JPH04186610A - Board holding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To identify an exposure board in an X-ray exposure device and to obtain a board holding device which improves maintenance and management of the board by providing a controller for referring to identification mark information read by mark reading means and judging whether the board to be held is a desired exposure board or not. CONSTITUTION:A conveyance controller receives a detection read signal from an optical sensor 19 attached to the end of a finger 12a if holding an X-ray mask 1 on a containing mask stage 5 by moving into a mask cassette 7 in the case of holding the mask by a mask hand 10, holds the mask 1 by the hand 10 if the mask 1 to be held is as desired, converts the direction of the hand 10 to a conveying direction (to the side of an exposure mask stage) and conveys the mask 1. A board can be identified with a simple structure by this device, not only a mistake of mounting but also a state that the board is not yet contained can be found, and removal of a containing cassette to a minimum limit as required can be an irreducible minimum.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a substrate gripping device for a semiconductor exposure apparatus.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, optical exposure equipment and X-ray exposure equipment have been known as semiconductor exposure equipment, and both of them require exposure in which an exposure circuit pattern is drawn because they are exposed in a reduced pressure atmosphere (for example, reduced pressure He). The importance of identifying printed circuit boards is increasing.

In the case of a light exposure device, an identification mark such as a bar code or character coat is drawn on the reticle, which is a substrate for light exposure, and the reticle is held horizontally and taken out from the storage cassette, and then the When the reticle is transported onto the exposure stage, it is placed on a reticle identification stage provided in the transport path, and the identification mark is read by an identification mark reading device provided on the stage. It is known whether the structure is (for example, JP-A-62-
102527). By the way, regarding the above-mentioned light exposure device, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 180833/1983
, No. 62-273748 proposes to improve the throughput and redundancy regarding the reticle identification.

On the other hand, in the case of an X-ray exposure device, the exposure substrate is different in shape and structure from that used in an optical exposure device.
It is held in a substantially upright state by a hand as shown in FIG.
(as described in Publication No. 1).

FIG. 4 shows a mask hand holding an X-ray mask 60, which is an exposure substrate, and the mask hand has support shafts 52a and 52b on both sides of a hunt main body 50 that is approximately U-shaped in plan view.
Two finger portions 51a rotatably supported by
, 51b is connected to a compression spring 54 interposed between the finger portions 51a, 51b and the hunt body 50, respectively.
By opening and closing the X-ray mask 60 by the spring force of a and 54b and the expansion and contraction of the solenoids 53a and 53b, the X-ray mask 60 is placed on one end side of the finger portions 51a and 51b at the side edge of the mask frame 61 that supports the mask pattern 62. The mask frame 61 is held by claws 55a and 55b attached to the hand body 50, respectively, and then the mask frame 61 is magnetically attracted and held by a magnetic unit 56 provided with a permanent magnet provided in the internal space of the hand body 50. The structure is as follows.

Even in such an xl&exposure apparatus, since exposure is performed in a reduced pressure atmosphere as described above, identification of the exposure substrate is considered important, but nothing has been established yet.

[Problem that the invention is trying to solve]

The above conventional example discloses an identification method for an exposure substrate in a light exposure apparatus, or an X&
Identification methods for exposure substrates in I-exposure equipment have not yet been established, and it is conceivable to use a modified substrate identification method for conventional optical exposure equipment, but This is difficult because the structure of the X-ray exposure substrate and the hunt link method for transporting the X-ray exposure substrate are different from those of the optical exposure apparatus described above.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and is a substrate gripping device that enables the identification of an exposure substrate in an X-ray exposure apparatus and improves the reliability of maintenance and management of the exposure substrate. The purpose is to provide equipment.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention has two finger parts for entering the substrate storage cassette and gripping the exposure substrate by the side edges of the exposure substrate sucked and held by a storage stage in the substrate storage cassette. In the substrate gripping device, the above-mentioned mark is drawn on the surface of the front-north exposure substrate on the side opposite to the storage stage, in the vicinity of at least one of the parts gripped by the finger portion, in order to identify the exposure substrate. A mark reading means is attached to the tip of at least one of the two finger parts, and the mark reading means moves opposite to the identification mark and reads the identification mark as the board moves when entering the substrate storage cassette. , later,
The control unit includes a control unit that refers to identification mark information read by the mark reading means and determines whether or not the exposure substrate to be gripped is a desired exposure substrate, and the mark attached to the finger portion A case may be considered in which the reading means is an optical sensor and the identification mark drawn on the exposure substrate is an optical mark.

(Function) The substrate gripping device of the present invention reads the identification mark drawn on the exposure substrate when entering the substrate storage cassette in order to grip the exposure substrate. It can be determined whether the exposure substrate is the desired one without taking it out from the storage cassette.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the substrate gripping device of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the X-ray mask 1, which is a substrate for XIwI exposure, is sucked and held on each of a plurality of storage mask stages 5 installed upright in a storage mask cassette 7, and the The line mask 1 is entered into a mask cassette 7 by a mask hand 1o, which is a substrate gripping device, and is gripped, and is sequentially taken out from the mask cassette 7 and conveyed to an exposure mask stage (not shown).

In the X-ray mask 1, a positioning groove 3a for positioning on the storage mask stage 5 is formed on the back surface of the support frame 3 that supports the mask pattern 2, on the opposite side from the mask pattern 2. In addition, two contact pressure grooves 3b (the other (not shown) is formed. Also, the aforementioned X-ray mask!
A contact pressure groove 3 is provided on the surface of the support frame 3, which is pressed by one finger portion 12a of the mask hand 10.
Near b, an identification mark for mask identification is drawn in the same direction as the direction in which the mask hand 10 enters the mask cassette 7 (X-axis direction in the figure).

The storage mask stage 5 in the mask cassette 7 is
The X-ray mask 1 is attracted and held on its support frame 3 by a magnetic attraction method, and a magnetic unit (not shown) for magnetic attraction is attached to the mask holding surface of the mask stage 5 for storing the X-ray mask 1 on the support frame 3. A plurality of them are provided along the line 3. Further, on the mask holding surface of the storage mask stage 5, three positioning bins 6a, 6b, and 6c for positioning the X-ray mask l are arranged at intervals, and among these, the positioning bin 6a .

6b comes into contact with the periphery of the X-ray mask 1 held by suction on the storage mask stage 5 to position the X-ray mask 1 in the in-plane direction. The positioning pin 6C is provided at an intermediate position between the positioning pins 6a and 6b, and engages with a positioning groove 3a formed on the back surface of the support frame 3 of the X-ray mask 1 held by suction on the storage mask stage 5. At the same time, the X-ray mask 1 is positioned in the rotational direction.

The mask cassette 7 is placed on a cassette stand 8 on which rails 8a and 8b are formed, and when the exposure of one X-ray mask 1 is completed, the X-ray mask 1 is placed in the mask cassette 7. When stored, X-ray mask 1 for next exposure
In order to select , the user moves along the rails 8a and 8b (in the Z-axis direction in the figure).

Next, the mask hand 10 will be explained.

In this mask hand 10, a hunt main body 11 formed in a substantially U-shape in plan view is connected to a transport device (not shown) via an arm 21, and the gripped X-ray mask l is exposed by the operation of the transport device. transport to the mask stage. On both sides of the hand body 11, there is a gripped X@mask 1.
A support portion (not shown) is formed that protrudes in a direction parallel to the plane of
It is rotatably supported by shafts a and 15b.

Each of the finger parts 12a and 12b includes a claw 13a at one end on the opposite arm side, which applies two contact pressures 13b formed on the support frame 3 of the X-ray mask 1;
13b is attached to the other end, and a compression spring (not shown) that constantly biases the one end in the direction of closing, and a compression spring (not shown) that opens the finger portions 12a, 12b against the spring force of the compression spring. Solenoids 14a and 14b that drive in the direction are interposed between the hand body 11 and the hand body 11.

At the same time, an optical sensor 19 for reading the barcode 4 drawn on the support frame 3 of the X-ray mask 1 is attached to one end of one finger portion 12a on the side surface opposite to the storage mask stage. A mounting member 20 is fixed so as to direct the optical sensor 19 toward the storage mask stage 5.

The mounting position of this sensor 19 is the mask hunt 1
0 enters the mask cassette 7, the optical sensor 1
9, the finger portions 12a, 1 of the mask hand 10
2b is open, coat the X-ray mask 1 to coat 4.
The bar code 4 is adjusted so as to pass over the bar code 4, and a detection reading signal indicating information on the bar code 4 detected when passing over the bar code 4 is output to a conveyance control section (not shown).

In addition, a magnetic unit 18 for magnetically adsorbing and holding the X-ray mask 1 with its support frame 3 is connected to the internal space of the hunt main body 11, and a strain cage 16a is provided upright. A cage unit 16 is flexibly attached to the hunt body 11 by two parallel leaf springs 17a, 17b.

The magnetic unit 18 includes an integrally provided support rod 1.
8a is pivotally supported in a bearing hole (not shown) formed in the center of the strain gauge unit 16 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and connected to the strain cage unit 16 so as to be movable over a predetermined minute distance. There is. Support rod 1 of magnetic unit 18
8a protrudes toward the demagnetizing unit side of the bearing hole, and its tip abuts against the free end side of the strain cage 16a erected from the strain cage unit 16, so that the strain cage 1
6a, the magnetic unit 18 is always biased toward the gripped X-ray mask 1. This strain cage unit 16 is used when gripping the X-ray mask 1 with the mask hunt 10, when transporting the X-ray mask 1, or when positioning the X-ray mask 1.
A pressing force is applied to the magnetic unit 18 through the line mask 1, and the pressing force causes the support rod 18a of the magnetic unit 18 to
presses the strain cage 16a, so if the strain of the strain cage 16a at that time is monitored, the X-ray mask 1
It is possible to control the gripping state during transportation or the pressing force applied to the X-ray mask 1 when positioning the X-ray mask 1. Indicates the strain of the strain cage 16a.
The signal is output as a detection force signal to the conveyance control section in the same manner as the detection read signal described above.

Further, the transport device moves the front mask hand 10 between the mask cassette 7 and the exposure mask stage (X
a traverser that moves (in the axial direction) and the mask hand 10
and a ZIth drive unit that moves the mask hand 10 in a direction perpendicular to the mask holding surface of the storage mask stage 5 (Z-axis direction).

Here, the transport control section will be explained.

The transport control unit drives the transport device to transport the X-ray mask 1.
, the gripping operation of the X-ray mask 1 by the mask hunt 10, and the positioning operation of the X-ray mask 1 are controlled.

When transporting the X-ray mask 1, the transport speed is controlled to a predetermined speed, and the strain gauge unit 16
The grip state of the X-ray mask 1 is monitored by receiving a detection force signal from the X-ray mask 1.

When positioning the X-ray mask 1, the strain cage unit 16 detects the pressing force of the X-ray mask 1 against the positioning pins 6a, 6b of the storage mask stage 5 or the positioning member on the exposure mask stage. The X-ray mask 1 is monitored by the force signal and controlled so that the X-ray mask 1 is positioned or pressed with a predetermined pressing force.

When the mask hunt 10 grips the X-ray mask 1, the mask hand 10 is moved to the storage mask stage 5 in the mask cassette 7 or the exposure mask stage.
The fingers 12a and 12b of the mask hunt 10 are opened and closed by moving it onto the mask holding surface. In particular, when moving into the mask hunt 10 or mask cassette 7 and grasping the X-ray mask 1 on the storage mask stage 5, a detection reading signal from the optical sensor 19 attached to the tip of the finger part 12a is received. Then, it is determined whether the X-ray mask 1 to be grasped is the desired mask.

If the X-ray mask 1 to be gripped is a desired mask, the X-ray mask 1 is gripped by the mask hunt 10, and the direction of the mask hand 10 is changed to the transport direction (toward the exposure mask stage side). Then, the X-ray mask 1 is transported. If the X-ray mask 1 to be held is not the desired one, the mask cassette 7 is moved to identify the next X-ray mask 1 in order to select the X-ray mask 1 again. If barcode 4 of X-ray mask 1 cannot be read, the xI! The barcode 4 of the mask 1 is read again, and if the barcode 4 cannot be read the second time, the X-ray mask 1 is determined to be defective, and the corresponding spare x! The I mask is identified. If there is no corresponding mask, the sequence branches to a sequence for removing the mask cassette 7.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained along the flowchart shown in FIG.

Here, it is assumed that a plurality of X-ray masks 1 are stored in the mask cassette 7 in the order of exposure, and that a spare mask corresponding to each X-ray mask 1 is also held by a predetermined storage stage. do.

First, the mask cassette 7 is moved to select the storage mask stage 5 holding the desired X-ray mask 1 (step 31). When the storage mask stage 5 is selected in the mask cassette 7, the mask hunt 10 is moved toward the mask cassette 7 (step 32) and is once stopped just before entering the mask cassette 7. Then, Mask Hunt 10 or the storage mask stage 5
The finger portions 12a and 12b of the mask hand 10 are moved in two axial directions to a position along the mask holding surface (step 33), and the finger portions 12a and 12b of the mask hand 10 are opened (step 3).
4) Move the mask hunt 10 to the position of the X-ray mask 1 on the storage mask stage 5 (step 35)
), the mask hand 10 moves along the mask holding surface of the storage mask stage 5, and
As shown in FIG. 3(a), one finger portion 12a
The optical sensor 19 attached to the tip of the X-ray mask 1 passes over the barcode 4 and reads the barcode 4. When reading the barcode 4, when the conveyance control section receives a detection reading signal from the optical sensor 19, it refers to the detection reading signal to determine whether or not it has been read normally (step 36). After this determination, if the barcode 4 is read normally, it is determined whether or not the X-ray mask 1 to be held is the desired mask by referring to the content of the detection read signal (step 37). In this judgment,
When it is determined that the X-ray mask 1 that has read the barcode 4 is located at the desired mask, the fingers 12a and 12b of the mask hunt 10 are closed, and the X-ray After gripping the mask 1 (Step 38) and releasing the adsorption state of the X-ray mask 1 by the storage mask stage 5, the mask hand 10 is moved in the direction opposite to the mask holding surface of the storage mask stage 5 (Step 38). 39), the mask hunt IO is removed from the mask cassette 7 (step 40). And the mask hunt i.

When the X-ray mask 1 comes out of the mask cassette 7, the direction of the mask hunt 10 is changed to the exposure mask stage side and moved in that direction, and the X-ray mask 1 is transported to the exposure mask stage (step ...Mezzo41).

- On the other hand, after determining the normality of the reading of the barcode 4 in the above-mentioned step 36, the storage mask stage 5. If the barcode 4 is not being read correctly due to misalignment of the X-ray mask 1 or peeling of the barcode 4, check the number of abnormal readings for this X-ray mask l. (Step 42). Here, since it is the -th time, the mask hunt 10 is moved to a predetermined standby position outside the mask cassette 7 (step 43), and the mask hunt 10 is moved to the position of the X-ray mask 1 inside the mask cassette 7 again (step 35). . . . At this time, the barcode 4 is read again by the optical sensor 19, and a similar determination is made in step 36. If the reading of the barcode 4 becomes abnormal in this judgment, either check the number of times the reading becomes abnormal in step 42, or remove the X-ray mask 1 since this is the second time. It is determined that the mask hand 10 is defective, the mask hand 10 is returned to the standby position (step 44), and the presence or absence of a spare mask corresponding to the defective X-ray mask 1 is checked (step 45).
If there is a spare mask, the operation of step 31 described above is repeated in order to select a spare mask. Furthermore, if there is no spare mask, the apparatus is stopped as an abnormality and the mask in the mask cassette 7 is inspected.

On the other hand, barcode 4 is successfully read, and in the subsequent step 37 it is determined whether or not it is the desired mask.
If it is determined that the mask is not the desired mask, the step 3 described above is performed.
Assuming that a selection error has occurred in selecting the first mask cassette 7 or a mistake has been made in storing the mask on the storage mask stage 5, the mask hand 10 is returned to the standby position (step 46) and then returned to step 31. Repeat the following operations.

As described above, according to this embodiment, X&! The normality of the mask 1 can be determined while it is stored in the mask cassette 7, and an unexpected situation can be dealt with quickly without taking out a defective X-ray mask 1 from the mask cassette 7. I can do something. In addition, since information on the X-ray mask 1 can be checked while the X-ray mask 1 is being held by suction on the storage mask stage 5, it is possible to check whether the mask is attached on the storage mask stage 5 and whether it is misaligned. can be done.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention, configured as described above, has the following effects.

(1) For X-ray exposure equipment that reads the identification mark on the exposure substrate while it is stored in the substrate storage cassette, and then grips and transports the exposure substrate in an approximately upright position. In contrast, there is no need to install a special device for substrate identification outside the substrate storage cassette, such as on the transportation path of the exposure substrate.
Board identification can be realized with a simple structure.

(2) Since it is determined whether or not the exposure substrate is the desired substrate from the read identification mark information, it is not only the case that the exposure substrate is installed incorrectly, but also the exposure inside the substrate storage cassette based on whether the identification mark is read well or not. It is also possible to recognize whether or not a board is not stored, and such unforeseen situations can be dealt with quickly.

(3) Since it is possible to minimize the number of times the exposure substrate is removed from the storage cassette, the generation of dirt, dust, etc. can be suppressed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the substrate gripping device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the substrate gripping device of the present invention, and FIG. 3(a) shows the inside of the substrate storage cassette. FIG. 3(b) is a front view showing the substrate gripping device and the substrate when the substrate gripping device enters the substrate storage cassette.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a conventional mask hand. 1-X-ray mask, 2...mask pattern, 3.
...Support frame, 4-Barcode, 5...Mask stage for storage, 6...Positioning bin, 7...Mask cassette, 8
...Cassette stand, 8a, 8b-...Rail,
10--mask hand, 11--hunt body, work 2
...Finger portion, 13...Claw, 14...Solenoid, 15...Spindle, 16...Strain cage unit, 16a...Strain cage, 17...Parallel leaf spring, t
S-... Magnetic unit, 18a... Support rod, 19-
...Optical sensor, 20...Mounting member, 21...
Arm, 31-46...step. Patent issuer Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Two parts for entering the substrate storage cassette into the substrate storage cassette and gripping the exposure substrate by the side edge thereof, which is held by suction on the storage stage in the substrate storage cassette. In a substrate gripping device having a finger portion, an identification mark corresponding to an identification mark drawn to identify the exposure substrate near at least one of the portions gripped by the finger portion on the surface of the exposure substrate on the side opposite to the storage stage. A mark reading means is attached to the tip of at least one of the two finger parts to move in opposition to the identification mark and read the identification mark as the board moves into the substrate storage cassette. The apparatus further comprises a control unit that refers to the identification mark information read by the mark reading means and determines whether or not the exposure substrate to be gripped is a desired exposure substrate. Substrate gripping device. 2. The substrate gripping device according to claim 1, wherein the mark reading means attached to the finger portion is an optical sensor, and the identification mark drawn on the exposure substrate is an optical mark.