JPS6325944A - Wafer conveying apparatus with lighting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an apparatus, which can reduce the area of a floor, where the apparatus is installed, can implement the saving of manhours and the space, and can perform conveying at the ceiling, by providing a conveying means, which conveys a wafer holding member in the approximately vertical direction with respect to the floor at the rear part of two processing stages, and providing two lighting devices at both side parts of said member. CONSTITUTION:A wafer conveying apparatus, which conveyes wafers 1 to two processing stages 50, is composed of the following parts. A wafer holding member 12 holds a plurality of the wafers 1 at a specified interval in a stacked state. Conveying means 3-9 are provided at the rear part of the two processing stages 50 in order to convey the wafer holding member 2 in the approximately vertical direction with respect to a floor. Moving means 10-12 are provided between the two processing stages 50 in order to receive the wafers 1 from the wafer holding means 2 and to move the wafers to the two processing stages 50. Lighting means 21a and 21a light the wafers 1 from the upper parts of the processing stages 50. The lighting means 21a are supported with supporting means. The two lighting devices are provided on both side parts of the conveying means 3-9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a wafer transport device, and more specifically, to a wafer transport device for vertically transporting a wafer such as a solid-state image sensor (CCD, etc.) together with its wafer holding member. , relates to a wafer transport device with an illumination device for transporting a wafer to a processing stage.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in this type of conveyance device, a wafer holding member, that is, a wafer carrier, has been conveyed sideways, that is, in a horizontal direction. Therefore, in order to take out the wafer from the wafer carrier, a separate mechanism for moving the wafer carrier up and down has been provided. Furthermore, a separate illumination device was provided to illuminate the wafer, such as a solid-state sensor.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional conveying apparatus, the wafer holding member was conveyed in the horizontal direction, so there was a drawback that the installation floor area of the entire apparatus was large. Furthermore, since it was necessary to separately provide a mechanism for moving the wafer holding member up and down when taking out the wafer from the wafer holding member, the entire transfer device was complicated, and at the same time, additional space was required.

Furthermore, when trying to save labor and space by transporting wafers all over the ceiling between each process in semiconductor manufacturing, it was difficult to accommodate ceiling transport using conventional horizontal transport. .

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wafer transfer device that can reduce the installation floor area, save labor and space, and can handle ceiling transfer.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, a wafer transport device according to the present invention is a wafer transport device that transports wafers to two processing stages, the wafer transport device transporting a plurality of wafers at predetermined intervals. a wafer holding member that holds the wafer in a stacked manner with space between them; a conveying means provided behind the two processing stages for conveying the wafer holding member in a direction substantially perpendicular to the floor; and a wafer holding means. In order to receive the wafer from the processing stage and move the wafer to the two processing stages, a moving means provided between the two processing stages, an illumination means for illuminating the wafer from above the processing stage, and a lighting means for illuminating the wafer from above the processing stage. It is characterized by comprising: a support means for supporting the transport means; and two illumination devices provided on both sides of the transport means.

(Example) Hereinafter, one practical example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the 13 drawings, the same parts are indicated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a wafer transfer device with an illumination device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 viewed from the direction of arrow D, with one side of the illumination device 21 omitted. It is.

In FIG. 1, a predetermined number of wafers 1 on which solid-state imaging device (CCD, etc.) chips are formed are held in a wafer holding member, that is, a wafer carrier 2, in a stacked manner at predetermined intervals.

The wafer carrier 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with one side open, and the wafer 1 is taken in and out from the open side. The inner surface of the wafer carrier 2 is provided with a number of shelf portions 2a corresponding to the number of wafers 1, which are parallel to each other and have notches extending from the opening surface so that a wafer chuck 12 (to be described later) can be inserted therein. l\1 is held above it.

The wafer carrier 2 is placed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped tray 3 having an open top surface and an 11II11 surface, with the opening surface of the wafer carrier 2 and the opening surface of the tray 3 being aligned.

As can be seen from the drawing, the bottom surface of the through-hole wafer carrier 2 is designed to be sufficiently smaller than the bottom surface of the tray 3.
Since the upper surface is open, the wafer carrier 2 can be freely taken in and taken out from above the tray 3.

The tray 3 can vertically move up and down within a cover 4 in the shape of a square prism extending perpendicularly to the floor surface.

A slide member 9 is integrally fixed to the side surface of the tray 3 that faces the opening surface, and the slide member 9 engages with a shaft 8 fixed to the cover 4. Therefore, tray 3 is
It is vertically movable up and down on a shaft 8 via a slide member 9.

In this embodiment, the tray 3, cover 4, slide part 9, shaft 8, motor γ, and sprocket 6''%5
b and 5c constitute a conveying means.

On both sides of the cover 4 are illumination means, i.e. illumination portions 21.
An illumination device 21 is arranged including a support means 21b and a supporting means 21b. Furthermore, a wafer prober 50 is installed at the lower front surface of the cover 4, that is, below the illumination portion 21a, as a processing stage for processing the wafer, that is, inspecting the conductivity state, etc.
is provided. In FIG. 1, only the cover portions 19 of two identical wafer probers 50 are shown. A wafer carrier 2 is placed between the two wafer probers 50.
A wafer chuck 12 is provided for taking out the wafer 1 from the wafer and placing it on the wafer prober 0. The wafer chuck 12 is slidable vertically with respect to the open side surface of the wafer carrier 2 by means of slide units 10 and 11.

Incidentally, a portion 40 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1 represents a state in which the wafer carrier is horizontally transported as in the conventional case, and in this case, a larger installation floor space is required compared to the apparatus of this embodiment. I understand something.

Here, the wafer transfer device of this embodiment will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. As already explained, tray 3
The shaft 8 can be moved up and down via the slide member 9, but as a mechanism for this purpose, a sprocket 6 is installed at the upper end of the cover 4.
a and 6b, and a sprocket 6C is provided at the lower end thereof to mesh with the chain 5. This chain 5
is driven by a motor 7 provided at the bottom of the cover 4. Chain 5 is fixed to tray 3 in any way.

Therefore, when the motor 7 is driven, the chain 5 is driven accordingly, and the tray 3 is moved up and down using the slide member 9 and shaft 8 as guide members. Of course, other mechanisms, such as a feed screw mechanism, can also be used for this drive mechanism.

Since the wafer prober 50 with which the wafer 1 is inspected uses a known device, detailed description thereof will be omitted here. Each part of the wafer prober 50 will be explained later in the description of the operation of this embodiment.

Next, the operation of the wafer transfer device of this embodiment will be explained based on FIG.

Although three wafer carriers 2 are shown in FIG. 2, of course only one wafer carrier 2 may be used. When the chain 5 driven by the motor 7 is driven, the wafer carrier 2 fixed to the chain 5 can move vertically upward or downward within the cover 4. The wafer 1 held at the lowest level in the lowest wafer carrier 2 is aligned with the opening provided on the side surface of the cover 4, and the motor 7 is stopped. In that state, the wafer chuck 12 is
When the wafer carrier 2 enters the lower surface of the wafer carrier 2, the motor 7 is activated for a short time and the wafer carrier 2 is moved downward only slightly. Therefore, the wafer 1 can be placed on the wafer chuck 12. The wafer chuck 12 carrying the wafer 1 is slid by the slide units 10 and 11 in a direction away from the wafer carrier 2 to transport the wafer 1 to the measurement stage.

The processing stages are three stages 15.16 from top to bottom.
and 17.

The processing stage is supported on a pedestal 18.

When the wafer chuck 12 carrying the wafer 1 reaches a predetermined position, it is rotated either left or right by a rotating means (not shown), and the wafer 1 is placed on the stage 15. Stages 15, 16 and 17 are moved in two directions, Y, respectively, in a known manner.
The probe pin 14 for continuity testing provided on the probe guard 13 on the stage 15 is aligned with the part to be processed, that is, tested, by moving in one direction, the X direction, and rotating by θ.

The probe guard 13 is provided with a row of through holes 13a having a diameter matching the spacing between the probe pins 14 in the center thereof, and a test pattern is illuminated, ie, projected, from the illumination portion 21& through this through hole 13a. Thereafter, according to the projected test pattern, the wafer 1, that is, the solid-state image sensor 1 is
A signal emitted from the sensor is measured via the probe pin 14 to determine whether the solid-state image sensor 1 is operating normally.

In the present invention, since there are two processing stages, while the wafer 1 is placed on one processing stage and inspected, the second wafer 1 is transferred onto the other processing stage. I can do it. Therefore, since two wafers 1 can be inspected at the same time, the throughput of processing work is improved.

When all the chips on the wafer 1 have been inspected in the manner described above, the wafer 1 is transported in the reverse direction along the above-mentioned path and returned to a predetermined position within the wafer carrier 2. In this way,
When all the wafers 1 in the wafer carrier 2 have been inspected, the lowest wafer carrier 2 is moved downward, and the wafer carrier in the middle comes to a predetermined position. In this way, when the inspection of the three wafer carriers is completed, the wafer carriers are moved upward and replaced with three new wafer carriers.

In this embodiment, a wafer on which a solid-state image sensor is formed is transported, but this wafer is not necessarily limited to a solid-state image sensor, and may be a wafer on which a semiconductor element of the same type is formed.

Here, referring to FIG. 3, a state in which the wafer transport apparatus of this embodiment is adapted to ceiling transport will be described.

Although only one wafer carrier 2 is shown in FIG. 3, there may be a plurality of wafer carriers. In addition, in order to support ceiling conveyance, sprocket i5b in Fig. 2,
Remove sprocket 6c and install only sprocket 6a on tray 3.
The drive device is easy to use. Therefore, at this time, the chain 5 is fixed to the slide member 9.

In FIG. 3, it is attached to a ceiling conveyance device (not shown),
A carrier chuck 20 that grips the wafer carrier 2 transports the wafer carrier 2 in the direction of arrow C and stops on the open end of the upper part of the cover 4. After that, carrier chuck 20
moves downward in the direction of the arrow and places the wafer carrier 2 on the tray 3. After placing the wafer carrier 2, the carrier chuck 20 rises in the direction of arrow B, comes off the cover 4, and returns to the position where it grips the next wafer carrier 2.

The tray 3 carrying the wafer carrier 2 is inserted into the opening provided on the side surface of the cover 4 so that the wafer chuck 12 can enter and take out the wafer 1 from the wafer carrier 2. It descends to the position where it comes to and stops. The aforementioned operations are then repeated.

When all the wafers 1 in the wafer carrier 2 have been inspected,
The tray 3 rises and stops when the carrier chuck 20 reaches the position where the wafer carrier 2 is taken out. A new wafer carrier 2 is then received at that position. Thereafter, the above operations are repeated in the same manner.

If necessary, take precautions to prevent foreign matter such as dust from entering.
The upper open end of the cover 4 may be covered with a lid when the wafer carrier 2 is not being taken in or taken out.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the wafer transfer device of the present invention described above, the following effects can be obtained.

Since the wafer carrier is transported perpendicular to the floor,
It requires less floor space for installation, which means it saves space and reduces wasted space.

Since the wafer carrier is transported vertically, it is possible to transport the wafer carrier on the ceiling, making it possible to inline the process.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a top view showing one embodiment of the wafer transfer device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the wafer transport device according to the embodiment applied to ceiling transport. [Explanation of symbols of main parts]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wafer transport device that transports wafers to two processing stages, comprising: a wafer holding member that holds a plurality of wafers in a stacked manner at predetermined intervals; A transport means provided behind the two processing stages for transporting the wafer in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane; It consists of a moving means provided between the processing stages, an illumination means that illuminates the wafer from above the processing stage, and a support means that supports the illumination means. A wafer transfer device with a lighting device, characterized by comprising: a lighting device; 2. A solid-state image sensor chip is formed on the wafer, and a signal emitted from the solid-state image sensor illuminated by the illumination means is processed on a processing stage. The wafer transport device described in Section 1.