JPH0215934A - Holding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure the easy mounting and demounting of a retained article and enable reliable holding without any damage to the retained article by providing a means capable of releasing a pressing body from the opposite position of the circumferential part of the retained body via the elastic deformation of an elastic deformation member. CONSTITUTION:When a pneumatic cylinder 5 is actuated and presses the lower center of the support part 3b of a pressing body 5 with the predetermined pressing force, a plate spring 4 between the support part 3b of the pressing body 5 and a placement board 2 is compressed and when the pressing body 3 rises, the top of the support part 3b and the tip of the lower projection 2a of the placement board 2 come in contact with each other. As at least the support part 3b of the pressing body 5 is made of a material capable of elastic deformation, when the pressing body 3 is made to further rise, the center part of the aforesaid support 3b rises as curved. Consequently, the circumferential part of the support part 3b is curved down and the contact part 3a of the pressing body 3 moves in a transverse direction, or retreats from the upper position of the circumferential part of the placement board 2. In this state, a wafer 1 is placed at the predetermined position on the surface of the placement board 2.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a holding device.

(Prior Art) ``To hold an object to be held, such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for LCD, a technique is generally used in which the back surface of the plate-shaped object is held by vacuum suction.

Such vacuum suction technology is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-2499.
As disclosed in No. 0, etc., this technique of holding plate-shaped objects by vacuum suction is such that if there is a minute gap in the suction part, the suction force will decrease rapidly, so it is necessary to ensure vacuum suction. For example, in the case of a semiconductor wafer, it is necessary to adsorb the object with a force several to several tens of times greater than that required to hold the object.
In addition to causing defects in the crystals of semiconductor wafers, there are other problems such as the inability to use the vacuum suction technique in a vacuum processing chamber, and therefore a technique that clamps the peripheral edge of the object to be held is mainly used. Techniques for clamping the peripheral edge of the object to be held are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 56-100440 and 6
It is disclosed in No. 1-220351, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-23102, etc.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, the techniques disclosed in JP-A-56-100440 and JP-A-61-220351 utilize elastically deformable claws extending from below to the periphery of the held object. In order to grip the peripheral edge of the object to be held, a force is applied from the periphery of the object in the central direction, that is, in a lateral direction, and this lateral force causes stripes to form on the object to be held and the film attached to its surface. There was a problem that defects occurred.

Note that when holding an object to be held, such as a semiconductor wafer, it is important to press perpendicularly to the surface of the wafer. This is because if the wafer is held down at an angle that deviates from the vertical, slippage will occur in the microscopic contact between the wafer surface and the holding body, resulting in the generation of dust and contamination of the wafer. That will happen.

In addition, when rotating the object while holding it, the equipment becomes larger and, for the reasons mentioned above, it is not possible to apply a large force around the object, which reduces friction and accelerates rotation. - During deceleration, the held body does not keep up with the actual rotation and spins idly, making it impossible to perform desired rotation control, making it difficult to apply it to rotation processing.

Furthermore, with the technique disclosed in JP-A No. 62-23102, it is possible to vertically press and hold the peripheral edge of the object to be held, but it is not possible to insert the object into the holding mechanism. When doing so, there is a risk that the object to be held may come into contact with the holding mechanism and be rubbed, and this rubbing may generate dust and contaminate the object to be held.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a holding device that allows the object to be held to be easily attached and detached, and also enables highly reliable holding without damaging the object to be held. It is something.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving Problem m1) The present invention provides a means for solving the problem of the held object by relatively moving a pressing body arranged to face the peripheral edge of the held object installed on the surface of the installation plate and the installation plate. The present invention provides a holding device characterized in that the holding device includes means for making the suppressing body detachable from a position facing the peripheral edge of the held object by elastic deformation of an elastic deformation member.

(Function) A means is provided for making the suppressor disposed opposite the peripheral edge of the held object installed on the surface of the installation plate detachable from the position facing the peripheral edge of the held object by elastic deformation of the elastic deformation member. Therefore, the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation member causes the suppressing body to be separated from the position facing the peripheral edge of the held object, and in this state, the held object can be easily attached and detached. Moreover, since the upper held body is subjected to a pressing force only in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the held body, that is, perpendicularly, by a pressing body disposed opposite to the peripheral edge of the held body, from the periphery of the held body toward the center, that is, There are no lateral forces applied, which results in
Striped defects do not occur in the film adhering to the surface of the object to be held.

Furthermore, since the removal of the pressing body to easily attach and detach the held object, that is, the movement of the pressing body in a direction substantially perpendicular to the pushing direction of the suppressing body, is performed at a position where the pressing body is sufficiently far away from the held object, Generation of dust due to friction between the held body and the suppressing body can be prevented.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the holding device will be explained.

An installation plate (2) is provided so that an object to be held, such as a semiconductor wafer (2), can be placed on the surface thereof, and this installation plate (2) is fixed to another mechanism (not shown). A suppressor (2) is provided that can suppress the peripheral edge of the wafer (7) placed on the surface of the installation plate (1) in a vertical direction, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the wafer (0). This pressing body (■) is provided so as to surround the above-mentioned wafer (■) and the installation plate (■).
1) Consists of a plurality of contact parts (3a) that abut against the peripheral edge, and a support part (3b) that integrally connects and supports the plurality of equivalent parts (3a) below the installation plate (2). At least the support portion (3b) of the suppressor (3) is made of an elastically deformable material, such as aluminum. Between the upper surface of this support part (3b) and the above-mentioned installation plate (2), that is, below the periphery of this installation plate (2), there is an elastic body such as a leaf spring 6).
is provided. Under normal conditions, the support part (3b) of the installation plate (2) and the pressing body (2) are separated by this leaf spring (2), and the abutting part (3a) of the pressing body (3) is connected to the wafer placed on the surface of the installation plate (2). (2) The peripheral edge is pressed to hold this wafer (2). Furthermore, a protrusion (2a) having a predetermined thickness protrudes from the lower surface of the installation plate (2).

The tip of this protrusion is set in a non-contact state with the support portion (3b) when the wafer (1) is held. Further, a drive mechanism, for example, an air cylinder 〇 is provided below the pressing body ◯, that is, approximately below the center of the support portion (3b), and the drive of this air cylinder 〇 suppresses the lower surface of the support portion (3b). It is possible.

The holding device 0 is configured in this way.

Next, the operation of the holding device 0 will be explained.

First, the center of the lower surface of the support part (3b) of the suppressor 0 is pressed upward with a predetermined pressing force by driving the air cylinder (2).

This suppression causes the support portion (3b) to rise, and the suppression body (3), in which the support portion (3b) and the contact portion (3a) are integrally constituted, rises while maintaining its shape. This repressive body
As the suppressor ■ rises, the leaf spring (A) provided between the support part (3b) of the suppressor ■ and the fixed installation plate ■ is compressed, and as the suppressor ■ rises further, the leaf spring (A) is compressed. The tips of the protrusions (2a) that protrude from the upper surface of the support part (3b) of this pressing body (2) and the lower part of the installation plate (2) come into contact with each other. When the suppressor (3) is further raised continuously, since at least the support part (3b) of the suppressor (2) is made of an elastically deformable material such as aluminum, the central part of the support (3b) curves. and rise. This curvature causes the support part (
3b) The peripheral edge curves downward, and accordingly, the abutting part (3a) of the suppressor (3) moves laterally, that is, the abutting part (3a)
a) is removed from the above-mentioned position above the periphery of the installation plate (Fig. 3A). In this state, the wafer (2) is placed at a predetermined position on the surface of the installation plate (1) using a handling arm (not shown) (FIG. 3B). When installing this wafer (υ), since the abutting portion (3a) of the suppressor 0 is laterally retracted, this can be easily done without coming into contact with the wafer α). Then, the air cylinder (2) is operated to release the elastic deformation of the support section (3b) of the suppression body (3), that is, the curved state of the support section (3b) is returned to its original shape by the restoring force (Fig. 3C). ). As a result, the abutting portion (3a) of the suppressor (2) moves above the peripheral edge of the installed wafer (1). Then, by reducing or canceling the suppressing force of the air cylinder 〇.

Lower the above suppressor ■. This causes the support part (3b) to be lowered by the restoring force of the leaf spring provided between the support part (3b) of the pressing body (2) and the lower surface of the installation plate (2). Then, the contact portion (3a) of the suppressor (2) presses the peripheral edge of the sea urchin (4) downward, that is, in the direction of the installation plate (2) so as to be perpendicular to the surface of the wafer (2).

Hold the above wafer (■) on the surface of this installation plate (Fig. 1)
. While holding the wafer ω in this way.

This wafer (2) is subjected to desired processing or transportation.

In addition, when removing the above wafer ■,
Perform the installation operation in reverse. This is the air cylinder mentioned above■
The support part (3b) of the pressing body (3) is raised, brought into contact with the protrusion (2a) projecting downward from the installation plate (2), and then elastically deformed, that is, curved. As a result, the abutting portion (3a) of the suppressor (3) releases the pressing hold on the wafer (ω), and further removes the wafer (2) from above the peripheral edge of the wafer (2).

In the above embodiment, an example was explained in which the contact portions (3a) of the suppressor (3) that holds the wafer (1) were provided at four locations on the peripheral edge of the wafer (1), but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 2, a similar effect can be obtained by having a large number of abutting portions (3a) each of which is divided.

Furthermore, the structure of the holding device is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. An object to be held, such as a semiconductor wafer (υ), is placed at a predetermined position, and the contact portion (3
a) and a support part (3b). At least the support part (3b) is made of an elastically deformable material, and the stretching force of the extensible coil spring (2) provided at the bottom of the installation plate (2) causes the periphery of the sea urchin (4) to be The above wafer ■ is forcibly pressed against the contact part (3a).
will be maintained. When removing the wafer (3) or installing a new wafer, the support section (3)
b) A drive mechanism provided at the bottom of the
By driving 〇, the support portion (3b) is raised until it comes into contact with the protrusion (2a) projecting from the bottom of the installation plate ①. Due to this contact, the contact portion (3a) is raised to release the suppression of the peripheral edge of the wafer ω, and furthermore, the air cylinder
The support part (3b) is raised by the support part (3b).
3b) is deformed or curved to remove the abutting portion (3a) from above the wafer (FIG. 5B). Here, a gas such as air is supplied to the space 0 inside the installation plate 1 through the gas introduction pipe 2, and the upper surface of the installation plate 2 is deformed or curved (Fig. 5C). It may also be configured to easily remove the wafer ω placed on the top surface or to easily install a new wafer ω on the top surface of the installation plate. In particular, when removing an object wet with liquid, such as water, from the installation plate (■), push up the center of the installation plate (■) to elastically deform it and reduce the adsorption force between this installation plate (■) and the object to be held. can be easily carried out. Furthermore, although the driving source for elastically deforming the pressing body (■) was explained using the air cylinder (■), the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. (10) is depressurized from the exhaust pipe (11) connected to a vacuum mechanism (not shown), the support part (3b) is brought into contact with the protrusion (2a) as in the above embodiment, and the support part (3b) is brought into contact with the protrusion (2a). A similar effect can be obtained by deforming or curving the structure.

Further, in the above embodiment, the structure in which the suppressor is moved has been described, but any structure in which the suppressor is moved relatively may be used. For example, a structure in which the installation plate is moved may also be used to obtain the same effect. Alternatively, a sensor may be embedded in the installation plate to detect the presence or absence and position of the held object. Further, although an elastic deformable member such as a plate spring or a coil spring is provided between the installation plate 1 and the suppressor 2, the same effect can be obtained by providing a magnet or an electromagnet, for example.

Further, in the above embodiments, a semiconductor wafer was used as an example of the object to be held, but the object is not limited to this.
The same can be done with the substrate.

An example of how the above-mentioned elastically deformable member is used to hold an object to be held is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. This allows a gripping part (12) that grips the periphery of a held object, such as a semiconductor wafer (2), to be elastically deformed integrally by driving a drive mechanism (13), thereby making it possible to attach and detach the wafer (2). This mechanism is the 8th
By using the handling arm (14) as shown in the figure, handling under vacuum can be performed easily and at low cost. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a device for handling objects to be held, such as semiconductor wafers, as shown in FIG. This is done by elastically deforming the deforming part (18) of the gripping body (16) of the arm (15), which is integrally formed of an elastically deformable member, by suppressing driving of a driving part, for example, an air cylinder (17). By sliding the gripping body (16), it is possible to hold the wafer ω by holding it between a plurality of contact parts (19) and a contact part (20) at the tip of the gripping body (16). It is.

Holding of the held object by elastic deformation can also be applied to such a mechanism.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the suppressing body disposed opposite the peripheral edge of the held object installed on the surface of the installation plate is moved from the position facing the peripheral edge of the held object by the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation member. Since it is provided with means for making it detachable, the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation member causes the suppressing body to detach from the position facing the peripheral edge of the held object, and in this state, the held object''
can be easily attached and detached. Therefore, a large external force is not applied to the object to be held, and a highly reliable holding device that does not damage the object to be held can be obtained. Further, since the held object is subjected to a pressing force only in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the held object, that is, perpendicularly, by the suppressing body disposed opposite to the peripheral edge of the held object, from the periphery of the held object toward the center, that is, No force is applied in the lateral direction, and as a result, striped defects will not occur in the film adhering to the surface of the object to be held.

Further, since the suppressing body is separated from the held body at a position where the holding body is sufficiently layered, generation of dust due to friction between the held body and the suppressing body can be prevented.

Further, it is possible to support holding of objects to be held in a vacuum, and furthermore, by rotating the holding device, it is possible to easily cope with rotation processing of objects to be held.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the suppressing body, which is arranged to face the peripheral edge of the held object installed on the surface of the installation plate, is detached from the position facing the peripheral edge of the held object by elastic deformation of the elastic deformation member. Since the holding device is provided with a means for making it possible, the object to be held can be held easily and inexpensively. In addition, since a pressing force is applied to the peripheral edge of the held object only in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the held object, that is, in a vertical direction, no force is applied from the periphery of the held object toward the center. It is possible to prevent defects from occurring in membranes on the body surface.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of a holding device for explaining one embodiment of the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a top view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the holding device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the suppressor shown in FIG. 1, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams of other embodiments of the suppressor shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. It is an explanatory view of an application example of an elastically deformable member. 2... Installation board 3... Suppression body 3a...
・Abutting part 3b...Supporting part Patent applicant
Tokyo Electron Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 3 A Figure 2 3 Figure B Figure C Figure C

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a device for holding the object to be held by relatively moving a pressing body disposed opposite to the peripheral edge of the object to be held installed on the surface of the installation plate and the installation plate, A holding device characterized by comprising means for making it possible to separate from the opposing position of the peripheral edge of the held object by elastic deformation.