JPH0555345A - Wafer transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a wafer transfer device of a structure wherein wafers, whose diameters are different from one another, can be transferred to a processor without reducing the throughput of the treater. CONSTITUTION:A wafer transfer device is provided with a horizontal moving means 11 and a stopper 12 having a vertical abutment surface, the stopper 12 is provided with a plurality of abutment surfaces 12a, 12b,... consisting of circular arcs, whose centers are identical and whose radiuses are different from one another, in a stepwise form and either one of wafers 1A, 1B,..., whose diameters are different from one another, is made to abut with the surface 12a or 12b,... consisting of a circular arc of a radius identical with that of the wafer 1A or 1B,... by modifying the relative height of the means 11 and the stopper 12 and is positioned on the means 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a wafer transfer device for loading a wafer into a processing apparatus. In recent years, automation of semiconductor device manufacturing has been promoted, and wafers are usually loaded into a processing apparatus automatically by a wafer transfer apparatus.

On the other hand, the size of wafers is gradually increasing, but many offices that produce small quantities of various products often produce wafers of different sizes in parallel. In such a case, it is necessary to efficiently process these on the same production line.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional example of a transfer device for loading a wafer into a processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. As a wafer transfer device, its configuration and the like differ depending on its purpose, but this example is for mounting a wafer on a spinner for resist coating and resist development, and the center of the wafer to be mounted is the chuck of the spinner. It is necessary to match the center of rotation. In both figures and FIG. 1, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a conventional wafer transfer device. In the figure, 21 is a wafer carrier for horizontally storing a plurality of wafers 1, 22 and 23 are first horizontal transfer means and second horizontal transfer means for transferring the wafers 1 by a pair of running belts, and 24 is A stopper for positioning the wafer 1 and a chuck 25 for a processing apparatus (spinner).

The first horizontal transfer means 22 transfers the lowest one of the plurality of wafers 1 accommodated in the wafer carrier 21 onto the second horizontal transfer means 23. The second horizontal transfer means 23 further transfers the wafer 1 to stop it.
Abut. At this point, the second horizontal transfer means 23 stops the traveling of the belt. Next, the entire second horizontal transfer means 23 is lifted by a vertical movement mechanism (not shown), then moved forward by a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown), and further lowered by the vertical movement mechanism to chuck the wafer 1 on the spinner chuck. It is placed on 25 and then retracted back to its original position by the horizontal movement mechanism. The forward / backward movement amount is always constant. Therefore, by adjusting the position of the stopper 24 in advance,
The center of the wafer 1 can always be matched with the center of rotation of the chuck 25 of the spinner.

In the case of carrying wafers having different diameters in such a wafer carrying apparatus, the stopper 24 has conventionally been replaced with a suitable one for the wafer having the respective diameters. FIG. 3 is an illustration of a conventional stopper.
The contact surface 24a of the stopper 24A for carrying the wafer 1A with radius Ra forms an arc of radius Ra, and similarly, the stoppers 24B, 24C for carrying wafers 1B, 1C with radius Rb and Rc, respectively. The abutting surfaces 24b and 24c are arcs having radii Rb and Rc. Regardless of which of the stoppers 24A, 24B and 24C is used, the mounting position is adjusted so that the centers of the transferred wafers 1A, 1B and 1C coincide with the rotation center of the chuck 25 of the spinner.

[0007]

However, in the case of such a wafer transfer apparatus, the stopper must be replaced / adjusted each time the diameter of the wafer changes, and the wafer transfer apparatus must be operated during the replacement / adjustment. Since it has to be stopped, there is a problem that the throughput of the processing device is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a wafer transfer apparatus capable of transferring wafers having different diameters without lowering the throughput of the processing apparatus.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the object is to provide horizontal moving means 11 and a stopper 12 having a vertical abutment surface, said stopper 12 being an arc having the same center and different radii. A plurality of abutting surfaces 12a, 12b, which are provided in a stepwise manner, and by changing the relative height between the horizontal moving means 11 and the stopper 12, the wafers 1A having different diameters 1A, 1
Wafer transfer characterized in that any one of B, -is brought into contact with an abutting surface 12a or 12b consisting of an arc having the same radius as the wafer 1A or 1B, -and positioned on the horizontal moving means 11. This is achieved by using a device.

[0010]

Since one stopper is provided with a plurality of contact surfaces formed of arcs having the same center and different radii in a stepwise manner,
By changing the relative height of the horizontal moving means and the stopper and bringing them into contact with a contact surface that matches the diameter of the wafer to be transferred,
The center position of the wafer is always the same regardless of the diameter of the wafer. Therefore, it is not necessary to stop the apparatus and replace / adjust the stopper each time the diameter of the wafer changes. Further, if the relative height between the horizontal moving means and the stopper is changed during the wafer transfer on the horizontal moving means, the throughput of the apparatus is not lowered at all.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a wafer transfer device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The entire structure of this device is the same as that of the conventional device shown in FIG. 2 except for the structure of the stopper. Therefore, the description of the entire configuration is omitted. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, 1A, 1B, and 1C have radiuses Ra, Rb, and Rc, respectively.
Wafer, 11 is a horizontal transfer means, and 12 is a stopper.

The horizontal transfer means 11 corresponds to the second horizontal transfer means shown in FIG.
While moving A, 1B, and 1C, the whole is moved by a vertical movement mechanism and a horizontal movement mechanism (none of which are shown). The stopper 12 is provided with three contact surfaces 12a, 12b, 12c formed of circular arcs having radii Ra, Rb, Rc in a stepwise manner, and the centers of the respective circular arcs are the same.

The vertical position of the stopper 12 is such that the wafer having the smallest radius transferred by the horizontal transfer means 11 lowered to the lower limit.
The position where 1A contacts the contact surface 12a of the circular arc with the smallest radius is fixed. The horizontal position is the wafer with the smallest radius that abuts the contact surface 12a of the circular arc with the smallest radius.
At the center of 1A, the horizontal transfer means 11 is moved up / down / down by the above-mentioned vertical movement mechanism and horizontal movement mechanism to move the center of FIG.
When the spinner is placed on the chuck 25, it is adjusted to match the center of rotation.

The wafer transfer device of the present invention provided with such a stopper 12 is used as follows. When the wafer is transferred to and from the preceding horizontal transfer means (first horizontal transfer means 22 in FIG. 2), the height of the horizontal transfer means 11 is at the lower limit position regardless of the size of the wafer. When the wafer 1A having the smallest radius is transferred, the horizontal transfer means 11 transfers the wafer 1A at this height and contacts the contact surface 12a of the stopper 12. In the case of the wafer 1B or 1C, the horizontal transfer means 11 is connected to the contact surface 12a by the vertical movement mechanism.
Wafer 1B after rising by the step difference with 12b or 12c
Alternatively, 1C is brought into contact with the contact surface 12b or 12c. After that, the horizontal transfer means 11 is moved up / down / forward / down to move to the position shown in FIG.
Placed on the chuck 25 of the spinner in FIG.

Incidentally, the mechanism for raising the horizontal transfer means 11 by the step difference between the contact surfaces 12a and 12b or 12c when the wafer 1B or 1C is transferred is such that the wafer positioned by the stopper 12 is placed on the chuck 25. The vertical movement mechanism for mounting is used, and this mechanism is controlled so as to achieve the above movement (corresponding by software).

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be implemented with various modifications. For example,
The number of contact surfaces may be other than three, and the horizontal transfer means 11 may not be moved up and down according to the diameter of the wafer, but a stopper.
The present invention is effective even if the structure is such that the 12 is moved up and down (a vertical moving mechanism is added), or even if the wafer positioned by the stopper 12 is carried into the processing device by a separately provided arm transfer device.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a wafer transfer apparatus capable of transferring wafers having different diameters without reducing the throughput of the processing apparatus, which contributes to improved efficiency of semiconductor device manufacturing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional wafer transfer device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional stopper.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1A, 1B, 1C Wafer 11 Horizontal transfer means 12 24, 24A, 24B, 24C Stopper 12a, 12b, 12c, 24a, 24b, 24c Contact surface 21 Wafer carrier 22 First horizontal transfer means 23 Second horizontal Transfer means 25 Processing device (spinner chuck)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A horizontal movement means (11) and a stopper (12) having a vertical abutment surface, wherein the stopper (12) has a plurality of abutment surfaces (arcs having the same center and different radii). Wafers (1A, 1B, ...) having different diameters by changing the relative height between the horizontal moving means (11) and the stopper (12).
One of the wafers (1A or 1B, ~) is brought into contact with the contact surface (12a or 12b, ~) consisting of an arc having the same radius as the wafer and positioned on the horizontal moving means (11). Wafer transfer device.