JPH0797049A - Carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an easily maintainable carrying device with which a gate valve for cutting off a vacuum tunnel can be removed without shifting the tunnel. CONSTITUTION:In a carrying device with which an object to be carried is carried in an isolated state from the outside air within a tunnel 1 surrounded by a partition wall, an opening part 17 is provided at the upper/lower part in the vicinity of an end of the tunnel 1, and a gate valve 11 for cutting off the tunnel 1 is installed in the opening part 17 via an airtight seal 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device, and more particularly, to a tunnel suitable for a semiconductor manufacturing plant or the like for transferring a semiconductor wafer or the like, which is liable to be contaminated with particles and molecules, to a process device or the like in a tunnel isolated from the outside air. -Shaped carrier device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 shows an example of arrangement of process equipment in a semiconductor manufacturing factory. Process devices such as an etching device, a film forming device such as CVD, and a cleaning device are arranged, and a tunnel-shaped transfer device that transfers an object to be transferred such as a wafer in a state where the process devices are isolated from the outside air. .

In semiconductor manufacturing factories and the like, the process devices A, B, C, ... Are devices for finely processing semiconductor wafers. Various process processes are overlaid on the semiconductor wafer to form a semiconductor device. For this reason,
The process apparatuses A, B, C, ... Are connected by a tunnel-shaped transfer device, and the semiconductor wafer is transferred from the tunnel partition wall in a non-contact state inside the vacuum tunnel 1. However, there are cases where the inside of the tunnel 1 must be opened to the atmosphere due to maintenance reasons, and the vacuum tunnel 1 is provided with gate valves 11 for shutting off outside air and the like at various places in the tunnel 1.

Further, in the process equipment, various kinds of gases are used due to the process treatment. Since different gas is used in each of these process devices and tunnel-shaped transfer devices that connect the process devices, a gate valve 11 is provided between the tunnel 1 and each process device in order to prevent mutual contamination (cross contamination).
The vacuum state (or the airtight state) can be shut off by inserting.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a transfer device provided with a gate valve capable of blocking such a tunnel, taken along the transfer direction. Further, FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a plane perpendicular to the carrying direction of the carrying device. Inside the tunnel 1 surrounded by the partition wall 2,
The carrier 3 having the semiconductor wafer 7, which is an object to be transferred, travels to transfer the object 7. A magnetic material 4 such as stainless steel is fixed to the upper surface of the carrier table 3, and the carrier table 3 is suspended by the magnetic attraction force of the levitation electromagnet 5. The partition wall 2 on the lower surface is provided with a displacement sensor 6, and by measuring the distance from the carriage 3 to control the exciting current of the levitation electromagnet 5 via a control circuit (not shown), the carriage 3 is targeted. Ascending control to the ascending position. And
The carrier table 3 is a linear motor 8 provided outside the partition wall 2.
Is given a propulsive force in the horizontal direction, and travels in the tunnel 1. Reference numeral 9 is an electromagnetic brake, which is used to stop the traveling carriage by magnetic force without contact.

The inside of the tunnel 1 is kept in a vacuum state which is a space of extremely high cleanliness while being shielded from the outside air. Since the transfer table 3 travels in the vacuum tunnel 1 in a state of being floated from the partition wall 2 in a non-contact manner, it does not come into contact with the partition wall 2 and does not cause a problem that metal powder or dust adheres to the transfer target object to the process device. It can be transported in between.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gate valve 11 arranged in the tunnel 1 is sandwiched between the end faces of the two tunnels A and B, and the inside of the tunnel is kept airtight by an airtight seal 13 between the valve and the tunnel. . A rubber material such as a normal O-ring is used for the airtight seal 13. The gate valve 11 is connected and fixed to the tunnels A and B by a flange 18 with bolts and nuts (not shown). When the valve valve element 14 is lowered, that is, when the valve is open, the carrier table 3 can travel and move through the gate valve 11. When the valve body 14 rises and comes into close contact with the end face 15, that is, when the valve is closed, the tunnel A and the tunnel B are hermetically sealed by the O-ring 16 to be cut off.

Further, in order to stabilize the floating state of the carrier of the magnetic levitation carrier device, it is necessary to make the interval (pitch) between the magnetic poles of the levitation electromagnet 5 constant. Therefore, the floating magnetic pole spacing l _S must be kept constant even when the gate valve 11 is inserted.

[0009]

However, when the gate valve fails or is washed, the valve 11 is set in the tunnels A, B.
May have to be removed from In that case,
First, the flange 18 is unfastened, and then the tunnel B is displaced along the transport direction as shown in FIG.
If a gap is not formed between the gate valve 11 and the valve end face 19, the gate valve 11 may be damaged due to frictional resistance at the airtight seal.
Could not be removed from tunnels A and B.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, the tunnel 1 is long and connected to the process equipment. Therefore, in order to shift the tunnel 1, it is necessary to shift the whole, and after connecting the valve, positioning is performed. There is a problem that must be addressed. In particular, in the magnetic levitation transport device shown in FIG. 5, many levitation electromagnets and displacement sensors are arranged in a row along the tunnel, and shifting the vacuum tunnel requires a lot of work including adjustments thereafter. It was compelling.

Further, the interval (pitch) between the magnetic poles of the levitation electromagnet must be constant even if the gate valve is present. Therefore, it is necessary to include the lengths of the valve flange and the valve body in the dimension of the pitch of the magnetic poles. Therefore, in order to insert the gate valve in the middle of the vacuum tunnel, the pitch between the magnetic poles of the levitation electromagnet of the levitation transfer system must be set larger than the above-mentioned length, which limits the freedom of design of the levitation transfer system. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and the removal of the gate valve for shutting off the vacuum tunnel can be carried out without moving the tunnel, and the transportation is easy for maintenance. The purpose is to provide a device. Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a transfer device in which the pitch between magnetic poles can be selected small even if a gate valve is inserted.

[0013]

A transport device of the present invention is a transport device for transporting an object to be transported in a tunnel surrounded by a partition wall in a state of being shielded from the outside air. A valve unit which has an opening at the bottom and shuts off the tunnel is attached through an airtight seal.

[0014]

The valve unit which has an opening above or below the end face of the tunnel and which shuts off the tunnel is attached via an airtight seal, so that the valve can be removed without moving the tunnel. As a result, maintenance becomes easy. Further, a flange for fastening the gate valve and the tunnel is not required, and the space for inserting the conventional gate valve can be reduced. Therefore, the pitch between the magnetic poles of the levitation electromagnet can be reduced by the length of the flange portion.

[0015]

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

FIG. 1 shows a transporting device for transporting an object to be transported in a tunnel 1 surrounded by a partition wall 2 in a state of being shielded from the outside air, and has an opening 17 below the end faces of the tunnels A and B. Gate valve 11 that shuts off the tunnel
Shows a structure in which is attached to the opening 17 via an airtight seal 20. The transfer device is a magnetic levitation transfer device. In the vacuum tunnel 1, a transfer table 3 provided with a magnetic material 4 is levitationally supported by a magnetic attraction force of a levitation electromagnet 5 and horizontally driven by a linear motor (not shown). Traveling is similar to that described in the related art.

In this embodiment, the end faces of the tunnel A and the tunnel B are directly connected, and the gate valve 11 is provided near the end face of the tunnel B. Gate valve 11
A valve body 22 is attached to a lower opening 17 near the end surface of the tunnel B via an airtight seal 20. That is, the flange portion 21 of the valve body 22 is fixed to the peripheral edge of the opening 17 on the lower surface of the tunnel B and hermetically sealed by the O-ring 20. When the valve valve element 14 is lowered, that is, when the valve 11 is open, the carrier table 3 can travel through the gate valve 11. When the valve body 14 rises and comes into close contact with the end surface 15, that is, when the valve 11 is closed, the tunnel A and the tunnel B are hermetically sealed by the O-ring 16 and shut off.

Further, in order to stabilize the levitation state of the carrier of the magnetic levitation carrier, it is necessary to make the magnetic pole spacing (pitch) of the levitation electromagnet 5 constant. Therefore, the floating magnetic pole spacing l _S is kept constant even at the insertion position of the gate valve 11. As shown in the figure, the length of the flange portion for fastening the conventional gate valve and tunnel is not required, and the space in the transport direction for inserting the gate valve can be reduced.

As described above, the gate valve 11 and the tunnel B are integrally formed, and the valve body 22 is attached to the lower surface of the opening 17 of the tunnel, whereby the maintenance of the gate valve 11 is facilitated. That is, when the gate valve 11 is removed for maintenance, the partition 2
The valve body 15 including the valve body 14 can be removed from the partition wall 2 of the tunnel B by removing the fastening of the flange 21 of the valve body 22 fixed to the. Further, after completion of maintenance work such as valve cleaning, the gate valve 11 can be attached only by fastening and fixing the valve body 22 to the peripheral edge of the opening 17 of the partition wall 2. When the gate valve is unnecessary, the opening 17 of the partition wall 2
By airtightly sealing and covering with a blind lid, it can function as a normal vacuum tunnel. in this way,
Since there is no need to shift the tunnel for maintenance, there is no effect on the entire transfer device,
Further, it is possible to eliminate the troublesome work such as adjusting the levitation electromagnet. Also, when adding a valve after installing the apparatus, it is convenient because it is not necessary to recreate the tunnel or change the entire arrangement including the process apparatus.

In this embodiment, the case where the tunnel partition wall has an opening on the lower surface has been described, but an opening may be provided on the tunnel upper surface and the gate valve may be attached from the tunnel upper surface. Also, an example has been described in which the atmosphere in the tunnel is a vacuum, but an inert gas atmosphere of high cleanliness may be used. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or corresponding constituent elements.

[0021]

As described above, the transfer device of the present invention has an opening near the end face of the tunnel, above or below, and is equipped with a valve unit for shutting off the tunnel via an airtight seal. Is. Therefore, when removing the gate valve for maintenance, the problem of having to shift the tunnel in the transport direction is solved,
A carrier device with good maintenance was provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of a gate valve in a transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an example of use of a transfer device, showing a state in which process devices are connected by a vacuum tunnel.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of a gate valve in a conventional transfer device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the tunnel is moved and the gate valve is removed in the transfer device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a surface of the magnetic levitation transport device perpendicular to the transport direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 tunnel 2 partition wall 3 carrier 5 floating electromagnet 11 gate valve 16,20 airtight seal 17 tunnel opening 22 valve body

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transport device for transporting an object to be transported in a tunnel surrounded by a partition wall in a state of being shielded from the outside air, having an opening portion above or below the end face of the tunnel, and A transfer device, wherein a gate valve for shutting off is attached to the opening through an airtight seal. 2. The transfer device comprises a displacement sensor for detecting a floating position of a transfer platform for transferring the transferred object with respect to the tunnel partition, and a floating electromagnet according to a difference between an output of the sensor and a target value. A magnetic levitation transfer apparatus including a control device for controlling a current flowing through a magnetic pole coil, a magnetic pole of an electromagnet that generates a levitation force on the transfer table by the current, and a linear motor that generates a propulsive force for moving the transfer table. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the displacement sensor, the magnetic poles of the levitation electromagnet, and the linear motor, which constitute the magnetic levitation transfer device, are arranged on the tunnel partition wall side. 4. The carrier device according to claim 1, wherein the atmosphere in which the outside air inside the tunnel is blocked is a vacuum.