JPH0250455A - Semiconductor wafer carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry wafers into and out of a carrier smoothly by a method wherein a sensor which is provided on the tip of a suction chuck and detects mutual interference between the suction chuck and the semiconductor wafer and a carrier mechanism control means which controls the operation of the suction chuck in accordance with the detection signal of the sensor are provided. CONSTITUTION:Wafers 2 stored in a carrier 1 are carried into and out of the carrier 1 by sliding a wafer suction chuck 7 on a substrate 6 along the direction from (a) to (b) after the rotation of a motor 3 is transmitted to a carrier table 5 through a ball screw 4 to determine the vertical position of the carrier 1. A wafer sensor 8 employing ultrasonic wave, a reflective type photosensor or the like is provided on the tip of the wafer suction chuck 7 and the wafer sensor 8 detects the interference created between the wafer chuck 7 and the wafer 2 to control the operation of the carrier automatically. With this constitution, the wafers can be carried into and out of the carrier smoothly.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer transport device.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of wafer transfer device has a mechanism in which a stage on which a carrier is placed moves up and down to position it, and then a vacuum suction chuck is inserted between the wafers to transport the wafer out of the carrier by vacuum suction. Normal.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with the above-mentioned conventional wafer transfer device, when the vacuum suction chuck is inserted between the wafers, if the wafer is inserted between the slots in the carrier, or if the wafer is not in the correct position due to play in the carrier, etc. , the chuck and wafer may interfere with each other, overloading the vacuum suction chuck and causing transport failure.In the worst case, the wafer may break, resulting in a defective product, and it may be necessary to restore the transport equipment itself. A situation arises that requires a large amount of man-hours.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor wafer transfer device that does not cause overload on a wafer transfer mechanism having a vacuum suction chuck function due to mutual interference with the wafer.

[Means to solve the problem]

According to the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor wafer transport device.

A wafer suction chuck for storing or transporting a semiconductor wafer in a carrier; a sensor provided at the tip of the suction chuck to detect mutual interference between the suction chuck and the semiconductor wafer; and a detection signal from the sensor to control the operation of the suction chuck. and a transport mechanism control means for controlling the transport mechanism.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor wafer transfer device showing an embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the rotation of a motor 3 is used to take in and out a wafer 2 stored in a carrier 1 using a ball screw 4. The wafer is transferred to the carrier table 5 via the carrier table 5 for vertical positioning, and then the wafer suction chuck 7 on the base 6
This is done by sliding the button from a to b. A wafer sensor 8 using an ultrasonic or reflective optical sensor is provided at the tip of the wafer suction chuck 7, and detects interference between the wafer chuck 7 and the wafer 2 to control the operation of the transfer device. Automatically controlled.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a semiconductor wafer transfer device showing another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, when the wafer suction chuck 7 slides in the direction a and goes to pick up the wafer 2, if interference occurs between the wafer suction chuck 7 and the wafer 2, the wafer suction chuck 7 is A force in the direction b is applied to move the wafer suction chuck 7 in the direction b. This movement is detected by the overload sensor 10 and an error signal is generated. The amount of load that the sensor detects is adjusted by a spring 9 attached to the end of the suction chuck 7.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a mechanical configuration for detecting interference between a semiconductor wafer and a vacuum chuck or an overload detection mechanism is incorporated to prevent malfunctions of the unloading mechanism. And the unloading operation can be made extremely smooth.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a wafer transport device showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wafer transport device showing another embodiment of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Carrier, 2... Semiconductor wafer, 3... Motor, 4... Ball screw, 5... Carrier table, 6... Base, 7... Wafer adsorption chuck, 8
...Wafer sensor, 9...Spring, 10...
・Overload sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A wafer suction chuck for storing or transporting a semiconductor wafer in a carrier; a sensor provided at the tip of the suction chuck to detect mutual interference between the suction chuck and the semiconductor wafer; and a detection signal from the sensor to control the operation of the suction chuck. 1. A semiconductor wafer transport device, comprising: a transport mechanism control means for controlling a transport mechanism.