JPH077145U - Semiconductor device manufacturing system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] To provide a semiconductor device manufacturing system capable of improving the production efficiency of semiconductor wafers and immediately feeding back the inspection result to the manufacturing process. A semiconductor device manufacturing system includes a single-wafer semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 2 that performs a predetermined processing on semiconductor wafers loaded one by one. The semiconductor wafer carried out from the above is carried to the cassette port 6 by the two carrying robots 10 and 11. A relay stand 1 is provided between the two transfer robots 10 and 11.
2 is provided, and the semiconductor wafer is transferred on the relay table 12. The relay stand 12 also serves as a sample stand of the microscope 20, and the relay stand 12 inspects the quality of the semiconductor wafer. This inspection is performed by the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 2
In step 1, the semiconductor wafers are processed one by one by utilizing the time during which processing is performed on the next semiconductor wafer.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing system including a single-wafer type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for processing semiconductor wafers one by one.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 A single-wafer type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is usually equipped with a single or multiple process reaction chambers, and semiconductor wafers are supplied one by one from the input side load lock chamber. CVD and the like are sequentially performed. Then, when this series of processing operations is completed, the processed semiconductor wafers are unloaded one by one from the exit load lock chamber.

When a semiconductor wafer to be processed is supplied to a single-wafer-type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that is driven and operated in this manner, it is usually performed as follows. First, a cassette case is arranged in the cassette port, and a large number of semiconductor wafers to be processed are accommodated in the cassette case. The semiconductor wafers housed in this cassette case are picked up one by one by a robot arm or the like, and transported to the above-mentioned entry side load lock chamber. In addition, the semiconductor wafers carried out from the load lock chamber on the output side after being processed in the manufacturing equipment are again transferred one by one by the robot arm, etc., and placed in the specified cassette case in the cassette port. Will be contained within.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 Conventionally, after the semiconductor wafer has been processed in this way, various product inspections such as microscope inspection and film thickness measurement are performed, but this inspection is performed separately for each cassette case containing a large number of semiconductor wafers. It is carried out after being transferred to the inspection equipment installed at the location. For example, in the microscopic inspection, three of the 25 semiconductor wafers stored in one case are extracted, and in-plane five-point inspection is performed on these three wafers.

However, this inspection process takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and the time required to carry the inspection to another place is added to reduce the production efficiency of semiconductor wafers. Was one factor.

Further, in the past, since the inspection is carried out on a case-by-case basis in this way, at the time of carrying out the inspection, all the semiconductor wafers (for example, 25 wafers) accommodated in one case have already been processed. It has been given. Therefore, if a defect is found, all 25 sheets may be defective, and the detection result cannot be immediately fed back to the manufacturing process.

Further, in the conventional sampling inspection, a defect may occur in the semiconductor wafer which is not the object of the inspection.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its purpose is to improve the production efficiency of semiconductor wafers, and at the same time, to feed back the inspection results to the manufacturing process to improve the yield. It is to provide a semiconductor device manufacturing system that can contribute to

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 Therefore, the semiconductor device manufacturing system according to the present invention includes a single-wafer type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and one semiconductor wafer processed in this semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is transferred by two-system transfer means. To do. That is, it comprises a first transfer means for transferring to the relay section and a second transfer means for transferring the semiconductor wafer transferred to the relay section to the wafer accommodating section. Further, this relay section is provided with an inspection means for inspecting the semiconductor wafer transferred by the first transfer means, and after performing a predetermined inspection on the semiconductor wafer by the inspection means, It is configured to be carried by the second carrying means.

As the inspection means, it is desirable to dispose a film thickness meter that optically measures the film thickness of the semiconductor wafer, or a microscope that optically inspects the processed surface of the semiconductor wafer.

[0011]

[Action]

 A semiconductor wafer processed in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is transferred by two systems of first and second transfer means, and an inspection unit is arranged at a relay section which is a relay position of this transfer. On the other hand, in a single wafer type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, it usually takes about 2 to 5 minutes to perform a predetermined process on one semiconductor wafer. Therefore, by utilizing the time spent for processing the semiconductor wafer next loaded into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a predetermined inspection is carried out at this relay section for the semiconductor wafer which has just been processed.

[0012]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a semiconductor device manufacturing system according to this embodiment. In this manufacturing system, a single-wafer type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 2 is arranged in a manufacturing chamber 1. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 2 is a reaction chamber for performing a predetermined process such as an entry side load lock chamber 3, RIE and CVD. A chamber 4 and a load lock chamber 5 on the outlet side are provided. The semiconductor wafers to be processed are loaded one by one from the load lock chamber 3 on the input side, processed on the single semiconductor wafer in the reaction chamber 5, and then loaded from the load lock chamber 5 on the output side. Be done.

A large number of cassette cases are arranged in each cassette port 6, and a large number of semiconductor wafers are accommodated in each cassette case.

Two transfer robots 7 and 8 are arranged between the cassette port 6 and the entry side load lock chamber 3, and a relay stand 9 is arranged between them. On the other hand, the transfer robot 7 picks up the semiconductor wafers in the cassette port 6 one by one by the arm 7a and transfers them to the relay table 9. The other transfer robot 8 picks up the semiconductor wafer on the relay table 8 by the arm 8a and transfers it to the entry side load lock chamber 3.

Two transfer robots 10 and 11 are also arranged between the output side load lock chamber 5 and the cassette port 6, and a relay stand 12 is arranged between them. . One of the transfer robots 10 picks up one semiconductor wafer carried out from the exit side load lock chamber 5 by its arm 10a and carries it to the relay table 12. The other transfer robot 11 picks up a semiconductor wafer on the relay table 12 by its arm 11 a and transfers it to the cassette port 6.

A microscope 20 is arranged above the relay table 12 on the delivery side as an inspection device for inspecting the processed semiconductor wafer. The microscope 20 is for inspecting the quality of the processed surface of the semiconductor wafer, and its side view is shown adjacent to the relay stand 12. As shown in the figure, the relay table 12 also serves as a sample table of the microscope 20. A controller 21 and a CRT 22 are connected to the microscope 20. The controller 21 controls the magnification of the microscope 20 and controls the movement / rotation of the relay stand 12 that serves as a sample stand, and the CRT 22 displays the inspection image of the microscope 20 on the screen and the manufacturing room 1 Can be monitored from outside.

In the case where the manufacturing system is configured as described above, first, one semiconductor wafer is picked up from the cassette port 6 by the transfer robot 7 on the input side, transferred by the transfer robots 7 and 8, and transferred. It is carried into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 2 from the side load lock chamber 3. The processed semiconductor wafer is unloaded from the exit-side load lock chamber 5, picked up by the transfer robot 10 and transferred to the relay table 12.

On the other hand, in parallel with this transfer step, a new semiconductor wafer is loaded from the loading side load lock chamber 3. Since a series of processes in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 2 usually takes about 2 to 5 minutes, this time is used for the semiconductor wafer mounted on the relay table 12 to the microscope 20. Perform a prescribed inspection by. The inspection for one semiconductor wafer is about 2 to 5 minutes, and can be sufficiently performed. After the inspection, the semiconductor wafers judged to be non-defective are transferred to the cassette port 6 by the transfer robot 11 and are sequentially accommodated in the cut case. In parallel with this transfer / accommodation process, the next semiconductor wafer carried out from the output side load lock chamber 5 is transferred to the relay table 12, and a new semiconductor wafer is again transferred from the input side load lock chamber 3 to the semiconductor block. After being carried into the body manufacturing apparatus 2, these steps are sequentially repeated.

In this way, the wafer processing and the inspection thereof by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 2 are simultaneously performed in parallel as a series of manufacturing processes.

In the embodiment described above, the example in which the microscope 20 is provided on the relay stand 12 to perform the surface inspection is shown. However, for example, if a commonly used optical film thickness meter is provided. At this place, the film thickness of the semiconductor wafer can be optically measured.

Further, although the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 2 shown in this embodiment is illustrated as having one reaction chamber, it may have a plurality of reaction chambers, and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus has a single-wafer structure. As long as it is a formula, it does not limit the configuration itself.

[0023]

[Effect of device]

 In the semiconductor device manufacturing system according to the present invention, a semiconductor wafer processed by a single wafer type semiconductor manufacturing device is transferred by the first and second transfer means via a relay section between them. It was decided to use the time spent on the processing of the next semiconductor wafer in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment to perform a predetermined inspection by the inspection means provided in the relay section.

With this, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to transfer to another room for inspection, and the inspection can be performed while the next semiconductor wafer is being processed by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, thus improving the production efficiency. Is possible. Further, since the inspection can be performed in sequence every time one semiconductor wafer is manufactured, the detection result can be immediately fed back to the manufacturing process, and the yield can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a semiconductor device manufacturing system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, 10 ... Transfer robot (first transfer means), 11 ... Transfer robot (second transfer means), 12 ... Relay stand (relay section), 20 ... Microscope (inspection means).

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A semiconductor device manufacturing system comprising a single-wafer semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which comprises a single or a plurality of reaction chambers and carries out predetermined processing on semiconductor wafers loaded one by one. And a second transfer unit for transferring the semiconductor wafer transferred to the relay unit to the relay unit, and a second transfer unit for transferring the semiconductor wafer transferred to the relay unit. The relay unit is provided with an inspection unit for inspecting the semiconductor wafer transferred by the first transfer unit, and after performing a predetermined inspection on the semiconductor wafer by the inspection unit, 2. A semiconductor device manufacturing system characterized in that the semiconductor device is carried by a carrying means. 2. The semiconductor device manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the inspection unit is a film thickness meter that optically measures a film thickness of the semiconductor wafer. 3. The semiconductor device manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the inspection means is a microscope for inspecting a processed surface of the semiconductor wafer.