JPH11147613A - Original edition conveyer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically perform various processes necessary for performing in a reticule before exposure by only setting in a case library a case storing the reticule. SOLUTION: A case storing a reticule is inserted in a case library 11, by a case detector 114, when the case is detected to be stored in the case library 11, the case is locked by a case lock mechanism. A conveying arm extracts the reticule from the case conveyed to a bar code reader 13. The bar code reader 13 reads a bar code of the reticule. In a control device 17, a read result thereof is transmitted to a host computer. In the host computer, based on the read result, the reticule is discriminated, conveying of the reticule to either of a reticule washing machine 14, a dust inspection machine 15 or a pellicle affixing machine 16 or to be indicated for conveying.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case library in which a plurality of cases accommodating originals such as masks and reticles are accommodated in a case library, and the originals in the cases are transferred to various processing apparatuses such as washing machines and dust inspection machines. The present invention relates to an original transfer device for transferring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pattern formed on an original plate (hereinafter, referred to as a reticle) is illuminated while being covered with a pellicle, and the pattern is exposed on a photosensitive substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) via a projection optical system. Projection exposure apparatuses are known. As is well known, the pellicle is formed by attaching a pellicle film to one end surface of a pellicle frame. The use of a pellicle prevents direct debris from attaching to the pattern. The height of the pellicle frame is set so that the pellicle film is located farther from the pattern surface than the depth of focus of the projection optical system. Is blurred and pattern transfer failure is prevented. A mask whose pattern is covered with a pellicle is referred to herein as a reticle with a pellicle.

As described above, it is necessary to attach a pellicle to a reticle as preparation for exposure, and conventionally, a reticle is transported to a reticle cleaning machine, a dust inspection machine, and a pellicle attaching machine, respectively. The reticles are housed in a case one by one for easy handling, and the cases are set one by one on a shelf called a slot of a case library. Then, the reticle is taken out of the case library by the transfer device, and the reticle is washed with a reticle washing machine.
It is transported to a garbage inspection machine and a pellicle sticking machine, respectively.

[0004] Conventionally, a pellicle is stuck in the following procedure. The reticle is stored in the case. The case is stored in the case library, and the worker locks the case. The operator inputs which processing is to be performed on which reticle. This instructs the slot number of the case library and the processing content in association with each other. According to the input procedure, the transport device takes out the pellicle from the case accommodated in the predetermined slot number and transports the pellicle to the predetermined processing device. The reticle that has been processed is transported to the original slot case. An operator releases the case lock, removes the case from the library, and sets the case in the library of the exposure machine.

[0005]

However, it is necessary for an operator to input a case locking instruction and a processing procedure, and the processing performed by the operator is complicated and complicated. To change the processing procedure once entered, all procedures must be entered again. In addition, it takes time since the operator inputs the procedure one by one, and the possibility of an input error cannot be denied. Also, when removing the processed reticle,
The operator must release the case lock, which is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an original transport device which automatically performs various processes required for an original before exposure simply by setting a case containing the original in a case library. It is in.

[0007]

The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings showing one embodiment. (1) The invention of claim 1 is the case 3 in which the original R is housed.
Library 11 that accommodates a plurality of “1”, and the original R in the case 31 that is accommodated in the case library 11
Transfer device 1 for transporting the paper to various processing devices 14, 15, 16
2 is applied to the original transport device 12 having And
The purpose is to detect the case 31 stored in the case library 11, the identification unit 13 for identifying the original R, and the case 31
1 is detected by the detecting means 114,
This is achieved by including a control unit 17 that instructs the transport device 12 to transport the original R to any one of the processing devices 14, 15, 16 according to the identification result by the identification unit 13. (2) According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the original transporting device of the first aspect, a fixing means 112 for fixing the case 31 to the case library 11 is provided.
When it is detected at 14 that the case 31 has been stored in the case library 11, a command is issued by the fixing means 112 to fix the case library 11. (3) The invention according to claim 3 is the original transport device according to claim 2, wherein the control means 17 comprises the processing devices 14, 15, 16
When it is detected that the work in step (1) has been completed, the original R is transported to the case library 11 by the transport device 12 and returned into the case 31, and the fixing of the case 31 fixed by the fixing means 112 is released. It is assumed that. (4) According to the invention of claim 4, in the original transport device 12 according to any one of claims 1 to 3, each of the processing devices 14, 15, and 16 includes a cleaning machine 14 for cleaning the original R, and presence or absence of dust on the original R. And a pellicle sticking machine 16 for sticking a pellicle to the master R.

[0008] In the section of the means for solving the above-mentioned problems, which explains the configuration of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments of the present invention are used to make the present invention easier to understand. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which an original conveying apparatus according to the present invention is applied to an automatic pellicle sticking apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the pellicle automatic attaching apparatus 10 includes three reticle libraries 11A, 11B, and 11C each of which can accommodate a plurality of reticle cases each accommodating a reticle (in some cases, the reticle libraries 11A, 11B, and 11C will be described as representatives). Each reticle library 11
A transport device 12 that takes out and transports a reticle from the reticle cases A, 11B, and 11C, a bar code reader 13 that is provided in a path of the transport device 12 and reads a reticle bar code, and a cleaning machine 14 that cleans a reticle or pellicle.
Inspection machine 1 for inspecting pellicle and reticle dust
5 and pellicle pasting machine 1 for attaching pellicle to reticle
6, a control device 17 for controlling these devices. The control device 17 includes: a case library 11;
The transport device 12, the barcode reader 13, the reticle cleaning machine 14, the dust inspection machine 15, and the pellicle pasting machine 16 are respectively operated. Reference numeral 18 denotes a base on which the automatic pellicle attaching device 10 is installed.

In a semiconductor manufacturing line, a plurality of automatic pellicle sticking apparatuses 10 are used. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, fully automatic sticking apparatuses 10A to 10C have respective control units 1A to 10C.
The host computer 20 performs overall control via 7A to 17C. The host computer 20 is provided with a storage device 21 for storing information about the reticle. The storage device 21 stores, for example, the status of processing of the reticle, the time of use in the exposure step, and the like, using the ID code assigned to each reticle as an address. Various processes before exposure are performed based on the reticle information stored in the storage device 21, and various exposure conditions including illumination conditions are read and set at the time of exposure.

FIG. 3 shows a reticle R with a pellicle. A pattern (not shown) is formed on the back surface SR of the reticle R, and a pellicle P is attached so as to cover this pattern. A bar code BC is provided on the back surface SR of the reticle R. Information such as the type of the reticle R is written in the barcode BC.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the case library 11. A plurality of slots are provided on the front surface of the case library 11, and one slot is provided for each slot.
1 is set. An open / close door (not shown) is provided on the front surface of the slot, and the case 31 is set by an operator by pushing open the open / close door. The case 31 is also provided with an opening / closing door (not shown), and the case library 11 is provided with a case opening / closing door opening / closing mechanism 111. Case 31
The case library 11 is provided with a claw 31a for locking the case 31 to the case library 11, and the case library 11 is provided with a case lock mechanism 112 for engaging with the claw 31a to lock the case 31 in the case library 11. ing. The reticle is fixed in the case 31,
The case library 11 is provided with a reticle lock release mechanism 113 for releasing the lock by operating the claw 31b connected to the reticle lock mechanism in the case and operating it again.

As shown in FIG. 4, the case library 1 has a case detector 1 for detecting the presence or absence of a case 31.
A reticle detector 115 for detecting the presence or absence of a reticle in the case 31 is provided. Case detector 11
Reference numeral 4 denotes a photo interrupter, which detects the presence or absence of the case 31 depending on whether or not a light shielding plate 31c protruding from the case 31 is interposed between the photo interrupters. The reticle detector 115 detects that the reticle is in the case 31 when the projection light is reflected and received from the side surface of the reticle.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 121 denotes the transport device 12.
Of the transfer arm 121
Transports the reticle R by vacuum suction. The transfer arm 121 is movable in the left, right, up and down directions in FIG. 4 by a moving mechanism (not shown).

The procedure of the pellicle sticking apparatus thus constructed will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. When the worker inserts the case 31 into the case library 11, the case detector 114 detects the insertion of the case 31, and the program shown in FIG. 5 is executed. This program is stored in the control device 17 of the automatic pellicle attaching device 10.

In step S1, the case 31 is locked by the case lock mechanism 112, and in step S2, the opening and closing door of the case 31 is opened by the opening and closing mechanism 111. In step S3, the transfer arm 121 is inserted into the case 31,
Adsorb reticle. In step S4, the reticle lock in the case 31 is released by the reticle lock release mechanism 113, and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the reticle is removed from the case 31 by the transfer arm 121. In step S6, the reticle is transferred to the barcode reader 13 by the transfer device 12, where the barcode provided on the reticle is read and the read result is output to the control device 17. I do. The control device 17 communicates the result to the host computer 20. The host computer 20 accesses the reticle ID code address stored in the storage device 21 according to the read result, reads the processing status of the reticle up to the present, and communicates the next processing content to the control device 17. .

In step S7, the host computer 2
0, a processing instruction for the reticle is received, and in steps S8, S9, S11, and S13 according to the instruction.
Proceed to one of When the process proceeds to step S9, the reticle is conveyed to the reticle cleaning machine 14, and the reticle is cleaned in step S10. In step S11, the reticle is transported to the reticle sticking machine 15, and in step S12, the pellicle is attached to the reticle. When the process proceeds to step S13, the reticle is transported to the dust inspection machine 16 and dust inspection is performed in step S14.

In step S16, when the control device 17 determines that a processing completion signal has been output from each device, the control device 1
7 communicates a processing end signal to the host computer 20. Thereby, the storage device 2 of the host computer 20
In 1, the processing status of the reticle is written in an area specified by the ID code address of the reticle.

In step S17, the reticle is transported to the case 31 by the transport device 12. Step S1
At 8, the reticle lock release mechanism 113 is operated so that the reticle conveyed into the case 31 is locked.
Thereby, the reticle is locked in the case 31.
In step S19, the suction of the reticle by the transfer arm 121 is released, and in step S20, the transfer arm 1
21 is removed from the case 31. In step S21, the door of the case 31 is closed by the door opening / closing mechanism 11,
In step S22, the case 31 is unlocked by the case lock mechanism 112. Thus, this process is completed. As a result, the operator can operate the reticle case 31.
Can be extracted from the case library 11.

As described above, in this embodiment, only the operator inserts the reticle case 31 into the case library 11, and various processes required for the reticle are automatically executed. Therefore, the operation of locking the reticle case 31 becomes unnecessary, and the work of inputting the processing content for the reticle in advance becomes unnecessary, and the work efficiency is improved. Further, a malfunction due to an input error can be prevented. Furthermore, the case lock is automatically released when the processed reticle 31 is returned into the case 31 of the case library 11, so that the processed case can be removed from the case library without any operation by the operator. 11 can be removed.

In the above description, the ID code is represented by a bar code. However, any identification mark such as a two-dimensional code or a character code may be used.

Although the reticle barcode is provided in the path of the transport device 12, a barcode reader may be provided in the case library 11 and the barcode may be read in the case library 11. Although the control device 17 is installed in the fully automatic attaching device 10 and executes the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6, the host computer 20 may execute the same processing. Furthermore, a reticle cleaning machine, a dust inspection machine, a fully automatic attaching apparatus equipped with a pellicle attaching machine has been described, but if the reticle is transported to any one of a plurality of processing apparatuses,
The present invention can be applied to an automatic transfer device combining various devices.

In the correspondence between the above embodiment and the claims, the reticle R constitutes the original, the bar code reader 13 constitutes the identification means, the control device 17 constitutes the control means, and the case lock mechanism 112 constitutes the fixing means. I do.

[0024]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the original is automatically transported to a predetermined processing apparatus simply by inserting the case containing the original into the case library. There is no need to input the processing contents for the original plate each time, the work efficiency is improved, and erroneous processing due to an input error is not executed. In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, when the reticle after the processing is returned into the case, the case is unlocked, so that the operator can remove the case from the library without performing any operation. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a fully automatic attaching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection relationship between a host computer and a fully automatic attaching apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a reticle with a pellicle according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a case library according to the embodiment of the present invention in detail;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart following FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fully automatic sticking apparatus 11A-11C Reticle library 12 Transport device 13 Barcode reader 14 Reticle washing machine 15 Dust inspection machine 16 Pellicle sticking machine 17 Control device 20 Host computer 31 Reticle case 111 Door opening / closing mechanism 112 Case lock mechanism 113 Reticle lock release Mechanism 114 Case detector 115 Reticle detector 121 Transfer arm BC Barcode R Reticle

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An original transporter comprising: a case library accommodating a plurality of cases accommodating an original; and a transporter for transporting the originals in the cases accommodated in the case library to various processing devices. Detecting means for detecting that the case is stored in the case library; identifying means for identifying the original; and detecting that the case is stored in the case library by the detecting means, Control means for instructing the transport device to transport the original to any one of the processing devices in accordance with a result of identification by the means. 2. The original transport apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: fixing means for fixing the case to the case library, wherein the control means detects that the case has been housed in the case library by the detecting means. When detected, the original transporting device issues a command to fix the case library by the fixing means before transporting by the transporting device. 3. The original transport apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control means transports the original to said case library by said transport apparatus when said control means detects that the work in said processing apparatus is completed. The original transporting device, wherein the case is fixed by the fixing means. 4. The original transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing device includes a cleaning machine for cleaning the original, a dust inspection machine for inspecting the original for dust, and a pellicle for the original. An original transport device, characterized in that it is a pellicle pasting machine for pasting an original.