JPH09275129A - Board carrier device and aligner using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid a trouble caused by idle carrying of a carrier hand. SOLUTION: A carrier hand 1 for chucking a wafer W, moves from a hole position P1 , toward a suction surface of a wafer chuck 2 and suction of the wafer chuck 2 is started in an intermediate position P2 . The intermediate position P2 is set based on rigidity of the carrier hand 1 and is set at a position which is before by a small distance from a position (wafer chuck position) P3 wherein the suction surface of the carrier hand 1 and the suction surface of the wafer chuck 2 coincide in a Z-axial direction and the carrier hand 1 elastically deforms for vacuum suction force of the wafer chuck 2 and brings the wafer W1 into contact with the wafer chuck 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus such as an X-ray exposure apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device and an exposure apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art X for manufacturing semiconductor devices and the like
The line exposure apparatus carries a wafer, which is a substrate, into a decompression chamber maintained in a decompression atmosphere such as helium gas in order to prevent attenuation of X-rays as exposure light, and performs exposure there.

FIG. 9 shows a general example of such an X-ray exposure apparatus. From a carry-in / out port (not shown) to a decompression chamber H _0.
The wafer W ₀ carried in is first subjected to a known positioning (pre-alignment) for detecting the orientation flat F ₀ of the wafer W _{0 at} the pre-alignment station A ₀ . Pre-alignment station A ₀
The wafer W ₀ whose positioning has been completed in step ₁ is attracted to the transfer hand 101 and transferred to the exposure station B ₀ ,
The wafer is transferred to the wafer chuck 102 of the positioning stage S ₀ of the exposure station B ₀ . The wafer chuck 102 that has attracted the wafer W ₀ is moved by a drive unit described later, and after aligning the wafer W ₀ with an X-ray or a mask (not shown), exposure is performed.

After the exposure, the wafer W ₀ is again attracted to the transfer hand 101 and transferred to a predetermined standby position or the above-mentioned loading / unloading port.

The decompression chamber H ₀ is kept in a predetermined decompression state by a decompression chamber exhaust line (not shown), and the transfer hand 101 and the wafer chuck 102 are also kept.
Has an internal pipe or the like for generating a vacuum suction force for sucking the wafer W ₀ on each surface, and these are respectively connected to the vacuum pump D ₀ via the transfer hand exhaust line 101a and the wafer chuck exhaust line 102a. It is connected. The wafer W ₀ is transferred by the transfer hand exhaust line 101a and the wafer chuck exhaust line 102a.
1. An on-off valve 101c having pressure sensors 101b and 102b for confirming the suction state when sucked by the wafer chuck 102, and opening and closing the transfer hand exhaust line 101a and the wafer chuck exhaust line 102a, respectively.
102c is, as described later, each pressure sensor 101b,
Output of 102b and transfer hand 101 and wafer chuck 1
It is opened and closed based on the position information of 02.

The drive unit of the transfer hand 101 reciprocates between the pre-alignment station A ₀ and the exposure station B ₀ along the guide rail 110 extending in the lateral direction (X-axis direction) in the decompression chamber H ₀ . And a Z stage 112 that moves back and forth in the Z axis direction toward the positioning stage S ₀ of the pre-alignment station A ₀ or the exposure station B ₀ on the transport hand carrier 111.

As shown in FIG. 8, the positioning stage S ₀ of the exposure station B ₀ includes an X stage 121 which moves along a guide rail 120 extending in the X axis direction in the decompression chamber H ₀ , and a Y stage on the X stage 121. Wafer chuck 10
2 has a Y stage 122 for moving, and at an upper exposure position (not shown), the X stage 121 and the Y stage 122 perform step movement for sequentially moving each exposure field angle of the wafer W _{0 to} the X-ray irradiation region. In addition, before and after exposure, the wafer chuck 102 is lowered to move to a wafer transfer position below in the drawing.

Next, the process of transferring the wafer W ₀ between the wafer chuck 102 and the transfer hand 101 at the wafer transfer position will be described.

The wafer W _{0 which} has completed the pre-alignment at the pre-alignment station A ₀ is attracted by the transfer hand 101 and moves in the X-axis direction, and stops at the home position P ₁ facing the wafer chuck 102. Such movement of the transport hand 101 is performed by the transport hand carrier 111 moving in the X-axis direction along the guide rail 110.

Subsequently, when the Z stage 112 is driven and the transfer hand 101 moves toward the wafer chuck 102 and reaches a predetermined intermediate position P ₂ before the wafer W ₀ contacts the surface of the wafer chuck 102. This is detected by the position sensor 130 and the wafer chuck 1
02 adsorption is started. That is, the opening / closing valve 102c (see FIG. 9) of the wafer chuck exhaust line 102a is opened, and the vacuum suction force by the vacuum pump D ₀ is generated on the surface of the wafer chuck 102. Subsequently, when the Z stage 112 is driven to reach the wafer chuck position P ₃ where the wafer W ₀ comes into contact with the surface of the wafer chuck 102, the movement of the transfer hand 101 is once stopped, and the surface pressure of the wafer chuck 102 is stopped. Pressure sensor 10 for detecting changes
It is confirmed by 2b that the wafer W ₀ is adsorbed on the surface of the wafer chuck 102, and then the on-off valve 101c of the transfer hand exhaust line 101a is closed. As a result, the vacuum suction force on the surface of the transport hand 101 is released, and the transport hand 101 continues to move in the Z-axis direction,
It stops at the stop position P ₄ on the back side of the wafer chuck 102. The reason why the suction of the wafer chuck 102 is started when the transfer hand 101 reaches the intermediate position P ₂ between the home position P ₁ and the wafer chuck position P ₃ is as follows.

The transfer hand 101 is attached to the wafer chuck 102.
If the wafer W ₀ is deformed such as warped when it is configured to start suctioning of the wafer chuck 102 after being stopped at the wafer chuck position P ₃ in contact with
Before the transfer hand 101 reaches the wafer chuck position P ₃ , a part of the wafer W ₀ hits the surface of the wafer chuck 102, and the impact causes the wafer W ₀ to separate from the transfer hand 101 and fall. Therefore,
When the wafer W ₀ approaches the surface of the wafer chuck 102 by a predetermined distance, suction of the wafer chuck 102 is started, and while the transfer hand 101 moves from the intermediate position P ₂ to the wafer chuck position P ₃ , the transfer hand 101 and the wafer A vacuum suction force is generated on both the chucks 102. Even if a part of the wafer W ₀ hits the wafer chuck 102 before the transfer hand 101 stops at the wafer chuck position P ₃ and the wafer W ₀ is separated from the transfer hand 101, the wafer W ₀ is still adsorbed by the wafer chuck 102, and therefore may not fall. Absent.

[0012]

However, according to the above conventional technique, the transfer hand 101 is damaged due to a power failure accident or the like.
When the wafer W is stopped between the intermediate position P ₂ and the wafer chuck position P _{3, one} of the transfer hand 101 and the wafer chuck 102 may be in an empty state without the wafer W ₀ being transferred. That is, in the X-ray exposure apparatus or the like, the transfer hand 101 or the wafer chuck 102
Since the wafer W ₀ is held vertically, the wafer W ₀ drops immediately when the vacuum pump D ₀ is stopped due to a power failure accident or the like during the transfer work. To prevent this, an uninterruptible power supply is provided so that the operation of the vacuum pump D ₀ can be continued even if the main power supply of the exposure apparatus fails.

However, as described above, the transport hand 101
If a power failure occurs while moving between the intermediate position P ₂ and the wafer chuck position P ₃ , the transfer hand 101 is stopped, while the operation of the vacuum pump D ₀ is continued by the uninterruptible power supply to attract the wafer W ₀ . Wafer chuck 10 without doing
The so-called emptying state in which the vacuum suction force of 2 is generated lasts for a long time, which causes the atmospheric pressure in the decompression chamber H ₀ to significantly decrease, and finally the pressure on the suction surface of the transfer hand 101 and the decompression chamber H. _The vacuum suction force due to the difference in atmospheric pressure of ₀ becomes zero, and the wafer W ₀ drops.

Also in the normal wafer W ₀ delivery operation other than during such a power failure, the wafer chuck 102 takes a short time until the transfer hand 101 moves from the intermediate position P ₂ to the wafer chuck position P _3. the sinking occurs and this is for changing the ambient pressure in the vacuum chamber H _0, control atmosphere pressure in the vacuum chamber H ₀ there are unsolved problem that becomes complicated.

Further, since one vacuum pump D ₀ exhausts both the transfer hand exhaust line 101a and the wafer chuck exhaust line 102a, a large pump capacity is taken into consideration in consideration of the emptying of the wafer chuck 102. Must be set.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned unsolved problems of the prior art, and prevents occurrence of an idle drawing state of a wafer chuck, a transfer hand or the like during a work of transferring a substrate such as a wafer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-performance substrate transfer apparatus that can perform the above-described operation and an exposure apparatus using the same.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention is a drive device for moving a transfer hand and a substrate holding plate, each of which is capable of adsorbing a substrate by an adsorbing device, and a method for moving the both toward and away from each other. Means for detecting the distance between the transfer hand and the substrate holding plate when the distance between the transfer hand and the substrate holding plate is reduced to a predetermined value or less based on the rigidity and suction force of the transfer hand, and the suction means includes: It is characterized in that the suction of one of the transfer hand and the substrate holding plate is started based on the output of the detection means, and then the suction of the other is stopped.

It is preferable that the detecting means has a position sensor for detecting a relative positional relationship between the transport hand and the substrate holding plate.

The detecting means may have a pair of sensors for respectively detecting the distance between the substrate and the substrate holding plate and the distance between the substrate and the transfer hand.

Further, there are provided a transport hand and a substrate holding plate which are each capable of attracting a substrate by suction means, a drive means for moving the substrates closer to and away from each other, and a detection means for detecting elastic deformation of the transport hand due to delivery of the substrate. Then, the suction means is configured to start suction of one of the transfer hand and the substrate holding board based on the output of the detection means, and stop the suction of the other. It may be a substrate transfer device.

It is preferable that the transport hand locally has an elastic portion having low rigidity.

[0022]

When the substrate such as the wafer sucked by the transfer hand is transferred to the substrate holding plate, the substrate starts to be sucked before the substrate reaches the sucking surface of the substrate holding plate, and the substrate comes into contact with the substrate holding plate. After confirming that it has been sucked, the suction of the transport hand is stopped. This is to prevent the accidental fall of the board during the transfer work of the board, but if the suction is started before the board comes into contact with the board holding plate, the suction force of the board holding plate remains without being picked up. When the transfer hand stops moving due to a power failure or the like in this state, the atmospheric pressure in the decompression chamber, etc. decreases, and the suction force of the transfer hand decreases relatively. It causes troubles such as the substrate dropping.

Therefore, at the same time when the suction of the substrate holding plate is started, the separation distance at which the substrate comes into contact with the substrate holding plate by the elastic deformation of the transfer hand and is sucked is calculated based on the rigidity and the suction force of the transfer hand. When the substrates reach the separation distance, this is detected and the suction of the substrate holding plate is started. In this way, it is possible to avoid emptying in which the suction force is generated without the substrate holding board adsorbing the substrate, resulting in accidental dropping of the substrate in the event of a power failure or inaccurate pressure control of the decompression chamber. It is possible to prevent such troubles. Similar control is performed when the substrate is transferred from the substrate holding board to the transfer hand.

Further, there are provided a transport hand and a substrate holding plate which are each capable of attracting a substrate by suction means, a drive means for moving the substrates closer to and away from each other, and a detection means for detecting elastic deformation of the transport hand due to delivery of the substrate. Then, the suction means is configured to start suction of one of the transfer hand and the substrate holding board based on the output of the detection means, and stop the suction of the other. In the case of the substrate transfer device, the contact of the substrate with the transfer hand or the substrate holding plate is detected by the elastic deformation of the transfer hand and then the suction force is generated to generate the suction force in the same manner as above. The empty state can be avoided.

By using such a substrate transfer device,
A highly safe and high-performance exposure apparatus can be realized.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view showing a substrate transfer apparatus according to the first embodiment. A wafer W ₁ which is a substrate loaded into a decompression chamber from an unillustrated loading / unloading port is first transferred to an unillustrated prealignment station. Wafer W
Known positioning (pre-alignment) for detecting the orientation flat of ₁ is performed. Wafer W that has been positioned in the pre-alignment station
₁ is absorbed by the transport hand 1 and exposed to the exposure station B ₁
And is transferred to the wafer chuck 2 which is the substrate holding plate of the positioning stage S ₁ . The wafer chuck 2 that has adsorbed the wafer W ₁ is moved upward in the figure by a drive unit described later to align the wafer W ₁ with the optical path of X-rays and a mask (not shown).

After the exposure, the wafer W ₁ descends to the original position, is again attracted to the transfer hand 1 and is transferred to a predetermined standby position or the above-mentioned carry-in / out port.

The decompression chamber is kept in a predetermined decompression state by a decompression chamber exhaust line (not shown), and the transfer hand 1 and the wafer chuck 2 have a suction force for adsorbing the wafer W ₁ on their surfaces. It has internal pipes and the like for generating a vacuum suction force, and these are connected to a vacuum pump D ₁ via a transfer hand exhaust line 1a and a wafer chuck exhaust line 2a, respectively. The transfer hand exhaust line 1a and the wafer chuck exhaust line 2a, which constitute the suction means together with the internal piping, are connected to the wafer W.
₁ has pressure sensors 1b and 2b for confirming when the carrier 1 and the wafer chuck 2 are attracted to the carrier hand 1,
The on-off valves 1c and 2c for opening and closing the transfer hand exhaust line 1a and the wafer chuck exhaust line 2a are respectively output from the pressure sensors 1b and 2b and the transfer hand 1 as will be described later.
It is opened and closed based on the position information of the wafer chuck 2.

The drive unit of the transfer hand 1 has a pre-alignment station and an exposure station B ₁ along a guide rail 10 extending laterally (X-axis direction) in the decompression chamber.
And a Z stage 12 which is a driving means for moving back and forth in the Z-axis direction toward the positioning stage S ₁ of the pre-alignment station or exposure station B ₁ on the transport hand carrier 11. The positioning stage S ₁ has an X stage 21 that moves along a guide rail 20 that extends in the X axis direction in the decompression chamber, and a Y stage 22 that moves the wafer chuck 2 in the Y axis direction on the X stage 21. The stage 21 and the Y stage 22 perform step movement for sequentially moving each exposure field angle of the wafer W ₁ to the irradiation region in the X-ray direction. Also,
The Y stage 22 serves to move the wafer chuck 2 up and down between an upper exposure position (not shown) and a lower wafer transfer position (not shown) before and after exposure.

Next, the process of transferring the wafer W ₁ between the wafer chuck 2 and the transfer hand 1 at the wafer transfer position will be described. The wafer W _{1 that} has undergone pre-alignment at the pre-alignment station is attracted by the transfer hand 1 and moves in the X-axis direction, and stops at the home position P ₁ facing the wafer chuck 2. Such movement of the transport hand 1 is performed by moving the transport hand carrier 11 along the guide rail 10 in the X-axis direction.

Subsequently, the Z stage 12 is driven to move the transfer hand 1 toward the wafer chuck 2, and the position of the suction surface of the transfer hand 1 in the Z-axis direction coincides with the suction surface of the wafer chuck 2. At the predetermined intermediate position P ₂ before reaching the position P ₃ , this is detected by the position sensor 30 which is a detecting means, and the opening / closing valve 2c of the wafer chuck exhaust line 2a is opened to open the wafer chuck 2
To start the adsorption. The intermediate position P ₂ is at the transfer hand 1
Even if the wafer W has not reached the wafer chuck position P ₃ , the wafer W ₁ comes into contact with the wafer chuck 2 immediately after being attracted by the bending (elastic deformation) generated in the transfer hand 1 by the vacuum suction force of the wafer chuck 2. The position to be selected is selected by the method described later.

That is, the distance between the intermediate position P ₂ and the wafer chuck position P ₃ is set such that the wafer W ₁ is sucked onto the suction surface of the wafer chuck 2 at the same time when the suction of the wafer chuck 2 is started. It is set to a predetermined value that can avoid the state.

The transport hand 1 is stopped at the intermediate position P ₂ ,
After confirming that the wafer W ₁ is adsorbed on the wafer chuck 2 by the pressure sensor 2b, the on-off valve 1c of the transfer hand exhaust line 1a is closed to release (stop) the adsorption of the transfer hand 1, and the transfer hand continues. 1 is moved in the Z-axis direction and stopped at the stop position P ₄ . After that, the Y stage 22 of the positioning stage S ₁ is moved upward in the drawing (Y-axis direction), and exposure light is generated from a light source which is an exposure means (not shown) to start exposure.

Instead of starting the suction of the wafer chuck 2 and then stopping the transfer hand 1 at the intermediate position P ₂ as described above, after stopping the transfer hand 1 at the intermediate position P ₂ , the on-off valve 2c is turned on. The wafer chuck 2 may be opened and suction of the wafer chuck 2 may be started.

Next, a method of selecting the intermediate position P ₂ will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, when the vacuum chucking force F ₀ is generated on the wafer chuck 2, the suction force F acting on the wafer W ₁ moving forward toward the vacuum chucking force F ₀ is generated between the suction surfaces of the transfer hand 1 and the wafer chuck 2. The curve V ₁ changes with the distance G.
Varies along. For example, when the transport hand 1 and the wafer chuck 2 is in the distance Ga, transported for vacuum suction force of the wafer chuck 2 which acts on the wafer W ₁ Hand 1
Elastically deforms and the separation distance between the wafer W ₁ and the wafer chuck 2 decreases by ΔGa. That is, the transfer hand 1 is located at the separation distance Ga, and the wafer W ₁ is in an empty state in a state of being close to the wafer chuck 2 by a minute distance ΔGa corresponding to elastic deformation of the transfer hand 1. Wafer W in this state
The ratio between the suction force Fa acting on ₁ and the minute distance ΔGa represents the rigidity k of the transport hand 1, and the following relationship is established.

Fa / ΔGa = k (1) That is, the intersection C between the straight line Q having an inclination angle corresponding to the rigidity of the transfer hand 1 and the curve V ₁ represents the balance position of the wafer W _1. Is. Note that when the conductance of the capacity and the pipe of the vacuum pump D ₁ is small, the attraction force F acting on the wafer W ₁ when the distance of the wafer W ₁ and the wafer chuck 2 are the same, becomes smaller than the curve V ₁ It becomes like a curved line V ₂ shown by a broken line.

[0038] When the transport hand 1 comes close to the distance Gb the wafer chuck 2 moves forward in the Z-axis direction, the suction force F of the curve V ₁ which acts on the straight line Q and the wafer W ₁ representing the stiffness of the transfer hand 1 There is no intersection between and, and the suction force F exceeds the spring force of the transfer hand 1 to attract the wafer W ₁ .
That is, even if the separation distance between the transfer hand 1 and the wafer chuck 2 is Gb, the wafer W ₁ is in contact with the wafer chuck 2, and therefore the wafer chuck 2 is not pulled.

Therefore, the separation distance between the intermediate position P _{2 at} which the suction of the wafer chuck 2 is started and the wafer chuck position P ₃ is set to the curve V ₁ of the suction force F acting on the wafer W ₁ to determine the rigidity of the transfer hand 1. It is set to a value that is slightly smaller than the distance between the transfer hand 1 and the wafer chuck 2 when the straight line A that is inscribed is circumscribed. When the vacuum suction force of the wafer chuck 2 is generated at the intermediate position P ₂ thus set,
Almost at the same time, the wafer W ₁ can be attracted to the wafer chuck 2 to avoid the empty state.

The wafer W ₁ transferred to the wafer chuck 2 by the transfer hand 1 often has a warp of about 100 μm due to thermal strain or the like in the previous process. Therefore, it goes without saying that it is necessary to consider such warpage of the wafer W ₁ when selecting the intermediate position P ₂ .

The delivery of the wafer W ₁ after the exposure is performed as follows. The positioning stage S ₁ is driven to lower the wafer W ₁ to the delivery position, and the transfer hand 1 retracted to the stop position P ₄ is moved in the opposite direction to the above. When the transfer hand 1 reaches the set separation distance from the wafer chuck position P _{3 in the} same manner as described above, the position sensor 30 detects this and starts the suction of the transfer hand 1. Since the substrate holding plate and the transfer hand have different conductances, the separation distance has different values when the wafer is transferred from the substrate holding plate to the transfer hand and when the wafer is transferred from the transfer hand to the substrate holding plate. The separation distance is set to a value newly obtained by the same method as that described above. After that, the transfer hand 1 is stopped, the suction of the wafer W ₁ is confirmed by the pressure sensor 1c, and then the vacuum suction force of the wafer chuck 2 is released.
Restart the axial movement.

According to the substrate transfer apparatus of this embodiment, it is possible to reliably prevent the wafer from dropping during the wafer transfer work between the transfer hand and the wafer chuck.
At the same time as the start of suction on the receiving side, the wafer is sucked onto the suction surface to avoid the emptying state, and the atmospheric pressure of the decompression chamber changes due to the emptying of the transfer hand and the wafer chuck during power outages, and Trouble such as falling can be prevented.

Further, since it is not necessary to increase the capacity of the vacuum pump in consideration of the emptying state, it is possible to facilitate the simplification and downsizing of the substrate transfer apparatus by using the vacuum pump having a small capacity.

By using such a substrate transfer device,
A highly safe and high-performance exposure apparatus can be realized.

The above wafer transfer process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3A, first, a case where the wafer is transferred from the transfer hand to the wafer chuck will be described. The transfer hand is moved to the home position (step 31), and the transfer hand is moved toward the wafer chuck (step 32). Monitor the output (step 3
3) Based on the output of the position sensor, it is detected that the transfer hand has reached the intermediate position, and suction of the wafer chuck is started (step 34). The transport hand is stopped (step 35) and the suction of the transport hand is released (step 3).
6), move the transport hand to the stop position (step 3)
7).

When transferring the wafer from the wafer chuck to the transfer hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is confirmed that the transfer hand is at the stop position (step 41), and the Y stage is lowered to move the wafer. The chuck is positioned at the wafer transfer position (step 42). Then, the transfer hand is moved toward the wafer chuck (step 43),
The output of the position sensor is monitored in order to determine whether or not the area will not be idle during movement (step 44), and suction of the transport hand is started based on the output of the position sensor (step 45). Stop the transport hand (step 4
6) Release the suction of the wafer chuck (Step 4
7) Move the transport hand to the home position (step 4)
8).

FIG. 4 shows a modified example in which a wafer W is transferred from the transfer hand 1 to the wafer chuck 2 instead of the position sensor 30 which detects the position of the transfer hand 1 in the process of moving the transfer hand 1 back and forth in the Z-axis direction. detecting the proximity of the wafer W ₁ by a sensor 41 disposed in the wafer chuck 2 when passing _1, sensor 42 disposed in the transport hand 1 when the from the wafer chuck 2 delivers the wafer W ₁ to the transfer hand 1 Is configured to detect the approach of the wafer W ₁ .

That is, by directly detecting the position of the wafer W ₁ , it is detected that the transfer hand 1 has reached a predetermined intermediate position P ₂ , and suction on the side receiving the wafer W ₁ is started.

Position sensor 30, each pressure sensor 4
1, 42 may be a general position sensor, or may be an on / off type photosensor or the like that outputs an intermediate position P ₂ when the wafer W ₁ or the transfer hand 1 crosses it. . Further, the number of the position sensor 30 and the pressure sensors 41 and 42 is not limited to one,
Although any number may be used, it is particularly desirable to dispose three wafers along the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W ₁ .

FIG. 5 shows a substrate transfer apparatus according to the second embodiment, which is a local area between a head portion 51a of a transfer hand 51 for adsorbing a wafer W ₂ and a base portion 51b integral with a Z stage 52. The plate spring 51c, which is an elastic portion having low rigidity, is provided, and the contact of the wafer W ₂ attracted to the transfer hand 51 with the wafer chuck 2 is directly detected by elastic deformation of the plate spring 51c. Is. The elastic deformation of the leaf spring 51c is detected by measuring the relative displacement between the head portion 51a and the base portion 51b of the transport hand 51 by a sensor 53 which is a detecting means.

In this way, the empty state is avoided by detecting the contact of the wafer W ₂ with the wafer chuck 2 based on the output of the sensor 53 and starting the adsorption thereof. The same applies when the wafer W ₂ is transferred from the wafer chuck 2 to the transfer hand 51. Since the wafer chuck 2, the positioning stage S _{1 and the} like are the same as those in the first embodiment, they are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Since this embodiment directly detects the contact of the wafer with the transfer hand or the wafer chuck, it has an advantage that it can be applied to wafers of any shape.

Next, an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using the above-mentioned exposure apparatus will be described. FIG. 6 shows a flow of manufacturing a semiconductor device (semiconductor chip such as IC or LSI, liquid crystal panel, CCD, thin film magnetic head, micromachine, etc.). In step S11 (circuit design), a semiconductor device circuit is designed. Step S12
In (mask production), a mask on which a designed circuit pattern is formed is produced. On the other hand, step S13 (wafer manufacture)
Then, a wafer that is a substrate is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step S14 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by lithography using the prepared mask and wafer. The next step S15 (assembly) is called a post-process, and is a process of forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer manufactured in step S14, and includes processes such as an assembly process (dicing and bonding) and a packaging process (chip encapsulation). including. In step S16 (inspection), step S1
An inspection such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test of the semiconductor device manufactured in 5 is performed. Through these steps, the semiconductor device is completed and shipped (step S17).
Is done.

FIG. 7 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. In step S21 (oxidation), the surface of the wafer is oxidized. In step S22 (CVD), an insulating film is formed on the wafer surface. In step S23 (electrode formation), electrodes are formed on the wafer by vapor deposition. Step S24
In (ion implantation), ions are implanted into the wafer. In step S25 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. In step S26 (exposure), the circuit pattern of the mask is printed and exposed on the wafer by the exposure apparatus described above. In step S27 (developing), the exposed wafer is developed. In step S28 (etching), portions other than the developed resist image are removed. In step S29 (resist stripping), unnecessary resist after etching is removed. By repeating these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer.
By using the manufacturing method of this embodiment, it is possible to manufacture a highly integrated semiconductor device which has been conventionally difficult to manufacture.

[0055]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

It is possible to avoid the occurrence of an empty state of the wafer chuck, the transfer hand, etc. during the work of transferring the substrate such as the wafer. This prevents troubles such as dropping of the substrate during the substrate transfer operation and inaccurate pressure control of the decompression chamber, and a highly safe and high-performance exposure apparatus can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view showing a substrate transfer device according to a first embodiment.

2 is a graph showing the relationship between the rigidity of the transfer hand and the suction force acting on the wafer in the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a wafer transfer process performed by the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic elevational view showing a substrate transfer device according to a modification.

FIG. 5 is a schematic elevational view showing a substrate transfer device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a wafer process.

FIG. 8 is a schematic elevational view showing a substrate transfer device according to a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a schematic elevational view showing an exposure apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 51 Transfer hands 1b, 2b Pressure sensor 1c, 2c Open / close valve 2 Wafer chuck 12 Z stage 30 Position sensor 41, 42, 53 Sensor 51c Leaf spring

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H01L 21/027 H01L 21/30 502J

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A transfer hand and a substrate holding plate, each of which is capable of adsorbing a substrate by an adsorbing device, a driving device for moving the substrate and the substrate holding plate toward and away from each other, and a separation distance between the transfer hand and the substrate holding plate. It has a detection means for detecting it when it is reduced to a predetermined value or less based on rigidity and suction force, and the suction means is one of the transfer hand and the substrate holding plate based on the output of the detection means. The substrate transfer apparatus is configured to start the suction of the other and stop the other suction. 2. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection means has a position sensor for detecting a relative positional relationship between the transfer hand and the substrate holding plate. 3. The detection means has a pair of sensors for respectively detecting a separation distance between the substrate and the substrate holding plate and a separation distance between the substrate and the transfer hand.
The substrate transfer apparatus described. 4. A transport hand and a substrate holding board, each of which is capable of attracting a substrate by suction means, a drive means for moving the substrates closer to and away from each other, and a detection means for detecting elastic deformation of the transport hand due to delivery of the substrate. Then, the suction means is configured to start suction of one of the transfer hand and the substrate holding board based on the output of the detection means, and stop the suction of the other. Substrate transfer device. 5. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the transfer hand locally has an elastic portion having low rigidity. 6. An exposure apparatus having the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 and an exposure unit configured to expose a substrate transferred by the substrate transfer apparatus.