JPH10335425A - Wafer transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wafer transfer apparatus which can effectively perform easy wafer transfer to a predetermined location with a simple structure. SOLUTION: In the wafer transfer apparatus, a lift member 20 for holding and moving up accommodated wafers by moving up or down a carrier base 22 having support grooves 22a formed therein is provided within a wafer cassette 30. A pair of right and left wafer chucks 10a and 10b are provided as extended parallel to a wafer array direction at halfway of a move-up passage of the lift member 20. The wafer chucks 10a and 10b are provided in their outer peripheral surfaces with a plurality of grooves for holding the wafers 40 and a plurality of grooves for passage of the wafers. The chucks 10a and 10b are pivoted turnably around their central axes parallel thereto. This turning causes change-over of the grooves in the outer peripheral surfaces of the wafer chucks 10a and 10b, whereby the wafers 40 are held and passed, thus realizing wafer transfer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer transfer apparatus, and more particularly, to a wafer transfer apparatus for transferring a predetermined number of wafers in a wafer cassette conveyed between processes in a semiconductor manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor integrated circuit, a wafer cassette has been used for moving a wafer between processes such as a film forming process and a cleaning process. In each of these steps, the processing is performed by changing the number of wafers stored in the wafer cassette according to processing conditions such as miniaturization of the processing apparatus or reduction in the amount of chemical solution used. In particular, semiconductor devices have recently entered the submicron era, and as the degree of integration of wafers has increased, finer device structures and higher integration have been required, and processing conditions have been diversified. For this reason, when a wafer is moved from a predetermined process to another process, a wafer transfer device that transfers a wafer in a wafer cassette according to the conditions of each process is often used. Such an apparatus is described in, for example, JP-A-6-16350.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional wafer transfer apparatus. FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a main part of a conventional wafer transfer apparatus. As shown in FIG. 9, a conventional wafer transfer apparatus includes a plurality of wafers 14.
The mounting table 136 on which the wafer cassette 130 storing the “0” is mounted, the lift member 120 that grasps the wafer 140 from the inside of the wafer cassette 130 mounted on the mounting table 136 and moves up and down, and is lifted by the lift member 120 And a wafer chuck 110 for gripping and transporting the wafer 140 thus obtained.

[0006] The wafer cassette 130 has a storage groove 130 a with a normal pitch (for example, 6.35 mm) P formed inside. The storage groove 130a is formed so as to store a normal number of wafers 140 (25 in the illustrated example). An opening (not shown) is formed in the bottom of the wafer cassette 130. The wafer cassette 130 has a bottom fixed to the mounting table 136 and can be placed thereon. The installation base 136 has a rectangular opening 136a formed substantially at the center thereof.
The wafer cassette 130 is placed on the upper part of “a”. The mounting table 136 is provided with a lift member 120 at the bottom, and the wafer cassette 1 is opened via an opening 136 a of the mounting table 136 and an opening (not shown) of the wafer cassette 130.
30 is set up and down.

[0005] The lift member 120 is formed by a support base 122 formed in a plate shape and a support shaft 124 for supporting the same. The support base 122 has grip grooves 122a formed on the upper surface thereof in a regular pitch (for example, 6.35 mm) P arrangement. The support base 122 has a support shaft 12 at the bottom center.
4 and is provided so as to move up and down in the vertical direction indicated by arrow Z. A wafer chuck 110 is provided above the lift member 120 and the wafer cassette 130. The upper surface of the wafer chuck 110 is provided with a plate-shaped upper wall 116, and a pair of left and right arms 112 a and 112 b is mounted on both side surfaces of the upper wall 116. The arms 112a and 112b are pivotally supported by a drive source (not shown) so as to be openable and closable around the fulcrums 111a and 111b in the direction of arrow S.

Further, inside the lower ends of the arms 112a and 112b, grip grooves 113 for gripping both lower side edges of the wafer 140, and both edges of the wafer 140 are formed by the arms 112a and 112b.
A plurality of passage grooves 114 that can pass through without contacting 12b are formed alternately at a half pitch of the normal pitch P, that is, a half pitch P / 2. In the center of the upper surface of the upper wall 116,
A support shaft 118 that supports the wafer chuck 110 is mounted. The wafer chuck 110 can be moved in the directions of arrows X and Z by a support shaft 118, and
8 so as to be rotatable in an arrow θ direction.

As shown in FIG. 10, for example, when a wafer is wet-cleaned in an overflow tank or the like, the wafer cassette 1
A plurality of wafers housed in a normal number (25 in the figure) stored in 30 are transferred to the number of processed wafers (50 in the illustrated example) collectively and the cleaning process is executed collectively by reducing the amount of cleaning liquid used. I have. When the transfer is performed by the wafer chuck 110, a mounting table 150 having a wafer holding groove (not shown) having a half pitch of the normal pitch P, that is, a half pitch P / 2, is provided. Is transferred to the number of processed sheets (50 sheets in the illustrated example). This transferred wafer 1
The wafer 40 is transported to a predetermined position by a wafer chuck 160 capable of holding the number of processed sheets. Number of processed wafers 140
Is a wafer cassette 170 having a half-pitch groove by a wafer chuck 160, or a processing tank (not shown).
Etc. At this time, when the wafer is transferred to the wafer cassette 170, a lift member 180 having a support groove with a half pitch P / 2 is provided, supported by the lift member, transferred, and stored in the wafer cassette 170.

Next, the operation of the conventional wafer transfer apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 9, 10 and 11. FIG.
11A is a cross-sectional view showing a side of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 10 for transferring a wafer, and FIG. 11A is a side view showing a side where the wafer chuck shown in FIG. 10 transfers a wafer to a mounting table.
(B) shows the side surface of the wafer to be transferred.

As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG.
A wafer cassette 130 containing a normal number of sheets (25 sheets in the illustrated example) is set on the mounting table 136.
When the wafer cassette 130 is installed on the installation table 136, the lift member 120 is driven to protrude upward. At this time, the wafers 140 normally stored in the wafer cassette 130 are gripped by the support grooves 122a formed on the support base 122 of the lift member 120 and rise upward in the direction of the arrow Z. The normal number of wafers 140 supported and lifted by the lift member 120 is held by the wafer chuck 110 installed above the lift member 120, transported to the mounting table 150, and stored. At this time, the side walls 112a and 112b of the wafer chuck 110 open in the direction of the arrow S around the fulcrums 111a and 111b, and descend downward to close the side walls 112a and 112b again in the vicinity of the lift member 120. Is grasped. This wafer 140
The lower side edges are gripped by a gripping groove 113 formed at a normal pitch P inside the lower ends of the closed side walls 112a and 112b, and are conveyed. In this manner, the wafer 140 is held by the wafer chuck 110 and transported to the mounting table 150, and the wafer 140 is transferred so that the number of processed wafers (50 in the illustrated example) is obtained.

[0010] As shown in FIG.
The wafers 140 stored in the mounting table 150 are stored at a normal pitch P. The mounting table 150 has a holding groove (not shown) formed at a half pitch P / 2.
The wafers 140 are housed at regular pitches P (every other interval) in the half-pitch holding grooves. A new wafer is conveyed and stored again in the remaining holding groove of the half pitch by the wafer chuck 110, thereby changing the normal number (25 in the illustrated example) to the processing number (50 in the illustrated example).
Transfer).

[0011] As shown in FIG. 11A, when the first wafer 140-1 is stored in the mounting table 150, the wafer chuck 110 transports the second wafer 140-2 again and stores it in the mounting table 150. . When the wafer chuck 110 transports the second wafer 140-2 to the mounting table 150, the sliding table 152 on which the mounting table 150 is installed is moved to the half pitch P / 2.
Only in the direction of arrow Y. As shown in FIG. 11B, the sliding table 152 slides by the half pitch P / 2, so that the second wafer is located between the first wafers 140-1, that is, at the position of the half pitch P / 2. 140-2 is inserted and stored in the mounting table 150.

When a plurality of wafers are washed by the overflow tank at a time, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the second wafer 140-2 is stored, the wafer chuck 110 is rotated 180 ° in the arrow θ direction. Rotate. Thus, as shown in FIG. 11B, the surface Wa of the wafer 140-1 and the surface Wa of the wafer 140-2 face each other. Also, the back surface Wb of the wafer 140-1 and the back surface Wb of the wafer 140-2 face each other. Therefore,
The dust adhering to the back surface Wb of the wafer 140 flows upward due to the water flow while the back surface Wb and the back surface Wb are opposed to each other, and is cleaned without adhering to the front surface.

As shown in FIG. 10, the number of processed wafers 14 (50 in the illustrated example) stored in the mounting table 150 is shown.
0 is gripped and transported by the wafer chuck 160 capable of gripping the number of processed wafers. The transferred wafer is stored in a wafer cassette 170 capable of storing the number of processed wafers or in a predetermined position. At this time, when storing wafers in the wafer cassette 170,
The wafer 140 transferred by the wafer chuck 160 is transferred to the lift member 180 and stored in the wafer cassette 170.

As described above, conventionally, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor integrated circuit, in order to cope with various processing conditions, a wafer is taken out from a wafer cassette before processing and transferred to a predetermined number of processed wafers, whereby more effective processing conditions are obtained. Was realized.

[0015]

However, in the conventional wafer transfer apparatus, a wafer in a wafer cassette is once mounted on a mounting table by a wafer chuck, and then transported to a predetermined position by another wafer chuck. Needed. For this reason, the transfer operation takes a long time, and two types of wafer chucks for transporting the wafer are required, resulting in an increase in the size of the apparatus. Furthermore, if the wafer is once placed on the mounting table and transferred outside, the number of times that the wafer comes into contact with other supporting members or the like increases, and the probability that the wafer is contaminated is inevitably increased. The present invention solves the problems of the prior art and provides a wafer transfer apparatus that can easily transfer wafers by the same apparatus having a simple structure and that can effectively transfer the wafers to a predetermined place. The purpose is to do.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a holding groove for holding a wafer, and supports a plurality of wafers stored in a wafer cassette via a holding cassette and moves the wafer up and down. A lift member is provided, and a mounting table is provided in which a wafer cassette is placed and an opening through which a lift member that slides back and forth and left and right and vertically moves up and down in the wafer cassette can pass therethrough is provided in the placement section of the wafer cassette. In the vicinity of the upper part of the wafer cassette where the lift member moves up and down, a pair of members parallel to the arrangement direction of the ascending and descending wafers is provided on the outer peripheral surface. A plurality of passage grooves to pass through, and pivotally supported so that the outer periphery is rotatable around the wafer arrangement direction as a central axis,
A gripping member for switching the outer peripheral groove by this rotation to grip and pass a plurality of wafers to perform transfer is provided.

Here, the gripping member is formed by forming a pair of right and left members into a hexagonal column shape and forming gripping grooves on the outer peripheral surface at a regular arrangement pitch of one.
A first surface formed at an arrangement pitch of / 2, a second surface formed with a passage groove through which a plurality of wafers can pass, and a holding groove and a passage groove are alternately arranged at an arrangement pitch of 1/2 of a normal arrangement pitch. And the third surface formed by the above. The gripping member has a first surface in which a pair of left and right members are formed in a hexagonal prism shape and gripping grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface at a normal arrangement pitch, and a second surface in which a plurality of wafers are formed to pass through the passage groove. And a third surface in which the gripping grooves and the passing grooves are alternately formed at a normal arrangement pitch. Further, the grip grooves of the lift member are formed at a normal arrangement pitch or at an arrangement pitch of の of the normal arrangement pitch, and both or one of the lift member and the mounting table has a 360 ° centering axis in the vertical direction of the lift member. ° Pivot pivotally,
The mounting table is provided with a wafer transfer device in which front and rear sliding is slid at a half of the normal arrangement pitch.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a first embodiment of a wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outer peripheral groove of the wafer chuck of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 (a) shows the first surface of the wafer chuck, and FIG. 2 (b) shows the second surface of the wafer chuck. , FIG. 2
(C) shows the third surface of the wafer chuck, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention comprises a plurality of wafers 40.
Mounting table 36 on which wafer cassette 30 containing
And a lift member 20 that grips the wafer 40 from within the wafer cassette 30 placed on the mounting table 36 and moves up and down.
And a wafer chuck 10 for holding and transferring the wafer raised by the lift member 20.

The wafer cassette 30 has a storage groove 30a having a normal pitch (for example, 6.35 mm) P formed inside. The storage groove 30a is formed so as to store a normal number of wafers (25 in the drawing). An opening (not shown) is formed in the bottom of the wafer cassette 30. This wafer cassette 30
Has a bottom fixed to the mounting table 36 so that it can be placed.

The mounting table 36 has a rectangular opening 36a formed substantially at the center thereof, and the wafer cassette 30 is placed above the opening 36a. The mounting table 36 is provided so that the wafer cassette can be placed thereon and slid back and forth in the arrow Y direction and left and right in the arrow X direction shown in FIG. The mounting tables 36 are arranged in the direction of the arrow X, and a new wafer cassette 30 can be automatically replaced by sliding in the direction of the arrow X. The lift member 20 is installed at the bottom of the installation table 36,
6 and through the opening (not shown) of the wafer cassette 30 so as to move up and down inside the wafer cassette 30.

The lift member 20 is formed by a support base 22 formed in a plate shape and a support shaft 24 for supporting the same. The support base 22 has a normal pitch (for example, 6.
The support groove 22a is formed at a half pitch of 35 mm) P, that is, a half pitch P / 2. The support base 22 is provided so that the center of the bottom is supported by the support shaft 24 and moves up and down as indicated by the arrow Z. Further, the lift member 20 and the installation table 36 are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable 360 ° about the vertical direction of the lift member as a center axis. Lift member 20
Is rotated in the arrow theta ₁ direction shown in FIG. 1, the installation stand 36,
It is provided so as to rotate in the arrow theta ₂ direction shown in FIG.

The wafer chuck 10 is formed in a hexagonal column shape, and is provided in a pair of right and left parallel to the direction in which the wafers 40 are arranged near the upper portion of the wafer cassette 30 where the lift member 20 moves up and down. These wafer chucks 10a and 10b
Is rotatably supported by a drive source (not shown) so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow R about the fulcrums 11a and 11b. As shown in FIG. 2, three types of surfaces are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the wafer chuck 10 having a hexagonal column shape, centering on a corner portion obtained by dividing the hexagonal portion into three equal parts. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), one side of the hexagonal section is cut into a concave shape so that the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 40 passes between the pair of left and right wafer chucks 10 without contact. It has a first surface 12 on which a missing passage groove 12a is formed.

When the wafer chuck 10 shown in FIG. 2A is rotated 120 ° about the fulcrum 11 in the direction of arrow R, the second surface 14 is set as shown in FIG. 2B. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the second surface 14 is formed such that the passage grooves 14 shown in FIG. 2A and the holding grooves 14b that can hold the lower side edges of the wafer 40 alternately in the rotation axis direction of the fulcrum 11. It is formed with a half pitch P / 2. The wafer chuck 10 shown in FIG.
When rotated by 0 °, the third surface 16 is set as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the third surface 16
The holding grooves 16b similar to the holding grooves 14b are formed and arranged at a half pitch P / 2 in the rotation axis direction of the fulcrum 11. Thus, the wafer chuck 10 can freely switch between the first surface, the second surface, and the third surface by rotating about the fulcrum 11.

Next, the operation of transferring a wafer using the first embodiment of the wafer transfer device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the operation of the device shown in FIG.
Fig. 3 shows a state in which a wafer is taken out from the wafer cassette.
3B illustrates a state where the wafer is mounted on the wafer chuck, and FIG. 3C illustrates a state where the wafer is mounted on the wafer chuck.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a wafer cassette 30 containing a normal number of wafers 40 (25 in the illustrated example) is set on a mounting table 36. When the wafer cassette 30 is set on the setting table 36, the lift member 20 is driven to protrude upward. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the wafers 40 arranged at a normal pitch (for example, 6.35 mm) P have a normal pitch P (half pitch P / 2) formed in the support groove 22 a formed on the support base 22 of the lift member 20. The support grooves 22a are arranged at every other interval) and move up and down.
When the wafer 40 is supported by the lift member 20 and rises, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first surface 12 is set inside the wafer chuck 10 facing in parallel to pass the normal number of wafers 40 upward. Install as possible. Wafer 40
Rises upward through the first surface 12 of the wafer chuck 10, as shown in FIG.
Rotates in the direction of arrow R to place the second surface 14 inside the wafer chuck 10 facing the same.

As shown in FIG. 3C, when the second surface 14 is set, the lift member 20 descends to the lower part, and the wafer 40 is gripped by the grip grooves 14b formed on the second surface 14. . When the first loading of the wafer 40 is completed, the wafer 40 is placed on the wafer chuck 10 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3C, when the wafer 40 is placed on the wafer chuck 10,
The lift member 20 descends to the lower part of the mounting table 36, and the wafer cassette 30 from which the wafer has been taken out slides on the mounting table 36, so that a wafer cassette containing a new wafer is installed on the upper part of the lift member 20.

When the wafers are wet-cleaned in an overflow bath or the like, the number of wafers stored in the wafer cassette 30 in the normal number (25 in the illustrated example) is further increased depending on conditions such as a reduction in the amount of cleaning liquid used. (50 sheets in the illustrated example) and the cleaning is performed collectively.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of placing the second wafer on the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 (a) shows a state where the second wafer is taken out from the wafer cassette, and FIG. FIG. 4 shows a state where the second wafer is placed on the wafer chuck.
(C) shows a state where the wafer transfer operation is completed.

As shown in FIG. 4A, when the first wafer 40-1 is placed on the second surface 14 of the wafer chuck 10, a new wafer cassette 30 is set on the lift member 20 again. Is done. When a new wafer cassette 30 is placed above the lift member 20, the lift member 20
Is driven to project upward, and the second wafer 40-2
Is raised in the direction of the first wafer 40-1. At this time, when the lift member 20 is lifted upward as shown in FIG.
/ 2 minutes. As a result, the wafers housed in the wafer cassette 30 at the normal pitch P are set back by half the pitch P / 2 in the support grooves 22 a formed in the support base 22 of the lift member 20. Thus, a new wafer 4
0-2 is inserted between the first wafer and the wafer, that is, at the position of the half pitch P / 2, and passes through the passage groove 12a (see FIG. 2) formed in the second surface 14 of the wafer chuck 10. Then you can climb to the top.

Further, when placing a second wafer 40-2 on the wafer chuck 10, or 180 ° rotation of the lift member 20 in the arrow theta ₁ direction, or arrow to the installation base 36 theta ₂
Rotate 180 ° in the direction. As described above, it is desirable that the first wafer 40-1 and the second wafer 40-2 are placed so that the front surface and the front surface and the back surface and the back surface face each other. This is to prevent dust adhering to the back surface of the wafer 40 from flowing back to the upper portion by the water flow and overflowing outside the cleaning tank during the overflow cleaning, so that the dust adheres to the front surface. is there.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4B, when the lift member 20 is raised, the wafer 40-2 passes through the passage groove 14a formed on the second surface 14 of the wafer chuck 10 and rises. Further, the support groove 22a of the lift member 20
Moves the first wafer 40-1 to the wafer 40
-2 and move up and down. Therefore, the number of wafers 40 placed on the lift member 20 is transferred to the number of processed wafers (50 in the illustrated example). When the lift member 20 places the number of wafers 40 to be processed and rises above the wafer chuck 10, the wafer chuck 10
120 ° in the direction of.

As shown in FIG. 4C, when the wafer chuck 10 rotates 120 ° in the direction of the arrow R, the pair of left and right parallel wafer chucks 10 has the third surface 16 installed inside. When the third surface 16 is installed, the lift member 20
Is lowered, and the number of processed wafers 40 is gripped in the gripping grooves 16b (see FIG. 2) of the wafer chuck 10. Further, the lift member 20 descends to the lower portion of the installation table 36 and stops.
When the lift member 20 descends and stops, the mounting table 36 slides to move the wafer cassette from which the wafer has been taken out, and a wafer cassette 70 capable of storing a new number of processed wafers (50 in the illustrated example) is installed. You.

When the wafer cassette 70 is set, the lift member 20 is moved up and down and the wafer chuck 10 is rotated by 120 ° and returned to the first surface 12. By lowering the lift member 20 again, the number of wafers to be processed (50 in FIG.
0 and is stored in the wafer cassette 70. The wafers normally stored in the wafer cassette in this manner are
The wafer is transferred to the number of processed wafers arranged at the half pitch P / 2, and the operation is completed.

Next, a second embodiment of the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a second embodiment of the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention. 6 is a perspective view showing an outer peripheral groove of the wafer chuck of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 (a) shows a first surface of the wafer chuck, and FIG. 6 (b) shows a second surface of the wafer chuck. , FIG.
(C) shows the third surface of the wafer chuck, respectively. A second embodiment of the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention
Except for the wafer chuck and the lift member according to the first embodiment, all components are the same, and redundant description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention employs a plurality of wafers 40.
Mounting table 36 on which wafer cassette 30 containing
And a lift member 80 that grips the wafer 40 from within the wafer cassette 30 placed on the mounting table 36 and moves the wafer 40 up and down.
And a wafer chuck 90 for holding and transferring the wafer raised by the lift member 80.

The lift member 80 is formed by a support base 82 formed in a plate shape and a support shaft 84 for supporting the same. The support base 82 has a normal pitch (for example, 6.
A support groove 82a formed at 35 mm) P is formed. The support base 82 is provided so that the center of the bottom is supported by the support shaft 84 and moves up and down as indicated by arrow Z. The lift member 80 and the mounting table 36 are
Either or either of them is pivotally supported by 360 ° rotatable about the vertical direction of the lift member. Lifting member 80 is rotated in the arrow theta ₁ direction, installation stand 36 is rotated in the arrow theta ₂ direction indicated.

The wafer chuck 90 is formed in a hexagonal column shape, and is provided in a pair of right and left parallel to the direction in which the wafers 40 are arranged near the upper portion of the wafer cassette 30 where the lift member 80 moves up and down. These wafer chucks 90a, 90b
Is rotatably supported by a drive source (not shown) so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow R around the fulcrums 91a and 91b. As shown in FIG. 6, three types of surfaces are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the wafer chuck 90 having a hexagonal column shape, centering on a corner portion obtained by dividing the hexagonal portion into three equal parts.

As shown in FIG. 6A, one surface of the hexagonal portion divided into three equal parts is formed in a concave shape so that the outer peripheral portion of the wafer 40 passes between the pair of right and left wafer chucks 90 without contact. And a first surface 92 formed with a notched passage groove 92a. When the wafer chuck 90 is rotated by 120 ° in the direction of arrow R about the fulcrum 91 of the wafer chuck 90 shown in FIG.
The second surface 94 is provided as shown in FIG. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6B, the second surface 14 is formed such that the passage grooves 94 shown in FIG. 6A and the holding grooves 94b that can hold the lower side edges of the wafer 40 alternately in the rotation axis direction of the fulcrum 91. Usually, they are formed at an arrangement pitch P.

When the wafer chuck 90 is rotated by 120 ° in the direction of arrow R about the fulcrum 91 of the wafer chuck 90 shown in FIG. 6B, the third surface 96 is set as shown in FIG. 6C. The third surface 96 has a fulcrum 91 that is similar to the grip groove 94b.
Are formed and arranged at the normal arrangement pitch P in the direction of the rotation axis. As described above, the wafer chuck 90 can freely switch between the first surface, the second surface, and the third surface by rotating about the fulcrum 91.

Next, the operation of transferring a wafer using the wafer transfer apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of the device shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 shows a state where a wafer is taken out from the wafer cassette.
FIG. 7B shows a state where the wafer is lifted above the wafer chuck, and FIG. 7C shows a state where the wafer is half loaded on the wafer chuck.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the wafer cassette 30 containing the normal number of wafers 40 (25 in the illustrated example) is set on the mounting table 36. When the wafer cassette 30 is set on the setting table 36, the lift member 80 is driven to protrude upward. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the wafers 40 arranged at the normal pitch (for example, 6.35 mm) P are placed in the support grooves 22a of the normal pitch P formed on the support base 22 of the lift member 80 and move up and down. Also,
When the wafer 40 is supported and lifted by the lift member 80, as shown in FIG.
The first surface 92 is installed inside the inside of the wafer 0 so that the normal number of wafers 40 can be passed upward. When the wafer 40 rises upward through the first surface 92 of the wafer chuck 90,
As shown in FIG. 7B, the wafer chuck 90 has an arrow R
And the second surface 94 is set inside the wafer chuck 90 facing the wafer chuck 90.

As shown in FIG. 7C, when the second surface 94 is set, the lift member 80 descends, and the half of the wafer 40 is held in the holding groove 94b formed in the second surface 94. Is done. The remaining half of the wafer 40 passing through the passage groove 94a formed in the second surface 94 is set on the lift member 80 and descends to the lower part. The wafer 40 placed on the lift member 80 and lowered is moved by an arrow θ near the middle between the wafer chuck 90 and the wafer cassette 30.
Rotate 180 degrees in _one direction or lift member 80
There lowered and then rotated 180 ° the installation table 36 is accommodated wafers 40 in the arrow theta ₂ direction in the wafer cassette 30 is inverted.

As described above, it is desirable that the surface of the wafer 40 installed on the lift member 80 and the surface of the wafer 40 installed on the wafer chuck 90 are reversed so that the front and back surfaces thereof face each other. This is because dust adhered to the back surface of the wafer 40 flows between the opposed back surface and back surface due to the water flow and overflows at the upper portion of the cleaning tank during the overflow cleaning, so that reattachment to the front surface can be prevented, which is effective. This is because cleaning can be performed. The wafer 40 installed on the lift member 80 and lowered and turned over is inserted between the wafers 40 installed on the wafer chuck 90.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of placing the inverted wafer on the apparatus shown in FIG. 7, wherein FIG. 8A shows a state where the inverted wafer is raised, and FIG. FIG. 8 (c) shows a state in which the wafer is placed on the wafer chuck.
Indicates a state in which the wafer transfer operation has been completed.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the lift member 80
When the wafer 40 that has been placed and lowered is inverted, the inverted wafer 40 is moved upward in the direction of the wafer 40 that is installed on the wafer chuck 90. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8B, when the lift member 80 is raised, the inverted wafer 40 passes through the passage groove 94 a formed in the second surface 94 of the wafer chuck 90 and rises. Also, the lift member 80
With the rise, the wafer 40 installed on the wafer chuck 90 and the inverted wafer 40 are lifted together with the lift member 8.
0 and goes up and down. Accordingly, the normal number of wafers 40 installed on the lift member 80 and the wafers 40 installed on the wafer chuck 90 are arranged with the front surface and the front surface and the back surface and the back surface facing each other.

When the lift member 80 mounts the normal number of wafers 40 and rises above the wafer chuck 90, the wafer chuck 90 is rotated 120 ° in the direction of arrow R. FIG.
As shown in (c), when the wafer chuck 90 rotates 120 ° in the direction of the arrow R, the pair of left and right parallel wafer chucks 90 set the third surface 96 inside. Third surface 9
When the wafer 6 is installed, the lift member 90 descends, and the normal number of wafers 40 is gripped by the grip grooves 96b (see FIG. 2) of the wafer chuck 90. Further, the lift member 80 descends to the lower portion of the installation table 36 and stops. When the lift member 80 descends and stops, the mounting table 36 slides and the wafer cassette from which the wafer has been taken out is replaced with a new wafer cassette.

When a new wafer cassette is installed, the lift member 80 is moved up and down and the wafer chuck 90 is rotated by 120 ° and returned to the first surface 92. At the same time, the lift member 80 is lowered again, and the normal number of wafers whose front surface, front surface, and back surface are opposed to each other pass through the first surface 92 of the wafer chuck 90 and are stored in the wafer cassette. As described above, the wafer transfer device transfers the wafers normally stored in the wafer cassette such that the front surface and the front surface and the rear surface and the back surface face each other and are arranged at a normal pitch P and stored in the wafer cassette. This completes the operation.

Although the embodiment of the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is. For example, the wafer chuck is not limited to a hexagonal column shape, but may be a cross shape or a column shape. Also, three types of gripping grooves or passage grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the wafer chuck: the first surface, the second surface, and the third surface. More or less surfaces may be used.

[0049]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the structure of the wafer transfer device can be simplified, the whole device can be downsized, and the transfer can be performed by the same device. Therefore, it can be transported to a predetermined place by one operation, and improvement in manufacturing efficiency can be expected. In addition, the operation of transferring a wafer can be carried at once by the same apparatus, and the contact of the wafer with other members is reduced, so that the contamination rate is reduced, and miniaturization and high integration of a highly reliable device are achieved. Products can be manufactured. further,
By rotating the outer peripheral groove formed in the wafer chuck, the wafer can be effectively transferred according to the overflow tank, so that re-contamination due to dust attached to the wafer can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a first embodiment of a wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outer peripheral groove of a wafer chuck of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the operation of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an operation of placing a second wafer on the apparatus shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a second embodiment of the wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an outer peripheral groove of a wafer chuck of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the operation of the device shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an operation of placing an inverted wafer on the apparatus shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional wafer transfer device.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a main part of a conventional wafer transfer apparatus.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a side surface of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 10 where a wafer is transferred.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 wafer chuck 11a, 11b fulcrum 20 lift member 22 support base 22a support groove 24 support shaft 30 wafer cassette 30a storage groove 36 installation table 36a opening

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A wafer transfer device for transferring a plurality of wafers arranged in a wafer cassette at a normal arrangement pitch, wherein the wafer is vertically moved up and down through the wafer cassette.
A gripping groove for gripping a plurality of wafers housed in the wafer cassette; a lift member for gripping and moving up and down the plurality of wafers in the gripping groove; and placing the wafer cassette and sliding back and forth and left and right. An installation table having an opening through which the lift member that moves up and down in the wafer cassette is allowed to pass is provided in a mounting portion of the wafer cassette, and near an upper portion of the wafer cassette where the lift member moves up and down. A pair of members parallel to the arrangement direction of the ascending and descending wafers are provided on both left and right sides, and a plurality of grasping grooves for grasping lower end edges of the ascending and descending wafers and a plurality of passage grooves for passing the wafers are formed on the outer peripheral surface of this member. The pair of left and right members are pivotally supported on the outer periphery so as to be rotatable around the wafer arrangement direction, and the members switch the outer peripheral groove by the rotation to grip and pass the plurality of wafers. Wafer transport apparatus characterized by comprising a gripping member for re transferred to. 2. The wafer transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping member has the pair of left and right members formed in a hexagonal prism shape, and the gripping grooves are formed on an outer peripheral surface of the member at a regular arrangement pitch of one. / 2, a second surface formed so that a plurality of wafers can pass through the passage groove, and the grip groove and the passage groove are alternately １ ／ of the normal arrangement pitch.
And a third surface formed at an arrangement pitch of (a). 3. The wafer transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping member has the pair of left and right members formed in a hexagonal prism shape, and the gripping grooves are formed on an outer peripheral surface of the member at a regular arrangement pitch. A first surface, a second surface formed so that a plurality of wafers can pass through the passage groove, and a third surface in which the gripping groove and the passage groove are alternately formed at a normal arrangement pitch are formed. A wafer transfer device. 4. The wafer transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the grip grooves of the lift member are formed at a normal arrangement pitch or an arrangement pitch of １ ／ of the normal arrangement pitch. Wafer transfer equipment. 5. The wafer transfer device according to claim 1, wherein both or one of the lift member and the mounting table has a central axis whose vertical direction is the vertical direction of the lift member.
° A wafer transfer device, which is pivotally supported. 6. The wafer transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mounting table slides forward and backward at an arrangement pitch of の of a normal arrangement pitch. .