JPH06112305A - Substrate housing container and method of transferring substrates thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a substrate housing container, which enables a specific substrate housed on a specific rack to be transferred to another substrate housing location easily, and its transferring method. CONSTITUTION:A set of electrodes 6a and 6b for attracting electrostatically a substrate 5 is provided on each side of a substrate mount rack 3 of a substrate housing container A, and electrode terminals 9a and 9b are provided to respective electrodes 6a and 6b so that a voltage can be impressed selectively on respective electrodes 6a and 6b. When the substrate 5 on a specific rack is transferred, another substrate housing location is determined for this substrate housing container A, then, voltage impression is selectively released for only specific electrodes 6a and 6b of the substrate mount rack 3 of the substrate container A. Thereafter, this substrate container A is tilted toward another substrate housing location to transfer the substrate 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used for an apparatus for processing a substrate such as an ion implantation apparatus, a thin film forming apparatus, an etching apparatus, and the like, and is a substrate storage container for storing substrates such as wafers before and after processing. And a substrate transfer method using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a process such as ion implantation of a semiconductor substrate or an inspection process, in order to store or move the substrate, a large number of stages (for example, 25 stages) on which end portions of the substrate are mounted are mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art Wafer cassettes equipped with the above substrate mounting shelves and substrate storage containers such as wafer stockers are used.

On the other hand, in the field of manufacturing semiconductors of this type, in a production process, for example, only a specific substrate (one or more) stored in a specific stage from a substrate storage container is stored in another substrate. It may be transferred to a different place, for example, to another empty substrate storage container and subjected to another treatment. It is preferable that such a substrate transfer operation can be easily performed in a short time.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing an example of a conventional substrate storage container. In this substrate storage container, a pair of substrate mounting shelves 3 facing each other so as to support the ends of the substrates 5 are formed in a plurality of stages on a frame body 2 provided on both sides of the base 1.
4 is a ceiling part. Usually, the base 1, the frame 2, the substrate mounting shelf 3, and the ceiling 4 are integrally formed of metal or synthetic resin.

[0005]

By the way, using the substrate storage container having the above structure, the substrate 5 is processed in a processing apparatus such as an ion implantation device, and a specific substrate (1) stored at a specific stage from the substrate storage container is processed. When transferring only one or a plurality of sheets) to another empty substrate storage container and performing another processing, for example, a person usually uses tweezers.

However, according to this, when transferring a plurality of substrates 5, the work may take time and the substrates 5 may be damaged by tweezers.

Therefore, the present invention provides a substrate storage container in which only a specific substrate (one or a plurality of substrates) stored in a specific stage can be easily transferred to another substrate storage location, and a transfer method thereof. The main purpose is to do.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the substrate storage container of the present invention is provided with a pair of electrodes for electrostatically adsorbing a substrate on each of the substrate mounting shelves, and the electrodes of each pair. It is characterized in that each electrode is provided with an electrode terminal so that a voltage can be selectively applied.

Further, according to the substrate transfer method of the present invention, when transferring the substrate of a specific stage stored in the substrate storage container described above to another substrate storage location, the substrate storage container is replaced with the other substrate storage container. The substrate is positioned at a substrate storage location, and then the voltage is selectively released only on the electrodes of the substrate mounting shelf on which the substrate to be transferred of the substrate storage vessel is mounted, and then the substrate storage container is placed on the side of another substrate storage location. The feature is that the substrate is transferred while tilting to.

[0010]

According to the above structure, when only a specific substrate (one or a plurality of substrates) stored in the specific stage from the substrate storage container is transferred to another substrate storage location and another processing is performed, the substrate is processed. The positional relationship between the storage container and another substrate storage location is determined, and then only the electrode of the substrate mounting shelf on which the specific substrate of the substrate storage container is mounted is selectively released to remove the electrostatic charge. If the suction force is released and then the substrate storage container is tilted toward the other substrate storage location side, only a specific substrate moves to the other substrate storage location side at a time, and the transfer can be performed.

[0011]

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a substrate storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the substrate placing shelf. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the transfer status of the substrates. These Figure 1
3, parts that are the same as or correspond to those in the conventional example of FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and in the following, differences from the conventional example will be mainly described.

In this embodiment, a base plate 1 and a ceiling part 4 are provided on a substrate placing shelf 3 having a pair of electrodes 6a and 6b for electrostatically adsorbing a substrate 5 via a spacer 7 forming a frame body 2.
And the base 1, the spacer 7, the substrate mounting shelf 3, and the ceiling 4 are integrally fixed to each other by using a fastener 8 composed of bolts, nuts, etc. to form a substrate storage container A. There is. 9a, 9b are the pair of electrodes 6a, 6
b is an electrode terminal for applying a predetermined voltage from a DC power source (not shown). Reference numeral 10 is a positioning hole formed in the base 1 for determining a position with an empty substrate storage container B, which will be described later, as an example of another substrate storage location, and 11 is a positioning hole with the same empty substrate storage container B. It is a positioning pin formed on the ceiling portion 4 for determining the position.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate mounting shelf 3 becomes an anode and a cathode by silk-printing silver paste on the back surface of a ceramic plate having a thickness of about 1.6 to 2.0 mm. A pair of electrodes 6a and 6b are provided so as to face each other, and an insulator 12 such as a synthetic resin is applied on the electrodes to form a bipolar electrostatic chuck.

The electrodes 6a, 6b are connected to the electrode terminals 9a, 9b for applying a DC voltage to the electrodes 6a, 6b.
Before applying the insulator 12 to each of the 6b, the thin plate electrode terminals 9a and 9b may be adhered by, for example, a conductive adhesive, and then the insulator 12 may be applied to form the electrodes.

Using the substrate storage container A having the above structure, only the specific substrate 5 stored in that specific stage is transferred to another empty substrate storage container B as an example of another substrate storage location, for example, another processing. In the case of performing, the positional relationship between the substrate storage container A in which the substrate 5 is stored in advance and the empty substrate storage container B as shown in FIG. A board on which the specific board 5 is placed by fitting and positioning the hole 10a and the positioning pin 11b and the positioning pin 11a and the positioning hole 10b, and controlling the opening and closing of a switch connected to a DC power source (not shown). If the voltage application to only the electrodes 6a and 6b of the mounting shelf 3 is released, the electrostatic adsorption force is released, and then the substrate storage container A in which the substrate 5 is stored is tilted toward the empty substrate storage container B side Only the base 5 plate is empty The container B side move at once, it is the sorting.

Since the electrostatic attraction force generally increases as the applied voltage increases, it may be set to a voltage at which the substrate 5 which is not to be transferred does not move when the substrate storage container A is tilted during transfer. .

When the substrate 5 is processed using the substrate storage container A having the above structure, the substrate 5 is processed in, for example, a processing apparatus.
During processing, that is, except when handling the substrate 5 from the substrate storage container A, if a predetermined voltage is applied from the DC power source (not shown) to the pair of electrodes 6a and 6b through the corresponding electrode terminals 9a and 9b, The substrate 5 is held on the substrate mounting shelf 3 by electrostatic attraction. Therefore, it is convenient that the substrate 5 will not be displaced or rotated from the predetermined position of the substrate mounting shelf 3 due to the vibration of the driving unit of the processing apparatus or the vacuum pump.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the substrate 5 is transferred to the empty substrate storage container B was described in detail as an example of another substrate storage location, but a processing apparatus for processing a substrate at another substrate storage location. Of course, it may be the same. Further, as the ceramic plate forming the substrate mounting shelf 3, there is a ceramic plate that can be used in the atmosphere or in the vacuum without affecting the adsorption force, and may be appropriately selected depending on the application.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to very simply, by using a specific substrate stored in a specific stage of the substrate storage container, that is, one or more arbitrary substrates,
Moreover, the substrate can be transferred to another substrate storage location without damaging it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate placing shelf.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a substrate transfer state.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of a conventional substrate storage container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A substrate storage container B empty substrate storage container 3 substrate mounting shelf 5 substrates 6a, 6b electrodes 9a, 9b electrode terminals

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A substrate storage container having a plurality of stages of a pair of substrate placing shelves facing each other so as to support an end portion of the substrate. A pair of electrodes for electrostatically adsorbing a substrate to each of the substrate placing shelves. And a terminal for each electrode, so that a voltage can be selectively applied to each pair of electrodes. 2. When transferring a specific-stage substrate stored in the substrate storage container according to claim 1 to another substrate storage location, the substrate storage container is positioned at the other substrate storage location, and then the substrate storage container is positioned. The voltage application is selectively released only for the electrodes of the substrate placement shelf on which the substrate to be transferred of the substrate storage container is placed, and then the substrate is transferred by inclining the substrate storage container to the side of the other substrate storage location. A substrate transfer method characterized by: