JPH04167541A - Positioning method for substrate and device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to position a substrate without inflicting a flaw on the surface of the substrate by a method wherein the substrate, which is supported at its lower surface and can be freely slid in the horizontal direction, is made to descend vertically in a smoothly tapered guide surface, which is converged toward its lower part, and is made to follow the guide surface and is positioned. CONSTITUTION:A substrate positioning device is provided with a substrate positioning stage 11 having a smooth guide surface 16a, which is converged toward its lower part and is formed into a tapered form, support rods 12, which are made to slidingly penetrate sliding holes 11b made to penetrate the bottom of the stage 11 in the vertical direction and support horizontally the lower surface of a substrate 30 by their smooth tips, and a support rod moving means 14 for moving the rods 12 in the vertical direction. The substrate 30, which is supported at its lower surface and can be freely slid in the horizontal direction, is made to descend in the smooth guide surface 11a, which is converged toward its lower part and is formed into a tapered form, in the vertical direction, the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 30 is made to abut on the guide surface 11a and the substrate 30 is made to move smoothly in the horizontal direction, is made to follow the guide surface 11a and is positioned. Thereby, it becomes possible to position the substrate 30 without damaging the surface of the substrate 30.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] The present invention relates to a method and device for positioning a substrate such as a substrate or a semiconductor wafer, and provides a method and device for positioning a substrate such that the surface of the substrate is aligned with a preset position without damaging the surface of the substrate. In a method of positioning a board to position the board at a preset position, the board is supported on its lower surface and can freely slide in the horizontal direction, using a smooth guide surface with a tapered shape that converges downward. The inner part is lowered in the vertical direction, the outer peripheral edge of the board is brought into contact with the guide surface, and the board is slid horizontally and positioned by following the guide surface.

In addition, the substrate positioning device for aligning the substrate to a preset position includes a substrate positioning table having a tapered smooth guiding surface that converges downward, and a substrate positioning device provided through the bottom surface of the substrate positioning table. The support rod includes a support rod that vertically slides through a sliding hole and supports the lower surface of the substrate with a smooth tip, and a support rod moving means that moves the support rod in the vertical direction.

Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for positioning a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, and particularly to a method and apparatus for positioning a substrate to a preset position without damaging the surface of the substrate.

In the wafer processing process for semiconductor devices, semiconductor wafers are usually moved between devices that are arranged at different locations using a conveyor or the like.

Semiconductor wafers transported by a transport conveyor usually move randomly on the transport conveyor due to vibrations during transport, causing positional deviations.

Therefore, the semiconductor unit transported in such a state is generally positioned in a predetermined position and then set in the device.

[Conventional technology]

Next, a conventional positioning method and its jig will be explained with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a conventional semiconductor wafer positioning method and its jig. FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of the positioning jig, and FIG. A line sectional view, and FIG. 3(c) is a side sectional view schematically showing a method of positioning the semiconductor wafer.

That is, the conventional positioning jig 20 is made of a thick flat plate, for example, a polytetrafluoroethylene (commonly known as Teflon) plate with a small coefficient of friction, and the surface thereof is thickened as shown in FIGS. It is formed by drilling four pot-shaped holes halfway in the direction and providing only the guide hole 20a.

The width of the opening at the top end of the guide hole 20a is configured to be larger than the area of the semiconductor wafer 30, and the opening at the bottom end is configured to be slightly wider than the semiconductor wafer 30.

The substrate of the semiconductor wafer 30 is positioned using the positioning jig 20 formed in this way, as shown in FIG. This was done by letting it fall naturally into the guide hole 2Oa.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the method for positioning the semiconductor wafer 30 as described above often has problems such as scratches on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 30 due to the impact when the semiconductor wafer 30 is dropped naturally into the guide hole 20a of the positioning jig 20. It was occurring.

The present invention was made to solve this problem, and its purpose is to provide a positioning method and apparatus that can position the substrate without damaging the surface thereof.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The object is to form a substrate 30 that is supported on its lower surface and can freely slide horizontally, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, into a tapered shape that converges downward. smooth guiding surface 11a
According to a method of positioning a board, the substrate 30 is positioned by lowering the inside in the vertical direction, bringing the outer peripheral edge of the board 30 into contact with the guide surface 11a, and sliding the board 30 horizontally to follow the guide surface 11a. achieved.

Further, as shown in FIG.
A support rod 1 vertically slidably passes through the sliding hole 11b and horizontally supports the lower surface of the substrate 30 with a smooth tip.
2 and a support rod moving means 13 for moving the support rod 12 in the vertical direction.

[For production]

The substrate positioning method and apparatus of the present invention support the lower surface of the substrate 30 and guide the substrate 30 by vertically descending within a tapered smooth guide surface 11a that converges downward. The positioning is performed by following the surface 11a.

Therefore, since the substrate 30 does not fall by itself, no impact force is applied to the substrate 30 at all.

In this way, there is no room for scratches on the surface of the substrate 30.

Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the substrate positioning device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and an embodiment of the yet-to-be-invented substrate positioning method will be described with reference to FIG. 2. do.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the substrate positioning device of the present invention, where (a) is a plan view of the positioning device, and (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the positioning device. be.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the substrate positioning method of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the process step by step. It should be noted that in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the substrate positioning device IO of the uninvented embodiment is made of a thick flat plate, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (polytetrafluoroethylene) having a small coefficient of friction.
After drilling the surface of the plate (commonly known as Teflon) into a bowl-like shape part way in the thickness direction to provide a guide hole 11a' whose inner surface becomes a smooth guide surface 11a, a hole is formed on the bottom of the guide hole 11a'. The board positioning table 11 has three sliding holes 11b vertically penetrating the bottom surface, and the sliding holes 11b of the board positioning table 11 are provided at 120° intervals on an arc line centered on the center point C of the guide hole 118'. A support rod 12 made of polytetrafluoroethylene, which extends through the support rod in a slidable manner and horizontally supports the lower surface of a substrate, for example, a semiconductor wafer 30, with an upper tip having a uniform height and is slidable in the surface direction; 12 and a support rod moving means for vertically moving up and down [3].

Next, a second method for positioning the semiconductor wafer 30 using the positioning jig according to an embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration will be described.
This will be explained using figures.

First, a handling robot (not shown) picks up and holds the semiconductor wafer 30 at the tip of the support rod 12, which has temporarily stopped moving with its tip protruding from the substrate positioning table 11. It receives from the handling robot and supports the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 30 [see FIG. 3(a)].

Thereafter, when the support rod moving means 13 gradually lowers the support rod 12, the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer 30, which is eccentrically supported at the tip of the support rod 12, is placed in the guide hole 11a' of the substrate positioning table 11. It comes into contact with the bowl-shaped guide surface 11a, and smoothly slides on the tip of the support rod 12 to follow the guide surface 11a [see FIG. 13(b)].

Then, in this state, the support rod 12 is further lowered by the support rod moving means 13, and the slide hole 11b of the substrate positioning table 11 is moved downward.
When the tip is retracted inward, the semiconductor wafer 3
The entire outer periphery of the substrate positioning table 11 contacts the guide surface 11a of the substrate positioning table 11, and the semiconductor wafer 30 is accurately positioned following the guide surface +1a.

Thus, the uninvented substrate positioning method and apparatus are
This allows the semiconductor wafer to be positioned at a predetermined position W without damaging the surface of the semiconductor wafer.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the description below, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a positioning method and apparatus that can position the surface of a substrate without subjecting it to pm 4g.

Therefore, by employing the substrate positioning method and device of the present invention in wafer processing steps for semiconductor devices, etc., it becomes possible to operate the manufacturing line smoothly and manufacture semiconductor devices, etc. with high yield.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the substrate positioning device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view for explaining an embodiment of the substrate positioning method of the present invention in the order of steps. , FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a conventional semiconductor wafer positioning method and its jig. In the figure, 10 is a substrate positioning device, 11 is a substrate positioning stand, 12 is a support rod, 13 is a support rod moving means, 20 is a substrate positioning jig, and 30 is a substrate (semiconductor wafer). (Ql (11 庚 1 fold LvtnrL prayer [d appreciation device 3 external withdrawal 1-艷旙例Se money mocking practice tM consideration ta (Q)!! 1 th+ (C) listening tQ) ItLf March - ＾ Ramo Mf flat 6bα1(b
)bamboo! ! I can't stand it! 2 Dip8 to 8 Judgment surface diagram (C) Half ant death 7 A8 -) It1 jhtil ee$ Or 1 U + - JT I f zu hm Gushi table / l + 44 Way 8? 4tLfj large pano ``5ゑt'i^ right side for direct tθ 2nd position ^C Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a method for positioning a substrate by adjusting the substrate to a preset position, the substrate (
30) is lowered in the vertical direction within a smooth guide surface (11a) with a tapered shape that converges downward, and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate (30) is brought into contact with the guide surface (11a), A method for positioning a substrate, which comprises positioning the substrate (30) by sliding it horizontally to follow a guide surface (11a). (2) A substrate positioning device for aligning a substrate to a preset position, which includes a substrate positioning table (11) having a tapered smooth guiding surface (11a) that converges downward, and the substrate positioning table (11). ) through the bottom of the sliding hole (
11b) slidably vertically and supports the lower surface of the substrate (30) with a smooth tip; and a support rod moving means for vertically moving the support rod (12). (13) A substrate positioning device comprising: