JPH0986655A - Sample conveyer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive constitution in small size, and facilitate control of conveying action, so that a cycle time required for conveyance of a sample between a cassette and a loading base can be shortened, by arranging the first/second arms with a fixed space apart, and making the cassette and the loading base respectively vertically movable. SOLUTION: After ending inspection relating to a semiconductor wafer 22 of an inspection bed 23, the inspection bed 23 stops absorption to be lowered down. A waiting unloader arm 27 receives the semiconductor wafer 22 from the inspection bed 23 attracted. Thereafter, the wafer is conveyed to a work cassette 21, attraction is stopped, also the work cassette 21 is a little lifted by an elevator unit, and the semiconductor wafer 22 ending the inspection is stored. During this time, a loader arm 25 conveys the next semiconductor wafer 22 left as taken out to the inspection bed 23, the wafer is loaded on the inspection bed 23 stopping attraction to come rising. In this way, action of the unloader arm 27 and the loader arm 25 is partly duplicated, and treating is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sample transfer device for transferring a sample such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal display panel contained in a cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plurality of thin plate-shaped samples, for example, semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal display panels are taken out from a cassette that is stored in a stepped manner at regular intervals and are transported to a mounting table. As a transfer device for transferring to the cassette again, a transfer device provided with one transfer arm having a sample suction mechanism at the end of the arm has been generally used.

FIG. 7 shows the concept of the tact time required when a semiconductor wafer on the mounting table is conveyed back to the cassette, the next semiconductor wafer is taken out from the cassette and conveyed to the mounting table.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a cassette in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers are stored, which is vertically moved by an elevator unit, 2 is a mounting table for inspecting semiconductor wafers, 3
Is a transfer device having an arm that repeatedly executes the operation of taking out a semiconductor wafer from the cassette 1 and transferring it to the mounting table 2, and transferring the semiconductor wafer from the mounting table 2 to the cassette 1 for storage after the inspection is completed.

After completion of the inspection requiring time Tw, the arm receives the semiconductor wafer from the mounting table 2 and sucks it (t1),
After carrying to the cassette 1 (t2), stopping the suction and raising the cassette 1 slightly by the elevator unit to store the semiconductor wafer (t3), the cassette 1 is once moved from the position of the cassette 1 to receive the next semiconductor wafer. Exit and evacuate (t4).

After that, the cassette 1 is moved up and down by the elevator unit to the corresponding position of the next semiconductor wafer (t5
), The arm is again inserted into the cassette 1 to receive the next semiconductor wafer (t6), suction is started, and the cassette 1 is slightly lowered by the elevator unit to take out the next semiconductor wafer (t7). Table 2
It is conveyed to (t8), adsorption is stopped and the semiconductor wafer is placed (t9).

In the above-described transfer method, the semiconductor wafer is linearly reciprocally transferred between the cassette 1 and the mounting table 2 as shown in the figure. The above time "t
"1 + t2 + ... + t9" is TL, the time T1 required to inspect one semiconductor wafer is T1 = Tw + Tu + TL (1) (where Tu is the center position of the wafer on the mounting table or the position of the orientation flat). Etc.), and it is desirable for the person performing the inspection to reduce the free time "Tu + TL" in the time T1 as much as possible from the viewpoint of productivity.

Therefore, two arms for transferring semiconductor wafers are provided between the cassette 1 and the mounting table 2, while the semiconductor wafers on the mounting table 2 are transferred and stored in the cassette 1, and on the other hand, The semiconductor wafer to be inspected is taken out from the cassette 1 and transferred to the mounting table 2.
It is possible to shorten the time required for inspecting one semiconductor wafer by causing one operation to partially overlap in time.

FIG. 8 exemplifies the structure of a robot provided with two arms as described above. In the figure, 11 is a cassette, 12 is a mounting table, and 13 is a semiconductor wafer housed in the cassette 11. A robot 14 is arranged between the cassette 11 and the mounting table 12.

The body 14a of the robot 14 can be moved up and down by an elevation mechanism, and the body 1
Two arms 14b and 14c are arranged on the upper surface of 4a, and the semiconductor wafer 13 is transferred between the cassette 11 and the mounting table 12 by these arms 14b and 14c, respectively.

[0011]

However, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a gap between the cassette 11 and the mounting table 12.
When the robot 14 having the book arms 14b and 14c is arranged to transfer the semiconductor wafer 13, the arms 14b and 14c of the robot 14 respectively move the space between the cassette 11 and the mounting table 12 to the elevation mechanism of the body portion 14a. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the conveying operation without interfering with each other while adjusting the timing while moving up and down, and the firmware program for the operation becomes very complicated.

Further, by disposing the robot 14 between the cassette 11 and the mounting table 12, there arises a problem that the whole structure of the apparatus becomes large and complicated and becomes expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, has a small and inexpensive structure, can easily control the transfer operation, and can provide the tact time required for transferring the sample between the cassette and the mounting table. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sample transfer device that can be shortened as much as possible.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Elevation means for moving up and down a cassette containing a plurality of thin plate-shaped samples in a stepwise manner at regular intervals, at least a vertically movable mounting table for mounting the sample at a position apart from the cassette, and from the cassette A first arm for adsorbing the sample and transporting the sample to the mounting table, and a first arm arranged in the upper or lower direction at a predetermined interval, and adsorbing the sample from the mounting table. And a second arm for carrying to the cassette.

As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Since the first arm and the second arm are arranged at a constant interval like the thin plate sample stored in the cassette, and the cassette and the mounting table can be moved up and down, respectively. Arm simultaneously adsorbs the sample to the mounting table and conveys it to the cassette, and the first arm simultaneously adsorbs the next sample from the cassette and conveys it to the mounting table, partially overlapping and simultaneously processing. In addition, the tact time required for transporting the sample between the cassette and the mounting table can be significantly reduced while the transport operation is easily controlled by the small and inexpensive structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the first arm is laid parallel to a straight line connecting the central axis position of the sample stored in the cassette and the central axis position of the mounting table. The second arm is moved along a first guide rail, and the second arm is moved along a second guide rail laid parallel to the first card rail.

As a result, according to the invention of claim 2,
In addition to the operation of the invention described in claim 1, the first arm linearly extends along the first guide rail and the second arm linearly extends along the second guide rail between the cassette and the mounting table. Since it is moved, the takt time required for transporting the sample between the cassette and the mounting table can be significantly reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the tip portions of the first and second arms for adsorbing the sample are mounted at both ends thereof along the moving direction from the cassette to the mounting table. It has a semi-arcuate shape toward the table.

As a result, according to the invention of claim 3,
In addition to the action of the invention described in claim 1, even if each arm moves to the mounting table position due to the shape of the tip portion that adsorbs the sample, it does not interfere with the mounting table, and therefore the mounting table needs to be moved up and down unnecessarily. Therefore, the control of the transfer operation is facilitated, and the tact time required to transfer the sample between the cassette and the mounting table can be significantly reduced.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment) In the following, the present invention is applied to an inspection apparatus in which a semiconductor wafer is transferred from a work cassette in which it is stored to an inspection table which is a mounting table, and is returned to the work cassette for storage after the inspection is completed. One embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows its external appearance.
FIG. 1A is a top view, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing a main part of FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a work cassette, and this work cassette 21 is provided with comb-shaped projections on a pair of inner surfaces facing each other, and a plurality of, for example, about 20 sheets are mounted on these projections. The semiconductor wafers 22 are housed in a stepwise manner at regular intervals P. The work cassette 21 is vertically moved by an elevation mechanism (not shown) and can be stopped at any position.

Further, 23 is an inspection table as a mounting table, and a suction mechanism for mounting and fixing the semiconductor wafer 22 is constructed on the upper end surface thereof, and not only vertical movement but also rotation and tilting operation are possible. Has become.

Thus, the first guide rail 24 is arranged so as to be parallel to the straight line connecting the central position of the semiconductor wafer 22 housed in the work cassette 21 and the central position of the inspection table 23. First guide rail 24
Loader arm 2 as a first arm that moves along
5 are provided.

The loader arm 25 is for carrying the semiconductor wafer 22 housed in the work cassette 21 to the inspection table 23, and the tip thereof is in the shape of a semi-circle near the work cassette 21 side as shown in the figure. It has a shape, and a suction mechanism for suction-fixing the semiconductor wafer 22 is provided in this portion.

A second guide rail 26 is provided so as to be parallel to the first guide rail 24, and an unloader arm 27 as a second arm that moves along the second guide rail 26. Is provided.

The unloader arm 27 is used as an inspection table 23.
The semiconductor wafer 22 placed on the work cassette 2
It is for carrying and storing it up to 1, and like the loader arm 25, its tip has a semi-arcuate shape which is close to the work cassette 21 side as shown in the drawing.
A suction mechanism for suction-fixing the semiconductor wafer 22 is provided in this portion.

However, as shown in FIG. 3B, the unloader arm 27 is arranged downward from the loader arm 25 at a constant interval P which is the same as the storage interval of the semiconductor wafers 22. Even if they move, they do not interfere with each other.

The inspection table 23 has a suction mechanism for sucking and fixing the semiconductor wafer 22 on the upper end surface thereof as described above, and extends from a position below the upper surface of the unloader arm 27 to a position above the upper surface of the loader arm 25. Is at least in a vertically movable range, and is located above the upper surface of the loader arm 25 when an inspection is performed with the semiconductor wafer 22 placed. At this time, the unloader arm 27 is immediately below the semiconductor wafer 22 that is performing the inspection and is waiting for the end of the inspection.

At the end of the inspection, the inspection table 23 descends to a position below the upper surface of the unloader arm 27 while the semiconductor wafer 22 is placed on the inspection table 23.
When the suction of No. 2 is stopped, the inspected semiconductor wafer 22 placed on the inspection table 23 is delivered to the unloader arm 27.

After that, when the loader arm 25 carries the semiconductor wafer 22 to be inspected next in order to receive the next wafer 22 from the loader arm 25, the inspection table 23 moves to a position higher than the upper surface of the loader arm 25. To receive the semiconductor wafer 22.

A pair of centering blocks 28a and 28b and an orientation flat sensor 29 are provided to accurately position the semiconductor wafer 22 placed on the inspection table 23.

The centering blocks 28a and 28b both protrude from the lower side in a state where the suction fixing of the semiconductor wafer 22 by the inspection table 23 is temporarily stopped, and then the inspection table 2 is formed.
3 so that the center position of the semiconductor wafer 22 placed on the wafer 3 is correctly aligned with the center position of the inspection table 23, the wafers 22 are arranged 180 ° opposite to each other, and the semiconductor wafer 22 is sandwiched between the respective predetermined positions. To the center position of the inspection table 23.

The orientation flat sensor 29 is composed of, for example, a reflection type photo sensor in which an LED and a light receiving element are combined and detects the position of the orientation flat or notch of the semiconductor wafer 22 placed on the inspection table 23. Is for stopping the semiconductor wafer 22 at a preset angle.

Further, an illuminating device for irradiating the surface of the semiconductor wafer 22 mounted on the inspection table 23 with light from above to perform a visual inspection with a macro (visual eye) is also required.
Here, the illustration is omitted.

In the above structure, the semiconductor wafer 22 on the inspection table 23 is conveyed back to the work cassette 21, while the next semiconductor wafer 22 is taken out from the cassette 21 and conveyed to the inspection table 23. The tact time required for the operation when the device is placed will be considered with reference to the conceptual diagram of FIG.

While performing the inspection requiring the time Tw,
Semiconductor wafer 2 in which unloader arm 27 is inspected
While waiting for the end of the inspection at an appropriate interval below 2, the loader arm 25 enters the work cassette 21 to receive the next semiconductor wafer 22 (t6), starts suction, and the elevator unit works the work cassette. 21 is slightly lowered to adsorb and fix the next semiconductor wafer 22 (t7).

After the inspection of the semiconductor wafer 22 on the inspection table 23 is completed, the inspection table 23 stops adsorbing and descends, and the unloader arm 27 waiting stands to receive the semiconductor wafer 22 from the inspection table 23 and adsorb it. (T1
), It is conveyed to the work cassette 21 (t2), the suction is stopped, and the work cassette 21 is slightly lifted by the elevator unit to complete the inspection.
2 is stored (t).

During this time, the loader arm 25 conveys the next semiconductor wafer 22 that has been taken out to the inspection table 23 (t8), stops the suction, and places it on the ascended inspection table 23 (t9). ).

In the above-described transfer method, the semiconductor wafer 22 is transferred between the work cassette 21 and the inspection table 23 in a closed loop as shown in the figure. In this way, the semiconductor wafer 22 that has been inspected by the unloader arm 27 and the loader arm 25 is transferred and the work cassette 2 is transferred.
1 and storage of next semiconductor wafer 22 and inspection table 2
By simultaneously performing the mounting on the semiconductor wafer 3, the time T2 required to inspect one semiconductor wafer is T2 = Tw + Th + Tu (2) When Th in the equation (2) is disassembled, the time t1 for the unloader arm 27 to receive the inspected semiconductor wafer 22 from the inspection table 23, and the time t for the unloader arm 27 to transfer the semiconductor wafer 22 to the work cassette 21.
2 and the sum of time t9 when the loader arm 25 places the next semiconductor wafer 22 on the inspection table 23, "t1 + t2 + t9".
It will be. (T2 and t8 are performed simultaneously, and t3, t7
Is performed during Tw. ) Here, the difference between the time T1 required to inspect one semiconductor wafer and the time T2 when only one transfer arm shown in the equation (1) is used is calculated as follows: T1-T2 = Tw + Tu + TL- (Tw + Th + Tu) = Tw + t1 + t2 + ... + t9- (Tw + t1 + t2
+ T9) = t3 + t4 + t5 + t6 + t7 + t8.

That is, in the conventional one-arm transfer device, the time "t4 + t5 + t6 + t7" for receiving the semiconductor wafer from the cassette, the time "t3" for storing the semiconductor wafer in the cassette, and the transfer time "t8".
(Or t2) "is shown as the total time can be shortened.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the loader arm 25 and the unloader arm 27 are arranged vertically apart from each other by a predetermined distance P between the semiconductor wafers 22 housed in the work cassette 21. As a result, the unloader arm 27 stores the inspected semiconductor wafer 22 in the work cassette 21 and the loader arm 25 is stored in the loader arm 25 without wastefully moving the work cassette 21 up and down by the elevation mechanism. The operation of taking out the semiconductor wafer 22 to be inspected next can be simultaneously executed.

In the present embodiment, however, the loader arm 25 is located above the second guide rail 26, and the semiconductor wafers 22 housed in the work cassette 21 are successively arranged in order from the lowest position. Then, the unloader arm 27 is replaced by the loader arm 2
Work cassette 2
The semiconductor wafers 22 stored in 1 may be continuously inspected in order from the topmost one.

Further, the loader arm 25 and the unloader arm 27 are both at the tip of the semiconductor wafer 2 as shown in the figure.
The portion for adsorbing 2 has a semi-circular shape that is closer to the work cassette 21 side, and both ends of the circular arc are directed to the inspection table 23 side. Therefore, the loader arm 25 mounts the semiconductor wafer 22 on the inspection table 23. The loader arm 25 and the unloader arm 27 do not interfere with the inspection table 23 both when the semiconductor wafer 22 mounted on the semiconductor wafer 22 is received by the unloader arm 27. It is possible to quickly move to the position of the inspection table 23 without performing unnecessary operations such as temporarily lowering the inspection table 23 to temporarily pass the inspection table 23.

(Second Embodiment) Next, an apparatus obtained by developing the inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described as a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of an inspection apparatus using two cassettes, a work cassette 31 and a rework cassette 32. The semiconductor wafer 33 housed in the work cassette 31 is transferred to a setup table 36 which is a vertically movable and rotatable mounting table by a loader arm 35 which moves along a guide rail 34, and then is transferred to an elevation mechanism. It is further conveyed to the inspection table 38 by the attached loader rotating arm 37 which can be moved up and down. On the inspection table, the wafer surface is inspected by illumination light (not shown).

A wafer reversing arm 39 is provided between the inspection table 38 and the setup table 36 so that the semiconductor wafer 33 after the inspection mounted on the inspection table 38 can be turned over to inspect the back surface. There is.

Then, the wafer 33 is transferred to either the work cassette 31 or the rework cassette 32 depending on the inspection result. That is, as a result of the inspection, the semiconductor wafer 33 that has passed the inspection is the loader rotating arm 37.
After being conveyed to the setup table 36 by the unloader rotating arm 40 arranged coaxially with the guide rail 4 arranged parallel to the guide rail 34 from the setup table 36.
It is conveyed to the work cassette 31 and stored by the unloader arm 42 which moves along 1.

On the other hand, the semiconductor wafer 33 which has failed as a result of the inspection is directly conveyed from the inspection table 38 to the rework cassette 32 by the unloader arm 44 which moves along the guide rail 43, and is collected.

The pair of centering blocks 45a and 45b and the orientation flat sensor 4 are used to accurately position the semiconductor wafer 33 placed on the setup table 36.
And 6 are provided.

Further, an illuminating device for irradiating the surface of the semiconductor wafer 33 mounted on the inspection table 38 with light from above to perform a visual inspection with a macro (the naked eye) is also required.
Here, the illustration is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a drive mechanism for the loader rotating arm 37 and the unloader rotating arm 40.
Motor (M3) 52 for stay 51 fixedly installed
The elevator upper / lower base 54 is moved up and down by the ball screw 53 driven to rotate, and the loader rotary arm 37 and the unloader rotary arm 40 are coaxially attached to the upper / lower base 54.

In the loader rotating arm 37 and the unloader rotating arm 40, the respective arm portions at the tips for transferring the semiconductor wafers 33 are vertically spaced by the same distance as the distance between the semiconductor wafers 33 accommodated in the work cassette 31. With the pulleys 55, 5 on each shaft.
The motors (M1, M2) 57, 58 are individually rotated by the rotation of the motors 6, and as described above, since the respective arm portions at the tips are vertically spaced, they do not interfere with each other. It is like this.

A vacuum chuck for sucking the semiconductor wafer 33 is provided at the portions of the loader rotating arm 37 and the unloader rotating arm 40 on which the semiconductor wafer 33 is placed. The two arms 37 and 40 can alternately transfer the semiconductor wafer 33 from the setup table 36 to the inspection table 38 and conversely from the inspection table 38 to the setup table 36. The loader arms shown in FIG. 25 and the unloader arm 27, the loader rotation arm 37 is used when the semiconductor wafers 33 housed in the work cassette 31 are inspected in order, for example, in the order from the semiconductor wafer 33 located on the lower side. Is located above the unloader rotation arm 40.

In the above structure, the inspection table 38
Within the time for inspecting the semiconductor wafer 33 placed on the upper side, alignment adjustment of the semiconductor wafer 33 placed on the setup table 36 to be inspected next, specifically, centering and orientation. Positioning of a flat or the like is performed by the centering blocks 45a and 45b and the orientation flat sensor 46 in advance.

Therefore, when the inspection of the semiconductor wafer 33 placed on the inspection table 38 is completed, the semiconductor wafer 33 which has been inspected is unloader rotating arm 40 and unloader arm 42 or unloader arm 44.
Depending on the work cassette 31 or the rework cassette 3
At the same time, the semiconductor wafer 33, which has already been subjected to alignment adjustment and is placed on the setup table 36, is carried to the inspection table 38 by the loader rotation arm 37.

By doing so, it is possible to substantially eliminate the time required for alignment adjustment from the tact time required for inspecting one semiconductor wafer 33, and to shorten the tact time significantly.

Further, as described above, in the inspection apparatus according to FIG. 3, the return transportation of the semiconductor wafer 33 after the inspection to the original work cassette 31 and the other rework cassette 3 are performed.
The cassette-to-cassette transfer that can be transferred to 2 is possible, and since the closed-loop transfer is performed, waste of tact time can be significantly reduced.

Next, the operation of the loader rotating arm 37 and the unloader rotating arm 40 during the above inspection will be described. Semiconductor wafer 33 mounted on inspection table 38
When the inspection of 1 is completed, the semiconductor wafer 33 to be inspected next by the transport of the loader arm 35 has already been taken out from the work cassette 31 and placed on the setup table 36.

At this time, since the semiconductor wafer 33 is placed on both the setup table 36 and the inspection table 38, the person who inspects the semiconductor wafer 33 placed on the inspection table 38 as a result of the inspection. The next semiconductor wafer 3
When the instruction operation for requesting the inspection of No. 3 is performed, the elevator upper / lower table 54 rises correspondingly, and the two arms 40, 37 located below the setup table 36 and the inspection table 38 are correspondingly moved.
Also rises to receive the mounted semiconductor wafer 33.

Thereafter, the loader rotation arm 37 is attached to the inspection table 3
The unloader rotary arm 40 reaches the setup table 36 up to the position 8
To the position of the inspection table 38, and the semiconductor wafer 33 on the wafer reversing arm 39 is rotated to the position of the setup table 36 without interfering with each other.
To the position.

Then, the elevator upper / lower table 54 is lowered, and the two arms 37, 40 located above the inspection table 38 and the setup table 36 are also lowered, so that the semiconductor wafer 33 being conveyed is inspected. 38, and mount it on the setup table 36.

After that, the two arms 37 and 40 further continue to descend and stop, and then the loader rotation arm 37 rotates toward the setup table 36 and the unloader rotation arm 40 rotates toward the inspection table 38. In this way, one carrying process is completed.

Further, instead of the configurations of the loader rotating arm 37 and the unloader rotating arm 40 shown in FIG. 4, T-shaped arms 61 for mounting the semiconductor wafer 33 on both ends as shown in FIG. 5 are used. It may be what you had. In this case, since the arm 61 needs to rotate 180 ° for the transfer of the semiconductor wafer 33, the whole apparatus becomes large, but closed-loop transfer is possible and the takt time can be sufficiently shortened. .

The unloader arm 44 moves in parallel with the rework cassette 32 and the unloader arm 42 to convey the semiconductor wafer 33 on the inspection table 38 to the rework cassette 32.
Also, since it is driven in the vertical direction by an elevation mechanism different from the work cassette 31, the semiconductor wafer 33 can be accommodated by stopping at any designated position.

The unloader arm 44 and the rework cassette 32 are generally used to collect defective semiconductor wafers 33 that have failed the inspection, and by using such a classification function, they are judged to be non-defective. The processed semiconductor wafer 33 is stored in the original work cassette 31, while the semiconductor wafer 33 judged to be defective is reworked in the rework cassette 3.
2 can be collected.

FIG. 6 shows the inspection apparatus of FIG. 3 combined with a microscope block 71 having an electric stage. The loader rotating arm 37 transfers the microscope block 71 and the semiconductor wafer 33 as shown. become.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the semiconductor wafer is used as a sample to be transferred, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other thin plate samples such as a liquid crystal display panel can be similarly applied. Of course.

[0068]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the tact time required for carrying a sample between a cassette and a mounting table can be made with a compact and inexpensive structure, easy control of the carrying operation. It is possible to provide a sample transfer device that can be shortened as much as possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of tact time according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an external configuration according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a drive mechanism of the rotating arm of FIG.

5 is a side view illustrating another drive mechanism of the rotating arm of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an external configuration when combined with the microscope according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a tact time of a general sample transfer by one arm.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of a transfer device using a robot having two arms.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11 ... Cassette 2, 12 ... Mounting table 3 ... Transfer device 13, 22, 33 ... Semiconductor wafer 14 ... Robot 21, 31 ... Work cassette 23, 38 ... Inspection table 24, 26, 34, 41, 43 ... Guide rail 25, 35 ... Loader arm 27, 42, 44 ... Unloader arm 28a, 28b, 45a, 45b ... Centering block 29, 46 ... Orientation flat sensor 32 ... Rework cassette 36 ... Setup table 37 ... Loader rotation arm 39 ... Wafer reversing arm 40 ... Unloader rotating arm 51 ... Stay 52, 57, 58 ... Motor 53 ... Ball screw 54 ... Elevator upper / lower stand 55, 56 ... Pulley 61 ... (T-shaped) arm 71 ... Microscope block

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An elevation means for vertically moving a cassette containing a plurality of thin plate-shaped samples stored in a stepwise manner, and at least a vertically movable mounting table for mounting the sample at a position apart from the cassette. A first arm for adsorbing the sample from the cassette and transporting the sample to the mounting table; and a first arm arranged in the up or down direction at a predetermined interval from the first arm. And a second arm for adsorbing a sample and transferring the sample to the cassette. 2. The first arm moves along a first guide rail laid parallel to a straight line connecting the central axis position of the sample stored in the cassette and the central axis position of the mounting table. 2. The sample transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the second arm moves along a second guide rail laid parallel to the first card rail. 3. The tip portions of the first and second arms for adsorbing the sample have a semi-arcuate shape with both ends thereof facing the mounting table along the moving direction from the cassette to the mounting table. The sample transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein