JPH05182891A - Positioning apparatus of substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an apparatus wherein substrates in any size can be positioned stably by providing the following: a positioning member which is arranged so as to be faced with the edge of a substrate and which acts as a reference; and a pressure member which presses the substrate. CONSTITUTION:A holding member 1 is raised slightly at a reception position; a substrate 10 in a minimum size is held on a mounting face 1a; a substrate in an intermediate size is held on a mounting face 1b; a substrate in a maximum size is held on a mounting face 1c; movement stands 2 to 7 are released by using air cylinders 24, 26, 31 for release use. Then, the vacuum suction of the holding member 1 is released; the movement stands 2, 4, 5 on the reference side are moved by a spring force; a positioning member 11 is brought into contact with the end part on the corresponding side of the substrate 10; the movement stands 3, 6, 7 on the opposite side are moved; the positioning member 11 is brought into contact with the corresponding side of the substrate 10. Since the pressure force of the positioning member 11 with reference to the substrate 10 is decided by setting the spring force of a tension spring 23 and a torsion spring 29, not only small substrates but also large substrates can be prealigned stably.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning device for a rectangular substrate such as a photomask or reticle for manufacturing a semiconductor element, or a circular substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of types of photomasks or reticles (hereinafter referred to as substrates) has increased along with the diversification of semiconductor devices. It is necessary to position (pre-align) the substrate once in the transportation process. This is because if the positioning mark is displaced with respect to the substrate outer diameter during process automation, the position of the pattern exposed on the wafer is also displaced with respect to the substrate outer diameter, affecting the positioning mark search time or process time. Because it affects.
Therefore, the substrate needs to be reproducibly positioned.

For this reason, many devices that handle substrates incorporate a pre-alignment mechanism having a plurality of positioning pins (rollers) that come into contact with the end face of the substrate, and mechanically press the substrate against the positioning pins. Pre-positioning is done.

[0004]

However, the conventional positioning device is only applicable to substrates of the same size, and for substrates of different sizes, dust may be brought into the chamber when the roller pins are replaced. There was some inconvenience. The chamber referred to here means a chamber for accommodating an exposure apparatus and an inspection apparatus in which such a positioning device is incorporated in a normal environment.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of performing stable positioning on any size substrate without replacing the positioning roller pins or the like for each of a plurality of types of size substrates. I am trying.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a positioning device for selectively pre-aligning at least two substrates having similar outer shapes and different sizes from each other.
Positioning member that is arranged as a reference and is opposed to the end surface of the substrate
The present invention relates to an apparatus including (2,4,5 and 11,13,15) and a pressing member (3,6,7 and 11,13,15) for pressing a substrate toward a positioning member thereof.

Further, in the present invention, as pressing members, abutting elements (positioning members: 11, 13, 15) capable of abutting the respective end faces of the substrates (10, 12, 14) of different sizes, and the abutting members. A moving body (moving table: 6, 7) for rotating the child about a predetermined axis (28) in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate, and a biasing means (torsion spring) for applying a biasing force to the moving body. 29), and when the contactor presses the substrate to bring it into contact with the positioning member (2, 4, 6), the rotation angle (θ ₁ , θ) of the moving body (6, 7) is ₍₂ , θ ₃ ) is changed according to the size of the substrate, and the moving body is moved so that the pressing force of the contactor increases as the size of the substrate increases.
Each arrangement of the rotation shaft (28) of (6, 7) and the contactor is determined.

[0008]

In the present invention, the pressing member is of the rotating type,
It is possible to generate a pressing force having a size corresponding to the size of the substrates, that is, a size corresponding to the mass, with respect to the substrates having different sizes. Usually, a large size substrate has a large mass, so
Although it is necessary to press the substrate toward the reference positioning pin (roller) with a large pressing force, the structure of the positioning device according to the present invention provides a pressing force suitable for the size of the substrate with a simple structure. Be done.

[0009]

Embodiments Embodiments shown in the drawings will be described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. Further, in this embodiment, the case of applying to similar-shaped substrates of three sizes of 5, 6 and 7 inches is shown as an example.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a substrate shown in the minimum size. The substrate 10 is held substantially horizontally by the holding member 1 which can move up and down. Substrates of other sizes are held similarly, but the holding mechanism will be described later.

The plate width of the holding member 1 is formed so that when the minimum size substrate 10 is placed on the holding member 1, the substrate 10 protrudes sufficiently to both sides.

On a base (not shown), an appropriate number of movable bases 2 to 7 are arranged so as to surround all size substrates,
It is configured to be able to move back and forth or rotate with respect to the corresponding side of the substrate. That is, the movable bases 2 and 3 can be moved back and forth in the plate width direction (arrow A direction) of the holding member 1 along a guide (not shown), and the pins provided on the lower surface of each movable base 2 and 3 can be protruded.
A tension spring 23 is stretched between the pin 21 and a pin 22 protruding from the base to apply a force to the movable bases 2 and 3 toward the corresponding side of the substrate. An air cylinder 24 for opening is connected to each of the moving bases 2 and 3 via a rod 25.

Next, the movable bases 4 and 5 arranged on the front end side of the holding member 1 are integrally connected by a connecting plate 8, and the holding member 1
It is possible to move back and forth in the longitudinal direction (direction of arrow B). Connection plate 8
A tension spring (not shown) and an opening air cylinder 26 are connected via a rod 27 to the lower part of the table by a method similar to that of the movable tables 2 and 3.

The movable bases 6 and 7 arranged on the opposite sides of the movable bases 4 and 5 are rotatable about the pivot 28 in the direction of the arrow C, and by a torsion spring 29 interposed between the pivot 28 and the base. A force is always applied to the corresponding side of the substrate. Axis 28
A pin 30 is provided so as to project in the horizontal direction, and a rod 32 of an air cylinder 31 for opening is connected to the pin 30. The structure of the movable bases 6 and 7 based on this rotation method is in consideration of space saving.

With reference to FIG. 2 as well, a positioning member 11 corresponding to the minimum size substrate 10 and a positioning member 13 corresponding to the intermediate size substrate 12 are provided on the above-mentioned movable tables 2 to 7.
And the positioning member 15 corresponding to the maximum size substrate 14 is provided in a stepwise manner in which the height position is sequentially increased upward by a predetermined amount from the small substrate size to the large substrate size, and is horizontally separated according to the substrate size. Has been.

Each of the positioning members 11, 13, 15 is composed of, for example, a roller pin, and as shown in FIG. 3, a main body 34 is pivotally supported on a certain movable table via an eccentric shaft 33, and the center of the upper surface of the main body 34 is centered. A roller 37, which abuts on the end face of the substrate via a bearing 36, is axially supported by a shaft 35 standing upright.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a set screw of the eccentric shaft 33 of the main body 34, which is set after finely adjusting the horizontal position of the roller 37. The horizontal position of the roller 37 can be finely displaced by rotating the main body 34 around the eccentric shaft 33 due to the amount of relative eccentricity between the shaft 35 and the eccentric shaft 33.

The vertical position (height position) of each positioning member 11, 13, 15 may be adjusted by sequentially increasing the axial support position of the roller 37 by changing the length of the main body 34. It should be noted that the roller pins provided on the movable tables 6 and 7 do not necessarily have to be eccentric.

FIG. 4 shows the above-mentioned rotary type moving bases 6 and 7.
Positioning members 11, 13 and 15 installed on top and boards of each size
It is a figure which shows the positional relationship with respect to the axis 28 with 10,12,14. The pivot 28 is installed at a position where the pressing force of the positioning members 11, 13, 15 against the corresponding substrate becomes a load corresponding to each substrate size.

Now, the positioning member 11, from the center of the pivot 28,
The distance to the center of 13 and 15 is Li (i = 1,2,3), the corresponding board
The pressing force corresponding to 10, 12, 14 is Fi (i = 1,2,3), and L
If the angle between i and Fi is θi (i = 1,2,3), then Fi = (T / Li) · cos [(π / 2) -θi] (i = 1,2,3) ( However, T is constant with the torque of the torsion spring 29).

Here, F ₁ , F ₂ , and F ₃ are approximated to the forces corresponding to the mass of the respective substrates to determine Li and θi,
The center position of the axis 28 is determined. That is, F ₁ is small in the case of the small-sized substrate 10 and F ₃ is large in the case of the large-sized substrate 14.

Positioning members on the movable tables 2, 4, 5
A stopper (not shown) for the movable table 2 and the connecting plate 8 may be provided on the base so that the sides 11, 13, 15 are used as a reference for positioning. Further, the tension spring 23 on the moving base 2 side is made stronger than the tension spring 23 on the moving base 3 side, and the force of the tension spring (not shown) on the moving bases 4 and 5 side is set to the torsion spring on the moving bases 6 and 7. By designing stronger than the force of 29, the positioning members 11, 13, 15 on the reference side can consequently press the corresponding substrate with a larger load than the positioning members on the other side. For this reason, the positioning members 11, 13, 15 on the reference side are not displaced from the reference position under the influence of the force of the positioning member on the other side even after the positioning members 11, 13, 15 are stopped at the correct positions by the positioning stoppers.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a holding mechanism for holding the substrates 10, 12 and 14 of the holding member 1, and is a mounting surface of the substrate 10 of the smallest size.
1a, a mounting surface 1b of a medium-sized substrate 12 and a mounting surface 1c of a maximum-sized substrate 14 are horizontally provided in a stepwise manner. The mounting surfaces 1a, 1b, 1c are provided with suction ports 40a, 40b, 40c for sucking the respective substrates, and are connected to a vacuum generator via hoses (not shown).

Explaining the operation of this embodiment, the holding member 1 is capable of slightly advancing at a predetermined receiving position to adsorb and hold a required substrate substantially horizontally on a corresponding mounting surface. .. That is, the minimum size substrate 10 is held on the mounting surface 1a, the intermediate size substrate 12 is held on the mounting surface 1b, and the maximum size substrate 14 is held on the mounting surface 1c.

Next, in order to position the substrate held on the holding member 1 with respect to the holding member 1, for example, the smallest size substrate 10 will be explained. The substrate 10 is carried into the apparatus of this embodiment by the holding member 1. Then, it is processed as it is to a predetermined position. Prior to the processing operation of the substrate 10, all the moving bases 2 to 7 of the apparatus of this embodiment are opened to the outside by air cylinders 24, 26 and 31 for opening in order to avoid interference with the substrate 10 and the holding member 1. Needless to say.

Next, the vacuum suction of the holding member 1 is released, and the moving bases 2, 4, 5 on the reference side are moved toward the substrate 10 by the respective spring forces, and the positioning provided on these moving bases is performed. The member 11 is brought into contact with the ends of the corresponding sides of the substrate 10. After that, the moving bases 3, 6, 7 on the opposite side are moved by the force of the spring in the same manner as described above, and the positioning members 11 provided on these moving bases are brought into contact with the corresponding sides of the substrate 10.

Since the pressing force of the positioning member 11 against the substrate 10 is determined by setting the spring force of the tension spring 23 and the torsion spring 29, the substrate 10 is thus held by the holding member 1 against the holding member 1. The outer shape is positioned. After that, the holding member 1 is vacuum-sucked to suck the substrate 10, and then the movable tables 2 to 7 are retracted to their original positions. In the order of evacuation, the mobile units 3, 6, 7 come first, then the mobile units 2,
4, 5 are later.

Also in the case of positioning the intermediate size substrate 12 or the maximum size substrate 14, the respective positioning members 1
Since 3 and 15 have a second height position which is elevated by a predetermined amount with respect to a substrate of a smaller size, positioning can be performed in the same manner as in the above case.

As described above, by providing the plurality of positioning members 11, 13, and 15 in accordance with the size of the substrate, the moving stroke of the moving bases 2 to 7 becomes small, and even if the substrates are different sizes, Its center is always located at a fixed position on the device.

Next, FIG. 6 shows the entire system when the apparatus of this embodiment is incorporated in the carrying process. In FIG. 6, the elevation mechanism 41 for moving the holding member 1 up and down is held at the upper part. A rotary drive unit 42 for rotating the member 1 is provided. The rotary drive unit 42 supports a slider 43, and the slider 43 moves the holding member 1 formed in an arm system in the horizontal direction. Around the rotation drive unit 42, a mask cassette 44 on the loading side, a mask cassette 45 on the unloading side, a mask holder 46 on the exposure apparatus and inspection apparatus side, and a preparatory apparatus equipped with the embodiment apparatus shown in FIG. An alignment device (base) 47 is arranged.
A plurality of substrates M can be loaded in the mask cassettes 44 and 45 in a stacked state with an interval equal to or larger than the thickness of the holding member 1. The mask holder 46 also includes an XY moving stage.

The transport sequence by the system of FIG. 6 will be described as follows. Note that, in FIG. 6, the locus of the center of the mounting portion of the holding member 1 is indicated by an arrow.

[0032] First, the holding since the holding member 1 is at point P _0, rotates the retaining member 1 in a counterclockwise direction by the rotary drive unit 42, after positioning at point P _1, from the point P ₁ by the slider 43 The member 1 is stretched and made to enter below the substrate M. Next, the holding member 1 is slightly lifted upward to be vacuum-sucked, and then retracted to the point P ₂ . After that, the holding member 1 is rotated clockwise from the point P ₂ to the point P ₃ and lowered straight to the pre-alignment device 47, and the vacuum suction of the holding member 1 is released at the height position corresponding to the size of the substrate M. Then, the substrate M is positioned (pre-alignment) as described above.

After the positioning is completed, the holding member 1 is raised to the point P ₄ while vacuum suction is performed again, and then the slider is moved.
The arm is extended by 43, stopped above the mask holder 46, and then slightly lowered to transfer the substrate M to the mask holder 46. At this time, the vacuum suction of the holding member 1 is released.

The unloading of the substrate M is performed as follows. That is, the holding member 1 is moved under the mask holder 46 from the point P ₀ , the holding member 1 is slightly raised, and then the holding member 1 is raised at the position of the point P ₄ and positioned at the point P ₅ .
After that, the holding member 1 is rotated clockwise, the holding member 1 is extended at the point P ₆ , the substrate M is inserted into a predetermined slot position in the mask cassette 45, the holding member 1 is slightly lowered, and then the point P _{7 is} reached. Withdraw. At this time, the substrate M is placed on the step (slot) in the mask cassette 45. After that, the holding member 1 is rotated counterclockwise from the point P ₇ to the point P ₀ and returned to the original position.

In the embodiment described above, the movable bases 2 to 7 and the positioning members 11, 13 and 15 are arranged below the substrate. However, the pre-alignment shown in FIG. It goes without saying that the top and bottom of the device may be reversed so that they are arranged above the substrate.
In that case, the substrate having the smallest size is brought into contact with the positioning member 11 at the most raised position to be positioned, and the substrate having the large size is brought into contact with the positioning member 13 or 15 at the position lowered by a predetermined amount even in the small Kiba. Positioned in contact. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to positioning of a rectangular substrate such as a mask or reticle, but also to positioning of a circular substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, and the same effect can be obtained.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, when selectively pre-aligning substrates of different sizes, a pressing member is provided so as to generate a pressing force suitable for the size (mass) of the substrates. Since it is configured, stable pre-alignment is reliably achieved from a small substrate to a large substrate. Further, since the pressing member is a rotary type, there is an advantage that the structure is compact.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of each positioning member (roller pin).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a positional relationship between a roller pin arrangement on a rotary type moving body and a board of each size.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a structure of a holding mechanism of a holding member.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an entire system including a transport system.

[Explanation of reference signs] 10,12,14: Reticle (substrate), 2,3,4,5: Direct-acting moving base, 6,7: Rotating moving base, 11,13,15: Roller pins, 2
8: rotating shaft, 29: torsion spring.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akio Nishikata 1-6-3 Nishi-oi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Oi Works, Nippon Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) In-house Yasuhisa Matsumoto 1-6-3 Nishi-oi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo No. Japan Optical Industry Co., Ltd. Oi Works

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In order to pre-align the centers of at least two substrates having similar outer shapes and different sizes to each other at substantially the same position, an end face of any one of the substrates having different sizes is formed. In a board positioning device comprising a positioning member arranged to face each other and a pressing member for pressing the substrate so that an end surface of the arbitrary one of the substrates is brought into contact with the positioning member, the pressing member comprises: The contactor capable of contacting the respective end surfaces of the substrates of different sizes, the moving body that rotates the contactor about a predetermined axis in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate, and the contactor A urging member that applies an urging force for pressing the substrate toward the end face direction of the substrate, and when the contactor presses the substrate to bring it into contact with the positioning member, the size of the substrate increases. According to Positioning device for the substrate, characterized in that said setting each placement of the center of rotation of the moving body as the pressing force of this SECCO increases and the and those Secco. 2. The contactor comprises a plurality of contactors which are provided at different positions on the movable body and contact the respective end faces of the substrates of different sizes, and the plurality of contactors are provided. 2. The substrate positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the abutment is formed in a stepped shape having a height different in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate according to a size of the substrate.