JPS62136428A - Rectangular mask substrate transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the apparatus applicable to various sizes of works with no contact with the surfaces of the works by supporting a work at the edges thereof on a work table of a V-shaped configuration in section, lowering the table to transfer the work onto two sets of tapered rollers, and then pushing out the work by a push-out mechanism. CONSTITUTION:When a work 1 is put on a table 2 by carrying chucks 5, a motor 9 is rotated under the control, such as, of a sequencer to lower the table 2, and the work 1 is transferred onto rollers 3. Then, a motor 12 is rotated to push out the work 1 by a push-out device 4, the work 1 being transferred to a storage cassette 15. In this way, as the process achieves transfer of a work by contacting only the edges thereof, keeping the front and rear surfaces from being contacted, there is no fear of deterioration of the quality of the work, and, as both of the work table and the tapered rollers can meet various sizes of works, there is no necessity of changing the setup.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is applicable to a rectangular mask substrate inspection device, etc.
This invention relates to a square mask substrate transfer mechanism for transferring a square mask substrate (work) between a storage cassette and a storage cassette.

3. Detailed Description of the Invention When manufacturing an IC device, which is a semiconductor product, the first step is to prepare a mask substrate.
The substrate (substrate) is made of crystal or glass, and these days, the shape is exclusively rectangular (square), and there are various sizes ranging from 4 to finches on a side.

The substrate sequentially undergoes various processes to form a circuit pattern on its surface to become a mask substrate, from which ICs are manufactured by a projection method. in this way,
The mask substrate is the base of the IC, so if there are flaws or dust on its surface, it will cause defects in all manufactured ICs and have a very large effect. It is generally accepted that contact with surfaces should be avoided as much as possible when a workpiece is loaded/unloaded/transferred between inspection devices. In addition, strict measures must be taken to prevent dust generation from various processing/inspection devices or their accompanying attachment/detachment/transfer mechanisms.

Conventionally, in a mask substrate inspection apparatus, a plastic belt is used to transfer a sample work to a storage cassette, but the belt comes into contact with the back surface of the work, which may cause flaws.

In addition, a mechanism called a drawer table is used to take out and insert workpieces, but it is not only complex and large in size, but also requires the setup of a part of the mechanism in order to accommodate various workpiece sizes. It is inconvenient that it is necessary to change, and it is not something that should be satisfied.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention provides a mechanism for transferring and pushing a rectangular mask substrate into a storage cassette without contacting the surface of the workpiece, and without requiring setup changes for workpieces of various sizes. First, it is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer mechanism for a rectangular mask substrate having a medium-line structure.

In this invention, the workpiece is transferred and pushed mechanically, but the contact between the mechanism and the workpiece is between the side surface of the workpiece and the front/cut surface. This is limited to ridgelines.

Figure 1(a) shows the V-shaped workpiece 1δ used in this invention.
This shows the table 2, and the workpiece 1 is placed on the V-shaped 2
It is placed with the ridgeline on the side touching the edge of the side.

FIG. 1(b) shows a tapered roller 3 used in the present invention, and a workpiece 1 is placed on opposing rollers 3 (only one pair is shown) in contact with each other at the ridge line. Here, when pushing the side surface of the workpiece 1 in the direction of arrow B with the extrusion tool 4, the roller 3 rotates freely as the workpiece 1 advances, but the contact between the two is limited to the ridgeline.

FIG. 1(C) shows workpiece 1. 3 is a layout diagram of a workpiece mounting table 2 and a tapered roller 3. FIG. 5 in the diagram is 1 in the previous stage
-1 A conveyance chuck for conveying the workpiece 1 from the inspection position to the workpiece mounting table 2 is shown.

FIG. 2 is a small cross-sectional view of each stage to explain the procedure of transferring the workpiece 1 in this invention. In the diagram, (a) is "
A workpiece 1 is shown chucked on two transport chucks 5, and when the chucks are lowered, the workpiece 1 is placed on the platform 16' 2 with its ridge line touching, as shown in FIG. When the mounting table 2 further descends to the state shown in FIG. Here, when the side surface of the workpiece is pressed in the direction of arrow B by the extrusion tool 4, the workpiece 1 is brought into contact with the ridge line and transferred as described above.

[Embodiment] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a square mask substrate transfer mechanism according to the present invention. A vertical axis 8'' connected to a vertical movement axis 8 is provided at the center of the base plate 6, and a V-shaped workpiece mounting table 2 is attached to the vertical axis 8''. The motor 9 is used to raise and lower the workpiece mounting table 2.

Two frame pars 7 are fixed in parallel on both sides of the workpiece mounting table 2, and a series of tapered rollers 3 are attached to each frame parser 7.
Arrange by supporting the shaft.

The sizes of the mounting table 2 and rollers 3, as well as the spacing between adjacent rollers 3 or opposing spacing, etc., are determined based on the minimum and maximum sizes of the workpieces being tested. The selection should be made so that it can be applied. This is quite possible for the current 4 to 1,000 workpieces.

Moreover, by doing this, setup changes are not required when changing the workpiece size.

The pusher 4 is attached to a movable slider 14 along two guide rods 13, and a motor 12 moves the slider 14 via a steel belt 11.

Now, when the workpiece 1 is placed on the mounting table 2 1- by the aforementioned transport chuck 5, the motor 9 is rotated under the control of a sequencer, the mounting table 2 is lowered, and the workpiece 1 is transferred to the rollers 3. It will be done. Next, the pushing tool 4 is pushed out by the rotation of the motor 12, and the work l is transferred to the storage cassette 15.

[Effects of the Invention] The rectangular mask substrate transfer mechanism according to the present invention eliminates the defects caused by warping in the conventional belt method mentioned at the beginning.
The problem of dust, the complexity of the mechanism in the storage cassette drawer stand, and the difficulty of changing setups are all eliminated by υF. That is, since the method uses a V-shaped mounting table and tapered rollers to contact only the ridgeline of the workpiece and transfer the workpiece without contacting the front and back surfaces, there is no risk of degrading the quality of the workpiece. In addition, both the workpiece mounting table 2 and the tapered roller 3 can accommodate workpieces of various sizes, so there is no need to change setups, and they have excellent performance due to their simple principles and simple structure. There is one major contribution to conductor production technology.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(a) is a diagram showing a workpiece placed on a V-shaped workpiece mounting table used in the square mask substrate transfer mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is a diagram showing a tapered roller used in the square mask substrate transfer mechanism according to the present invention. 1(C) is a layout diagram showing the relative positions of each part in the square mask substrate transfer mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a workpiece transfer procedure in the square mask substrate transfer mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective external view of one embodiment of the square mask substrate transfer mechanism according to the present invention. 1... Workpiece, 2... Workpiece mounting table,
3... Tapered roller, 4... Extrusion tool, 5...
Transfer chuck, 6...Base plate, 7...Frame bar, 8...Vertical drive mechanism, 8'...Vertical movement axis, 9...12...Motor, 10...
・Slide, II... Steel belt, 13... Guide rod, I4... Mover, 15... Storage cassette section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Provided at the center of the base plate, with a V-shaped vertical cross section, a square mask substrate (work) is supported on the V-shape by the ridge lines on two sides of the work, and is movable in the vertical direction. The workpiece is horizontally supported by two opposing surfaces of a workpiece mounting table and two parallel frame bars fixed to the base plate on both sides of the workpiece mounting table, and when the workpiece placing table is lowered, the workpiece is consisting of two sets of tapered rollers for transferring the workpiece from the workpiece mounting table, and an extrusion mechanism located at the end of the rollers for pushing out and transporting the workpiece placed on the roller. A square mask substrate transfer mechanism featuring: