JPH02101164A - Automatic transposing device for substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the deterioration of the quality of thin films on the surfaces of substrates arising from manual transposition with a sputtering film forming device by moving a substrate holder mounted with the substrates to be treated in a perpendicular state in an automatic transfer line and transferring the substrates to the holder by using a robot during the course of the movement thereof. CONSTITUTION:The thin films are sputtered on the surfaces of the substrate 6 while the substrate holder 11 mounted with the plural substrates 6 are moved in a carrier 5 of an automatic transporting line 4 having a sputtering device 1, a substrate supplying station 3, and a substrate recovering station 2 and the substrates 6 are transposed in a stage 8 on the outside of the automatic transporting line 4. The substrate holder 11 fed from the sputtering device is crimped between holding means 25 and the handling robot 27 is driven to attach and detach the treated substrates 6 from the substrate holder 11 in a disconnecting part provided in the line 4, by which the contamination and flawing of the thin film forming surface by the sputtering treatment of the substrates and the degradation in the yield are prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is a method for transferring a substrate between a carrier for transferring the substrate and a stage provided outside the transfer line, and transferring the substrate to a substrate holder provided on the carrier. An automatic board changing device for loading a board or removing a processed board from a board holder, in particular, the carrier has a pair of board holders supported parallel to each other along a vertical plane, and each board holder is opposite to the other board holder. Targets devices with multiple boards attached to each surface.

(Prior art) For example, in a film forming apparatus using a sputtering method, the film forming apparatus is placed in the middle of an endless annular conveyance line, and substrates are transported into and out of the film forming apparatus by the conveyance line and this line. There are certain things you can do depending on your career. As shown in FIG. 1, the carrier has a pair of substrate holders 11 supported in parallel along a vertical plane, with each substrate holder 1
A plurality of substrates 6 are supported on each of the opposite surfaces of the substrate 1 .

Furthermore, in the conventional carrier 5, as shown in FIG.
A receiving frame 20 is recessed on the inner surface of the substrate holder 11, and this receiving frame 2
The board 6 fitted into the board 6 was clamped and fixed between the board holder 11 and a holding frame 45 screwed to the board holder 11. code 46
is a screw that fixes the presser frame 45.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-mentioned conventional device, mounting of a new board to the board holder,
Alternatively, all removal of processed substrates from substrate holders has been done manually. As a result, it is impossible to avoid electrostatic charge and the adhesion of microdust to new and processed boards.Furthermore, it is not possible to avoid human interference during replacement work, such as accidentally hitting the board against another object and damaging its film surface during handling. The problem was that the quality of the board was likely to deteriorate due to errors. Also, when attaching and detaching the board, there are many screws 4.
6 had to be tightened and loosened, making the replacement work troublesome and time-consuming, and there were also problems such as screws and presser frames 45 being scattered or easily lost.

This invention enables substrate replacement to be performed using automatic equipment, reliably eliminates contamination caused by static electricity and microdust, and scratches on the film surface during replacement work, and prevents deterioration in board quality during replacement. The purpose is to

Another object of the present invention is to shorten the time required for replacement by automating the replacement work, prevent the above-mentioned deterioration in substrate quality, and improve productivity of film-formed substrates. It is in.

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, a carrier to which a board is to be replaced has a pair of board holders supported in parallel along a vertical plane, and a plurality of board holders are mounted on each opposing face of each board holder. It is assumed that the board is installed.

The apparatus according to the present invention transfers the substrate between the above-mentioned carrier that is fed and moved on the automatic transport line and a stage set outside the automatic transport line, and attaches and detaches the substrate to and from the substrate holder.

Specifically, a part of the automatic conveyance line is divided, and a carrier holding means is installed at this divided part to take over the carrier from one divided conveyance path, stop and hold it, and send it out to the other divided conveyance path. establish. Then, a holder separating means and a handling robot are arranged with the carrier holding means in between, the carrier holding means is configured to be able to be driven to rotate around a vertical axis by a turning drive means, and a stage is arranged near the handling robot. . The above holder separation means removes one substrate holder supported by the carrier from the carrier and waits. Further, the handling robot attaches and detaches the substrate from each of the substrate holder remaining on the carrier and the substrate holder supported by the holder separating means.

In order to support automatic replacement by a handling robot, the substrate holder is configured to maintain the mounting posture with a simpler structure by utilizing the weight of the substrate. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an exposure window is opened on the board surface of the substrate holder to expose the processing surface of the substrate, a receiving frame is recessed in the inner surface of this exposure window, and the peripheral edge of the receiving frame is recessed. A spring member is provided in the upper half portion to press and hold the substrate, and an inclined groove is formed in the lower side of the receiving frame to guide the movement of the substrate from the opening side of the receiving frame toward the rear end.

(Function) The carrier sent by the automatic conveyance line is transferred to the carrier holding means and held there. In this state, one substrate holder is held by the holder separating means and separated from the carrier. Thereafter, the carrier holding means is rotated by the rotation drive means so that the inner surface of the substrate holder, that is, the surface on which the substrate is mounted, faces the handling robot, and the substrate is removed or mounted. Next, the carrier holding means is rotated again by the turning drive means to displace the plate surface of the substrate holder perpendicular to the transport path, thereby securing a space above the carrier holding means that allows the handling robot to pass through. In this state, the substrate is removed from (or attached to) the substrate holder held by the holder separating means. After the replacement is completed, the carrier holding means is returned to the initial state, the substrate holder held by the holder separation means is returned to the carrier, and the carrier is sent from the carrier holding means to the conveyance path of the automatic conveyance line.

Through the series of operations described above, the automatic replacement device of the present invention can automatically attach or detach a board from a board holder, and can prevent deterioration of board quality due to human error.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 9 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an automatic film forming apparatus using a sputtering method.

In FIG. 1, the automatic film forming apparatus includes a sputtering apparatus 1, a substrate collection station 2, and a substrate supply station 3.
The automatic transport line 4 connects these three parts endlessly, and the automatic transport line 4 and the carrier 5 that is fed and moved by the automatic transport line 4 are connected in an endless manner.
This allows the substrate 6 to be carried into the sputtering apparatus 1 and the processed substrate 6 to be recovered.

An automatic exchange device 7 according to the present invention is provided in each of the substrate recovery station 6 and the substrate supply station 3, and the substrate 6 is exchanged between the carrier 5 and a stage 8 provided outside the automatic transfer line 4. . Note that since the automatic replacement devices 7 installed at each station 2.3 have the same structure and function, only the automatic replacement device 7 installed at the substrate recovery station 2 will be described.

In FIG. 3, the carrier 5 includes a base frame 10 and this base frame 1.
0, one substrate holder 1 is fixed to the base frame 10 with screws, and the other substrate holder 1 is detachably attached to the holder 11. There is. For details, see Figures 4 and 5.
As shown in the figure, there are two receiving brackets 12 each having a U-shaped cross section at two locations on the left and right of the upper edge of the fixed board holder 1 and at the center of the lower edge.
is fixed, and a keyhole-shaped engagement hole 13 is continuously provided in its outer wall.

Then, the substrate holder 1 on the side separated from the carrier 5
Then, a headed pin 14 is fixed in correspondence with the engagement hole 13. As shown in FIG.
3 and then lower it, one of the board holders 1
is positioned and held by the other substrate holder 11. In this mounted state, the pair of substrate holders 1.1.11 are supported by the base frame 10 in parallel positions along a vertical plane.

In order to feed and drive the carrier 5 along the groove-shaped conveyance path 15, a drive gear 16 is provided at the inner bottom of the conveyance path 15, and guide rollers 17 are provided inside the conveyance path 15 in an opposing manner. The drive gear 16 and the guide roller 17 are provided at regular intervals as shown in FIG. 2, respectively. The drive gear 16 is constantly driven to rotate and meshes with a rack 10a provided at the lower end of the base frame 10 to feed and move the carrier 5 in one direction.

Four substrates 6 are mounted on the substrate holder 11.

To this end, the plate surfaces of the substrate holder 11 are arranged in a Japanese character shape, an exposure window 19 is opened to expose the processed surface of the substrate 6 to the outside, and a receiving frame 20 is recessed on the inner surface of one of the windows. . Furthermore, spring members 21 formed of leaf springs are arranged at two locations on the upper edge wall of each receiving frame 20, and these spring members 21 are used to press down and hold the upper edge of the base frame 6 fitted into the receiving frame 20, thereby preventing the base frame 6 from falling to the side. (See Figure 4). In addition, an inclined groove 22 is formed on the lower side of each receiving frame 20 so that the lower edge of the board 6 mounted on the receiving frame 20 can be guided to move from the opening side toward the rear end, so that the board 6 can be held in place by its own weight. It is positioned and supported. The substrate 6 is removed from the receiving frame 20 by a handling robot 27, which will be described later. For this purpose, as shown in FIG.
A notch 23 is recessed into which the claw of the robot hand 27a can fit. In FIG. 4, the board 6 is installed by inserting its upper edge obliquely upward between the spring member 21 and the receiving frame 20, and dropping its lower edge into the inclined groove 22. Further, by operating the board 6 in the reverse order of mounting, it can be taken out from the receiving frame 20.

1 and 2, the automatic replacement device 7 will be explained. This device 7 divides the automatic transfer line 4 at the substrate recovery station 2, provides a carrier holding means 25 at this divided part, and opposes the holder separating means 26 and the /X handling robot 27 with the carrier holding means 25 in between. The rotation driving means 2 is arranged at the bottom of the carrier holding means 25.
8 is arranged and configured.

The carrier holding means 25 is equipped with a conveyance path 29 of the same form as the automatic conveyance line 4, a drive gear 16, and a guide roller 17, and receives the carrier 5 sent from the sputtering apparatus 1 from the upper conveyance path 15a. Stop and hold at that central position.

Further, the carrier 5 from which the substrate 6 has been removed is transferred to the lower conveyance path 15b and sent to the substrate supply station 3. The carrier holding means 25 is supported by the turning drive means 28 via a turning shaft 30, and is turned around a vertical axis as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 2 to change the attitude of the carrier 5. The pivot shaft 30 is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown).

The holder separating means 26 has a head portion 32 supported by the base 3 and moved forward and backward toward the carrier holding means 25 by a drive mechanism (not shown). A capturing mechanism 33 for holding the substrate holder 11 between the left and right sides is provided on the opposing surface side. The capturing mechanism 33 includes a pair of left and right capturing plates 34, a mechanism 2 that slides and guides the capturing plates 34 left and right, a pair of upper and lower guide shafts 35, and a drive (not shown) that drives each of the capturing plates 34 along the guide shafts 35. The re-capturing plates 34 can be driven and operated simultaneously or individually.

The handling robot 27 is configured as a horizontally articulated robot and has five free axes. Specifically, these include horizontal rotation around the first, second, and third axes, elevation of the first axis, and vertical rotation of the robot hand 27a around the fourth axis. A stage 8 is installed on the side of the handling robot 27, and a storage case 38 for the substrate 6 is placed in a storage section 37 above the stage 8. Storage case 38
is fixedly held at a fixed position in the storage portion 37 so as not to be able to move.

The operation of the automatic replacement device 7 will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9.

In FIG. 6, the carrier 5 sent from the sputtering apparatus 1 by the automatic transport line 4 is transferred to the carrier holding means 25 at the substrate recovery station 2, and is stopped and held at the central position.

This stopping operation is performed by a detection operation of a switch or sensor provided inside the conveyance path 29. In this state, the head portion 32 of the holder separating means 26 is moved forward toward the carrier holding means 25, and one of the separable substrate holders 11 is held between the capturing plates 34 to accurately position the entire carrier 5.

After that, when the rotation shaft 30 is slightly lowered by the rotation driving means 28 and the head part 32 is retreated with one substrate holder 11 held between the capture plates 34, the substrate holder 11 is moved back as shown in FIG. 11 can be separated from the carrier 5.

The head portion 32 retreats to a position outside the rotation range of the carrier holding means 25 and waits. Next, the carrier holding means 25 is rotated by the rotation drive means 28, and the substrate holder 11 is turned over 180 degrees until the substrate mounting surface of the substrate holder 11 directly faces the handling robot 27, as shown in FIG.

In this state, the substrate 6 is removed from the substrate holder 11 by the robot hand 27a and placed in the storage case 38 on the stage 8.
It can be paid to When the four substrates 6 have been stored, the carrier holding hand is moved again by the rotation drive means 28.]4 The stage 25 is rotated, and the carrier 5 is rotated as shown in FIG.
The upper substrate holder 1 is displaced until the plate surface thereof is perpendicular to the transport path 15. At the same time, the head section 32 is moved forward from the standby position, and the pair of capture plates 34 are moved to either the left or right. In this state, the robot hand 27 holds two boards 6 on one side.
Remove it from the board holder 11 by a and put it in the storage case 38.
It can be paid to

Furthermore, the pair of capture plates 34 are moved in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned movement direction, and the remaining two substrates 6 are similarly removed from the substrate holder 11 and stored in the storage case 38.

After this, the carrier holding means 25 is returned to the state shown in FIG.
The substrate holder held by the capture plate 34 is returned to the carrier 5. The carrier 5 from which the substrate 6 has been removed is transferred to the lower conveyance path 1.
5b to the substrate supply station 3, where a new substrate is mounted and sent to the sputtering apparatus 1 again.

(Modification) FIG. 10 shows a modification of the substrate holder 11. This allows the board 6 to be mounted and held using only its own weight without being detachable. Specifically, the exposure window 19 and the receiving frame 20
The whole is formed to be inclined by an angle α, and on each of the lower side of the receiving frame 20 and the side side adjacent to the inclined lower end of this lower side,
A retaining edge 39.40 that receives and holds the inner surface of the peripheral edge of the board 6
form. Also in this case, an inclined groove 22 is provided on the lower side of the receiving frame 20.

According to the substrate holder 11 formed in this way, the three retaining edges on the lower side and the inclined groove 22 are inclined upwardly from the lower end of the retaining edge 40 on the side toward the other side.
The board 6 can be mounted on the receiving frame 20 with one touch, and the mounted state can be maintained only by the weight of the board 6. Note that the angle α is 5
It was a degree.

In addition to the above, the type and structure of the handling robot 27 is merely a matter of choice, and is not limited to the robot described in the embodiment. Further, the substrate 6 may be held by other holding means such as a suction cup.

The apparatus of this invention can also be applied to film forming apparatuses other than sputtering apparatuses and film processing apparatuses.

The automatic conveyance line 4 does not have to be annular, and may be linear or located in the middle of a series of processing lines.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the automatic replacement device of the present invention, the carrier holding means, the rotation driving means, and the holder separation means cooperate to hold a pair of substrates held in a parallel attitude on the carrier. Since each holder is held in a mounting/detaching position toward the handling robot, the substrate can be automatically mounted/detached to/from the substrate holder by transferring the substrate between each substrate holder and the stage by the handling robot. It became.

Therefore, this invention eliminates deterioration of the quality of the board due to static electricity charging and adhesion of micro dust during replacement work, and at the same time prevents the film surface from being damaged due to human error. Deterioration in board quality can be reliably prevented.

In addition, by automating the replacement work, the time required for replacing the board can be shortened compared to when replacing the board manually, and in addition to preventing the deterioration of board quality mentioned earlier, it is possible to improve the quality of the film-formed substrate. It can improve productivity and reduce manufacturing costs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 9 show embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the automatic replacement device, FIG. 2 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the carrier, and FIG. 4 is a substrate holder. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts, FIG. 5 is a front view showing the connection structure of the board holder, and FIGS. 6 to 9 are operation explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the automatic replacement device in order. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a modification of the substrate holder. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part showing a substrate holding structure in a conventional carrier. 2... Substrate collection station, 4... Automatic transfer line, 5... Carrier, 6... Substrate, 7... Automatic replacement device, 11... Substrate holder, 15... Transfer path, 25
... carrier holding means, 26 ... holder separation means,
27...Handling robot, 28...Turning drive means, 15a...Upper side conveyance path, 15b...Lower side conveyance path.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) The carrier has a pair of substrate holders supported in parallel along a vertical plane, and a plurality of substrates are mounted on each of the opposing surfaces of each substrate holder, and the substrates are fed and moved by an automatic transfer line. This is an automatic substrate changing device that transfers substrates between a carrier and a stage set outside an automatic transfer line, in which a part of the automatic transfer line is separated, and the carrier is transferred to one side of the separated part of the automatic transfer line. A carrier holding means is provided to take over from one transport path, stop and hold it, and send it out to the other divided transport path, and one substrate holder supported by the carrier is removed from the carrier and on standby with the carrier holding means in between. A handling robot that attaches and detaches the substrate to each of the substrate holder remaining in the carrier and the substrate holder supported by the holder separating means is arranged, and the carrier holding means is rotated around the vertical axis by a rotation driving means. An automatic circuit board changing device configured to be able to be rotated in a direction, and in which the stage is arranged near a handling robot. (2) Opening an exposure window that exposes the processed surface of the substrate on the plate surface of the substrate holder, forming a recessed receiving frame on the inner surface of this exposure window,
According to claim (1), a spring member is provided on the upper half of the peripheral wall of the receiving frame to press and hold the substrate, and an inclined groove is formed on the lower side of the receiving frame to guide the movement of the substrate from the opening side of the receiving frame toward the rear end. automatic board replacement device. (3) An exposure window is opened in the substrate holder to expose the processing surface of the substrate, a receiving frame is recessed on the inner surface of the exposure window, and a receiving frame is formed on the lower side of the receiving frame and one side adjacent to the lower side, respectively. A retaining edge is formed to catch and hold the inner surface of the periphery, an inclined groove is formed on the lower side of the receiving frame to guide movement of the board from the opening surface side of the receiving frame toward the rear end, and the retaining edge and the inclined groove on the lower side are formed. 2. The automatic circuit board replacement device according to claim 1, wherein the retaining edges on the sides are formed in an upward slope from the lower end toward the other side.