JPS5974645A - Holder for wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for the exchange of carriers, etc. every time a small-sized wafer is carried by setting up an annular member capable of matching the small-sized wafer to one surface of a disk carrying a large-sized wafer and fitting the small-sized wafer to the annular member. CONSTITUTION:The annular member 2 with an inserting port of a diameter D2 slightly larger than that of the small-sized wafer to be carried is set up on the disk 1 with the same diameter D1 as the large-sized wafer as a standard. The radial sectional shape of the annular member 2 is formed to an approximately L shape and the member 2 is fixed to one surface of the disk 1 at that time, thus forming an annular connecting groove 3 of depth (d) sufficient for connecting and holding the small-sized wafer to be carried and width (W) slightly larger than the thickness of the small-sized wafer between the member 2 and the disk 1. Accordingly, the holder for the small-sized wafer is set up on the disk 1 for the large-sized wafer, the small-sized wafer is positioned in the connecting groove 3 by using vacuum tweezers, and the small-sized wafer is carried by the disk 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a wafer holder for holding and transporting wafers in a semiconductor manufacturing process.

[Technical Background of the Invention] Semiconductor integrated circuits are manufactured by performing a series of wafer processes such as photoetching, diffusion, and growth on a wafer made of thinly sliced silicon single crystals. For example, on a single wafer with an outer diameter of 3 inches (76.2yi), which was the mainstream in the past, approximately 400 integrated circuit chips (equivalent to 3 chips) are formed on a single wafer, and scribing is performed after completion. The integrated circuit is then divided into parts and packaged to complete the integrated circuit. By the way, the larger the wafer, the more integrated circuit chips can be made at the same time.
Moreover, since there is less wasted wafer portion, there is a tendency for the size of wafers to increase, with an outer diameter of 4 inches (1
01.6mm) or 5 inches (127fl)
There are more and more things.

On the other hand, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, automation is progressing, and the system is shifting from a system in which a worker manually holds a wafer and moves it to the next process to a system in which wafers are automatically transported using a transport mechanism provided in a manufacturing device. In other words, 10 wafers of about 25 degrees are inserted into a cassette and transported between processes in units of cassettes, and in equipment for ion implantation, reactive ion etching, sputtering, etc., wafers are transferred one by one onto a carrier. Supporting and automatic transport 1. [Problems with background technology] However, these transport devices are equipped with chucking mechanisms, cassettes, transport paths, etc. for wafers of a certain size; If there is a change, the width of the carrier or conveyor belt must be changed each time. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare a large amount of spare parts for each outer diameter of the wafer, which results in equipment downtime (dead time) due to replacement of spare parts.
There is a problem in that it causes a large loss in terms of costs and efficiency. Especially in high-vacuum equipment, the time required before the equipment can be reused is extremely long, which has a significant impact on production planning.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer holder that can transport a plurality of wafers having different outer diameters without replacing maintenance parts of the equipment or stopping the equipment accordingly. do.

[Summary of the invention]

The wafer holder according to the present invention has a diameter sufficient to engage a small diameter wafer to be transported on a disk having the same diameter as a standard large diameter wafer. An annular member such as an annular engagement groove having a width slightly larger than the thickness of the wafer in the vertical direction of the disk is attached, and the diameter of the insertion opening at the inner peripheral end of this annular member is the same as the diameter of the small-diameter wafer. This makes it possible to handle and transport small-diameter wafers in the same way as large-diameter wafers.

[Embodiments of the invention]

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

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the wafer holder according to the present invention, in which a disk 1 having a diameter D1 equal to that of a standard large-diameter wafer has a diameter D1 slightly smaller than the diameter of a small-diameter wafer to be transported. An annular member 2 having an insertion opening with a large diameter D2 is attached to.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along A A′ of the embodiment shown in FIG.
The annular member 2 has a substantially L-shaped cross section in the radial direction and is fixed to one surface of the disc 1. As a result, the annular member 2 has an annular engagement with the disk 1 having a depth d sufficient to engage and hold a small-diameter wafer to be transported and a width W slightly larger than the thickness of the small-diameter wafer. A groove 3 is formed. The inner end 2a of this annular portion 2 has a diameter D2 as described above.
The opening serves as a wafer insertion port.

To use this wafer holder, a small-diameter wafer to be transported is held, for example, with vacuum tweezers, inserted into the wafer holder through the insertion opening, and engaged with the engagement groove 3. Thereby, the wafer is stably held, and since the outer diameter of the disk 1 is equal to the diameter of the large-diameter wafer, a small-diameter wafer can be mounted on a transfer device for large-diameter wafers.

This wafer holder can be made integrally by cutting and boring a stainless steel alloy, or a disc holder.
It can be manufactured by welding the annular part 2 to the annular part 2.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line AA' of another embodiment,
The peripheral edge portion 1a of the disk 10 is offset, and an annular flat plate member 2' is fixed to this offset portion to form an annular engagement groove 3. In this case, the annular engagement groove 3 and the circle, the peripheral edge 1 of the plate 10
Since it is provided at such a position that the wafer a is flush with the peripheral edge 1a of the disc 1, when the small diameter wafer is engaged and held, the wafer .

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line AA′ of another embodiment,
The disk 1 is provided with an opening 4 having a diameter D3 smaller than the diameter of the small-diameter wafer, and is used for processing such as ion implantation and sputtering while the small-diameter wafer is held in the wafer holder. This is to prevent the disk 1 from interfering with heat conduction to the wafer, and to reduce the weight of the holder.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating an embodiment using an annular member 2tr whose shape has been changed.
The surface 2b facing the engagement groove 3 is inclined so as to become narrower toward the outside in the radial direction, and has a protrusion that rises from the inner peripheral end 2a in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the disk 10. Edge 2
It has c. Such a structure ensures that the wafer is held securely and reduces the possibility that the wafer will fly out of the holder.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another embodiment in which a notch 2d is provided in a part of the annular member 2 and an orientation flat 1b is provided at the bottom of the disc 1. This notch 2d makes it possible to insert manual tweezers and hold the wafer.In addition, by providing the orientation flat 1b, it is possible to make the entire holder in the same form as the wafer, so the small diameter wafer 5 can be held on the orientation flat. By inserting the wafer in the same direction, the direction of the wafer can be kept constant in each processing step.

Each of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily.

In addition to stainless steel, the material of the ueno/holder according to the present invention may be any chemically resistant material; for example, titanium or a titanium alloy may be used to reduce weight.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the Waeno 1 holder according to the present invention as described above, a small diameter Waeno can be held by the engagement groove provided between the disc and the annular member attached thereto, and it is different from the standard large diameter Waeno. By using disks with the same diameter, it is possible to hold and transport a small-diameter wafer and a large-diameter wafer in the same space. For this reason, if the transfer system is set to a thick 10-diameter wafer, which is standard in various manufacturing equipment, there will be no need to adjust or replace the carrier or transfer belt each time small-diameter wafers are transferred. There is no need to stop the equipment due to preparation of parts or replacement of spare parts, which reduces costs and improves efficiency.

In the wafer 1 holder of the present invention, if the peripheral edge of the disc is provided at a position corresponding to the retaining groove, the weight balance when holding the wafer 7 can be improved.Small diameter to be held on the disc Providing an opening smaller than the wafer facilitates heat conduction to the wafer 21 during the heating process, improving thermal efficiency and reducing weight.

Furthermore, if the surface of the annular member facing the disk is inclined so that the engagement groove becomes narrower toward the outside in the radial direction, the wafer can be held securely.

Furthermore, by providing a protruding edge that rises from the inner peripheral end of the annular member in a direction perpendicular to the disc, it is possible to prevent the wafer from falling off.

Furthermore, if a notch is provided in the annular member, manual tweezers can be inserted into the annular member, thereby improving operability.

Further, by providing an orientation flat on the peripheral edge of the disk, the holder according to the present invention can be handled in the same manner as a large diameter wafer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the wafer holder according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a central sectional view thereof, and Fig. 3 is an embodiment in which the positions of the peripheral edge of the disk and the engagement groove correspond to each other. FIG. 4 is a central sectional view showing another embodiment in which an opening is provided in the disc, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing an embodiment employing an engagement groove of another structure, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another embodiment in which the annular member and the disk are modified. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Disk, 1a... Peripheral part, 1b... Orientation flat, 2... Annular member, 2a... Inner peripheral side end, 2b... Opposing surface, 2c... Protrusion Edge, 3.
...Engagement groove, 4...Opening. Applicant's agent Kiyoshi Inomata'i＄1 Figure and a half 3 figures 弗4 figure 5 figure 1 degree Shi6M d

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A disk having the same diameter as a standard large-diameter wafer; and a disk having a depth sufficient to engage and hold the small-diameter wafer to be transported. and an annular member provided between the wafer and the disc, which is an annular engagement groove having a width slightly larger than the thickness of the small diameter wafer in a direction perpendicular to the disc surface in the radial direction of the plate. A wafer holder, wherein the diameter of the insertion opening formed by the inner peripheral end of the annular member is slightly larger than the diameter of the small diameter wafer. 2. The wafer holder according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral edge of the disc is provided at a position corresponding to the annular engagement groove. 3. The wafer holder according to claims 1 and 2, wherein the disc has an opening smaller than the diameter of the small diameter wafer. 4. The wafer holder according to claims 1 to 3, wherein the annular member has a notch. 5. The wafer holder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the surface of the annular member facing the disk is inclined so that the engagement groove becomes narrower toward the outside in the radial direction. 6. Claims 1 to 5, in which the annular member has a projecting edge that rises from the inner peripheral end in a direction perpendicular to the disk surface.
Wafer holder as described in section. 7. The wafer holder according to claims 1 to 6, wherein the disc has an orientation flat.