JPH0521437U - Clamping device for substrate rotary dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide a clamp device in a substrate rotation drying device capable of continuously performing a drying process without changing a main part even if a size of a processing substrate is changed. [Structure] A swing part is swingably supported on the other end of the carrier holding part. A spring force acts on the swing portion to keep the swing portion in a neutral state. Also, first and second contact portions are provided at both ends of the swinging portion. When the 8-inch substrate is stored in the carrier, the upper edge portion of the 8-inch substrate contacts the first contact portion while countering the spring force in the clamped state, while the 6-inch substrate is stored in the carrier. In the clamped state, the second abutting portion abuts a part of the carrier in the clamped state, and the first abutting portion abuts on the upper edge portion of the 6-inch substrate or is positioned near the upper edge portion. There is.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 According to the present invention, a carrier containing a substrate to be processed (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) such as a semiconductor substrate is fixed to a rotor, and the carrier is rotated to drain and dry droplets attached to the substrate. The present invention relates to a clamp device in a substrate rotary drying device.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 FIG. 5 is a view showing a substrate rotary drying device provided with a conventional clamp device. In this substrate drying apparatus, as shown in the figure, the peripheral wall 2 of the chamber 1 is formed in a substantially circular shape, and the rotor 5 rotated by the rotary drive motor 7 has its center of rotation G 1 with respect to the chamber peripheral wall 2. It is arranged in the chamber 1 so as to be eccentric. An intake port 3 is provided on the chamber peripheral wall 2a on the eccentric side, and a forced exhaust port 4 is provided on the chamber peripheral wall 2b on the opposite side.

The clamp device 10 is installed on the rotor 5 and is configured to fix the carrier 6 and the substrate W to the rotor 5. That is, the clamp device 10 rotates the carrier holders 11 and 12 installed on the rotor 5, the pair of left and right substrate holders 15 and 15 rotatable around the support shaft 16, and the substrate holders 15 and 15. It is composed of a rotating mechanism (not shown) for moving. The substrate holder 15 has one end pivotally supported by the support shaft 16 and presses the upper edge portion of the carrier 6 at a predetermined position shown in the figure, and a carrier pressing portion 15a extending from the other end of the carrier pressing portion 15a. And part 15b. Therefore, after the carrier 6 is held by the carrier receivers 11 and 12, when the substrate holders 15 and 15 are rotated in the predetermined directions by the rotating mechanism, as shown in FIG. 15a presses the upper edge portion of the carrier 6 and fixes the carrier 6 to the rotor 5 in cooperation with the carrier receivers 11 and 12, and the contact portion 15b is brought into contact with the outer peripheral portion of the substrate W so that The protrusion of the substrate W from the opening is prevented.

When the carrier 6 and the substrate W are thus fixed to the rotor 5 in this way, the motor 7 operates to rotate the carrier 6, the substrate W and the rotor 5 as a unit, and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation thereof. Thus, the droplets are cut and the substrate W is dried.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 Now, in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, substrates are shifting from 6 inches to 8 inches due to higher integration. During this transition period, 6 inch and 8 inch substrates are randomly selected in the semiconductor manufacturing process from the viewpoint of production efficiency. Is required to be processed. Therefore, in order to deal with this, the outer dimensions of the carrier for 6 inches and the carrier for 8 inches are unified.

Therefore, in order to randomly perform the drying process of the 6-inch and 8-inch substrates by the substrate drying apparatus, the following problems occur. That is, there is no particular problem in fixing the carrier 6 to the rotor 5 of the substrate drying apparatus, but it is necessary to replace the contact portion 15b according to the size of the substrate W. Therefore, every time the size of the substrate W transferred to the substrate drying device is changed, replacement work is required, which is a serious problem in terms of production efficiency. It is also possible to prepare a substrate drying device for 6 inches and a substrate drying device for 8 inches, and replace the substrate drying device when the size of the substrate is changed. You have to stop the line.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a clamp device in a substrate rotation drying device that can continuously perform a drying process without changing a main part even if the size of a substrate to be processed is changed. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention relates to a substrate rotary drying device including a carrier for accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed, and a rotor which is fixed for fixing the carrier and is rotatable for draining and drying the droplets adhering to the substrate. In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a clamp device according to (a) which is a carrier receiver installed on a rotor so as to engage with the carrier, and (b) the following components, that is, (b-1) ) A carrier retainer, one end of which is rotatably supported by the rotor and retains the upper edge of the carrier engaged with the carrier receiver in a clamped state and fixed to the rotor, (b-2) the carrier retainer. Substrate consisting of a swinging part that is swingably supported at the other end of the holding part, and (b-3) a biasing member that biases the swinging part to keep it in a predetermined state. A holder, and any of a plurality of substrate sizes for the carrier. Swinging portion be housed to hold the posture capable of preventing popping out of the substrate from the carrier at the time by Ri rotor rotation the biasing force of the biasing member.

[0009]

[Action]

 According to the clamp device in the substrate rotating / drying device of the present invention, the oscillating portion acts so as to be kept in a predetermined state by the urging force of the urging member regardless of which substrate is accommodated in the carrier. Maintain a posture that prevents the substrate from jumping out of the carrier when the rotor rotates.

[0010]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 is a view showing a substrate rotary drying device provided with a clamp device according to the present invention. As can be seen from a comparison between FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, this embodiment is different from the conventional example in the clamp device, and other configurations are the same. Therefore, the configuration and operation of the clamp device according to the embodiment will be described in detail below, but other configurations will be denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals as in the conventional example and description thereof will be omitted.

The clamp device 20 according to this embodiment includes carrier receivers 11 and 12 and a pair of left and right substrate holders 22 and 22. As shown in the figure, the carrier receivers 11 and 12 are finished in a shape capable of engaging with the carrier 6 and are installed on the rotor 5. In this embodiment, regardless of whether the carrier is a 6-inch substrate or an 8-inch substrate, when the carrier 6 is engaged with the carrier receivers 11 and 12, the center position g of the substrate W 1 accommodated in the carrier 6 is the rotation center G of the rotor 5. On the other hand, the carrier 6 is located on the lower edge side. The reason for this configuration is that the carrier 6 is fixed to the rotor 5 and rotated at high speed, as described later, but the centrifugal force acting on the carrier 6 at that time is received by the carrier receiver 11. is there. In this embodiment, since the random processing of the two types of substrates W is premised, the outer shape (solid line) of the carrier 6 is the same, but the internal structure for 6 inch and 8 inch ( The alternate long and short dash lines) are different.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the substrate holder. The substrate holder 22 has a carrier retainer rotatably supported by the rotor 5 near the upper edge of the carrier 6 whose one end (left hand side in the figure) is engaged with the carrier receivers 11 and 12. It has a portion 23 and is configured to rotate between a clamp position (solid line in FIG. 2) and an unclamp position (broken line in FIG. 2) by a clamp drive mechanism (not shown). Then, when the carrier pressing portion 23 is located at the clamp position (hereinafter, this state is referred to as “clamping state”), the carrier pressing plate 23a attached to the intermediate portion of the carrier pressing portion 23 causes the carrier pressing plate 23a to reach the upper edge portion of the carrier 6. Is pressed and the carrier 6 is fixed to the rotor 5 in cooperation with the carrier receivers 11 and 12. Needless to say, instead of attaching the carrier pressing plate 23a to the carrier pressing portion 23, the upper edge portion of the carrier 6 may be directly pressed by the intermediate portion of the carrier pressing portion 23. The point is that the upper edge of the carrier 6 may be directly or indirectly pressed by the carrier pressing portion 23 in the clamped state.

At the other end (right hand side in the figure) of the carrier pressing portion 23, a swinging portion 24 is supported swingably around a support shaft 25. The first and second contact portions 26 and 27 are attached to both ends of the swinging portion 24, respectively. Further, a spring member (not shown), which is an urging member, is attached to the swinging portion 24, and while the external force does not act on the first and second contact portions 26 and 27, the present embodiment shown in FIG. It is kept in the neutral state, which is the predetermined state in the example.

Next, the function of the clamp device 20 configured as described above will be described separately for an 8-inch substrate and a 6-inch substrate. First, while the clamp device remains in the unclamped state shown by the broken line in FIG. 2, the carrier 6 containing the 8-inch substrate W8 is set in the substrate drying device, that is, the carrier 6 is set in the carrier receiver as shown in FIG. The center position g of the substrate W8, which is engaged with 11 and 12 and accommodated in the carrier 6, is positioned so as to be located on the lower edge side of the carrier 6 with respect to the rotation center G of the rotor 5. After that, when the carrier pressing portion 23 is rotated by the clamp drive mechanism and the clamp device 20 is in the clamped state, the carrier 6 is fixed to the rotor 5 as described above. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, in the clamped state, the upper edge portion of the substrate W8 pushes up the first contact portion 26 in the arrow direction while countering the biasing force of the spring member, and the swinging portion 24 is in the neutral state ( It swings by a certain angle from the one-dot chain line in FIG. Thus, in the clamped state, the upper edge portion of the substrate W8 is always in contact with the first contact portion 26. That is, here, the oscillating portion 24 holds the posture in which the substrate W8 can be prevented from jumping out from the carrier 6 even if the rotor 5 is rotated to dry the substrate after the substrate W8 is clamped. ..

Next, a case of a 6-inch substrate will be described. The operation of setting the carrier 6 accommodating the 6-inch substrate W6 in the substrate drying device and fixing the carrier 6 to the rotor 5 is the same as in the case of the aforementioned 8-inch substrate. Omit it. On the other hand, the 6-inch substrate W6 is fixed as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, in the clamped state, the second contact portion 27 is locked by a part of the carrier 6, that is, the taper portion 6a of the carrier 6 in this embodiment, so as not to oppose the biasing force of the spring member. Then, the oscillating portion 24 oscillates from the neutral state (one-dot chain line in the figure) in a direction opposite to the case of the preceding 8-inch substrate by a certain angle. As a result, the first contact portion 26 is positioned so as to contact the upper edge portion of the 6-inch substrate W6. That is, even if the swinging portion 24 rotates the rotor 5 here, the swinging portion 24 maintains a posture capable of preventing the substrate W6 from protruding from the carrier 6. In this embodiment, the second contact portion 27 is brought into contact with the taper portion 6a of the carrier 6 so that the first contact portion 26 comes into contact with the upper edge portion of the substrate W6. It does not mean that the contact portion 26 has to be brought into contact with the substrate W6, and even when the first contact portion 26 is positioned so as to be positioned near the upper edge portion of the substrate W6 in the clamped state, The same effect can be obtained. Because the center position g of the substrate W6 housed in the carrier 6 is located on the lower edge side of the carrier 6 with respect to the rotation center G of the rotor 5, the lower edge side of the carrier 6 is located when the rotor 5 rotates at high speed. The centrifugal force acts so that the substrate W6 does not jump out from the carrier 6. Even if the substrate W6 moves to the upper edge side of the carrier 6 in the initial stage of rotation of the rotor 5, if the amount of movement is small, the centrifugal force acts on the substrate W6 when moving to the high-speed rotation stage. W6 returns to the lower edge of the carrier 6. Therefore, as long as the movement of the substrate W6 at the initial stage of rotation can be limited to a certain value or less, the substrate W6 can be prevented from jumping out.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the size of the substrate W is different, the first contact portion 26 contacts the upper edge portion of the substrate or the upper edge portion thereof depending on the substrate size. Since it is configured so that it is located in the vicinity, it is possible to perform random processing of the substrate, and even if the size of the processed substrate is changed, it is possible to perform continuous drying processing without replacing the essential parts. it can.

[0017]

[Effect of the device]

 According to this invention, no matter what size substrate is stored in the carrier, the oscillating portion acts so as to maintain the predetermined state by the urging force of the urging member, so Since it is configured to hold the posture that can prevent the board from jumping out, it is possible to prevent the board from jumping out of the carrier regardless of the size of the board, and even if the size of the board is changed, the essential parts are replaced. It is possible to process continuously without any need.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a substrate rotary drying device provided with a clamp device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a substrate holder.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation of the substrate holder of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation of the substrate holder of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a substrate rotary drying device provided with a conventional clamp device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 rotor 6 carrier 11, 12 carrier receiver 20 clamp device 22 carrier holder 23 carrier retainer 24 swinging part 26 first contact part 27 second contact part W board W6 6 inch board W8 8 inch board

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A substrate rotary drying apparatus comprising: a carrier for accommodating substrates of a plurality of sizes to be processed; and a rotor which is fixed for fixing the carrier and is rotatable for draining and drying the droplets adhering to the substrate. A clamp device, comprising: (a) a carrier receiver installed on a rotor so as to engage with the carrier; and (b) the following components, that is, (b-1) one end of which is rotatable with respect to the rotor. (B-2) A carrier retainer which is supported by the carrier retainer and is clamped to the carrier retainer to press the upper edge of the carrier to fix the carrier to the rotor. The carrier includes a supported swinging portion, and (b-3) a biasing member that biases the swinging portion so as to keep the swinging portion in a predetermined state, and a substrate holder that includes: No matter which board is stored, The clamping device in the substrate rotating drying device, characterized in that for holding the posture capable of preventing popping out of the substrate from the carrier at the time the rotor rotates by the biasing force of the biasing member.