JPH0785469B2 - Wafer transfer device in ion implantation system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer transfer apparatus having a plurality of wafer transfer arms in a batch processing type ion implantation apparatus having a built-in orientation flat finder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional wafer transfer apparatus for taking out a wafer from a wafer disk and supplying and mounting the wafer on the wafer disk in a batch processing type ion implantation apparatus. FIG. 2 is a timing chart of. A wafer 2 which has been ion-implanted is placed on the wafer disk 1, a first wafer cassette 3 stores the unimplanted wafer 2, and a second wafer cassette 4 stores the already-implanted wafer from the wafer disk 1. Store. The wafer into which the ions have not been implanted is taken out from the wafer cassette 3 by the first transfer arm 5, transferred to the orientation flat finder 6 and placed there. The orientation flat indicating the crystal direction of the wafer is positioned by the finder, and similarly the transfer of the wafer to the wafer disk 1 is started by the first transfer arm 5. During this transfer process, the ion-implanted wafer is transferred from the wafer disk 1 to the second transfer area.
The removal operation is started by the frame 7 and the wafer is the second
It is stored in the cassette 4. The first transfer arm 5 places an uninjected wafer on the wafer mounting portion of the wafer disk 1 from which the injected wafer has been taken out, and the same transfer arm 5 is used.
The frame 5 returns to the initial position for taking out the unfilled wafer from the first cassette 3. And wafer disk 1
Rotates for one step, and the exchange operation for the next injected wafer and uninjected wafer is executed.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned wafer transfer mechanism, as can be seen from the timing chart of FIG. 4, the untransferred wafer is oriented from the first cassette 3 by the first transfer arm 5. When transferring to the flat finder 6 and then to the wafer disc 1, during orientation flat positioning,
The transfer arm 5 is in a standby state, which is a wasted time in the process of exchanging the wafer with and without the wafer injected into the wafer disk 1.

The present invention provides a wafer transfer apparatus in a batch processing type ion implantation apparatus which shortens the entire wafer processing time and improves throughput by reducing the waiting time during wafer transfer.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a wafer carrier for an ion implantation apparatus, which comprises a wafer disk, an orientation flat finder, a first wafer cassette for accommodating a non-ion-implanted wafer, and an ion-implanted wafer. A batch processing type ion implantation apparatus having a second wafer cassette for accommodating a wafer is provided with three transfer arms that perform transfer operations of the wafers in parallel, and these transfer arms are not injected from the first wafer cassette. A first transfer arm for transferring a wafer to the orientation flat finder, a second transfer arm for transferring an injected wafer from the wafer disk to the second wafer cassette, and an uninjected wafer from the orientation flat finder. The wafer And it is characterized in that comprising a third transfer arm for transferring the disk.

[0006]

With this configuration, the transfer of the uninjected wafers from the first wafer cassette to the orientation flat finder and the transfer of the orientation flat finder to the wafer disk are separate first transport arm and third transport, respectively. Since the first transfer arm transfers the unfilled wafer to the orientation flat finder, the first transfer arm can immediately return to the position where the next unfilled wafer is taken out from the first wafer cassette. .

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wafer transfer apparatus in a batch processing type ion implantation apparatus, FIG. 2 is its timing chart, and the same reference numerals and symbols as in FIG. The batch processing type ion implantation apparatus has a wafer disk 1, a first wafer cassette 3 for storing an ion-unimplanted wafer, a second wafer cassette 4 for storing an ion-implanted wafer, and an orientation flat finder 6. In comparison with the conventional example shown in FIG. 3, as the wafer transfer means, in addition to the first transfer arm 5 and the second transfer arm 7, an uninjected wafer whose orientation flat alignment has been completed is transferred to the wafer disk 1. A transport arm 8 of 3 is provided separately. As each of the first to third transfer arms 5, 7 and 8, a multi-joint arm type having a plurality of arms is used.

First to third transfer arms 5, 7, 8
Perform the transfer operation of the wafers almost simultaneously in parallel. The first transfer arm 5 takes out the uninjected wafer from the first wafer cassette 3,
The wafer is transferred to and placed on the finder 6, and immediately returned to the next uninjected wafer removal position of the same cassette 3. The uninjected wafer whose orientation flat alignment has been completed in the finder 6 is transferred to the wafer disk 1 by the third transfer arm 8. During this transfer process, the second transfer arm 7 takes out the injected wafer from the wafer disk 1, transfers it to the second wafer cassette 4, and stores it. The third transfer arm 8 transfers the uninjected wafer to the wafer disk 1 and then returns it to its original position, and the second transfer arm 7 also transfers the injected wafer to the cassette 4
Immediately after storing in, it returns to the original position. Next, the wafer disc 1 is rotated by one step, and the next wafer exchange operation is executed.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first to third transfer arms 5, 7 and 8 for carrying out the transfer operation of the wafers in parallel are provided, so that the first wafer cassette is provided. 3 to Orientation Flat Finder 6
Immediately after the transfer of the uninjected wafer to the wafer, the first transfer arm 5 can return to the position where the wafer is taken out from the first wafer cassette 3, and the wafer in the orientation flat finder 6 in the conventional example can be moved. The waiting time of the first transfer arm 5 during the orientation flat alignment time becomes unnecessary, the time of the wavy line portion in the timing chart shown in FIG. 4 is shortened, and the entire wafer transfer time is significantly shortened, and the throughput is improved. improves.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart in the example.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Wafer Disc 2 Wafer 3 First Wafer Cassette 4 Second Wafer Cassette 5 First Transfer Arm 6 Orientation Flat Finder 7 Second Transfer Arm 8 Third Transfer Arm

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A batch processing type ion implantation apparatus having a wafer disk, an orientation flat finder, a first wafer cassette for storing an unimplanted wafer, and a second wafer cassette for storing an ion-implanted wafer. In three, there are provided three transfer arms that perform transfer operations of the wafers in parallel, and these transfer arms transfer the uninjected wafers from the first wafer cassette to the orientation flat finder, and A second transfer arm for transferring the injected wafer from the wafer disk to the second wafer cassette, and a third transfer arm for transferring the uninjected wafer from the orientation flat finder to the wafer disk. Wafer transfer Sending device.