 29 controls each mechanism of the load port 4 by means of the CPU according to a program stored in the ROM, and also communicates with the control device 11 of the EFEM 3, the host 200, and the like.

Next, the load port 5 will be explained. The configuration of the load port 5 is generally similar to the configuration of the load port 4, but differs from the configuration of the load port 4 in that the rotation mechanism 24 is not provided as described above. That is, in the load port 5 , the FOUP 300 is placed on the loading tray 23 with the lid 301 facing the door 31 . Note that the loading tray 23 of the load port 5 is directly supported by the moving mechanism 25 . Further, the loading tray 23 of the load port 5 is moved between the delivery position and the door opening/closing position without moving to the rotating position. In the load port 4 and the load port 5, the delivery position of the loading tray 23 and the door opening/closing position in the front-rear direction are the same.

(load port operation steps)
Next, operation steps of the load port 4 installed in the EFEM 3 as shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the operation of the load port 4. FIG. First, while the FOUP 300 is not placed on the loading tray 23, the control device 29 of the load port 4 communicates with the host 200 to obtain information on the FOUP 300 transported by the OHT 400 (S101). The information on the FOUP 300 includes information on the orientation of the FOUP 300 when placed on the placement tray 23 . When the lid 301 of the FOUP 300 is placed in the direction facing the door 31 of the load port 4, the information indicating that the lid 301 is in the normal direction is displayed when the lid 301 is placed in the direction opposite to the normal direction. , the host 200 sends information to the effect that they are opposite directions.

Next, based on the information received from the host 200, the control device 29 determines whether the orientation of the FOUP 300 placed on the tray 23 is the regular orientation or the opposite orientation (S102). First, the case where the FOUP 300 is placed on the placement tray 23 in the opposite direction will be described.

When the loading tray 23 is arranged in the normal direction, the control device 29 drives the motor 41 of the rotating mechanism 24 to rotate the loading tray 23 so that the FOUP 300 facing in the opposite direction is placed. If the loading tray 23 is originally arranged in the opposite direction, the control device 29 does not rotate the loading tray 23 . Further, when the loading tray 23 is at a position other than the delivery position, the control device 29 operates the cylinder 45 of the moving mechanism 25 to move the loading tray 23 to the delivery position. When the loading tray 23 is at the delivery position from the beginning, the control device 29 does not move the loading tray 23 . That is, the control device 29 waits while the loading tray 23 is positioned and oriented as shown in FIG. 8A (S103).

At this time, as shown in FIG. 6 , the loading tray 23 of the load port 4 is arranged along the rails 401 in plan view, and the FOUP 300 can be loaded by the OHT 400 . Similarly, the delivery position of the loading tray in the load port 5 is also arranged along the rail 401 in plan view.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 9A, the FOUP 300 is mounted on the mounting tray 23 by the OHT 400 (S104). After that, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the control device 29 operates the cylinder 45 of the moving mechanism 25 to move the loading tray 23 to the rotational position forward of the delivery position. Move away from the door 31 (S105). As shown in FIGS. 8C and 9B, the loading tray 23 protrudes forward from the frame 22 when the loading tray 23 is in the rotating position.

Although not shown, if there is an obstacle in front of the frame 22 , the sensor 26 detects the obstacle in advance and sends a detection signal to the controller 29 . Upon receiving the detection signal, the control device 29 restricts the movement of the loading tray 23 to the rotation position, for example, by not issuing a control signal to the cylinder 45 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the loading tray 23 and the FOUP 300 from protruding forward from the frame 22 when a person or the like passes nearby, thereby ensuring safety.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 8D, 8E, and 9C, the controller 29 drives the motor 41 of the rotating mechanism 24 to rotate the tray by 180 degrees (S106). Here, if the FOUP 300 rotates while the loading tray 23 is at the delivery position, the FOUP 300 collides with the door 31 of the load port 4 or the base 20. Since the FOUP 300 rotates when it is in the position, the FOUP 300 rotates without colliding with the door 31 or the base 20 . That is, even if the delivery position of the loading tray 23 in the load port 4 is arranged along the same rail 401 of the OHT 400 as the delivery position of the loading tray 23 in the load port 5, when the FOUP 300 rotates, the door 31 and the base do not move. 20 can be avoided. In this embodiment, as compared with the case where the door portion 21a is retracted as shown in a modified example described later, the air on the side of the load port 4 is less likely to enter the transfer space 9 through the opening 30. Therefore, the transfer space 9 is not contaminated. less worry about

Note that the rotation mechanism 24 is supported by the movable portion 47 of the moving mechanism 25 and the loading tray 23 is supported by the rotation mechanism 24 , so only the loading tray 23 and the FOUP 300 are rotated by the rotation mechanism 24 . That is, the aforementioned injection nozzle 55 and discharge nozzle 56 provided on the upper surface of the movable portion 47 do not rotate. Therefore, the loading tray 23 can be rotated without being hindered by the pipes 53 and 54 in the movement of the rotating mechanism 24 .

Next, the controller 29 drives the motors 57 and 58 of the nitrogen gas purge unit 27 to raise the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 to the connection position and connect them to the nozzle insertion openings 302 and 303 at the bottom of the FOUP 300 . Then, the controller 29 controls the gas supply means 51 and the exhaust means 52 to start injecting nitrogen gas into the FOUP 300 and discharging air through the injection nozzle 55 and the exhaust nozzle 56 (S107). As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, when the loading tray 23 is arranged in the opposite direction, the positions of the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 in the front-rear direction and the nozzle passage holes 39 and 40 , the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 cannot be connected to the FOUP 300. As shown in FIG. 9(c), the loading tray 23 is placed in the proper orientation, so that the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 can be connected to the FOUP 300 for the first time.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8F, the control device 29 operates the cylinder 45 to move the loading tray 23 to the rear door open/close position (S108). Then, the control device 29 stops the operation of the gas supply means 51 and the exhaust means 52, drives the motors 57 and 58, and lowers the injection nozzle 55 and the discharge nozzle 56 to the separated position (S109). Since the injection and discharge of the gas are started before the loading tray 23 moves to the door opening/closing position, the nitrogen gas is supplied earlier than the injection of the nitrogen gas, etc., after the completion of the movement of the loading tray 23. Injection and the like can be completed, and the time until the door opening/closing operation, which will be described later, can be shortened.

Next, the load port 4 performs a door opening/closing operation (S110). That is, the control device 29 unlocks the lid 301 of the FOUP 300 with the latch key 34 of the door 31 and causes the adsorption portion 33 of the door 31 to adsorb and hold the lid 301 . Then, the control device 29 operates the door moving unit 35 to move the door 31 and the lid 301 rearward and lower the door 31 and the lid 301 . After that, the controller 11 of the EFEM 3 operates the transfer robot 7 to take out the substrate from the FOUP 300 and transfer it to the substrate processing apparatus 2 , and receives the processed substrate from the substrate processing apparatus 2 and returns it to the FOUP 300 . After all necessary substrate processing is completed, the controller 29 operates the door moving unit 35 to raise and advance the door 31 and the lid 301, return the lid 301 to the FOUP 300, lock the lid 301 with the latch key 34, The suction of the lid 301 to the suction portion 33 is released.

After that, the controller 29 sends information to the host 200 that the substrate processing is finished. The control device 29 also controls the movement and rotation of the FOUP 300 according to commands from the host 200 . That is, when the FOUP 300 is transported by the OHT 400 in the normal orientation, the control device 29 controls the moving mechanism 25 to move the loading tray 23 to the transfer position in the same orientation. Also, when the FOUP 300 is transported by the OHT 400 in the opposite direction, the control device 29 causes the moving mechanism 25 to once move the loading tray 23 to the rotating position. After the loading tray 23 is reversed by the rotating mechanism 24, the control device 29 controls the moving mechanism 25 to move the loading tray 23 to the transfer position. Finally, the FOUP 300 is transported by the OHT 400 that has received instructions from the host 200 (S111).

Returning to step S102, the case where the FOUP 300 is placed in the regular orientation will be described. When the loading tray 23 is arranged in the opposite direction, the control device 29 causes the rotating mechanism 24 to rotate the loading tray 23 in the normal direction (see FIG. 2). Further, when the loading tray 23 is arranged at a position other than the delivery position, the control device 29 causes the moving mechanism 25 to move the loading tray 23 to the delivery position. That is, the control device 29 waits with the loading tray 23 facing normally and at the delivery position (S121). The FOUP 300 is placed on the placement tray 23 in the normal orientation by the OHT 400 (S122). In this case, the control device 29 does not move the loading tray 23 to the rotation position and rotate the loading tray 23, and starts gas injection and air discharge in step S107. After that, the controller 29 performs the same operation as when the FOUP 300 is placed in the opposite direction.

As described above, the load port 4 can prevent the FOUP 300 from colliding with the door 31 and the base 20 when the FOUP 300 rotates even when the loading tray 23 takes the delivery position along the rails 401 in plan view. can. Therefore, in the EFEM 3 , the delivery position of the loading tray 23 of the load port 4 and the delivery position of the loading tray 23 of the load port 5 that does not have the rotating mechanism 24 are arranged along the same rail 401 . Therefore, the same OHT 400 can be used to transfer the FOUP 300 to each of the load ports 4 and 5 .

Further, when the loading tray 23 of the load port 4 is in the rotating position, the loading tray 23 protrudes forward from the frame 22 . That is, the frame 22 does not need to protrude to the rotational position in the front-rear direction, and the size of the frame 22 in the front-rear direction can be made compact. Therefore, the installation area of the load port 4 can be made as small as the load port 5 .

Next, a modification in which the above embodiment is modified will be described. However, components having the same configurations as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

(1) As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the load port 4a may include a moving mechanism 60 for moving the door portion 21a away from the loading tray 23. FIG. A specific description will be given below.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the door portion 21a further has rotating plates 61 and 62. As shown in FIGS. The opening 30a of the base 20a is wider in the vertical direction than the door 31a of the door portion 21a. The rotating plates 61 and 62 are supported so as to be rotatable about the horizontal direction as an axis. The upper portion of the rotating plate 61 and the lower portion of the rotating plate 62 are supported by the base 20a.

The moving mechanism 60 includes a door moving portion 35a for moving the door arm 32a of the door portion 21a in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction, a motor 63 connected to the rotating plate 61, a motor 64 connected to the rotating plate 62, have The motors 63 and 64 rotate the rotating plates 61 and 62 between the closed position (FIG. 10(a)) at which the opening 30a is closed and the open position (FIG. 10(b)) at which the opening 30a is opened. Rotate each. As shown in FIG. 10(b), the rotating plates 61 and 62 move to the open position by rotating backward.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the operation of the load port 4a when the FOUP 300 is placed in the opposite direction. First, the control device 29 reverses the loading tray 23 and waits at the delivery position (FIG. 12(a)), and the FOUP 300 is placed on the loading tray 23 in the opposite direction (FIG. 12(b)). So far, it is the same as the above embodiment.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12(c), the control device 29 controls the moving mechanism 60 to move the door 31a backward and rotate the rotating plates 61 and 62 backward. That is, in this modified example, the door portion 21a is moved relatively away from the loading tray 23 by rotating the rotating plates 61 and 62 backward. Next, the control device 29 controls the rotation mechanism 24 to rotate the loading tray 23, as shown in FIGS. 12(d) and 12(e). In this modification, the loading tray 23 rotates without moving from the delivery position, but as shown in FIG. The control device 29 may control the moving mechanism 25a to move the loading tray 23 to the rotating position, and may control the moving mechanism 60 to retract the door 31a.

After the loading tray 23 is completely rotated, the controller 29 controls the moving mechanism 60 to advance the door 31a and move the rotating plates 61 and 62 to the closed position, as shown in FIG. 12(f). move. Further, the control device 29 controls the moving mechanism 25a to move the loading tray 23 to the door opening/closing position. The subsequent operation of the load port 4a is the same as in the above embodiment.

(2) The angle by which the rotation mechanism 24 rotates the loading tray 23 is not limited to 180°, and may be rotated by 90°, for example. In the EFEM 3b shown in FIG. 13, the two load ports 5 are installed along the front wall surface of the transfer chamber 6b, while the load port 4 is installed along the left wall surface of the transfer chamber 6b. there is In such a case, the load port 4 waits with the loading tray 23 rotated 90° from the normal orientation, so that the FOUP 300 can be transferred to and from the OHT 400 . After the FOUP 300 is placed on the loading tray 23 by the OHT 400, the controller 29 causes the moving mechanism 25 to move the loading tray 23 to the rotating position, and the rotating mechanism 24 rotates the loading tray 23 by 90°. .

(3) Other configurations of the load port 4 can also be changed as appropriate. For example, the load port 4 may not be equipped with a nitrogen gas purge unit 27 and there may be no operational steps for gas injection and evacuation. Also, the size of the frame 22 in the front-rear direction may be increased to such an extent that it does not protrude forward from the frame 22 even when the loading tray 23 is in the rotating position. Furthermore, the placement section on which the FOUP 300 is placed is not limited to the loading tray 23 . For example, it may have a triangular shape in plan view as described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent No. 4168724), as long as the FOUP 300 is placed thereon.

The configuration of the rotation mechanism 24 is not limited to that of the present embodiment, and it is sufficient that the loading tray 23 can be rotated around the vertical axis. Also, the configuration of the moving mechanism 25 is not limited to that of the present embodiment, as long as it can move the loading tray 23 between three positions in the front-rear direction. Sensor 26 may be, for example, an ultrasonic detector.

(4) The rotating mechanism 24 may start rotating the loading tray 23 before the moving mechanism 25 moves the loading tray 23 to the rotating position. That is, the moving mechanism 25 may move the loading tray 23 forward while the rotation mechanism 24 is rotating the loading tray 23 at such timing that the FOUP 300 does not collide with the door 31 or the base 20 . .

(5) The control device 29 of the load port 4 may not necessarily be incorporated in the load port 4, and the control device 10 of the substrate processing apparatus 2 or the control device 11 of the EFEM 3 may also be used to control the load port 4. Also good.

(6) Other configurations can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the EFEM 3, the number of load ports 4 and 5 is not limited to three. Also, all of the load ports 5 may be replaced with the load ports 4 . The gas injected into the FOUP 300 may be an inert gas other than nitrogen. The container in which the substrates are stored is not limited to the FOUP 300, and may be, for example, a FOSB (Front Opening Shipping Box) for transporting the substrates between factories. The transfer system including the load ports 4 and 5 and the transfer chamber 6 is not limited to the EFEM 3, and may be, for example, a sorter that transfers substrates between a plurality of containers. The transport means for transporting the substrate is not limited to the transport robot 7 . The transportation means for transporting the container is not limited to the OHT 400, and any means for transporting the container along a track set in advance may be used. The distance L in the longitudinal direction between the track and the partition wall 8 in front of the transfer chamber 6 is not limited to about 243 mm.

3,3b EFEM
4, 4a, 5 load port 6, 6b transfer chamber 7 transfer robot 10, 11, 29 control device 20, 20a base 21, 21a door portion 22 frame 23 mounting tray 24 rotation mechanism 25 movement mechanism 26 sensor 29 control device 30, 30a opening 31, 31a door 39, 40 nozzle passage hole 47 movable part 55 injection nozzle 56 discharge nozzle 60 movement mechanism 300 FOUP
400 OHT
401 rail

Claims (6)

A mounting section is provided on which a container containing the substrates is mounted, and the mounting section can transfer the container to and from a transportation means that travels along a track set in advance and transports the container. a load port for delivering the container to and from the transport means when in the proper delivery position,
a base arranged upright and having an opening;
a door portion provided on the base for opening and closing the opening;
a frame projecting forward from the base in a front-rear direction perpendicular to the base and supporting the mounting portion;
a rotation mechanism that rotates the placement unit around a vertical axis;
A door forward/backward moving mechanism for retracting the door backward When,
equipped with,
After the container is placed on the placement section by the transportation means, the door section forward/backward moving mechanism is configured to:
The door section is retracted before or while the rotating mechanism rotates the mounting section.A load port characterized by: further comprising a mounting portion moving mechanism capable of moving the mounting portion in the front-rear direction;
The rotation mechanism is characterized in that the placement section moving mechanism moves the placement section to a rotating position, and the door section forward/backward movement mechanism retracts the door section to rotate the placement section. The load port according to claim 1. The door section
an upper rotating plate that closes the upper portion of the opening; a lower rotating plate that closes the lower portion of the opening; a door that closes the opening from the rear,
the door is retractable rearward;
The door portion forward/backward moving mechanism moves the door after the container has been placed on the placing portion by the transportation means and before or while the rotating mechanism rotates the placing portion. 3. The load port according to claim 1, wherein the load port is retracted rearward, and the upper rotating plate and the lower rotating plate are rotated rearward. The placement section moving mechanism has a movable section that supports the rotation mechanism from below and is movable in the front-rear direction,
The placement section is supported from below by the rotation mechanism,
Injection of gas capable of moving up and down between a connection position connected to a nozzle insertion port formed on the lower surface of the container placed on the mounting portion and a separation position spaced downward from the nozzle insertion port 3. A load port according to claim 2 , wherein a discharge nozzle is supported by said movable portion.
Before or during the movement of the placement section moving mechanism to the door opening/closing position where the cover provided on the side surface of the container is opened and closed together with the door section, the nozzle is connected to the connection section. 5. The load port of claim 4 , wherein the load port is moved to a position and injection or evacuation of gas into or out of the vessel is initiated through the nozzle. a first load port, which is the load port according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ;
a second load port including the mounting portion and not including the rotation mechanism;
a transfer chamber having transfer means for taking the substrate in and out of the container,
The delivery position of the mounting section of the first load port and the delivery position of the mounting section of the second load port are arranged along the track of the transportation means. substrate transport system.

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