JPS6211001Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wafer face alignment device suitable for aligning silicon or other wafers in a fixed direction in a vacuum chamber.

Conventionally, it is known that multiple sets of wafer processing equipment, such as film forming equipment and etching equipment, are installed in the same vacuum chamber, and the wafers sent into the vacuum chamber are sequentially processed by each equipment. It is desirable to be able to analyze the processing conditions for the wafer after the processing, and for this purpose it is necessary to align the wafers supplied into the vacuum chamber in a certain direction within the chamber.

The present invention aims to satisfy this need, and includes a vacuum chamber 1 in which a substantially circular wafer 2 with a facet 2a is placed, and a table 3 that can be raised and lowered and rotated freely. Openable and closable arms 4, 4 that press the peripheral edge 2b of the wafer 2 on the outer periphery
Two sets of sensors 5, 5 are provided for receiving the light beam passing through the facet 2a and stopping the rotation of the table 3.

Each arm 4, 4 is swingably attached to a pin 23 of a base bracket 22 integral with the vacuum chamber 1, and a wire 24 wound around the rear end of these arms 4, 4 connects to a rotary actuator 34. Each arm 4, 4 swings toward the closing side against springs 26, 26 when it is rolled up by a winding roller 25 which rotates in forward and reverse directions.

FIG. 1 shows one example, in which a cleaning device 7 equipped with a cleaning RF electrode 6 and an etching device 9 equipped with an etching RF electrode 8 are provided in the vacuum chamber 1, and the wafer 2 is Each device 7, 9 is mounted on a turntable 10 in the chamber 1.
transported to the processing location. The wafer 2 is approximately circular and has a facet 2a in a part thereof, and is turned from one of a pair of cassette devices 35, 35 on the side of the vacuum chamber 1 via a conveyor-like transfer device 11a and a facet alignment device 12. The cassettes are delivered onto the table 10, or are received from the turntable 10 into the other cassette device 35 via the storage lift device 13 and the transport device 11b. Reference numeral 14 indicates through holes formed at a plurality of locations in the turntable 10, and the wafer 2 is connected to one side of each through hole 14 via a long hole 15.
A small hole 16 having a smaller diameter than the above is provided. The table 3 of the facet alignment device 12 is formed in a circular shape, and is supported by a support shaft 20 that can be rotated up and down by a cylinder 18 inserted into the bottom 1a of the vacuum chamber 1 via a fixed bearing 17 and a motor 19. ,
A part of the support shaft 20 is configured as a spline shaft 20a so that the rotation of the motor 19 is transmitted. The table 3 is raised by a cylinder 18 from further below the conveying device 11a provided below the turntable 10, and as it rises, the conveying device 1
The wafer 2 is placed on the wafer 1a and ascends through the through hole 14 of the turntable 10 to the facet alignment device above, and at the facet alignment position, the center of the wafer 2 is aligned with the center of rotation of the table 3. The arms 4, 4 swing to move the table 3 facet 2a to the position of the pair of sensors 5, 5.
is rotated by the motor 19 until it is located. To explain this further, each arm 4, 4 is equipped with a wafer tray 21 having at its tip an arcuate portion 21a that matches the outer circumference of the table 3 and a substantially circular protrusion 21b that presses the peripheral edge 2b of the wafer 2. It is swingably attached to a pin 23 of a base bracket 22 that is integrated with the vacuum chamber 1, and when the wire 24 wound around the rear ends of these arms 4, 4 is wound up by a winding roller 25, each arm 4, 4 are springs 26, 26
In this case, the wafer tray 2
Since the contact portion 21a of the wafer 1 contacts the table 3, the wafer 2 can be moved to the rotation center position of the table 3 without being pinched by the arms 4, 4 and damaged. Further, each sensor 5 is composed of a light emitter 5a and a light receiver 5b, for example, as shown in the fourth figure, and a pair of sensors 5 is connected to an arm punch 28 which is moved in and out by a cylinder 27 outside the vacuum chamber 1.
They are placed side by side with some distance at the tip of the
The arm punch 28 protrudes after the arms 4, 4 have finished aligning the rotation centers of the wafer 2 and the table 3, and interposes the wafer 2 between the light emitters and receivers 5a, 5b of each sensor 5. At the same time, motor 1
9 operates to rotate table 3, but wafer 2
When the facet 2a of the wafer 2a comes under both sensors 5, 5 and its light beam is detected without being blocked by the wafer 2, a signal is sent to the motor 19 to stop its rotation, and the wafer 2 is thus The facet 2a is positioned below both sensors 5, 5 and stopped. 34 is a rotary actuator that rotates the winding roller 25 in the forward and reverse directions; 29 and 30 are substrate electrodes that can be vertically retracted through the through holes 14 of the turntable 10 to face the respective electrodes 6 and 8; Each electrode 29, 30
A wafer holder 33, which can move up and down inside the vacuum chamber 10 and is large enough to pass through the small hole 16 of the turntable 10, is a drive source for the turntable 10 provided with an index drive outside the vacuum chamber 1.

To explain the operation of the device of the present invention, the conveying device 11
When the wafer 2 with the facet 2b is sent out from the cassette device 35 at step a, the table 3 waiting below rises, the wafer 2 is placed thereon, and the wafer 2 is placed at the facet alignment position through the through hole 14 of the turntable 10. rises to. When the table 3 reaches this position, the roller 25 rotates and the arm 4,
4 swings toward the closing side, and the wafer 2 is moved to be positioned at the center of rotation of the table 3 with its peripheral edge 2b being pushed by the protruding edge 21b. Subsequently, the arms 4, 4 are opened, and the sensors 5, 5 are attached to the peripheral edge 2 of the wafer 2 by the arm punch 28.
The table 3 is rotated by the motor 19 at the same time as the facet 2a protrudes to face the sensor 5, but when the facet 2a comes to a position where it does not block the light beams of both sensors 5, a stop signal for the motor 19 is issued and the table 3 is rotated at that position. Wafer 2 stops. After this, Armsuki 28 left,
Furthermore, the turntable 10 is rotated a little and the small hole 1
When the spindle 20 is located inside the small hole 16, the table 3 is lowered through the small hole 16, and during this descent, the table 3 is lowered through the small hole 16.
A wafer 2 having a larger diameter than the wafer 2 is placed on the turntable 10 in a constant direction. The wafer 2 on the small hole 16 is sent below the electrode 6 by the rotation of the turntable 10, where it is lifted by the wafer holder 31 rising from below, and the turntable 10
When the substrate electrode 29 is rotated slightly to position the through hole 14 below the wafer 2, the substrate electrode 29 rises through the through hole 14, and the wafer 2
A cleaning process is applied to the After the processing is completed, the substrate electrode 29 is lowered, the turntable 10 is rotated backwards, and the wafer holder 31 is lowered in this order, and the wafer 2 is again placed on the turntable 10 at its original position. Further, when the wafer 2 is located below the electrode 8, the substrate electrode 30 and the wafer holder 32 perform substantially the same operation as described above, and the etching process is performed.

When the processed wafer 2 is moved above the accommodation lift device 13, the wafer 2 is lifted above the turntable 10 by the lifting of the device 13, and the turntable 10 is moved so that the through hole 14 is located below the wafer 2. When pivoted, the device 13 is lowered, and the transfer device 11b receives the wafer 2 and stores it in the receiving cassette device 35.

As described above, according to the present invention, a table 3 that can be raised and lowered and rotated is provided in a vacuum chamber 1, and the wafer 2 is positioned at the center of rotation of the table 3 using the arms 4, 4 that can be opened and closed on the outer periphery. The position of the facet 2a is known by the pair of sensors 5, 5, and the table 3
According to this, the direction of the wafer 2 can be automatically aligned in the vacuum chamber 1, and its structure is relatively simple and it is easy to maintain the vacuum property. Since there are no sources of dust such as gears inside, the interior can be kept clean, and since the arms 4, 4 and sensors 5, 5 are arranged around the outer periphery of the table 3, the vertical dimensions of the device can be reduced, allowing for a relatively small vacuum chamber. It has the advantage that it is convenient to install it in 1.

Further, according to the present invention, the rotational force of the rotary actuator 34 is transferred to each arm 4,
4, the arms 4, 4 are connected to the spring 2.
Since the arms 4, 26 are swung toward the closing side in opposition to the arms 4, 26, the means for moving the arms 4, 4 can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of its essential parts, FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the sensor. 1...Vacuum chamber, 2...Wafer, 2a...Facet, 2b...Periphery, 3...Table, 4, 4...
...Arm, 5,5...Sensor, 22...Base bracket, 23...Pin, 24...Wire, 25
... winding roller, 26 ... spring, 34 ... rotary actuator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model claims] A substantially circular wafer 2 with a facet 2a is placed in a vacuum chamber 1, and a table 3 is movable up and down and rotatable.
and two sets of openable and closable arms 4, 4 which press the peripheral edge 2b of the wafer 2 on the outer periphery of the table 3, and two sets of arms 4, 4 which receive the light beam through the facet 2a and stop the rotation of the table 3. Sensors 5, 5 are provided, each arm 4, 4 is swingably attached to a pin 23 of a base bracket 22 integrated with the vacuum chamber 1, and a wire 24 wound around the rear end of these arms 4, 4 is attached. A wafer facet characterized in that each arm 4, 4 swings toward the closing side against springs 26, 26 when the wafer is wound up by a winding roller 25 which is rotated forward and backward by a rotary actuator 34. Matching device.