JPH05315309A - Automatic processing equipment for semiconductor substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic processing equipment which can take a prompt step for cracks or lacking of a semiconductor substrate in cleaning process by immersing the semiconductor substrate in processing liquid in a processing bath. CONSTITUTION:Detecting means 94, 95 are provided to detect existence or non-existence of a semiconductor substrate 22 on a holding mechanism 24 for holding the semiconductor substrate 22 and carrying it. Therefore, it is possible to detect immediately cracks or lacking of the semiconductor substrate during working, and to promote for workers to take a prompt step for these cracks or lacking, and to suppress the damage to the minimum.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus for collectively cleaning a plurality of semiconductor substrates such as silicon wafers and glass substrates by immersing them in a processing solution in a processing tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus, there is one shown in FIGS. Regarding this conventional device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-5213
No. 8 publication.

As shown in FIG. 12, the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus has a pedestal 103. On the pedestal 103, for example, three processing tanks 108 (other than the processing tank 108 are not shown are shown). The processing tanks of) are sequentially arranged toward the right in the figure. The processing solution for pre-cleaning is stored in the processing tank 108, and the processing solution for etching and the processing solution for post-cleaning are respectively stored in the two subsequent processing tanks.

Although not shown in the drawing, an opening is formed in the gantry 103 along the direction in which the processing tanks are lined up, and the movable pole 112 is arranged in the opening.
A holding mechanism 114 for holding the semiconductor substrate 113 is provided at the upper end of the movable pole 112. The movable pole 112, together with the semiconductor substrate 113 holding the holding mechanism 114, constitutes a part of a transporting means (other than the movable pole 112, not shown) that transports along a predetermined path that sequentially goes through each of the processing baths. To do.

The holding mechanism 114 is constructed as follows. It should be noted that each semiconductor substrate 113 has the holding mechanism 1.
By 14, the main surfaces are held in parallel with each other and aligned at regular intervals in an upright state.

That is, the holding mechanism 114 has a rectangular parallelepiped base 115 fixed to the upper end of the movable pole 112.
And an arm member 116 attached at one end to the side portion of the base portion 115 and extending toward the side of the base portion 115 (a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing), and attached to the end portion of the arm member 116. Hanger member 122 having four hanging parts 122a, a pair of substrate holding members 125 supported by two hanging parts 122a so as to be relatively swingable via a pin 123, and both of them. And a drive means for driving the substrate holding member 125. The driving means includes a pneumatic cylinder 126 provided on the hanger member 122, two links 127a and three pins 127.
the output shaft 126 of this pneumatic cylinder 126
and a link mechanism 127 for transmitting the output of a to both substrate holding members 125.

A large number of, in this case, five holding grooves 125a, with which the semiconductor substrate 113 can be engaged, are arranged in parallel on both of the above-mentioned substrate holding members 125.

On the other hand, on the pedestal 103, the processing tank 108
A receiving underframe 130 is provided adjacent to the front of the above, and a substrate container 131 accommodating a plurality of semiconductor substrates 113 is placed on the receiving underframe 130. The substrate container 131 is provided with five receiving grooves 131 a, each of which can accommodate the semiconductor substrate 113. The substrate container 131
Is carried on the receiving underframe 130 by a container transporting device (not shown) with each semiconductor substrate 113 accommodated therein.

Below the receiving frame 130, the substrate container 1
The holding mechanism 114 for holding each semiconductor substrate 113 in 31
Substrate supply means for supplying to the holdable position is provided. The substrate supply means is provided with a substrate supporting member 133 in which five support grooves 133a capable of engaging with and supporting the semiconductor substrate 113 are arranged side by side, and the substrate supporting member 133 mounted on the mount 103 and supporting the substrate on an output shaft 134a thereof. And a pneumatic cylinder 134 to which a member 133 is fixed. The pneumatic cylinder 134 is for raising and lowering the substrate carrying member 133. The substrate carrying member 133 is raised by the projecting operation of the output shaft 134a, and the semiconductor substrates 113 carried by the substrate carrying member 133 are pushed upward. The holding mechanism 1
The holdable position by 14 is reached. In addition, acceptance frame 1
The substrate 30 and the substrate container 131 are formed with openings 130a and 131a through which the substrate carrying member 133 passes.

Next, the operation of the above device will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 12, a substrate container 131 accommodating five semiconductor substrates 113 is placed in a receiving underframe 13.
0 is placed on. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the pneumatic cylinder 134 operates and its output shaft 134 a projects, and each semiconductor substrate 113 is carried by the substrate carrying member 133 and pushed out above the substrate container 131, and held by the holding mechanism 114. It is positioned at a possible position. Following this, the upper pneumatic cylinder 126 operates and its output shaft 126a projects. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, the link mechanism 127 operates and each semiconductor substrate 113 is held by the pair of substrate holding members 125. Thereafter, the transporting means including the movable pole 112 is operated, whereby the holding mechanism 114 goes around each processing tank together with each semiconductor substrate 113 held by the holding mechanism 114, and along with this, pre-cleaning, etching, and etching of each semiconductor substrate 113. Post-cleaning is performed. The semiconductor substrates 113 that have been cleaned up to this point are transported to a position directly above the take-out frame (not shown) disposed further to the right of each processing tank. A substrate container for recovery (not shown) capable of accommodating each semiconductor substrate is placed on the take-out frame, and each semiconductor substrate 113 is lowered from the position directly above and accommodated in the substrate container. To be done. After that, these semiconductor substrates 113 are transported to the subsequent steps while being stored in the substrate container.

[0012]

In the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the holding mechanism 114 is used to form a plurality of semiconductor substrates 1.
Considering the case where one of the semiconductor substrates 113 cracks and falls off due to some cause while holding 13 and going around each treatment tank, this crack occurs in the treatment tank or immediately above it. In that case, the dust generated by the cracks becomes turbid in the processing liquid. If the worker continues the work without noticing this situation, many subsequent semiconductor substrates will be contaminated.

Further, in the conventional device, the holding mechanism 1
Each semiconductor substrate 113 brought into the processing tank by 14
A substrate pedestal (not shown) installed at the bottom of the processing tank
It is usually performed that the wafer is once delivered to the processing tank, and after the cleaning work is completed, it is held again by the holding mechanism 114 and taken out of the processing tank. When re-holding each semiconductor substrate by the holding mechanism 114, it is conceivable that a certain semiconductor substrate may fall off without being completely held. In this case, not only the dropped semiconductor substrate is left unremoved, but also the semiconductor substrate may be broken to cause the above-mentioned problems and hinder the subsequent work.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and an automatic semiconductor substrate processing capable of prompting an operator to take prompt action against cracking or dropping of the semiconductor substrate to minimize damage. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a plurality of semiconductor substrates held by a holding mechanism aligned at regular intervals so that main surfaces thereof are parallel to each other and being upright are provided in a predetermined path. In a semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus having a carrying means for carrying along, the semiconductor substrate is subjected to immersion cleaning with a processing liquid stored in a processing tank in the predetermined path,
The holding mechanism includes a base portion which is conveyed by the conveying means, and a plurality of substrate holding members which are movably attached to the base portion and cooperate with each other to hold the semiconductor substrate in a direction parallel to the main surface. A driving unit for driving the substrate holding member, and a detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of each of the semiconductor substrates on the substrate holding member.

[0016]

EXAMPLES Next, examples of the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus includes a frame 1 made of shaped steel or the like, and a panel provided on the frame 1 (reference numeral is not attached).
Thus, the housing 3 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the housing 3, a substrate supply means 8, four processing tanks 9 to 12, and a substrate dryer 13 are provided.
Are arranged in order.

A treatment liquid 9a, which is a mixture of ammonia water, hydrogen peroxide water and pure water and is heated to a predetermined temperature, is stored in the treatment tank 9. Also, the processing tanks 10 and 12
Hot deionized water (hot deionized water) 10a and 12a, which are heated pure water, are stored therein, respectively, and the treatment tank 11 is heated by mixing sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide solution. Treated liquid 11
a is stored. Further, vibrators 15 and 16 are attached to the bottoms of the processing tanks 9 and 10. Each of the vibrators 15 and 16 is driven by an ultrasonic oscillator (not shown) arranged at a predetermined position in the housing 3 to excite both processing tanks 9 and 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, a drainage means 18 for rapidly draining the treatment liquid 10a in the treatment tank 10 is provided below the treatment tank 10. The drainage from the other treatment tanks 9, 11 and 12 is performed through a drainage tube (not shown) connected to each treatment tank. Further, a stock tank 20 for stocking the respective processing liquids to be supplied to the respective processing tanks 9 to 13 is arranged below the processing tank 11.
Various processing liquids are supplied from the stock tank 20 to each processing tank through a supply tube (not shown).

Now, the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus is provided with a semiconductor substrate 22 such as a silicon wafer or a glass substrate.
Is automatically performed from the cleaning to the drying of, for example, 50 semiconductor substrates 22 at a time in a series of steps described later.
The washing and drying of can be completed. The semiconductor substrate 22 is circular and has a diameter of about 200 m / m. These 50 semiconductor substrates 22 are held by the holding mechanism 24 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the holding mechanism 24 is carried along a predetermined path by the carrying means 25 shown in FIG. Go around the tank. The holding mechanism 24 holds the semiconductor substrates 22 aligned at regular intervals such that the principal surfaces of the semiconductor substrates are parallel to each other and each is upright.

As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying means 25 is
A rail 27 extending along the direction in which the processing tanks 9 to 12 are arranged, that is, in the horizontal direction, and a movable base 29 slidably attached to the rail 27 via a bracket 28a are provided. is doing.

The movable base 29 is mounted in a state of being suspended and supported by the rail 27 near the upper end thereof, and a pair of rollers 33 is provided at the lower end of the movable base 29 via a bracket 32. ing. Then, these rollers 33 sandwich a guide plate 34, which is arranged in parallel with the rail 27, in the lower part of the housing 3 from the left and right. With this configuration, the movable base 29 can move smoothly.

Although not shown, the rail 27 described above is used.
A long rack is fixed in parallel with. On the other hand, on the movable base 29, a reduction mechanism 37 including a gear that meshes with the rack, and a motor 38 that applies a torque to the reduction mechanism 37 are attached. That is, the motor 3
The movable base 29 reciprocates along the rail 27 by reversing 8 in the forward and reverse directions. In addition, these rails 2
7, the rack, the deceleration mechanism 37, and the motor 38 constitute a base drive means for moving the movable base 29.

As shown in FIG. 2, a movable pole 45 is attached to the movable base 29 so as to be reciprocally movable in the vertical direction. A long worm 46 is arranged in parallel with the movable pole 45, and is rotatably attached to the movable base 29. And warm 4
6 is provided with a nut (not shown) to be screwed, and the nut is fixed to the movable pole 45.

A geared motor (not shown) is provided on the movable base 29. When the geared motor rotates forward and backward, the worm 46 rotates forward and backward, and the movable pole 45 moves up and down. Is configured to do.

The above-mentioned rail 27 and movable base 29
A roller 33, a guide plate 34, a rack (not shown), a reduction mechanism 37, a motor 38, a movable pole 45, a worm 46, and a geared motor (not shown).
And the related members around these, the holding mechanism 24 described above, together with the held semiconductor substrate 22, passes through the dipping position of the processing liquid in the processing baths 9 to 12 to reach the outside of the processing bath ( Conveying means 25 is configured to convey along (described later).

Next, the holding mechanism 24 which holds the semiconductor substrate 22 and is carried by the carrying means 25 will be described in detail.

As is clear from FIGS. 3 to 5, the holding mechanism 24 has a rectangular parallelepiped base portion 58 fixed to the upper end of the movable pole 45, and one end portion of the base portion 58. It has two columnar arm members 59 and 60 attached in a cantilever shape and extending linearly and parallel to the side of the base portion 58. Both arm members 59 and 60 are supported so as to be rotatable around their axes.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, hanger members 63 and 64 are attached to the free ends of the above-mentioned arm members 59 and 60 in a suspended state via attachment blocks 65, respectively. There is. The hanger member 63 includes a rectangular plate-shaped intermediate member 67 and a frame member 68 formed in a U shape and fixed to the lower end of the intermediate member 67.
The other hanger member 64 is a rectangular plate-shaped intermediate member 67.
And a U-shaped frame member 69. The mounting block 65 includes two divided bodies 65b and 65c formed so as to sandwich the arm members 59 and 60 with each other, and fastening members (not shown) such as bolts and nuts for fastening the two divided bodies. Consists of.

At the other end of each of the arm members 59 and 60, that is, at the tip end thereof, there is provided a connecting means 70 which is pivotally attached to the both end portions and connects the tip end portions to each other. By providing the connecting means 70, it is possible to prevent the tips of the two arm members 59 and 60 from being separated or too close to each other.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a frame member 68 which is a constituent member of the above-mentioned hanger members 63 and 64,
At the lower end of 69, 4 for each of the frame members 68, 69
A total of eight substantially columnar substrate holding members 72 to 7
5 (however, the same reference numeral is assigned to each of these eight substrate holding members) is a bolt (not shown)
It is installed by. These substrate holding members 72
To 75 cooperate with each other to hold the semiconductor substrate 22 in a direction parallel to the main surface of the semiconductor substrate. However, FIG.
As is apparent from the above, each of the substrate holding members 72 to 75 is arranged by concentrically arranged in such a manner that the two denoted by the same reference numerals are arranged so that their central axes coincide with each other. The two board holding members are frame members 68 (69).
Are connected to each other at their ends via plate-like brackets 68a. These two substrate holding members arranged concentrically with each other may be molded integrally with each other to form one long member.
That is, in this case, each of the frame members 68 and 69 is provided with two elongated substrate holding members in parallel.

The arm members 59 and 60, the hanger members 63 and 64, the mounting block 65, the intermediate member 67, and the frame members 68 and 69 described above are the substrate holding members 72 to 75.
Means for movably supporting the base portion 58, and these are collectively referred to as supporting means.

Although not shown, a driving means is provided for driving the above-mentioned substrate holding members 72 to 75 so as to hold and release each semiconductor substrate 22. This driving means applies torque to the arm members 59 and 69 which suspend and support the substrate holding members 72 to 75, etc. to rotate them.

Here, the structure of each substrate holding member 72-75 itself will be described in detail. In addition, these substrate holding members 72 to 75
Since each has the same shape, the substrate holding member 72 will be described in detail as a representative.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the substrate holding member 72 is formed in a substantially columnar shape as a whole as described above. Further, the substrate holding member 72 is provided with holding grooves 72a which can be engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the semiconductor substrate 22, and are arranged in parallel at, for example, 25 rows. The cross-sectional shape of each of the holding grooves 72a is V-shaped.
The substrate holding member 72 has a circular sectional shape perpendicular to the direction in which the holding grooves 72a are arranged. Further, each holding groove 72a is formed by cutting out a part of the substrate holding member 72, and the bottom surface of each holding groove 72a has a radius (about 100 mm) of the semiconductor substrate 22 engaged with the holding groove 72a.
m / m) has the same radius of curvature.

Here, each processing tank 9 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Nos. 12 to 12 are provided on the bottoms of the above to receive the semiconductor substrates 22 from the above-mentioned holding mechanism 24 and support them in such a manner that their main surfaces are parallel to each other and are aligned upright at regular intervals. The substrate pedestal 85 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the substrate pedestal 85
Is a bottom plate 86, three side plates 87 fixed in parallel to each other on the bottom plate 86, and six substrate supporting members each formed in a substantially columnar shape and having both end portions supported by the side plates 87. 8
8 to 90 (however, the same reference numeral is given to every two of these six substrate supporting members). The substrate supporting members 88 to 90 extend in the alignment direction of the semiconductor substrates 22 held by the holding mechanism 24 described above, and support the semiconductor substrates 22 in cooperation with each other. As is apparent from FIG. 4, each of the substrate supporting members 88 to 90 is arranged so that two of them having the same reference numerals are aligned with each other in their central axes.

The details of the substrate supporting members 88 to 90 are substantially the same as those of the substrate holding members 72 to 75 included in the above-mentioned holding means 24, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The respective outer peripheral portions of the semiconductor substrate 22 can be engaged with the respective substrate supporting members 88 to 90 25.
The groove receiving grooves are arranged side by side at the same pitch.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, at the upper end portion of the movable base 29, even above the processing tanks 9 to 12 (however, the processing tank 11 is shown in FIG. 2). Two extending brackets 93 are attached in a cantilever shape. Then, a pair of sensors 94 and 95 are attached to the lower surface side of the respective tip end portions of the brackets 93 as detection means for detecting the presence or absence of each semiconductor substrate 22 on each of the substrate holding members 72 to 75 described above. There is.

Each of the sensors 94 and 95 has a long case, and is fixed to the bracket 93 with a bolt or the like by the flange portions 94a and 95a (see FIG. 5) provided therein.

As is apparent from FIGS. 8 to 11, one sensor 94 has, for example, five sensors in its casing 94b.
The light emitting diodes 94c as zero light emitting elements are arranged at an equal pitch P (see FIG. 11). Further, as shown in FIG. 11, for the other sensor 95, the photodiodes 95c as 50 light receiving elements which form a photocoupler together with the light emitting diode 94c in the casing 95b are equal to the respective light emitting diodes 94c. They are arranged side by side at a pitch P. The photodiode 95c is
Upon receiving the irradiation light emitted from the light emitting diode 94c, the energy is converted into a current. As shown in FIG. 8, each light emitting diode 9 is provided in the casing 94b of the sensor 94.
A small hole 94d for passing the irradiation light emitted by 4c is formed. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 8, the sensor 94 is provided with an indicator lamp 94e that indicates that the sensor 94 is in the energized state. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the sensor 94 is connected to a cord 94f for energizing each light emitting diode 94c. Although not shown, the other sensor 95
A small hole for passing light is also formed in the casing 95b, a display lamp is provided, and a cord for sending a current generated in each photodiode 95c to a control unit described later is connected.

As shown in FIG. 11, the optical axis 96 (also shown in FIG. 5) of the irradiation light emitted from each of the light emitting diodes 94c and directed toward the light receiving surface of the corresponding photodiode 95c is in each semiconductor substrate 22. It is designed to intersect with the main surface. Due to such a configuration, even if each thinly molded semiconductor substrate 22 is slightly distorted or slightly inclined on the substrate holding members 72 to 75, the presence or absence thereof can be reliably detected.

Next, the operation of the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus having the above configuration will be briefly described. The following operations are performed under the control of a control unit including a microcomputer (not shown).

First, two boxes, ie, carriers (not shown) each containing 25 semiconductor substrates 22 are placed on the substrate supply means 8 by a robot (not shown) or manually. The semiconductor substrates 22 in the carrier are aligned at regular intervals such that their principal surfaces are parallel to each other and each is upright.

When the carrier is placed on the substrate supply means 8, the substrate supply means 8 operates. As a result, a total of 50 semiconductor substrates 22 housed in the two carriers are pushed out above the carriers as if they were lifted and brought to a position where the holding mechanism 24 can hold them. At this time, the holding mechanism 24 stands by immediately above the carrier.

In this state, each semiconductor substrate 22 is held by the substrate holding members 72 to 75.

Subsequently, the motor 38 and the geared motor (not shown) shown in FIG. 2 are appropriately rotated to horizontally move the movable base 29 and ascend / descend the movable pole 45. Together with the holding mechanism 24 holding the sheet, the sheet is conveyed along the path Z ₃ → X ₆ → Z ₄ shown in FIG. 1, is placed on the substrate pedestal 85 in the processing bath 9, and is stored in the processing bath 9. It is immersed in the treatment liquid 9a. And
The holding state of each semiconductor substrate 22 by the holding mechanism 24 is released, and each semiconductor substrate 22 is treated with the treatment liquid 9a, in this case, washed. In addition, at the time of this cleaning,
The vibrator 15 attached to the lower portion of the processing tank 9 is operated to excite the processing liquid 9a inside the processing tank 9 together with the vibrator 15.
The cleaning is effectively performed.

When the cleaning operation in the processing bath 9 is completed, the holding mechanism 24 holds each semiconductor substrate 22 again. Subsequently, each semiconductor substrate 22 is transported along the path Z ₃ → X ₇ → Z ₄ shown in FIG. 1 in the same manner as described above, is placed on the substrate pedestal 85 in the processing tank 10, and is treated with the treatment liquid. 10a
Is washed. During this cleaning, the vibrator 16 attached to the processing tank 10 operates.

After that, each semiconductor substrate 22 has a path Z ₃ → X ₈ → Z ₄ shown in FIG. 1 and a path Z ₃ → X ₉ → following it.
It is transported by sequentially following Z ₄ , and washed with the processing liquids 11a and 12a in the processing baths 11 and 12, respectively. Thus, the cleaning of each semiconductor substrate is completed. After this, the holding mechanism 24
The route Z ₃ → X ₁₀ → shown in FIG.
It is returned to the standby position immediately above the substrate supply means 8 via Z ₄ .

Thereafter, the above series of operations are repeated,
A large number of semiconductor substrates sequentially supplied by the substrate supply means 8 are cleaned.

On the other hand, the semiconductor substrate 22 which has been cleaned through the processing tanks 9 to 12 is put into the substrate dryer 13 shown in FIG. Then, after a drying operation is performed by the substrate dryer 13,
It is collected and sent for the next process. The substrate dryer 13 dries each semiconductor substrate 22 by using centrifugal force.

Next, FIGS. 2 and 5 and FIGS. 8 to 1
Semiconductor substrate 2 using the sensors 94 and 95 shown in FIG.
The presence / absence detection operation of No. 2 will be described.

First, in the above-described operation, the presence or absence of each semiconductor substrate is detected and the number thereof is counted prior to immersing each semiconductor substrate 22 in the treatment liquid 9a in the first treatment tank 9.

That is, after each semiconductor substrate 22 is delivered to the holding mechanism 24 from the substrate supply means 8 shown in FIG. 1, the movable pole 45 is operated to detect each semiconductor substrate 22 by both sensors 94 and 95. Position it in a position where it can be done. In this state, 50 sets of photocouplers each consisting of a pair of each light emitting diode 94c (shown in FIG. 11) and a photodiode 95c (see also FIG. 11) included in both sensors 94 and 95 are respectively provided. Operate one set at a time starting from the end. At this time, the irradiation light emitted from the light emitting diode 94c is emitted from the semiconductor substrate 22.
If the incident light is not blocked by the photodiode 95c and the incident light does not enter the corresponding photodiode 95c, the control unit determines that the semiconductor substrate 22 exists, and the photodiode 9 is not blocked by the irradiation light.
If a current is obtained from the photodiode 95c upon entering 5c, it is determined that the semiconductor substrate 22 is not present there.

As described above, it is possible not to operate the 50 photocouplers in sequence one by one, but to operate them at the same time. However, in such a configuration, the number of input points increases and the cost is increased. Will increase. By operating the photo couplers one by one as in the present embodiment, the number of input points is reduced and the cost is reduced.

The control unit operates each photocoupler as described above, while counting the number of existing semiconductor substrates 22 by the counter, and the total number is stored in the RAM (Rand).
omAccess Memory).

When the total number of semiconductor substrates 22 mounted on the holding mechanism 24 is confirmed in this manner, the semiconductor substrates 22 are transported to be washed by circulating the processing baths 9 to 12 as described above. Immediately after taking out each semiconductor substrate 22 from each of the processing baths 9 to 12, the number of semiconductor substrates 22 being transported in the processing bath is counted in the same manner as described above, and the count value stored in the RAM is used. Compare. At this time, as shown in FIG.
When the number of semiconductor substrates is gone, these count values do not match. Therefore, the control unit controls the transport means 25 (see FIG.
(Not shown), and preferably a buzzer or warning light (not shown) is operated to issue a warning. Therefore, the worker investigates this lost semiconductor substrate, and if it is dropped or cracked in any of the processing tanks 9 to 12, the semiconductor substrate is recovered and the processing liquid is replaced. It is possible to take prompt action according to the situation such as cleaning of the processing tank including.

In this embodiment, the holding mechanism 24
Each semiconductor substrate 22 on the substrate holding members 72 to 75 of
Although the sensors 94 and 95 as the detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the sensor are mounted on the movable base 29, in addition to such a configuration, the sensors may be individually installed at the upper positions of the processing tanks 9 to 12, respectively. Good. However, by installing the sensors 94 and 95 on the movable base 29 as in this embodiment, there is an effect that only one pair of sensors should be provided.

Further, in this embodiment, each sensor 9
4 and 95 are 50 light emitting diodes 94c each
Further, the sensor 95 and the photodiode 95c are provided, but the total length of both the sensors may be half, for example, and 25 light emitting diodes 94c and 25 photodiodes 95c may be provided. However, in this case, in order to correspond to the 50 semiconductor substrates on the substrate holding members 72 to 75, two sensors are arranged in series and used.

[0061]

As described above, the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with the detecting means for holding the semiconductor substrate and detecting the presence or absence of each semiconductor substrate on the holding mechanism for transporting the semiconductor substrate. Therefore, there is an effect that the cracking or the dropping of the semiconductor substrate during the work can be immediately detected to prompt the worker to take prompt action, and the damage can be minimized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an entire semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a holding mechanism included in the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line BB in FIG.

5 is a view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a substrate holding member included in the holding mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a semiconductor substrate and a bracket that supports the sensor, which are included in the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

9 is a front view of the sensor and bracket shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the sensor shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the presence / absence of each semiconductor substrate is detected by a semiconductor substrate detection processing unit included in the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; ..

FIG. 12 is a front view including a partial cross-section of a main part of a conventional device.

13 is a perspective view of a main part of a holding mechanism included in the conventional device shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is an operation explanatory diagram of the conventional device shown in FIGS. 12 and 13;

[Explanation of sign]

3 Cases 9, 10, 11, 12 Treatment Tanks 9a, 10a, 11a, 12a Treatment Liquid 22 Semiconductor Substrate 24 Holding Mechanism 25 Conveying Means 58 Bases 59, 60 Arm Members 63, 64 Hanger Members 72, 73, 74, 75 Substrate holding member 85 Substrate cradle 93 Brackets 94, 95 Sensor 94c Light emitting diode (light emitting element) 95c Photodiode (light receiving element)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A transporting means for transporting a plurality of semiconductor substrates held along a predetermined path by a holding mechanism aligned and held by a holding mechanism such that main surfaces thereof are parallel to each other and each is upright. In the semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus, the semiconductor substrate is subjected to immersion cleaning with the processing liquid stored in the processing tank in the predetermined path, wherein the holding mechanism includes a base portion transferred by the transfer means, A plurality of substrate holding members that are movably attached to the base portion and cooperate with each other to hold the semiconductor substrate in a direction parallel to the main surface;
A semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus comprising: a driving unit that drives the substrate holding member, and a detection unit that detects the presence or absence of each of the semiconductor substrates on the substrate holding member. 2. A plurality of processing baths are provided side by side, and the transfer means moves the movable base and a movable base that is movable along the direction in which the processing baths are lined up and carries the base portion. 2. The semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a base driving unit, wherein the detecting unit is mounted on the movable base. 3. The automatic semiconductor substrate according to claim 1, wherein the detection means includes a photocoupler including a light emitting element that emits irradiation light and a light receiving element that receives the irradiation light. Processing equipment. 4. The semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the optical axis of the irradiation light intersects the main surface of the semiconductor substrate. 5. The semiconductor substrate automatic processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the photocouplers are arranged in parallel, and each of the photocouplers is operated in order.