JPH10213337A - Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which can prevent the intrusion of dust, dirt, etc., even if the cleanliness of a clean room is in a bad state. SOLUTION: This apparatus enlarges a-n air shower zone which descends from the upward position of a conveyance port 29 to the forward side from a cassette receiving base 26 which is provided opposite to the conveyance port 29, so that an air shower 31 at the side of a clean room 10 touches a downflow 32 of the clean room while an air shower 30 at the side of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus does not touch the air shower of the clean room. Even if dust, dirt, etc., are attached to a wafer cassette 34 which is to be carried in, the air shower can remove the dust, dirt, etc., thus preventing the intrusion of the dust, dirt, etc., into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus even in a bad state of the cleanliness of the clean room.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus,
In particular, the present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus with improved cleanliness in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Usually, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is provided in a clean room in order to make the inside of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus a clean atmosphere, and includes a clean unit for forming a clean air flow in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. Have. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is installed in a clean room in order to make the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus a clean atmosphere. A uniform downward flow of air is formed in the clean room to keep the clean room clean.

A conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a housing of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a front panel provided on the front of the housing 1.

[0005] A reaction furnace 3 is provided in an upper rear portion (upper left in the figure) of the housing 1, and a boat and a boat elevator (not shown) are provided below the reaction furnace 3. Are inserted into and removed from the reactor 3.

[0006] A buffer cassette stocker 4 is provided in front of the reaction furnace 3.
A cassette stocker 5 is provided below the cassette stocker 5, and a wafer transfer machine (not shown) is provided between the cassette stocker 5 and the boat elevator. A cassette receiving table 6 is provided in front of the cassette stocker 5,
Above the cassette receiving table 6, a clean unit 7 including a fan and a filter is provided. The clean unit 7 forms an air shower 12 toward the cassette receiving table 6. A cassette transfer machine (not shown) is provided between the buffer cassette stocker 4, the cassette stocker 5, and the cassette receiving table 6.

[0007] The cassette receiving table 6 of the front panel 2
A transfer port 9 having a front shutter 8 that can be freely opened and closed is provided at a position corresponding to.

When manufacturing semiconductors in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the front shutter 8 of the transfer port 9 is opened, and the wafer cassette 13 loaded with a substrate to be processed such as a wafer is transferred through the transfer port 9. It is carried into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. The wafer cassette 13 is received on the cassette receiving table 6 and is transferred to the cassette stocker 5 or the buffer cassette stocker 4 by the cassette transfer machine.

By repeating the above operation, a predetermined number of wafer cassettes 13 carried into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus are transferred to the cassette stocker 5 and the buffer cassette stocker 4, and the cassette stocker 5 and the buffer After the wafer cassette 13 is loaded in the cassette stocker 4, the transfer port 9 is closed.

The wafer transfer device takes out wafers (not shown) from a predetermined number of the wafer cassettes 13 in the cassette stocker 5 and transfers the wafers to the boat. The boat is loaded into the reaction furnace 3 by the boat elevator, and a process such as thin film formation on a wafer is performed in the reaction furnace 3. After the processing is completed, the boat is withdrawn from the reaction furnace 3,
The wafers processed from the boat are placed in a wafer cassette 13
Then, the wafer cassette 13 is unloaded from the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in a procedure reverse to the operation described above.

The wafer cassette 13 of the buffer cassette stocker 4 is transferred to the empty cassette stocker 5, and the same processing as described above is performed.

Since a higher degree of cleanliness is required in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a uniform flow of clean air is also formed in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. When loading or unloading the wafer cassette 13 into or from the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the front shutter 8 is opened. Therefore, there is a possibility that dust and dirt in the clean room 10 may enter the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus through the transfer port 9 due to the downflow 11 of the clean room 10. Air shower 12 toward receiving table 5
Is formed.

[0013]

However, in the conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus described above, when the transfer port 9 is opened, the downflow 11 in the clean room 10 comes into contact with the air shower 12 in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. A part of the downflow 11 may enter the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and the clean room 10
When the cleanliness of a semiconductor device is poor, or when dust and contamination from workers are severe, it is difficult to prevent dust and dust from entering, and it is difficult to keep the inside of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus clean.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing intrusion of dust, dust and the like even in a clean room where the cleanness is poor.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which an air shower region descending from above a transfer port is expanded forward of a cassette receiving table provided opposite to the transfer port. The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which a clean unit is provided above a transfer port outside a housing, and an air shower is formed by the clean unit. Further, the clean unit provided above a cassette receiving table inside the housing is enlarged. The present invention relates to an air shower descending to the cassette receiving table by a unit and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which an air shower is formed between the cassette receiving table and a transfer port. The air shower on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus side does not come into contact with the air shower in the clean room.
In addition, even if dust and dirt are attached to the wafer cassette to be carried in, the dust and dirt can be removed by an air shower. Intrusion can be prevented.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is constructed in substantially the same manner as the above-described conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. A reaction furnace 23 is provided in an upper rear portion (upper left in the figure) of the housing 21, and a boat and a boat elevator (not shown) are provided below the reaction furnace 23. The boat is inserted into and removed from the reaction furnace 23.

A buffer cassette stocker 24 is provided in front of the reaction furnace 23, and a cassette stocker 25 is provided below the buffer cassette stocker 24. A wafer transfer is provided between the cassette stocker 25 and the boat elevator. A loading machine (not shown) is provided. or,
A cassette receiving table 2 is provided in front of the cassette stocker 25.
6, and a clean unit 27 including a fan and a filter is provided above the cassette receiving table 26. A cassette transfer machine (not shown) is provided between the buffer cassette stocker 24, the cassette stocker 25, and the cassette receiving table 26.

A front shutter 28 that can be opened and closed at a position on the front panel 22 corresponding to the cassette receiving table 26.
A transfer unit 29 having a clean unit 30 is provided above the transfer port 29 on the front side of the front panel 22.
Is provided, and an air shower 31 of clean air descending from the clean unit 30 is formed. The upper surface of the clean unit 30 is inclined so as to descend forward.

The processing on a substrate such as a wafer in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is performed in the same manner as the above-described processing in the conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and a description thereof will be omitted.

When loading and unloading the wafer cassette 34 loaded with a substrate to be processed such as a wafer into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the front shutter 28 is opened. The downward flow 32 of air formed in the clean room 10 is blocked by the air shower 31, does not enter the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and does not come into contact with the air shower 33, and the environment in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is independent of the clean room 10. .
Also, when the wafer cassette 34 is carried into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, even if dust and dirt are attached to the wafer cassette 34, the wafer cassette 34 is removed by the air shower 31. It is possible to prevent dust and dirt from being brought into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus by the cassette 34 itself. Further, since the clean unit 30 protrudes like an eave, the descent of the descending flow 32 is suppressed, and since the upper surface of the clean unit 30 is tapered, disturbance of the descending flow 32 of the clean room 10 occurs. Can be prevented. Further, by forming the air shower 31, the cleanliness of the clean room 10 may be low, and therefore, the running cost of the clean room 10 can be reduced.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
A front panel 42 is provided on the front surface of the housing 41 of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and the inside of the housing 41 has substantially the same configuration as that of the above-described first embodiment of the present invention.
The same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The cassette receiving table 26 is provided at a position slightly retreated from the front surface of the housing 41, and a clean unit 43 is provided above the cassette receiving table 26. The clean unit 43 is an enlargement of the clean unit 27 in the first embodiment described above, and the clean unit 43 is different from the cassette receiving table 2 in the first embodiment.
6 and an air shower 45 descending in front of the cassette receiving table 26, that is, between the cassette receiving table 26 and the transfer port 29.

When the front shutter 28 is opened when loading and unloading the wafer cassette 34 into and from the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the downflow 32 of the clean room 10 contacts the air shower 45, Do not touch. The air shower 45 is exhausted to the outside of the housing 41 from an exhaust port (not shown) provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the housing 41.

Therefore, even if the downflow 32 and the air shower 45 come into contact with each other in a state where the cleanliness of the clean room 10 is poor, even if the air shower 45 contains dust, dust and the like,
The air shower 45 is evacuated as it is, so that dust and dirt do not enter the inside of the housing 41 such as the cassette receiving table 26, so that the inside of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus can be maintained clean.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, by expanding the area where the air shower is generated, an air shower that blocks the downflow in the clean room and the air shower inside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is formed. Since the environment of the apparatus is independent of the clean room, and the cleanliness of the clean room can be reduced even when a wafer cassette is loaded or unloaded, excellent effects such as a reduction in the running cost of the clean room can be exhibited.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing a second embodiment of the same.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Clean room 21 Housing 22 Front panel 23 Reactor 24 Buffer cassette stocker 25 Cassette stocker 26 Cassette receiving stand 27 Clean unit 28 Front shutter 29 Transport port 30 Clean unit 31 Air shower 32 Downflow 33 Air shower 34 Wafer cassette

Claims (3)

[Claims] 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an air shower region descending from above the transfer port is expanded forward of a cassette receiving table provided to face the transfer port. 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a clean unit is provided above the transfer port outside the housing, and the clean unit forms an air shower. 3. A clean unit provided above a cassette receiving table inside a housing is enlarged, and an air shower descending to the cassette receiving table by the clean unit and air between the cassette receiving table and a transfer port are provided. 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shower is formed.