JPS58145144A - Wafers conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable to perform conveyance of a carrier smoothly according to the control of a computer by a method wherein conveyance of the carrier accommodating the semiconductor wafers is mechanized. CONSTITUTION:The carrier 9 accommodating the wafers is conveyed in order on a first lane 10 according to indication of the computer. The carrier 9 turns to a second lane 11 from the first lane 10 at the intersectional point with the second lane 11 connected to a photo resist applying and prebaking device 2. The carrier 9 conveyed by the second lane 11 is equipped to the loader part 6 of the applying and prebaking device 2 by a robot 8. The wafers finished with the applying and prebaking process are accommodated in the carrier of an unloader 7, and are turned to a third lane 11' by a robot 8'. The carrier is conveyed by the third lane 11' and is turned to the first lane 10 again, and is conveyed on the first lane 10 up to a next processor. The carrier is conveyed similarly to a positioning exposure device 3 or a positioning exposure device 3', and after then the carrier is conveyed to a developing device 4, an exterior appearance tester 5 in turn, and the process treatment is performed sequentially.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Semiconductor wood... is transferred in the order of the processing steps from the manufacturing equipment at the previous stage to the manufacturing equipment at Shundan on the Conbee Ichitari side 1! l
This relates to a wafer transport device for mechanically transporting wafers.

The lower stages of wafer processing include various processes such as FOL-IJ lithography process, ENOTINC process, wide-ranging process, metallurgical process, etc.
There was one group, and these were repeated for 11 meters,
A semiconductor device was created and the processes described in (a) and (b) were performed. ! 7) Numerous specialized 14]
No゛1'. Conductor crushing device or floor 10V (placed).

Semiconductor software...
1? Drunk and also a very pure IW dregs 1! I(
The 1st floor, where semiconductor manufacturing equipment is placed, should be cleaned with a little bit of trash for peace of mind. + Mourning notification device (also known as Clean Runo) should be installed in the 1t91 Sendo Wax Processing Room.

ftt U.S., I-1, et al.'s semiconductor, q-body manufacturing equipment 'σ' is used to process the ooze, and the ooze between the equipment.
・-The ward's transportation was carried out by 11 people. 3, Figure 1, which will be explained in detail in the first example, is as follows:
Conventional half, 9 storage 1, Sea hearth processing 1-: 1-
(Of I, the floor layout of No. A trisotaranoi 1,' is 7J<-. 1] Zollibake device 62, 1 = g
The tail r9 5, 5, the developing device 4, and the appearance thinning device 5 are arranged 6, t. Each device? At t, store the wafers (1 to 1), set the rear to the loader 6, set the empty gear rear to the unloader 7, and move from the loader 6 to the unrotor 7 as shown by the solid arrow. , one wafer is transported and intermediate processes are processed. 1° When the processing is completed, a person carries the carrier containing the wafers to the next processing equipment +, t vc in the order shown by the broken line. I'll go.

As mentioned above, the conventional waste treatment process requires a lot of man-hours because people carry the sea urchins between devices, and it also causes dust and dirt to get on the sea urchins. Lean rooms, which are expensive to carry directly on top of each other, require a large floor space that includes space for people to walk. In addition, since humans are also a source of garbage, the amount of garbage generated by humans is a major factor in low F yields.

On the other hand, recently, semiconductor manufacturing equipment called in-line method has been created with the aim of being unmanned and saving clean room space. 1 This is shown in Figure 2.

However, in the in-line method, the wafer processing capacity is limited by the minimum &ta, and when comparing Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, it is found that in Fig. (Ic %j L,) In the in-line system shown in Figure 2, there is only one eyelid exposure machine 6, so in order to have the same processing capacity as in Figure 1, two systems are required. In-line equipment is required.

In addition, in the in-line method, if any device fails, the entire processing process stops), which has the disadvantage of lowering the device's operating rate.Also, when replacing any device, it is necessary to replace the other connected devices. This has the disadvantage that the degree of freedom in layout is extremely low because it affects the process equipment.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a wafer transfer device that allows wafer transfer to be carried out unmanned, reduces clean room space, and enables an equipment layout with high whiteness. This is one thing.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to drawing VC.

In FIG. 6, the present invention includes a first lane 10 that transports carriers 9 containing semiconductor wafers in a fixed direction, and a carrier that is selectively taken out from the first lane and transports them to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. , a sixth lane 11' for returning the semiconductor manufacturing equipment to the first lane 10, and a second and sixth lane ii.
, +1 and a robot 8゜8' that transfers carriers to and from semiconductor devices at 1t''1, and carries the carriers using an i-machine and controls the conveyance of the carriers. .

FIG. 3 is an apparatus layout diagram showing a photolithography process to which the wax conveying apparatus of the present invention is applied.

The gear rear 9 containing the waste is sequentially conveyed on the first lane 10 according to instructions from a combination controller (not shown). The second device connected to the photoresist coating/prebake device 2
At the intersection with lane 11, carrier 9 moves to the first lane/1
0 to the second lane; / 11 (/(Moves. The carrier 9 advanced in the second lane 11 is mounted by the robot 8 on the rotor part 6 of the coating/prebaking device t2.

The wafer that has been coated and greased is
It is stored in the carrier of the loader 7 and transferred to the fifth lane 11 by the robot 8'. The gear rear is transported in the third lane 11' and transferred to the first lane 10,
It is transported on the first lane 10 to the next processing device r. Similarly to the above, the eyelid exposure machine 3 or the n-column exposure machine 6', hereafter the developing device 4, the visual inspection device 5, and the Vc gear are transported one after another, and the processing is performed one after another. Which of the eyelid exposure devices 3 and 6 is used for processing is determined by instructions from the conbeater. A surface clean room (not shown) is provided with the first clean room for transporting the gear rear. It covers the second and sixth stages, the robot, and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

As described above, the present invention enables unmanned transportation between devices, reduces man-hours, and eliminates the need for humans to attach dust, thereby improving yield.

In addition, since expensive lean rooms need only be provided in the areas where carriers are transported and the parts of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment where the sea urchins flow, it is possible to reduce factory construction costs, wholesale costs, and special awards. Furthermore, device t is connected to another device u.
If the device is replaced or if the device breaks down, it will not affect other connected devices, so the degree of freedom in the device layout will be compromised.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by mechanizing the conveyance of the carrier containing the semiconductor unicorns, the conveyance of the carrier can be carried out smoothly under the control of the converter.

In the embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a photo IJ soger coating process is described, but it can also be applied to other processes such as an etching process and a diffusion process.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are floor layout diagrams of a conventional photolithography process, and FIG. 6 is an example of a floor layout of a first lithography process to which the wafer transfer apparatus of the present invention is applied. 1. Clean room, 2...7. i-Trecato coating/gribake device 6.3'・interval exposure machine, 4...developing device, 5・appearance inspection device 6...row, #row 1 7
...Unloader-1818...robot? -Carrier, 10...first lane 11, +2.13. +
4.15...Second lane 11.12, 13. +
4.15...Third Lane Patent Applicant NEC Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A first lane for transporting carriers in a certain direction for storing semiconductor substrates, and a semiconductor manufacturing equipment (/
(The second lane for transporting, the third lane for returning the gear rear from the semiconductor manufacturing equipment to the first lane, and the gear A between the second and third lanes and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment tf=t.
It is said that the robot that gives and receives the rear is changed to a groove.
6. Timely Udo-su conveyance device.