JPH03278521A - Normal-pressure vapor growth apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce particles to be produced when a semiconductor wafer is conveyed by a method wherein a wafer conveyance mechanism is constituted so as to be provided with a wafer pushing-up mechanism which is buried and installed in a wafer support sheet and a wafer transfer mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A normal-pressure vapor growth apparatus is constituted so as to be provided with a heating mechanism part of a wafer support sheet, with a wafer conveyance mechanism and with a film formation mechanism part. At the apparatus, the wafer conveyance mechanism is constituted so as to be provided with wafer pushing-up mechanisms 2 which are buried and installed in a wafer support sheet 3 and the water transfer mechanism. For example, a normal-pressure vapor growth apparatus is provided with a plurality of pins 2 which deliver a wafer 1 into a tray 3 and a wafer conveyance mechanism provided with an automatic handler which conveys the wafer 1 between the pins 2 on the tray 3. The pins 2 can be put in the tray 3, and protrude upward from the surface of the tray 3 by (b) [mm] only when the semiconductor wafer 1 is actually delivered.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an atmospheric vapor phase growth apparatus, and particularly to an atmospheric pressure vapor growth apparatus that aims to reduce particles generated when wafers are transferred between a carrier and a tray. Regarding a wafer transport mechanism.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in the wafer transport mechanism of this type of atmospheric pressure CVD equipment, when placing a wafer on a tray, the wafer is first brought to the handler's standby position with a belt, and the handler grasps the semiconductor wafer around it and transports it onto a horizontal tray. ,
It was dropped onto a tray from a certain height.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The wafer transport mechanism of the conventional atmospheric pressure CVD apparatus described above is as follows:
When placing a wafer on a tray, the handler used to hold the wafer on the tray, transport it, and drop it onto the tray from a certain height. If this is not done, the handler itself will come into contact with the tray or the wafer will fall diagonally onto the tray, resulting in the film grown on the tray being scraped and flying up, generating particles.

[Differences between the invention and the prior art]

In contrast to the wafer transport mechanism of the conventional atmospheric pressure CVD apparatus described above, the present invention uses an autohandler to transport the wafer between the carrier and the bin on the tray, and by gently lowering the bin, the wafer is always received on the tray in a horizontal state. The difference is that it can be placed on a plate, thereby reducing particles during wafer transport.

[Means to solve the problem]

The atmospheric vapor phase growth apparatus of the present invention has a wafer transport mechanism including a plurality of bins in a tray for receiving and transferring wafers and an autohandler for transporting wafers between the carrier and the bins on the tray. are doing.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a wafer transport mechanism according to a first embodiment of the present invention in which there are three bins in a tray. The bin 2 can be placed in the tray 3, and the receiver for the semiconductor wafer 1 is actually positioned above the surface of the tray 3 by b[■] only when transferring.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the tray 3 of FIG. 1 and the trays in front and behind it, viewed from the side. Tray A is not yet level and only bottle 2 is sticking out. Moreover, the tray 3 of B is completely horizontal, and the wafer 1 has already been transferred onto the bin 2. In tray C, bottle 2 is stored in the tray. Next, the operation of the semiconductor wafer transport mechanism according to the present invention will be explained. Conventionally, the semiconductor wafer 1 is transported by a handler to the position shown in FIG. 2B, and when the handler releases the semiconductor wafer 1, it is moved to the second position.
The situation was as shown in Figure C.

Therefore, if the handler is not horizontal, the semiconductor wafer 1
fell diagonally onto tray 3, generating particles. Therefore, in the wafer transport mechanism of the present invention, three bins are taken out from the tray 3 in the state shown in FIG. 2A, and when the tray 3 becomes horizontal as shown in FIG.
The back side of the bottle is chucked and the bottle is transported from the carrier onto the bin on the tray 3. The robot handler that placed the semiconductor wafer 1 chucks the semiconductor wafer 1 in the next carrier groove and transports it to the tray 3 from which the bin 2 has come out and is now horizontal. In addition, the bottle 2 in the state shown in Fig. 2B is slowly moved to the tray 3.
The semiconductor wafer 1 is placed on the surface of the tray. This prevents the film from being scraped due to falling of the semiconductor wafer, and particles during transportation can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray 3 on the unloader side of the apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This is opposite to the case of the first embodiment, and when the tray 3 approaches the unloader side, the semiconductor wafer 1 on which the film has been grown is again lifted up by the bottle 2 in the tray, and is moved to the unloader at the position E.
The backside of the semiconductor wafer is vacuum chucked by an automatic robot handler and then stored in the unloader's carrier. In this embodiment, the semiconductor wafer is not directly gripped and transported during unloading, so particles can be reduced when the semiconductor wafer is transported.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention allows the bottle in the tray to be taken out when the semiconductor wafer is transferred between the carrier and the tray, thereby making it possible to easily receive and transfer the semiconductor wafer, and to reduce particles accompanying the transfer of the semiconductor wafer. It has the effect of reducing the occurrence of.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tray of a semiconductor wafer transfer mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the tray on the loader side, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the tray on the unloader side. 1... Semiconductor wafer 2... Bin,
3...Tray 4...Tray holder, 5...Rail, 6...Roller 7
...Belt attachment part, 8...Belt.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a normal pressure vapor phase growth apparatus that includes a heating mechanism section for a wafer support plate, a wafer transport mechanism, and a film forming mechanism section, the wafer transport mechanism is embedded in the wafer support plate. and a wafer transfer mechanism. (2) The atmospheric pressure vapor phase growth apparatus according to claim (1), wherein the semiconductor wafer is horizontally raised and lowered by a wafer lifting mechanism.