JPH1041374A - Wafer chuck apparatus for semiconductor processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To greatly raise the throughput by preventing the warp of a wafer. SOLUTION: A wafer W gripped by claws is mounted on a high temp. susceptor 7, an air cylinder 12 lowers a support board 8 through a coupler 11 and support shaft 9. With this lowering of the board, four hollow holders 13 fixed to the board 8 are also lowered to cause wafer retain pins 14 to contact the periphery of the wafer and push the wafer to the susceptor 7, thereby closely contacting the entire surface of the wafer to the susceptor. Pushing of the wafer W by the pins prevents the wafer W from warping.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer chucking apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a wafer chucking apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which mechanically grips a wafer and mounts the wafer on a heated susceptor for processing. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various manufacturing apparatuses are used for manufacturing semiconductor devices. As the degree of integration of semiconductor elements increases, the price of semiconductor manufacturing equipment tends to increase, and therefore, manufacturing equipment with high yield and high throughput is required.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a wafer chuck device of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. A cam plate 2 is rotatably mounted on a main body base 1 and four arms 3 have fulcrums 3a. It is rotatably attached to the center. These arms 3 are biased by springs 4. Also, a pin 5 is protruded from each arm 3,
A claw 6 is attached to the tip of the arm.

In the state shown in the figure, the chuck 6 grips the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W to chuck the wafer. In this state, the main body base 1 is lowered to heat the wafer W to a high temperature (for example,
(10 ° C.). After this placement,
When the cam plate 2 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the cam surface of the cam plate 2 pushes up the pin 5 to rotate the arm 3 against the urging force of the spring 4. By this rotation, the pawl 6 moves outward, separates from the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W, and releases the chucking.

A wafer W placed on a high-temperature susceptor
Is caused by thermal stress due to the internal temperature gradient, and the wafer W
Is warped upward. Therefore, the wafer W
Is left on the susceptor 7 for about 10 minutes, for example, and after the entire wafer is uniformly heated by heat conduction to eliminate the warp, a predetermined process is performed.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional wafer chuck apparatus requires a considerable amount of time to eliminate the warpage of the wafer, and thus has a serious problem that the throughput is reduced. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer chuck device of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing a warp of a wafer and greatly increasing a throughput.

[0007]

In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a plurality of claws for gripping the outer periphery of a wafer, and heats the wafer gripped by the claws. A wafer chuck device of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus mounted on the susceptor provided with a plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms for contacting an outer peripheral portion of a wafer mounted on the susceptor and pressing it against the susceptor. It is assumed that. Since the plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms abut against the outer peripheral portion of the wafer placed on the susceptor and press against the susceptor, the entire wafer is uniformly heated, and the warpage of the wafer can be prevented. Therefore, since the time for eliminating the warpage of the wafer is not required, the throughput of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus can be greatly increased.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer chuck apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the first aspect,
The apparatus further comprises a claw operating mechanism for operating the claw to grip and release the wafer W and a cylinder for integrally moving the plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms independently of the claw operating mechanism. It is a feature. Since the plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms are moved integrally, the outer peripheral portion of the wafer is simultaneously pressed by the susceptor. Further, since the cylinder vertically moves the plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms independently of the claw operating mechanism, the vertical movement of the plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms does not adversely affect the claw operating mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer chuck apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the first aspect,
Each of the wafer holding pin mechanisms is a hollow holder having a through hole formed at the lower end, a wafer holding pin housed in the holder such that the lower end protrudes from the through hole, and housed in the holder. A spring for urging the wafer holding pin downward, and a seal member for sealing a gap between the through hole and the wafer holding pin inserted therethrough. Since the wafer holding pins are urged by the spring, the impact at the time of wafer contact is reduced, and damage to the wafer and generation of dust can be prevented. Further, a wafer holding pin and a spring are accommodated in the hollow holder, and dust may be generated due to the vertical movement of the wafer holding pin and the expansion and contraction of the spring. However, the seal member is provided with a gap between the through hole and the wafer holding pin. , It is possible to prevent dust in the holder from leaking from the through hole.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a wafer chuck device of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. explain. 1 and 2, a cam plate 2 is rotatably mounted on a main body base 1 and four arms 3 are mounted rotatably about a fulcrum 3a. These arms 3 are biased by springs 4. Each arm 3 has a pin 5 projecting therefrom and a claw 6 attached to the tip of the arm. The configuration described above is substantially the same as the configuration of the wafer chuck device shown in FIGS.
The cam plate 2, the arm 3, the spring 4, and the pin 5
And a claw operation mechanism for opening and closing the device.

The support plate 8 is fixed to a plurality of support shafts 9 so as to be relatively movable with respect to the main body base 1. The support shaft 9 is supported by a bearing 10 so as to be vertically movable, and an air cylinder 12 is connected to the support shaft 9 via a connecting member 11. Four hollow holders 13 are fixed to the support plate 8 at their upper ends, and the hollow holders 13 are arranged at an interval of about 90 ° from each other. The upper end of the wafer holding pin 14 and a spring 15 are accommodated in the hollow holder 13, and the spring 15 urges the wafer holding pin 14 downward, so that the lower end of the wafer holding pin 14 has the hollow holder 13. Project outside through a through hole in the lower end surface of the. A seal member 16 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the through hole.
4 to prevent dust generated inside the holder 13 from leaking from the through-hole. The above hollow holder 13, wafer holding pin 14, and spring 15
The sealing member 16 constitutes a wafer holding pin mechanism.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. When the wafer W gripped by the claws 6 is placed on the susceptor 7, the air cylinder 12 moves down the support plate 8 via the connecting member 11 and the support shaft 9. With the downward movement of the support plate 8, the four hollow holders 13 fixed to the support plate 8 are simultaneously moved downward, whereby the wafer holding pins 14 come into contact with the outer periphery of the wafer W, and the wafer W is supported by the susceptor. 7 to bring the entire surface of the wafer W into close contact with the susceptor 7.

If the air cylinder 12 further lowers the hollow holder 13 even after the wafer holding pins 14 come into contact with the outer periphery of the wafer W, the wafer holding pins 1
4 strongly presses the wafer W, which may damage the wafer W or generate dust. Therefore, in this embodiment, the spring 15 in the hollow holder 13 avoids such inconvenience. This will be described in more detail below.
The air cylinder 12 remains in the hollow holder 13 even after the contact
Is further lowered, the wafer holding pin 14 retracts into the hollow holder 13 against the urging force of the spring 15,
This prevents damage to the wafer W and generation of dust. Further, since the four wafer holding pins 14 are arranged at substantially equal angular intervals, that is, at intervals of about 90 °, the entire wafer W can be uniformly pressed without bias.

When the wafer W is brought into close contact with the susceptor 7 by the wafer holding pins 14 and the entire surface of the wafer W is heated uniformly to a uniform temperature in a short time, the air cylinder 12 is connected via the connecting member 11 and the support shaft 9. To move the wafer holding pins 14 upward. Next, a predetermined process is performed on wafer W. In this way, since the warpage of the wafer W does not occur, the wafer leaving time for eliminating the warp is not required, and the throughput of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is greatly improved.

[0015]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms abut the outer peripheral portion of the wafer mounted on the susceptor and press against the susceptor, so that the entire wafer is uniform. And the wafer can be prevented from warping. Therefore, since the time for eliminating the warpage of the wafer is not required, the throughput of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus can be greatly increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 2, showing an embodiment of a wafer chuck device of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a wafer chuck device of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing a wafer chuck device of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Claw 7 Susceptor 13 Hollow holder 14 Wafer holding pin 15 Spring 16 Sealing member 13, 14, 15, 16 Wafer holding pin mechanism W Wafer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wafer chuck device for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of claws for gripping an outer periphery of a wafer; and placing the wafer gripped by the claws on a heated susceptor. A wafer chuck device for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms for abutting against an outer peripheral portion of a selected wafer and pressing the same against the susceptor. 2. A claw operating mechanism for operating said claw to grip and release said wafer W, and a cylinder for vertically moving said plurality of wafer holding pin mechanisms independently of said claw operating mechanism. The wafer chuck device of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. Each of the wafer holding pin mechanisms includes a hollow holder having a through hole formed at a lower end, a wafer holding pin housed in the holder such that a lower end protrudes from the through hole, and A spring accommodated in a holder and biasing the wafer holding pin downward, and a seal member for sealing a gap between the through hole and the wafer holding pin inserted therethrough. 2. The wafer chuck device of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to 1.