JPH019165Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wafer transfer device for loading and unloading each wafer into and out of a work device that performs, for example, chamfering, mirror polishing, or thickness measurement of wafers.

A conventional device of this type is constructed as shown in FIG.

That is, the mechanism for loading and unloading each wafer W into and out of the work device M that performs chamfering, mirror polishing, thickness measurement, etc. of the wafer W is a transfer arm 1 having an air suction holding section 2 below. is provided, and the wafer W is transported while being suction-held under the transport arm 1 by the suction-holding section 2 .

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, when carrying an unworked wafer W into the working apparatus M, the transfer arm 1 needs to make one reciprocation, and when carrying out the processed wafer W from the working apparatus M, it is necessary to carry it further. One round trip of arm 1 is required. That is, in order to perform work such as chamfering on one wafer W, the transfer arm 1 has to make two reciprocating movements, which has the drawback of extremely low work efficiency.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is capable of significantly improving work efficiency by configuring the wafer to be loaded into and taken out of the working device in one reciprocating motion of the transfer arm. The purpose is to provide a conveyance device.

Hereinafter, the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In FIG. 2, a working device M performs chamfering, mirror polishing, thickness measurement, or other operations on a wafer W. As this working device M itself is not the gist of the present invention, a detailed explanation of its configuration will be omitted, but a known configuration can be adopted.

The transfer arm 11 that carries the wafer W into and out of the working device M is reciprocated by an arm drive unit 10 equipped with, for example, a motor (not shown) or an air cylinder whose pneumatic pressure is controlled by the control unit 14. is configured to be A holding section 12 for holding the wafer W in a mounted state is provided above the tip of the transfer arm 11, and a suction holding section 13 for holding the wafer W by suction is provided below the tip. This adsorption holding part 13 has a hollow component 13a and a hollow component 13a.
It has a plurality of through holes 13b that communicate with each other downward. Then, the hollow part 13a of the suction holding part 13
is connected to a control section 14 by an air pipe 15, and is configured to adsorb and hold the wafer W as appropriate under air pressure control by the control section 14.

As described above, the control section 14, which appropriately controls the air pressure of the suction holding section 13 of the transfer arm 11, is equipped with a vacuum pump, and is also equipped with a sequence circuit that controls the operating order of the entire apparatus.

Next, the operation of the wafer transfer device will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first unworked wafer _W1 is placed on the holding portion 12 of the transfer arm 11, and is carried into the working device M as shown in FIG. 3B. The loaded wafer _W1 is the third one.
As shown in FIG. C, appropriate operations such as chamfering, mirror polishing, thickness measurement, etc. are performed by the working device M, and the transport arm 11 returns to its original position.

When the work is completed, as shown in FIG. 3D, the unworked second wafer _W2 is suction-held by the suction-holding section 13 of the transfer arm 11 and carried into the working device M. Then, as shown in FIG. 3E, the processed first wafer W ₁ is placed on the holding part 12 of the transfer arm 11 and carried out, and the second wafer W ₂ carried in is carried out as shown in FIG. 3F. As shown in FIG. 2, appropriate operations are performed on the wafer _W1 by the operation device M in the same manner as on the first wafer W1.

When the work on the second wafer _W2 is completed, the first wafer _W1 is removed and the unworked third wafer _W3 is placed on the holding part 12 of the transfer arm 11, as shown in FIG. and carry it into the working device M. Then, the third wafer W ₃ is subjected to appropriate work by the work device M, and the second wafer W ₂ that has been worked on is carried out by the transfer arm 11 while being held by the suction holding section 13. be done.

Thereafter, the wafers W are sequentially loaded into and unloaded from the working device M in the same manner, thereby completing the work on the desired number of wafers W.

In the above specific explanation, the wafer W suction/holding section 13 using air is provided only on the lower side of the transfer arm 11. , the wafer W can be held more reliably.

As described above, the wafer transfer device according to the present invention is provided with the holding section 12 for holding the wafer W above the transfer arm 11, and the wafer W held below.
A suction/holding section 13 is provided to suction and hold the wafer W, so that loading and unloading of the wafer W is performed in exactly the same process. Therefore, loading and unloading of the wafer W into and out of the working device M can be completed in one reciprocation of the transfer arm 11, so that there is no waste in the operation of the working device M, resulting in high operating efficiency, and as a result, work efficiency is greatly improved. The present invention can be said to be extremely useful industrially, since it is possible to achieve this, the device is miniaturized, and the number of times the transfer arm starts and stops is minimized, thereby simplifying the device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows the main parts of a conventional wafer transport device, FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows the entire wafer transport device, and FIG. A to G are schematic diagrams of main parts showing operating states. 11...transport arm, 12...holding section, 13...
...Adsorption holding unit, M...Working device, W...Wafer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a wafer transfer device that includes a transfer arm that holds and carries unworked wafers into a working device and that holds and carries processed wafers out of the working device, the wafer is placed above the transfer arm. A wafer is provided with a holding part for holding the wafer, and a suction holding part for sucking and holding the wafer is provided directly below the holding part, and the loading and unloading are performed through the same process. Conveyance device.