JPH1012697A - Substrate loading/unloading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the area by which the finger of a substrate transportation robot contacts the work surface of a substrate. SOLUTION: When a substrate 2 is unloaded from a substrate cassette 1, the substrate 3 is pushed out with an auxiliary arm 33 of an auxiliary robot 32, and the side surfaces of the substrate 3 are held with a finder 31 of a substrate transportation robot 30. When the substrate 3 is housed in the substrate cassette 1, the finger 31 of the substrate transportation robot 30 is moved to a place where it is housed, and then the finger 31 is opened. Since the substrate cassette 1 is placed on a substrate cassette stage 2 while tilted by an angle θagainst horizontal direction, the substrate 3 moves to an original position owing to gravity in natural manner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate insertion / extraction device, and more particularly to a substrate insertion / extraction device for inserting / extracting a substrate stored in a substrate cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 11 is a view showing a configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus including a conventional substrate insertion / extraction apparatus.

[0003] In this figure, a substrate cassette 1 is mounted on a substrate cassette mounting table 2 and stores a plurality of substrates 3 with their front (front) surfaces up (up in the figure). doing. The substrate cassette 1 stores the substrates 3 so that the processing surface (the surface to be processed) of the substrates 3 is horizontal.

[0004] The substrate transport robot 4 is disposed on a surface plate 5, and transfers the substrates 3 stored in the substrate cassette 1 to each other.
The substrate 6 is vacuum-adsorbed one by one by the finger 6 and transferred to the processing stage 7 by moving the arm 11, and the substrate 3 after the processing is transferred from the processing stage 7 to the substrate cassette 1 and stored in the original position. It has been made like that. In the case where the processing of the back surface of the substrate 3 is performed, it is possible to turn the finger 6 upside down so that the back surface of the substrate 3 faces upward (upward in the figure).

[0005] The processing light source 8 irradiates a predetermined area on the processing stage 7 with light through the objective lens 9. The processing light source 8 and the objective lens 9 are
It is arranged on a gantry 10.

Next, the operation of this conventional example will be described.

When the substrate cassette 1 in which the substrates 3 are stored is placed on the substrate cassette mounting table 2, the substrate transfer robot 4 vacuum-adsorbs the front surface of the substrates 3 with the fingers 6 to perform processing. After being transported to the stage 7, it is arranged at a predetermined position on the processing stage 7. As a result, the substrate 3 is arranged on the stage 7 with its front (front) surface facing upward.

When the substrate 3 is placed on the processing stage 7, the processing light source 8 irradiates a predetermined area of the substrate 3 with light via the objective lens 9 and starts processing. At this time, the processing stage 7 moves in the horizontal direction and rotates in a horizontal plane so that a predetermined area of the substrate 3 is irradiated with light.

When the processing is completed, the substrate transfer robot 4 vacuum-adsorbs the front surface of the processed substrate 3 by the finger 6 and transports the substrate 3 to the substrate cassette 1 and then returns to the original place. Store with the surface up.

When such processing is repeated and the processing of the front side of all the substrates 3 stored in the substrate cassette 1 is completed, the processing of the back side of the substrate 3 is started. Is done.

That is, the substrate transport robot 4 takes out the back surface of the substrate 3 stored in the substrate cassette 1 by vacuum suction with the finger 6, and then reverses the substrate 3.
Transported to a predetermined position. As a result, the substrate 3 is placed on the processing stage 7 with the back surface facing up.

When the processing of the back surface is completed, the substrate transfer robot 4 sucks the back surface of the substrate 3 on the processing stage 7 by vacuum suction, transfers it to the substrate cassette 1, and stores it in the original place.

Such processing is repeated, and the processing of both surfaces of all the substrates 3 stored in the substrate cassette 1 is completed.

[0014]

In the above-described conventional substrate insertion / extraction apparatus, the front surface or the back surface of the substrate 3 is vacuum-sucked by the finger 6, so that the finger 6 comes into contact with the processed surface of the substrate 3. Therefore, when both surfaces of the substrate 3 are processed, there is a problem that dirt or the like adheres to the processed surface or is scratched.

Further, when the substrate 3 is inverted by the finger 6, there is a moment when the substrate 3 becomes vertical. At this time, there is a problem that the vacuum suction becomes unstable depending on the state of the processing surface of the substrate 3 and the state of the suction surface of the finger 6, and as a result, the substrate 3 may drop.

In order to solve the above problems, it is conceivable to use a substrate transport robot having fingers for gripping the substrate 3 on the side. However, the gap between the side surface of the substrate 3 and the substrate cassette 1 is set very small in order to prevent the substrate 3 from easily falling off. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to insert the finger into such a narrow gap.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and dust or the like adheres to the processed surface of the substrate 3.
This prevents scratches and prevents the substrate 3 from dropping and being damaged.

[0018]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate inserting / extracting device, comprising: gripping means for gripping a substrate on a side surface; and moving means for moving a substrate stored in a substrate cassette to a predetermined position of the gripping means. And characterized in that:

[0019]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of the configuration of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In this figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, as compared with the conventional example shown in FIG. 11, the substrate transfer robot 4 is replaced by a substrate transfer robot 30 (gripping means) having fingers 31 for gripping the substrate 3 on the side. An auxiliary robot 32 (moving means) having an auxiliary arm 33 that plays an auxiliary role when taking out the substrate 3 from the substrate cassette 1 is newly added. Further, the substrate cassette 1 is arranged in a state of being inclined by an angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG.

The auxiliary robot 32 is capable of moving the auxiliary arm 33 in the vertical direction (vertical direction in the figure) and the horizontal direction (horizontal direction in the figure), and is stored in the substrate cassette 1 by the auxiliary arm 33. The substrates 3 are extruded one by one toward the substrate transfer robot 30 side. The substrate transfer robot 30 holds the side of the substrate 3 pushed out by the auxiliary arm 33 of the auxiliary robot 32 with the finger 3
1 is used for gripping.

FIG. 2 shows a finger 31, an auxiliary arm 33,
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a substrate 3 and a substrate cassette 1.
As shown in this figure, the finger 31 is composed of two fingers 31-1 and 31-2,
The motor is opened and closed by a motor built in. When the substrate 3 is a semiconductor substrate, an orientation flat portion having a length 1 is formed in a part thereof. The length of each finger 31-1, 31-2 is longer than the length 1 of the orientation flat portion. (Ie, length AB> length CD (=
l)). The length of each finger 31-1 and 31-2 is configured to be longer than the length of 1/4 of the outer circumference (circumference) of the substrate 3 by m (one of the circumference of the substrate 3). / 2
The above portions are configured to contact the fingers 31-1 and 31-2).

With this configuration, even when the substrate 3 has an orientation flat portion, the substrate 3 can be securely held.
Further, according to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the substrate 3 from being distorted due to non-uniform gripping force applied to the substrate 3 by the orientation flat portion.

The length (length EF) of the portion of the auxiliary arm 33 in contact with the substrate 3 is configured to be longer than the length l of the orientation flat portion of the substrate 3 (that is, the length EF). > L). With this configuration, the auxiliary arm 33 moves the substrate 3 from the substrate cassette 1.
Can be reliably extruded. The auxiliary arm 33
The stroke when moving the substrate 3 is s.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The substrate cassette 1 is placed on the substrate cassette mounting table 2.
Is mounted, the processing is started. The auxiliary robot 32 moves the auxiliary arm 33 to the position of the first substrate 3. At this time, the substrate transfer robot 30 also moves the finger 31 to the position of the first substrate 3 and opens the finger 31 (a state shown in FIG. 3A).

Subsequently, the substrate transfer robot 30 further brings the finger 31 closer to the substrate cassette 1 and
Open (wait outside the substrate cassette 1). The auxiliary arm 33 of the auxiliary robot 32 is
The pushing operation of the first substrate 3 is started (FIG. 3
(State shown in (b)).

Incidentally, as shown in FIG.
Is sufficiently thinner than the distance p between two substrates 3 sandwiching one substrate 3 (２pitch of substrate 3 × 2), so that the auxiliary arm 33 is connected to the substrate cassette 1. Can be inserted smoothly. As shown in this figure, V-shaped grooves 35, 3 are formed in the finger 31 and the auxiliary arm 33.
6 are respectively formed, whereby the V-shaped grooves 35,
36 smoothly enters the substrate 3 into the
Can be reliably held. These V-shaped grooves 35,
The angle of the side surface (taper angle) of the 36 is, for example, about 10 ° with respect to the horizontal direction.

Subsequently, the auxiliary arm 33 further pushes out the substrate 3 and moves it to a predetermined position of the finger 31 (the state shown in FIG. 3C).

Then, the substrate transfer robot 30 closes the finger 31 and grips the substrate 3 from the side (the state shown in FIG. 3D).

The fingers 3 of the substrate transfer robot 30
The motor (not shown) incorporated in the drive unit 29 (see FIG. 2) that opens and closes the motor 1 can control the maximum output. By using such a motor, the gripping force (gripping force) can be adjusted according to the material and strength of the substrate 3, so that damage to the substrate 3 due to excessive gripping force can be prevented.

Then, the auxiliary robot 32 moves the auxiliary arm 33 backward. Further, the substrate transfer robot 30 starts the transfer while holding the substrate 3 (the state shown in FIG. 3E).

Thereafter, the substrate transfer robot 30 transfers the substrate 3 to the processing stage 7 and arranges the substrate 3 at a predetermined position on the processing stage 7.

Subsequently, the processing light source 8 irradiates a predetermined area of the substrate 3 arranged on the processing stage 7 with light through the objective lens 9 to start the processing. When the processing is completed, the substrate transfer robot 30 grasps the substrate 3 on the processing stage 7 by the finger 31 and
Transport to

The substrate transfer robot 30 moves the finger 31 to the place where the substrate 3 is stored. Then, the portion of the substrate 3 protruding from the finger 31 is inserted into the substrate cassette 1 and the finger 31 is opened. Since the substrate cassette 1 is mounted on the substrate cassette mounting table 2 inclined by θ (0 <θ ≦ 90) with respect to the horizontal direction, the substrate 3 naturally moves rightward (right direction in the drawing) by gravity. ) To start moving.

As shown in FIG. 5, a groove 40 having a depth d is formed on the inner side surface of the substrate cassette 1, and the horizontal width including the two grooves 40 on the side surface is r. Yes,
This is made slightly larger than the diameter of the substrate 3. Further, since the groove 40 is formed only halfway in the substrate cassette 1, when the substrate 3 reaches the vicinity of the center of the substrate cassette 1, the movement of the substrate 3 due to gravity is stopped and held there.

With the above series of operations, the processing of the first substrate 3 is completed. A similar operation is performed in a table (front) of all the substrates 3 stored in the substrate cassette 1.
The processing is performed on the surface, and the processing of the front (front) surface is completed.

Subsequently, the processing of the back surface of the substrate 3 is performed. In the processing of the back surface, the substrate 3 is inverted (the back surface is turned up) by the fingers 31 of the substrate transfer robot 30, and then the processing is performed. This is the same as the above-described case except that it is arranged on the stage 7.

When all the processing on the back surface is completed, the processing is completed.

According to the above embodiment, the finger 3
Since the area of the substrate 1 in contact with the processing surface of the substrate 3 can be reduced, it is possible to prevent dust from adhering and prevent the processing surface from being damaged. The finger 31 has a V-shaped groove 35 formed therein.
5, the substrate 3 can be securely held, so that it is possible to prevent the substrate 3 from falling even if the finger 31 is at any angle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a projection exposure apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In this figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the processing light source 8 and the objective lens 9 are replaced by an exposure light source 50, a light quantity control / light beam shaping optical system (hereinafter abbreviated as light quantity control system) 51, and a reduction projection lens 54. ing. Also, the substrate cassette 1
Stores a semiconductor substrate 34 having a processed surface coated with a photoresist. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG.

The exposure light source 50 reflects light such as ultraviolet light radiated from the light source 52 with a reflecting mirror and enters the light quantity control system 51. The light amount control system 51 adjusts the light amount of the incident light, shapes the light beam into a light beam having a predetermined cross-sectional shape, and causes the light beam to enter the reduction projection lens 54 via the mask 53. The reduction projection lens 54 irradiates a predetermined area of the semiconductor substrate 34 disposed on the processing stage 7 with a light beam incident from the light amount control system 51.

As described above, a photoresist is applied to the processed surface of the semiconductor substrate 34, and this photoresist undergoes decomposition or cross-linking reaction in accordance with the pattern of the light beam transmitted through the mask 53. So mask 5
3 is transferred onto the semiconductor substrate 34.

The operation of this embodiment is based on the semiconductor substrate 3
4 is the same as that of FIG. 1 except that the pattern of the mask 53 is projected and exposed, and a description thereof will be omitted.

According to such an embodiment, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is possible to prevent dust from being attached to the processing surface and to prevent scratching, and to apply the coating to the processing surface. It is possible to prevent the removed photoresist from coming into contact with the finger 31.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of another configuration of the projection exposure apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In this figure, FIG.
The same parts as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the substrate cassette 1 is disposed so as to be perpendicular to the horizontal direction (θ = 90 °). Similarly, the auxiliary robot 32 is also arranged so as to be perpendicular to the horizontal direction. The other configuration is the same as that shown in FIG.

In such an embodiment, when the fingers 31 are opened when the semiconductor substrate 34 after the exposure processing is stored in the substrate cassette 1, the semiconductor substrate 34 is compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. Fall at a large speed. Therefore, in order to prevent the semiconductor substrate 34 from being damaged by the impact of the drop, in this embodiment, the reverse sequence shown in FIG. 3 (the sequence of FIGS. 3E to 3A) is used.
The semiconductor substrate 34 is stored in the substrate cassette 1.

That is, in order to prevent the semiconductor substrate 34 from dropping suddenly, the auxiliary arm 33 is opened before the finger 31 is opened.
Is inserted into the substrate cassette 1 (the state shown in FIGS. 3E and 3D). When the finger 31 is opened (the state shown in FIG. 3C), the semiconductor substrate 34 is moved to a predetermined position by being led by the auxiliary arm 33 (FIG. 3B,
(State shown in (a)).

In such an embodiment, the force for moving the semiconductor substrate 34 into the substrate cassette 1 (in this case, the downward force) is maximized.
Even when the friction between the substrate cassette 4 and the groove 40 of the substrate cassette 1 is large, the semiconductor substrate 34 can be reliably stored to a predetermined position of the substrate cassette 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of another configuration of the substrate cassette.

The substrate cassette 70 holds the substrate 3 in a state where the processing surface of the substrate 3 is inclined by an angle θ (0 ° <θ ≦ 90 °) with respect to the horizontal direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a groove 72 is formed on the inner side wall of the substrate cassette 70, and the substrate 3 is inserted along the groove 72. Further, a stopper 7 for fixing the substrate 3 at a predetermined position is provided on the inner side wall of the substrate cassette 70.
1 is formed.

According to such an embodiment, it is not necessary to tilt the substrate cassette mounting table 2, so that the configuration on the projection exposure apparatus side can be simplified. Also, the substrate 3 has
Since the force (gravity) in the direction of the stopper 71 always acts, it is possible to prevent the substrate 3 from slipping off the substrate cassette 70 when the substrate cassette 70 is transported, for example. When using such a substrate cassette 70, the operation direction of the auxiliary arm 33 of the auxiliary robot 32 is set according to the angle θ. The operation direction of the finger 31 of the substrate transfer robot 30 is set in the same manner.

In the above embodiment, the finger 31-
The gripping force is controlled by adjusting the maximum output of the motor of the drive unit 29 that opens and closes the first and third units. The output of the motor may be controlled according to the output from the sensor. Alternatively, the output of the motor may be transmitted to the fingers 31-1 and 31-2 via a spring to thereby make the gripping force constant.

Further, the substrate transfer robot 30 of the present embodiment
Is configured to hold the substrate 3 or the semiconductor substrate 34 by mechanical force. However, the present invention is not limited to only such a configuration. May be configured to be vacuum-adsorbed.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, partitions 90 are formed at predetermined intervals in portions of the fingers 31 which are in contact with the substrate 3 (or the semiconductor substrate 34), and at least one or more exhausts are provided between the partitions. A hole 91 may be provided, and air between the partitions may be exhausted through the exhaust hole 91 and the exhaust pipe 92 so that the side surface of the substrate 3 is vacuum-adsorbed. According to such a configuration, even when the orientation flat portion is formed on the substrate 3, the substrate 3 can be surely sucked.

[0058]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate is gripped on the side face by the gripping means, and the moving means moves the substrate stored in the substrate cassette to a predetermined position of the gripping means. Since the area in which the gripping means contacts the processing surface of the substrate can be reduced, it is possible to prevent dust from being attached to the processing surface and to prevent scratching, and to prevent the substrate from dropping. Damage can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship among a finger 31, an auxiliary arm 33, a substrate 3, and a substrate cassette 1 shown in FIG.

3 is a diagram showing an example of a series of operations of a finger 31 and an auxiliary arm 33 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram when the state shown in FIG. 3B is viewed from the side.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of the substrate cassette 1 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a projection exposure apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of another configuration of the projection exposure apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of another configuration of the substrate cassette.

9 is a diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of the substrate cassette 70 shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the finger 31 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 substrate cassette 3 substrate 7 processing stage 8 processing light source 9 objective lens 30 substrate transfer robot (gripping means) 31 finger 32 auxiliary robot (moving means) 33 auxiliary arm 34 semiconductor substrate 35, 36 V-shaped groove 50 exposure light source 51 light intensity control / Light beam shaping optical system 54 Reduction projection lens 70 Substrate cassette

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A substrate insertion / extraction device for inserting / extracting a substrate stored in a substrate cassette, comprising: gripping means for gripping the substrate on a side surface; and a predetermined holding means for gripping the substrate stored in the substrate cassette. And a moving means for moving the substrate to a position. 2. The substrate cassette according to claim 1, wherein said substrate cassette stores said substrate in a state where a processing surface of said substrate is inclined by θ (0 ° <θ ≦ 90 °) with respect to a horizontal direction. 2. The substrate insertion / extraction device according to 1. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the moving means moves in parallel on a plane inclined by θ with respect to a horizontal direction. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein a groove having a predetermined taper angle according to the thickness of the substrate is formed in a portion of the gripping means that contacts the substrate. A substrate insertion / extraction device according to item 1. 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein a groove having a predetermined taper angle in accordance with a thickness of the substrate is formed in a portion of the moving unit in contact with the substrate. A substrate insertion / extraction device according to item 1. 6. The substrate insertion / extraction device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping means adjusts a force for gripping the substrate according to the strength of the substrate. 7. The substrate insertion / extraction device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a semiconductor substrate. 8. The substrate insertion / extraction according to claim 7, wherein a length of a portion of each finger constituting the gripping means, which is in contact with the semiconductor substrate, is longer than a length of an orientation flat portion of the semiconductor substrate. apparatus. 9. The semiconductor device according to claim 7, wherein the length of a portion of each of the fingers constituting the holding means, which is in contact with the semiconductor substrate, is at least １ ／ or more of the length of the outer periphery of the semiconductor substrate. The board insertion / extraction device according to the above. 10. The semiconductor device according to claim 7, wherein a length of a portion of said moving means in contact with said semiconductor substrate is longer than a length of an orientation flat portion of said semiconductor substrate.
10. The substrate insertion / extraction device according to any one of claims 9 to 9.