JPH07273165A - Method and equipment for processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method and an equipment for processing in which the processing capacity can be enhanced while reducing the size of the equipment. CONSTITUTION:A mechanism 9 for rotating a carrier 7 housing a plurality of objects to be processed vertically around a center of rotation X within its side face region and converting the objects from vertical attitude to horizontal attitude is disposed at the carry-in/carry-out port 8 of a processing chamber 1 housing a vertical heat treatment furnace 2. A section 49 for housing a plurality of carriers 7 is disposed above the attitude converting mechanism 9 and the carrier 7 is carried between the housing section 49 and the mechanism 9 and the heat treatment furnace 2 by means of a carrying mechanism 51. The object to be processed is transferred, by means of a transfer mechanism 52, between the carrier 7 carried to the heat treatment furnace 2 and an object holder 5 being carried into the furnace 2 or carried out of the furnace 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a processing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a semiconductor wafer, which is an object to be processed, is oxidized, diffused, or CVD.
There is a step of performing various kinds of processing such as, and from the viewpoint of improving the throughput, dust-free and space-saving in this processing step, various processing devices have been proposed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-27121). (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-133422, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-148717, etc.).

For example, a processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-148717 houses a vertical heat treatment furnace in a box-shaped processing chamber, and a plurality of semiconductor wafers are vertically arranged in the front part of the processing chamber. A loading / unloading port for loading / unloading the accommodated carriers is provided. In this case, since it is necessary to horizontally transfer the semiconductor wafers vertically accommodated in the carrier to the wafer boat which is a workpiece holder for loading and unloading into the vertical heat treatment furnace, A mounting table for mounting the carrier is provided near the entrance, and an attitude converting mechanism for converting the attitude of the carrier so that the semiconductor wafer is changed from vertical to horizontal via the mounting table.

This attitude changing mechanism is configured to change the attitude of the carrier by rotating the mounting table in an empty space formed below the mounting table. Then, the carrier whose posture is changed by the posture changing mechanism is accommodated in the upper containing portion by the carrying mechanism in an amount necessary for processing, and then sequentially transferred from the containing portion to the heat treatment furnace side. Are taken out by the transfer mechanism and transferred to the wafer boat in sequence.

[0005]

However, in such a processing apparatus, since the mounting table is rotated downward to change the posture of the carrier, the mounting table is rotated below the mounting table. It is necessary to secure a sufficient vacant space that can be secured, and also to secure a sufficient space on the transfer mechanism side to avoid interference with the carrier that moves while projecting along a predetermined rotation trajectory as the mounting table rotates. There is a need. Therefore, there is a certain limit in terms of space saving and further downsizing of the apparatus, and more processing time is required due to the longer carrier movement and longer transport distance. There was a limit.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus and a processing method capable of downsizing the apparatus and improving processing efficiency.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention has a carrier loading / unloading port for vertically accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, A processing chamber accommodating a vertical heat treatment furnace for heat treatment, and provided in the vicinity of the carry-in / out port in the processing chamber, the carrier is rotated around a rotation center in a side surface region thereof so that an object to be processed is changed from vertical to horizontal. A posture changing mechanism for changing the posture so that the posture is changed, a housing portion provided above the posture changing mechanism for housing a plurality of posture-changed carriers, the housing portion, the posture changing mechanism, and the heat treatment furnace side. And a transfer mechanism for transferring the object to be processed between the carrier transferred to the heat treatment furnace side and the object holder to be carried in and out of the heat treatment furnace. It is characterized by that. As the object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer, an LCD substrate or the like can be applied. Further, it is preferable that the processing chamber is maintained in a clean atmosphere.

A processing apparatus according to a second aspect is the processing apparatus according to the first aspect, in which the carrier on which the carrier is mounted and the center of rotation set in a side surface region of the carrier mounted on the carrier are set. Is provided on the mounting table, and a support portion that rotatably supports the mounting table with the fulcrum as a fulcrum, a drive unit that rotates the mounting table about the rotation center as a fulcrum so as to rise vertically to the loading / unloading port side. A receiving portion that receives the lower portion of the carrier whose posture has been changed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the processing apparatus according to the second aspect, the mounting table includes an alignment mechanism for aligning the objects to be processed in the carrier in a predetermined direction. As this alignment mechanism, a well-known alignment mechanism that rotates and aligns the objects to be processed so that the orientation flats formed on the peripheral edge of the objects to be processed, notches such as notches, etc. face a predetermined direction can be applied. is there. Further, it is preferable that the alignment mechanism is provided so as to be able to move up and down from the upper surface of the mounting table in order to avoid interference with the object to be processed when the carrier is transferred or transported.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the processing apparatus according to the second or third aspect, wherein the mounting table includes a detector for detecting an object to be processed in the carrier. As this detector, there is a known device in which each object to be processed is housed between the comb teeth of the comb-tooth-shaped main body, and the presence or absence of the object to be processed is detected by the light projecting element and the light receiving element arranged on the opposing walls of the comb teeth. The detector can be applied. Further, it is preferable that the detector is provided so as to be able to move up and down integrally with the alignment mechanism.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method in which a carrier, in which a plurality of objects to be processed are vertically accommodated, is transferred from a carry-in / out port of a processing chamber accommodating a vertical heat treatment furnace to the heat treatment furnace side. A posture changing step of rotating the carrier around a rotation center in a side surface region thereof in the vicinity of the carry-in / out port in the processing chamber to make the object to be processed from vertical to horizontal, and a posture-converted carrier above the carry-in / out port. And a carrying step of carrying the container to a housing portion provided in the area.

[0012]

According to the processing apparatus of the present invention, since the carrier is rotated around the center of rotation in the side surface region by the attitude converting mechanism, the attitude of the object to be processed is changed from vertical to horizontal. It is possible to change the posture of the carrier with a rotation locus of a minimum radius and a minimum movement amount with a small overhang. Therefore, the attitude of the carrier can be changed quickly, the space for avoiding the interference between the carrier and the transfer mechanism at the time of changing the attitude can be reduced, and the transfer distance and the transfer time for transferring the attitude-changed carrier to the upper accommodation section. Therefore, the size of the apparatus can be reduced and the processing efficiency can be improved.

According to the processing apparatus of the second aspect, the mounting table on which the carrier is mounted is supported by the supporting portion so as to be rotatable around the rotation center set in the side surface region of the carrier.
The lower portion of the carrier whose posture has been changed by being rotated by the drive unit so as to rise vertically to the carry-in / out entrance side is supported by the receiving unit, so that the posture of the carrier can be surely changed with a simple configuration. .

According to the processing apparatus of the third aspect, since the mounting table has the alignment mechanism for aligning the objects to be processed in the carrier in the predetermined direction, the mounting table is rotated into the empty space below and the carrier is moved. Different from the conventional processing device, in which the alignment mechanism is moved up and down from the empty space and the alignment mechanism is moved up and down from the empty space, the device can be downsized and the space under the mounting table can be reduced. It can be used effectively.

According to the processing apparatus of the fourth aspect, since the mounting table includes the detector for detecting the object to be processed in the carrier, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of the object to be processed in the carrier and the number of the objects. Becomes

According to the processing method of the fifth aspect, the carrier in which a plurality of objects to be processed is vertically housed is transferred from the carry-in / out port of the processing chamber housing the vertical heat treatment furnace to the heat treatment furnace side. At this time, since the carrier is rotated around the center of rotation in the side surface area near the carry-in / out entrance in the processing chamber to change the posture, and then the carrier is transferred to the accommodating portion in the area above the carry-in / out entrance, the amount of overhang of the carrier is small. The posture can be swiftly changed according to the rotation trajectory of the minimum radius and the minimum movement amount, and can be quickly conveyed to the upper accommodation portion, so that the processing time can be shortened and the processing efficiency can be improved.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, which shows a side sectional view of the processing apparatus, reference numeral 1 denotes a box-shaped processing chamber which forms a housing of the processing apparatus, and which is formed in a box shape by an iron plate or the like. A vertical heat treatment furnace 2 including a cylindrical reaction tube having a furnace opening at the bottom, a heater arranged so as to cover the periphery thereof, a heat insulating material, and the like is installed.

In the space below the heat treatment furnace 2 (loading area), a lid 3 for opening and closing the furnace opening is provided so as to be able to move up and down by an elevating mechanism 4 as shown in FIG. Is a wafer holder 5 made of, for example, quartz, which is a holder for holding a large number of, for example, about 150 semiconductor wafers W, which are the objects to be processed, at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction in the vertical direction. Is placed through. The wafer boat 6 holding the semiconductor wafer W is configured to be carried in and out (loaded, unloaded) into the heat treatment furnace 2 together with the heat insulation cylinder 6 as the lid 3 is moved up and down.

On the other hand, in the front part of the processing chamber 1, there is provided a slide door (not shown) made of a transparent material in order to carry in / out a carrier 7 which is a plastic container for vertically storing a plurality of semiconductor wafers W, for example, about 25 sheets. A carrying-in / carrying-out port 8 is formed, and in the vicinity of the carrying-in / carrying-out port 8 in the processing chamber 1, a posture changing mechanism 9 is provided for changing the posture of the carrier 7 so that the semiconductor wafer W in the carrier 7 is changed from vertical to horizontal. The posture changing mechanism 9 rotates about a mounting table 10 on which the carrier 7 is mounted as shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, and the mounting table 10 as a fulcrum about a rotation center X set in a side surface region of the carrier 7. Swing arm 1 as a supporting portion for supporting the movement possible
1 and an air cylinder 12 as a drive unit for rotating the mounting table 10 from a horizontal state to a vertical state on the carry-in / out port 8 side with the rotation center X as a fulcrum.

The mounting table 10 of the embodiment is formed of, for example, stainless steel in a horizontally long flat plate shape on which two carriers 7 can be mounted in parallel, and swing arms 11 are fixed to both sides of the mounting table 10. The mounting table 10 is arranged on an upper portion of a box-shaped frame body 13 having an open upper portion, and the swing arm 11 rotates on both side wall portions 13 a of the frame body 13 via a support shaft 14 serving as a rotation center X and a bearing 15. Supported as possible. An arcuate slit 16 centered on the support shaft 14 is formed on one side wall portion 13a of the frame body 13, and one swing arm 11 extends to the outside of the frame body 13 through the slit 16. The crank pin 17 is provided so as to project. The air cylinder 1 is attached to the crank pin 17.
2 are connected, and the driving of the air cylinder 12 causes the mounting table 10 to be reciprocally rotated from a horizontal state to a vertical state in which it rises toward the carry-in / out port 8 side with the support shaft 14 as a fulcrum.

As shown in FIG. 7, the upper portion of the carrier 7 is opened, and grooves for accommodating a plurality of circular semiconductor wafers W in a vertical state in parallel and rotatably are provided in opposite portions of both side walls. 18 is formed, and an opening 19 that is continuous in the front-rear direction, which is the arrangement direction of the semiconductor wafers W, is formed at the bottom. An orientation flat (hereinafter also referred to as an orientation flat portion) 20, which is a notch for alignment, is formed on the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W, and the orientation flat portion 20 of the semiconductor wafer W has a predetermined direction (downward in the embodiment). )
Alignment mechanism 34, which will be described later, is arranged so as to face.

Positioning members 21 for positioning both sides of the bottom of the carrier 7 are attached to the upper surface of the mounting table 10, and the front edge portion of the mounting table 10 opposite to the carry-in / out port 8 side is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 6, the front end portion 7 of the carrier 7 is
A receiving portion 22 is provided for positioning a and receiving the lower portion (front end portion 7a) of the carrier 7 whose posture has been changed. The receiving portion 22 has the posture changed to allow the carrier 7 described later to support the carrier 7.
It is designed to support both lower parts of the
It is provided on the front clamp bar 23 that is continuous along the trailing edge. The front clamp bar 23 is mounted on the mounting table 1
0 is provided movably in the front-rear direction from the front edge of the mounting table 10 through a pair of guides 24 and guide rods 25 arranged on both sides of the lower surface of the mounting table 10. Cylinder 26 that drives the vehicle in the front-back direction
Is provided.

At the rear edge of the mounting table 10, two clamp members 27 are provided for each carrier, which contact the rear end of the carrier 7 and clamp the carrier 7 from the front and the rear with the receiving portion 22. It is arranged so as to extend from the through hole 28 of the mounting table 10. These clamp members 17 are provided on a rear clamp bar 30 rotatably supported on the lower surface of the mounting table via a bracket 29, and the rear clamp bar 30 is rotated in the front-rear direction at the center of the lower surface of the mounting table 10. A moving air cylinder 31 is provided.

Further, at the trailing edge of the mounting table 10, an optical type for detecting whether or not the orientation flats 20 of all the semiconductor wafers W in the carrier 7 face downward, that is, whether they are aligned or not. An alignment confirmation sensor 32 is provided. In addition, an opening 33 corresponding to the bottom opening 19 of the carrier 7 is formed in the mounting table 10, and the lower portion of the mounting table 10 extends upward from the opening 33 to align the semiconductor wafers W. An optical detector that detects the mechanism 34 and the semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter, also referred to as a wafer sensor).
35 is provided so as to be able to move up and down.

The alignment mechanism 34 and the wafer sensor 35.
For example, a publicly known one as described in JP-A-4-30554 can be applied. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the alignment mechanism 34 is rotatably provided on the support frame 36 at the width intervals of the orientation flat portion 20, and has a plurality of annular grooves 37 a for supporting the semiconductor wafer W.
A pair of left and right rotating rollers 37, a motor 39 for rotating the rotating rollers 37 in the same direction via a belt 38, and a wafer guide 40 arranged on both sides of the rotating roller 37.

The support frame 36 is supported by a base frame 41 provided on the lower surface of the mounting table 10 so as to be able to move up and down through a lift guide 42, and the base frame 41 is provided with an air cylinder 43 for moving the support frame 36 up and down. ing. The aligning mechanism 34 is lifted by the air cylinder 43 to support the semiconductor wafer W by the rotating roller 37, rotate the semiconductor wafer W, and the orientation flat portion 20 thereof is located on the rotating roller 37 so that the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W is positioned. When the portion contacts the wafer guide 40, a gap is created between the orientation flat portion 20 and the rotary roller 37, and the rotation of the semiconductor wafer W is stopped, whereby the semiconductor wafer W is aligned.

The wafer sensor 35 is provided between the rotating rollers 37. This wafer sensor 35 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the comb-teeth shape is formed, and the presence or absence of the semiconductor wafer W is detected by the light-projecting element 44 and the light-receiving element 45 provided on the opposing walls of the comb-teeth. In the lower part of the mounting table 10, a cover 4 formed of, for example, stainless steel in a curved shape around the support shaft 14 for covering the alignment mechanism 34 and the like provided on the lower surface of the mounting table 10.
6, the cover 46 and the mounting table 10 are formed with a large number of vent holes 47, 48 for passing the air stream of clean air flowing from above the mounting table 10 to below.

In addition, a shelf-shaped accommodating portion 49 for accommodating a plurality of attitude-changed carriers 7 is provided in the upper region of the attitude changing mechanism 9, and the carriers 7 are placed on the side of the heat treatment furnace 2 for storing the semiconductor wafer W. Transfer unit 50 to be mounted for transfer
Is provided, a transfer mechanism 51 for transferring the carrier 7 is provided between the accommodating section 49 and the transfer section 50, and the semiconductor wafer W is provided between the transfer section 50 and the wafer boat 5 in the loading area.
Each of the transfer mechanisms 52 for performing the transfer is provided.

The accommodating portion 49 of the present embodiment is provided in front of and behind the traveling space portion of the transport mechanism 51 which is provided so as to be capable of traveling in parallel with the front edge portion of the mounting table 10 and has a front accommodating portion 49A.
The left and right and up and down 12 carriers 7 in total and the left and right up and down 4 carriers 7 in total in the housing 49B are configured to be stored and stored, respectively. Further, the transfer section 50 of the present embodiment is arranged below the front accommodation section 49A, and is configured so that two carriers 7 can be placed above and below.

The transport mechanism 51 includes a traveling portion 54 having a support column 53, an elevating frame 55 provided on the support column 53 so as to be able to ascend and descend, and a carrier 7 provided on the elevating frame 55 so as to be able to bend and extend in the horizontal direction. And a transfer arm 56 that supports the lower part. The transport mechanism 51 can receive and deliver the carrier 7 between the mounting table 10 and the accommodating section 49, between the accommodating section 49 and the transfer section 50, and between the mounting table 10 and the transfer section 50. Is configured.

As shown in FIG. 10, the transfer mechanism 52 includes an elevating frame 57 that is vertically movable, and a rectangular rotating frame 58 that is horizontally rotatable on the elevating frame 57. A moving body 59 provided on the rotating frame 58 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the longitudinal direction thereof.
And a flat plate-shaped transfer arm 60 provided at one end of the moving body 59 in the moving direction and supporting a plurality of, for example, about five semiconductor wafers W at appropriate intervals in the vertical direction. The transfer mechanism 52 transfers the unprocessed semiconductor wafer W to the transfer section 5.
The carrier wafers 0 are sequentially taken out from the carrier 7 and transferred to the wafer boat 5, and the processed semiconductor wafers W are sequentially taken out from the wafer boat 5 and transferred into the carrier 7. It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 11, at one side of the base portion of each transfer arm 60 in the transfer mechanism 52, a light projecting element 61 facing the semiconductor wafer W supported on the transfer arm 60 at a vertical position and a light receiving element 61 are received. A wafer sensor 63 including the element 62 is provided so that the presence or absence of the semiconductor wafer W can be detected.

Next, the operation of the embodiment and the method of carrying the carrier 7 will be described. First, two carriers 7 are mounted on the mounting table 10 of the posture changing mechanism 9 from the carry-in / out port 8 of the processing device by twos, for example. And
On the mounting table 10, the semiconductor wafers W in the carrier 7 are aligned in a predetermined direction by the alignment mechanism 34, and the presence or absence and the number of semiconductor wafers W are detected by the wafer sensor 35.

Next, the carrier 7 is positioned by the retreat movement of the receiving portion 22, the carrier 7 is clamped between the clamp member 27, and the air cylinder 12 is driven to move the carrier 7 together with the mounting table 10 as shown in FIG. 90 with the support shaft 14 at the rotation center X position in the side surface region as the support point
The semiconductor wafer W is rotated by a certain degree to change its posture from vertical to horizontal. By this posture change, the carrier 7 is supported by the receiving portion 22, and the clamp member 27 retracts to release the clamp of the carrier 7. This carrier 7 is transferred to the transport mechanism 5
The carrier 7 is conveyed by 1 and the above operation is repeated to accommodate a desired number of carriers 7 in the accommodation unit 49.

Thereafter, the carrier 7 of the accommodating portion 49 is sequentially conveyed to the transfer portion 50 by the transfer mechanism 51, and the transfer mechanism 52.
Thus, the semiconductor wafer W in the carrier 7 is transferred to the wafer boat 5 which is unloaded to the loading area.
In this case, the emptied carrier 7 is sequentially returned to the accommodating portion 49 by the transport mechanism 51.

When the transfer of the desired number of semiconductor wafers W is completed, the wafer boat 5 and the heat insulating cylinder 6 are carried into the heat treatment furnace 2 by the elevating mechanism 4 and the furnace port is closed by the lid 3 for a predetermined time. A desired heat treatment is performed at a predetermined temperature and a predetermined atmosphere, and when the heat treatment is completed, the wafer boat 5 is unloaded from the heat treatment furnace 2 to the loading area. After the processing, the semiconductor wafer W after cooling is sequentially transferred from the wafer boat 5 into the carrier 7 in the reverse procedure to that described above, and the carrier 7 is transported to and stored in the accommodation portion 49, and thereafter,
It is carried out of the processing chamber 1 from the carry-in / out port 8 via the mounting table 10 of the posture changing mechanism 9.

In this way, the carrier 7 is rotated around the rotation center X in the side surface region of the carrier 7 in the vicinity of the carry-in / out port 8 in the processing chamber 1 to change the posture. Therefore, as shown in FIG. It is possible to change the posture by using the rotation radius of the minimum radius and the minimum movement amount with a small overhang and using the space above the mounting table 110. Therefore, carrier 7
The posture S can be swiftly changed, the space S for avoiding interference between the carrier 7 and the transport mechanism 51 at the time of posture change can be reduced, and the transport distance for transporting the posture-converted carrier 7 to the upper accommodation portion 49 and The transport time can be shortened, the apparatus can be downsized, and the processing efficiency can be improved. Further, the mounting table 10 on which the carrier 7 is mounted is supported by a swing arm 11 which is a supporting portion so as to be rotatable around a rotation center X set in a side surface region of the carrier 7, and stands vertically on the loading / unloading port 8 side. The lower part of the carrier 7 whose posture is changed by being rotated by the air cylinder 12 which is a drive part so as to rise is the receiving part 22.
Since it is supported by, the posture of the carrier 7 can be surely changed with a simple configuration.

Since the mounting table 10 is provided with an aligning mechanism 34 for aligning the semiconductor wafers W in the carrier 7 in a predetermined direction, the mounting table 10 is rotated to an empty space below to change the attitude of the carrier. In contrast to the conventional processing apparatus in which the alignment mechanism is moved up and down on the mounting table by the elevating mechanism from below the empty space, the apparatus can be downsized and the space below the mounting table 10 can be adjusted, for example, by a controller. It can be effectively used for installation, etc. Further, since the mounting table 10 is provided with the wafer sensor 35 for detecting the semiconductor wafer W in the carrier 7,
The presence and number of semiconductor wafers W in the carrier 7 can be detected, and the number of processed semiconductor wafers W and the like can be easily managed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, as the aligning mechanism 34, not the orientation flat portion 20 formed on the semiconductor wafer W but the notch portion such as a notch may be aligned. Further, the alignment mechanism 34 and the wafer sensor 35 are not necessarily required, and may be provided on the mounting table 10 as needed. Besides the semiconductor wafer W, for example, an LCD substrate or the like can be applied as the object to be processed.

In the above-described embodiment, the carrier 7 is once accommodated in the accommodating section 49 from the mounting table 10 of the posture changing mechanism 9 and then conveyed to the transfer section 50. However, the transfer of the semiconductor wafer W is performed in parallel. For this purpose, the carrier 7 may be directly conveyed from the mounting table 10 of the posture changing mechanism 9 to the transfer section 50 in parallel with the conveyance to the accommodating section 49.

[0041]

In summary, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

(1) According to the processing apparatus of claim 1,
The posture changing mechanism rotates the carrier around the center of rotation in the side surface region to change the posture of the object to be processed from vertical to horizontal, so that the carrier has a minimum radius and a minimum movement amount with a small overhang. The posture can be swiftly changed by the rotation locus, the space for avoiding the interference between the carrier and the transport mechanism at the time of posture change can be reduced, and the transport distance for transporting the posture-changed carrier to the upper accommodation section and The transport time can be shortened, the apparatus can be downsized, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

(2) According to the processing apparatus of claim 2,
The mounting table on which the carrier is mounted is rotatably supported by the supporting unit about the center of rotation set in the side surface region of the carrier, and is rotated by the driving unit so as to rise vertically to the loading / unloading port side. Since the lower part of the converted carrier is supported by the receiving part, the attitude of the carrier can be surely changed with a simple structure.

(3) According to the processing apparatus of claim 3,
Since the mounting table has an alignment mechanism for aligning the objects to be processed in the carrier in a predetermined direction, the mounting table is rotated into the empty space below to change the posture of the carrier, and the carrier is lifted from below the empty space. Unlike the conventional processing apparatus in which the alignment mechanism is moved up and down on the mounting table by the mechanism, the apparatus can be downsized and the space below the mounting table can be effectively used.

(4) According to the processing apparatus of claim 4,
Since the mounting table includes the detector for detecting the object to be processed in the carrier, it is possible to detect the presence or absence and the number of the object to be processed in the carrier.

(5) According to the processing method of claim 5,
When a carrier in which a plurality of objects to be processed are vertically accommodated is transferred from the carry-in / out port of the processing chamber containing the vertical heat treatment furnace to the heat treatment furnace side, the carrier has a side surface region in the vicinity of the carry-in / out port. After changing the posture by rotating around the center of rotation inside, the carrier is conveyed to the accommodation section in the upper area of the carry-in / out port, so the carrier is swiftly postured with the minimum radius of overhang and the rotation trajectory of the minimum movement amount. It can be converted and quickly transported to the upper accommodation portion, and the processing time can be shortened and the processing efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a processing apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a processing chamber of the processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a posture conversion mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same posture changing mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a mounting table in the same posture changing mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the mounting table.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an alignment mechanism and a wafer sensor provided on the mounting table.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged side view of the wafer sensor.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the mounting table whose posture has been changed.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a transfer mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a configuration of a wafer sensor provided in the transfer mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W semiconductor wafer (object to be processed) X rotation center 1 processing chamber 2 heat treatment furnace 5 wafer boat (object to be processed holder) 7 carrier 8 carry-in / out port 9 posture changing mechanism 10 mounting table 11 swing arm (support portion) 12 air cylinder ( Drive unit) 22 Receiving unit 34 Alignment mechanism 35 Wafer sensor (detector) 49 Storage unit 51 Transfer mechanism 52 Transfer mechanism

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Hiroyuki Iwai, inventor Hiroyuki Iwai 1-24-1, Machiya, Shiroyama-machi, Tsukui, Kanagawa, Tokyo Electron Tohoku Co., Ltd. Sagami Business Office (72) Inventor, Kikuchi Iwatani, Esashi, Iwate 52 Matsunane, Tokyo Electron Tohoku Co., Ltd. Tohoku Office

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A processing chamber having a carrier carry-in / out port in which a plurality of objects to be processed are vertically housed, and a vertical heat treatment furnace for heat-treating the objects to be processed, and the carrying-out in the processing chamber. A posture changing mechanism which is provided near the inlet and changes the posture so that the object to be processed is changed from vertical to horizontal by rotating the carrier around the rotation center in the side surface region thereof, and is provided above the posture changing mechanism. An accommodating portion for accommodating a plurality of posture-altered carriers, a transport mechanism for transporting carriers between the accommodating portion and the posture-changing mechanism and the heat treatment furnace side, and a carrier transported to the heat treatment furnace side And a transfer mechanism for transferring the object to be processed between the object holder to be carried in and out of the heat treatment furnace. 2. The posture changing mechanism allows the mounting table on which the carrier is mounted and the mounting table to be rotated about a rotation center set in a side surface region of the carrier mounted on the mounting table as a fulcrum. A supporting portion for supporting, a driving portion for rotating the mounting table about the rotation center as a fulcrum so as to stand upright on the loading / unloading port side, and a lower portion of the carrier which is provided on the mounting table and whose posture is changed. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit that receives the receiving unit. 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the mounting table includes an alignment mechanism that aligns the objects to be processed in the carrier in a predetermined direction. 4. The mounting table comprises a detector for detecting an object to be processed in the carrier.
Or the processing device according to 3. 5. When carrying a carrier, in which a plurality of objects to be processed are vertically housed, from a carry-in / out port of a processing chamber accommodating a vertical heat treatment furnace to a heat treatment furnace side, in the vicinity of the entrance / exit of the process chamber. A posture changing step of rotating the carrier around the rotation center in the side surface region thereof to make the object to be processed from vertical to horizontal, and the posture-changed carrier is stored in a housing portion provided in a region above the carry-in / out port. A processing method comprising: a transfer step of transferring.