JPS60245247A - Replacement device for semiconductor substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the manufacturing yield by preventing scratches by a method wherein a wafer holding jig supporting a semiconductor substrate on the upper surface is placed on a pedestal provided on the device main unit, so as to move between both pedestals, and a wafer carrier is furnished so as to move up and down. CONSTITUTION:The holding jig 4 with standing wafers is horizontally slid over the top surface of the pedestal 3 by pushing its one end and then fitted into the guide groove 6 of an adjacent pedestal 2, thus replacing the jig 4 from the pedestal 3 to the pedestal 2. Then, a wafer carrier 8 is pulled up along the pedestal 2. A wafer is made to stand by fitting its bottom to the groove of the holding jig 4. When both plates 8a, 8a of the carrier 8 pass through both side edges of the holding jig 4, both sides of a semiconductor substrate are held by fitting to the groove 9 of the side plate 8a, and the substrate is replaced from the jig 4 to the carrier 8. This manner can avoid the contact of wafers with one another during the replacement work and can improve the decrease in yield caused by scratches on the wafer surface and that caused by wafer drops and the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring semiconductor substrates between a diffusion boat and a wafer carrier.

[Prior art]

In processes such as the process of diffusing impurities into a semiconductor substrate (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) or the process of forming an oxide film, it is necessary to transfer the wafer between a diffusion boat (wafer carrier) and a wafer carrier, for example. .

Conventionally, in the diffusion process of semiconductor substrates, wafers have been transferred one by one from a diffusion boat to a two-pass carrier or vice versa using a bin set. In this repositioning method, because the space between the wafer stand grooves of the diffusion boat and wafer carrier is narrow, wafers tend to come into contact with each other during the repositioning process, which causes scratches on the wafer surface and the oxidation mask used as a mask for selective impurity diffusion. This tends to cause damage to the film, resulting in abnormal diffusion, or damage to the oxide film after it has been formed, resulting in a decrease in manufacturing yield. Furthermore, the number of man-hours required for rebuilding was also a major factor contributing to the increase in manufacturing costs.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor substrate transfer device that eliminates such drawbacks, prevents scratches from occurring on the wafer surface, improves manufacturing yield, and reduces the number of man-hours required for wafer replacement. There is a particular thing.

[Structure of the invention]

In the present invention, a pair of pedestals is provided in the apparatus main body, and a wafer holding jig for supporting a semiconductor substrate on the upper surface is movably installed between the two pedestals. ) This is a semiconductor substrate transfer device characterized by being equipped with a space holding jig and a space carrier capable of vertical movement for transferring and receiving semiconductor substrates.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, two pedestals 2 and 3 are installed adjacent to each other on the apparatus main body 1, and guide grooves 5 and 6 for guiding the wafer holding jig 4 are installed in the longitudinal direction of the top surface of each pedestal 2 and 3. are placed on the same axis.

Figure 2 shows a quartz diffusion/diffusion boat 7 as a wafer carrier used in the semiconductor substrate diffusion process, and Figure 3 shows a Teflon wafer carrier 8 that transports the semiconductor substrate within the process.・The diffusion boat 7 has a pair of side plates 7 (L + 7cL, rods 7b, 7b,
On the other hand, the wafer carrier 8 has a pair of side plates 8α+8a whose skirt portions 8b are curved inward, and each pair of side plates 7a+8
The distance a is set wider than the width of the wafer holding jig 4, and the diffusion boat 7 and wafer carrier 8 are mounted on the apparatus main body 1 with seven pairs of side plates straddling the holding jig 4.
It is something that you can sit on.

Further, the upper surface 4α of the holding jig 4, the side plate 7 (L) of the boat 7
I7cL and rod 7b, 7b, '7 Ever, X
Key Y! A wafer holding groove 9 for leaning and holding a semiconductor substrate on the side plates 8α, 8a of J78. ...
... are provided at the same pitch.

For example, a case where wafers loaded on the diffusion boat 7 are transferred to the wafer carrier 8 will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the wafer carrier 8 is vertically lowered from above one of the pedestals 2, and the wafer carrier 8 is seated across the pedestal 2. Next, the holding jig 4 is inserted into the guide groove 6 of the other pedestal 3.

Then, align the grooves 9 of the holding jig 6 with the grooves 9 of the diffusion boat 7, lower the diffusion boat 7 vertically from above the other pedestal 3, and place the boat 7 on the outside of the holding jig 6. The grooved rods 7b, 7b (side plates 7a, 7a) are allowed to pass through.

Since the semiconductor substrate is hung on the pointer 7 with its both sides fitted into the grooves 9 of the side plate 7a and the round door b, the pair of side plates of the boat 7 and the holding jig 6 in which the rods are fixed are attached. When passing through both side edges, the grooves 9 of the holding jig 6 and the boat 7 have the same pitch, so the lower part of the wafer held by the boat 7 is received by the grooves 9 of the holding jig 4.

While the boat 7 is being vertically lowered and seated astride one of the pedestals 3, the uenose is transferred from the boat 7 to the holding jig 4.

Next, push one end of the holding jig 4 on which the wafer is propped up, slide the top surface of the pedestal 3 in the horizontal direction, fit the holding jig 4 into the guide groove 6 of the adjacent pedestal 2, and remove the pedestal 3.
Transfer from to pedestal 2.

At this time, the grooves 9 of the wafer carrier 8 seated on the pedestal 2 in advance and the grooves 9 of the holding jig 4 are aligned. Then, the wafer carrier 8 is pulled upward along the pedestal 2. The wafer is suspended with its lower part fitted into the groove of the holding jig 4, and when the side plates 8a, 8α of the carrier 8 pass through both side edges of the holding jig 4, both sides of the semiconductor substrate are fitted into the grooves of the holding jig 4. The substrate is fitted into the groove 9 and held, and the substrate is transferred from the holding jig 4 to the carrier 8 when the carrier 8 is pulled upward.

Incidentally, in order to transfer the semiconductor substrate from the wafer carrier to the diffusion boat (wafer carrier), the above-described operation may be performed in reverse.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention transfers wafers while moving the wafer carrier up and down across the wafer holding jig, thereby avoiding contact between wafers during wafer transfer work. This makes it possible to improve the yield loss caused by the occurrence of scratches on the wafer surface, and also improve the yield loss caused by falling wafers during transfer using conventional tweezers. It also has great effects, such as greatly reducing the number of man-hours required for wafer replacement.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a generally used quartz diffusion port, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a Teflon wafer carrier. 1... Device body, 2, 3... Pedestal, 4... Wafer holding jig, 7... Diffusion port (wafer carrier), 8... Wafer carrier, 9... Wafer holding Mizo patent applicant NEC Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A pair of pedestals is provided in the apparatus main body, and a wafer holding jig for supporting a semiconductor substrate on the upper surface is movably installed between the two pedestals, and each pedestal is provided with a wafer holding jig that supports the semiconductor substrate on the upper surface. A semiconductor substrate transfer device characterized by being equipped with a wafer carrier that can be moved up and down to transfer semiconductor substrates from a holding jig.