KR100752357B1 - Multi Spinner - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-spinner capable of continuously processing a series of processes in which a photosensitive liquid is applied to a wafer surface and dried, and then developed an exposed wafer during a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

The multi-spinner of the present invention is installed on one side of the loading portion 10, the alignment portion 20 for aligning the wafer, and the loading portion 10 to which the cassette 13 is loaded, and then apply a photosensitive liquid to the wafer and dry it. A process unit (SC, SD, 40) for developing the exposed wafer, a reject port unit (RP) installed at one side of the process unit (SC, SD, 40) to receive and receive a wafer having a process defect, Installed between the processing units (SC, SD, 40), the loading unit 10 grips one wafer and transfers it to the alignment unit 20, and transfers the completed wafers to the processing unit (SC, SD, 40). In addition, the transfer robot 60 receives the wafer on which the process failure occurs and transfers it to the reject port part RP, and the controller 70 controls the multi-spinner as a whole. If available, it can be ejected separately. It is a multi-spinner requires no operations for changing the settings for each process unit according to the changes to provide.

Spinner, coater, phenomenon, photosensitive

Description

Multi Spinner

1A is a perspective view of a conventional multi spinner,

FIG. 1B is a plan view of the multi-spinner shown in FIG. 1A;

2 is a planar configuration diagram of a multi-spinner according to the present invention;

3 is a front view of the multi-spinner shown in FIG.

4 is a perspective view of the cassette mounting unit shown in FIG. 2;

5 is a plan view of the wafer alignment unit shown in FIG. 3;

6 is a front view of the wafer alignment unit shown in FIG. 5;

7 is a perspective view of the spin coating shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the wafer ejection port shown in FIG. 3; FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: Loading unit 11: cassette mounting plate

20: loading part 21: vacuum chuck

22: Pinion 23: First Rack

24: second rack 25: first guide member

26: second guide member 40: baking oven

60: carrier robot SC: spin coater

SD: Spin developer RP: Reject port section

The present invention relates to a multi-spinner, and more particularly, to a multi-spinner capable of continuously processing a series of processes for applying a photosensitive liquid to the surface of the wafer during the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device, drying and developing the exposed wafer.

Referring to the conventional multi-spinner with reference to Figure 1 as follows.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a conventional multi-spinner, and FIG. 1B is a plan view of a multi-spinner configured by adding the components of the process units shown in FIG. 1A. same.

As shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, a conventional multi-spinner has various process units applied to a photolithography process, that is, a spin coater 3 and a spin developer 4. , A baker (5) and Wide Expose Edge (WEE) 6, an indexer (1), a carrier robot (2) and an interface (interface) for transferring wafers to each process unit. (7) is further provided and comprised.

The indexer 1 is installed at one side of the main body (not shown) to load / unload the wafer, and the spin coater 3 is installed at a position adjacent to the indexer 1 to apply a photoresist to the surface of the wafer. The spin developer 4 is provided at a position adjacent to the spin coater 3 for applying the photosensitive liquid onto the wafer to develop the photosensitive film after the exposure is completed.

The baker 5 and the WEE 6 are provided in the direction facing the spin coater 3 and the spin developer 4 which apply | coat a photosensitive liquid and develop the photosensitive film which completed exposure. The baker 5 consists of a heating / cooling plate (not shown) to heat and cool the wafer before and after development and to dry it, and the WEE 6 is provided to remove edge bead of the photoresist film.

The transfer robot 2 is installed between the spin coater 3 and the baker 5 which are installed to face each other to transfer the semiconductor wafer to each process unit, and loads the wafer loaded by the index 1 to each process unit. The interface 7 interacts with the exposure apparatus 8 to transfer the wafer transferred by the transfer robot 2 to the exposure apparatus 8 or discharge the wafer from the exposure apparatus 8. Will be stored.

The wafer loaded through the index 1 is transferred to each process unit and the interface 7 by the transfer robot 2 to continuously process a process such as application, drying, edge bead removal and development of the photoresist.

Conventional multi-spinners that continuously process a series of processes have a problem in that the operation rate of the multi-spinner is lowered when one wafer becomes a process defect in any one process unit and thus the process of the next wafer cannot proceed. In addition, when the size of the wafer is changed, there is a problem that a worker needs to input the information according to the change of the size of the wafer in each processing unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and if there is a wafer in which any of the photo-processing units has a process defect, a multi-spinner capable of smoothly proceeding the process of the next wafer by separately ejecting and storing the wafer In providing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-spinner that can detect the size of the cassette for storing the wafer to determine the wafer size, and align the wafers based on the results to proceed with each process.

The multi-spinner of the present invention includes a cassette loading unit for loading a cassette and detecting a loaded cassette size, an alignment unit for aligning a wafer to be transported under the loading unit, and a photosensitive liquid installed on one side of the loading unit. A process unit for developing a dried and exposed wafer after applying a coating, a reject port unit installed on one side of the process unit to receive and receive a wafer having a defective process, and between the process unit In the loading section, a loading robot grasps one wafer from the loading section and transfers it to the alignment section.The conveying robot transfers the completed wafer to the processing unit, and transfers the wafer with the defective process to the reject port. The size information of the wafer received in the cassette is determined by receiving the detected size information of the cassette, and based on the result, the alignment unit determines the size of the wafer. And a control unit for controlling the transfer robot to transfer the wafer having the defective process to the reject port when information indicating that a defective wafer has been generated is communicated with the processing unit to communicate with the process unit. It features.

(Example)

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a plan view of the multi-spinner according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a front view of the multi-spinner shown in FIG. As shown, the multi-spinner according to the present invention aligns the cassette loading unit 10 for loading the cassette 13 and sensing the size of the loaded cassette 13, and the wafer installed and transported under the loading unit 10. A process unit (SC, SD, 40) installed at one side of the alignment unit 20, the loading unit 10, and applying a photosensitive liquid to the wafer, and then developing a dried and exposed wafer, and a process unit (SC, SD). It is installed between the reject port portion (RP) and the processing unit (SC, SD, 40) for receiving and receiving a wafer having a defective process is installed on one side of the 40, one loading wafer in the loading unit 10 A transfer robot that grips and transfers the wafers to the alignment unit 20, transfers the aligned wafers to the processing units SC, SD, and 40, and transfers the wafers having a defective process to the reject port unit RP. 60 and the web received in the cassette 13 by receiving the size information of the cassette 13 detected by the loading unit 10 The size of the fur is determined, and based on the result, the alignment unit 20 is controlled so that the alignment unit 20 aligns with the wafer size, and the communication unit SC, SD, 40 communicates with the processing unit SC, The controller 70 may control the carrier robot 60 to transfer the wafer on which the process failure occurs to the reject port unit RP when the information indicating that the wafer of the process failure occurs is received in the SD 40.

Referring to the configuration of the multi-spinner of the present invention in more detail as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the multi-spinner of the present invention includes a loading unit 10, an alignment unit 20, a processing unit SC, SD, 40, and a reject port unit in a frame 14. RP) and the transfer robot 60 are installed, and a control unit 70 for controlling them is provided.

The control unit 70 stores a program for controlling the multi-spinner of the present invention as a whole, and the loading unit 10 loads the cassette 13 in which the wafer to be subjected to the photo development process is stored, and the loaded cassette ( 13) It is provided to detect the size. The lower side of the loading unit 10 in which the cassette 13 is loaded is provided with an alignment unit 20 for aligning the wafers transferred from the cassette 13, and one side of the loading unit 10 applies a photoresist to the wafer. Process units (SC, SD, 40) for developing a dry and exposed wafer are provided.

One side of the processing unit (SC, SD, 40) is provided with a reject port portion (RP) for receiving and receiving a wafer having a process defect is generated, the loading unit 10 between the processing unit (SC, SD, 40) One wafer is gripped and transferred to the alignment unit 20, the aligned wafer is transferred to the processing units SC, SD, and 40, and the wafer having the defective process is transferred to the reject port unit RP. A conveying robot 60 for conveying is installed.

The wafer is transferred from the loading unit 10 to the alignment unit 20, and the wafers aligned in the alignment unit 20 are sequentially transferred to each processing unit SC, SD, 40, and each processing unit SC, SD. In operation 40, the transfer robot 60 for transferring the wafer having the defect as a result of the process progress to the reject port RP is driven by the control of the controller 70.

The control unit 70 for controlling the driving of the transport robot 60 receives the size information of the cassette 13 detected by the loading unit 10, determines the size of the wafer accommodated in the cassette 13, and determines the size of the wafer. The alignment unit 20 controls the alignment unit 20 to align with the wafer size based on the control unit 20, and communicates with each of the processing units SC, SD, and 40 to process the defective wafers in the processing units SC, SD, and 40. When the information indicating that the error has occurred is provided to control the transport robot 60 to transfer the wafer, the process failure occurs to the reject port (RP).

The transfer robot 60 controlled by the controller 70 mounts the wafer on the loading unit 10 to transfer the wafer to the alignment unit 20. The loading unit 10 mounts the wafer transferred to the alignment unit 20 by the transfer robot 60 in the cassette 13. As shown in FIG. 4, the loading unit 10 for mounting the cassette 13 includes a cassette mounting plate 11 and a plurality of first to third detection sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c.

The cassette mounting plate 11 of the loading unit 10 is equipped with a cassette 13, and the first to third detection sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c are mounted on the cassette to detect the size of the cassette 13 mounted thereon. One side of the plate 11 is provided and provided at regular intervals, and each of the first to third detection sensors 12a, 12b, 12c is applied with an optical sensor configured to have a light emitting element and a light receiving element installed on the same plane, respectively. Various sizes of cassettes 13 are detected.

For example, the first detection sensor 12a detects a cassette 13 containing a wafer of 3 to 5 inches (inch) in size, and the second detection sensor 12b is a wafer of 6 to 8 inches (inch) in size. When the cassette 13 is stored, the third sensor 12c detects the cassette 13 in which the wafer of 8 to 12 inches (inch) is stored and transmits each detection signal to the controller 70. 70 determines the size of the cassette 13 by using the transmitted detection signal to calculate the size of the wafer.

When the size of the cassette 13 mounted on the loading unit 10 is detected by the control unit 70, the control unit 70 controls the transfer robot 60 to transfer the wafer to the alignment unit 20. The alignment unit 20 aligns the wafer transferred by the transfer robot 60 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. To this end, the alignment unit 20 includes a vacuum chuck 21, a pinion 22, a first rack 23, a second rack 24, a first guide member 25, and a second guide. The member 26, the pneumatic cylinder 27, the 4th sensor 28a, and the 5th sensor 28b are comprised.

The vacuum chuck 21 receives the wafer transported by the transfer robot 60 and vacuum-adsorbs the wafer when the wafer is aligned, and the first and second racks 23 and 24 are engaged with the pinion 22 to install the pinion ( It is installed to move by the rotation of 22, the first and second guide members 25, 26 are first and second racks to move in conjunction with the movement of the first and second racks 23, 24, respectively. It is fixed to 23 and 24, respectively.

In order to align the wafers by driving the first and second guide members 25 and 26 fixedly interlocked with the first and second racks 23 and 24, the pneumatic cylinder 27 is connected to the vacuum chuck 21. Once accommodated, it is installed and configured in any one of the first and second racks 23 and 24 to drive either one of the first and second racks.

Fourth and fifth detection sensors 28a and 28b on one side of the vacuum side 21 of the alignment unit 10 to detect the size of the wafer guided and aligned with the first and second guide members 25 and 26. Are spaced apart at regular intervals, and the fourth and fifth detection sensors 28a and 28b are respectively equipped with optical sensors in which the light emitting element and the light receiving element are installed on the same plane to detect the wafer. The detection signal is transmitted to the controller 70.

The controller 70 determines the size of the wafer according to whether the detection signals transmitted from the fourth and fifth detection sensors 28a and 28b are received, and adjusts the pressure of the pneumatic cylinder 27 to match the size of the wafer. Done. For example, when the wafer is detected by the fourth sensor 28a, the wafer is determined to be a smaller size than the wafer on which the wafer is detected by the fifth sensor 28b to control the driving of the pneumatic cylinder 27.

When the wafers are aligned in the alignment unit 20 according to the size of the wafers, the wafers are sequentially transferred to the process units SC, SD, and 40 by the transfer robot 60 driven by the control of the controller 70. As shown in FIG. 2, the process units SC, SD, and 40 that sequentially transfer the wafers by the transfer robot 60 include a spin coater SC, a bake oven 40, and a wafer. It consists of a plurality of spin developers (SD).

In the configuration of the processing unit (SC, SD, 40), the spin coater SC is installed on one side of the loading unit 10 to apply photoresist to the transferred wafer and to remove edge bead of the applied photoresist. To this end, as shown in Fig. 7, a photosensitive coating nozzle 32 and an edge bead remover 33 are installed around the spin chuck 31. The photosensitive coating nozzle 32 is installed at one side of the spin chuck 31 to apply the photoresist on the wafer vacuum-absorbed to the spin chuck 31, the edge bead remover 33 to remove the photoresist applied to the edge portion of the wafer It is provided on the other side of the spin chuck 31.

As such, when the photoresist is applied onto the wafer through the coating nozzle 32 and the edge bead remover 33, the baking oven 40 installed at one side of the spin coater SC may include a plurality of cooling plates CP, It is composed of a plurality of heating plate (HP) and the adhesion plate (adhesion heater) (AH) is heated to dry the photosensitive liquid applied on the wafer and then cooled to room temperature.

When the photoresist is dried on the wafer through the baking oven 40 and the exposure operation is completed, a plurality of spin developer in a direction facing the spin coater SC and the baking oven 40 is developed to develop the pattern in a desired pattern. SD) is installed and configured.

In the spin coater SC and the plurality of spin developer (SD) configured as described above, if a wafer having a defective process is generated, the reject port part RP is rejected as shown in FIG. 8 to separately classify and store the wafer. It is composed of a port plate 51 and a plurality of third guide members 52. Here, the determination of the defective wafer accommodated in the reject port portion RP includes a spin coater SC and a plurality of spins. The controller 70 receives the test result of the tester (not shown) mounted on the developer SD, and determines the test result.

The control unit 70 discharges the wafer determined as defective by the inspection device (not shown) to the reject port unit RP through the transfer robot 60, and the reject port unit RP is the transfer robot 60. The reject port plate 51 is provided in the frame 14 so as to protrude from the cover 15 which covers the multi-spinner and protrudes, as shown in FIG. Is installed.

A plurality of third guide members 52 are installed in the reject port plate 51 provided to protrude from the lid 15 of the multi-spinner to guide and accommodate the wafer having a defective process.

The plurality of third guide members 52 guide the side surfaces of the wafer so that the wafer transferred by the transfer robot 60 is stably stored in the reject port plate 51 so that the user can easily multiply the wafer having a process defect. Allow it to drain out of the spinner. Reference numeral 'W / F' not described herein denotes a wafer.

Referring to the operation of the multi-spinner of the present invention having the configuration as described above is as follows.

First, when the cassette 13 is mounted on the loading unit 10, when the first to third detection sensors 12a, 12b, and 12c detect the cassette 13 and output a detection signal, the cassette 70 receives the received signal from the controller 70. The size of the wafer stored in the cassette 13 currently mounted in the loading unit 10 is determined by detecting the size of the cassette 13.

By detecting the size of the cassette 13 mounted on the loading unit 10 as described above, the controller 70 calculates the wafer size so that the control unit 70 can match the wafer 20 with the alignment unit 20, the process units SC, SD, and 40. By controlling the transfer robot 60, the inconvenience of setting each part of the multi-spinner separately according to the size of the semiconductor is eliminated.

After the controller 70 determines the size of the wafer, the transfer robot 60 transfers the wafer accommodated in the cassette 13 to the alignment unit 20. The alignment unit 20 loads the transferred wafer into the vacuum chuck 21 (shown in FIG. 5), and closes the first and second guide members 25 and 26 (shown in FIG. 5) when loaded, and then the vacuum chuck. 21 vacuum sucks the wafer. When the vacuum adsorption is completed, the first and second guide members 25 and 26 are opened again, the vacuum adsorption of the vacuum chuck 21 is turned off, and the wafer is unloaded.

The unloading of the wafer is performed by the transfer robot 60, and the transfer robot 60 sequentially transfers the unloaded wafer to each process unit SC, SD, 40, and each process unit SC, SD. 40 is applied to the photoresist on the wafer, dried, and developed according to the exposed pattern to complete each process. In each of the process units SC, SD, and 40, the spin coater SC may cause defects such as coating thickness or edge bead removal of the photoresist, and development defect may occur in the spin developer SD.

As described above, if there is a wafer in which a defect occurs during the process, the controller 70 controls the transfer robot 60 to transfer the wafer in which the defect occurs to the reject port part RP and to separate and discharge the wafer.

As described above, the multi-spinner of the present invention provides an advantage of smoothly proceeding the process of the next wafer by separately storing a wafer having a process defect in any one of the photolithography processing units, and the size of the cassette. Determination of wafer size by determining the size of the wafer, and based on the results of the wafer transfer, photoresist coating, drying and developing process provides the advantage that does not need to change the settings of each process unit according to the size of the wafer separately .

Claims (6)

A cassette loading unit comprising a cassette mounting plate for loading a cassette and detecting a size of the loaded cassette, and first to third detection sensors for sensing sizes of cassettes installed at a predetermined interval on one side of the cassette mounting plate; Vacuum chucks that receive and vacuum wafers to align the wafers that are installed and transported under the loading unit, fixed to the first and second racks engaged with the pinion, and moved to the first and second racks, respectively. First and second guide members moved by the first and second racks, and when the wafer is accommodated in the vacuum chuck, one of the first and second racks is driven to drive the first and second guide members to the vacuum chuck. An alignment unit comprising a pneumatic cylinder for aligning the wafer accommodated in the vacuum chuck, and fourth and fifth detection sensors spaced apart at regular intervals on one side of the vacuum chuck to detect the wafer size when the wafer accommodated in the vacuum chuck is aligned; A processing unit installed at one side of the loading unit to apply a photosensitive liquid to a wafer and to develop a dried and exposed wafer; A reject port unit installed at one side of the processing unit to receive and receive a wafer having a defective process; Installed between the processing units, the loading unit grips one wafer and transfers it to the alignment unit, and transfers the wafer, which has been aligned, to the processing unit, and receives a wafer having a process defect and transfers it to the reject port unit. A carrying robot; Receiving the size information of the cassette detected by the loading unit determines the size of the wafer accommodated in the cassette, and controls the alignment unit to align the alignment unit according to the wafer size based on the result, and communicates with the processing unit to process When information indicating that a defective wafer is generated in the unit is received, the transfer robot is controlled to transfer the defective wafer to the reject port, and the wafer transfer, photoresist coating, drying and developing processes are performed according to the wafer size. Multi-spinner, characterized in that the control unit for controlling the process unit and the transfer robot so that there is no need to change the setting of each process unit according to the size change of the wafer. delete delete The method of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is installed on one side of the loading portion and the photosensitive liquid coating on the transferred wafer and the spin coater for removing the edge bead of the applied photosensitive liquid; A baking oven installed at one side of the spin coater to dry the wafer; And a plurality of spin developers provided in a direction facing the spin coater and the baking oven to develop a photoresist film coated on a wafer in a desired pattern. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the spin coater comprises: a spin chuck for receiving a wafer and vacuum absorbing the wafer; A photosensitive liquid coating nozzle installed on one side of the spin chuck to apply a photosensitive liquid onto a wafer vacuum-absorbed to the spin chuck; And an edge bead remover installed at the other side of the spin chuck to remove the photoresist applied to the edge portion of the wafer. The reject port plate of claim 1 or 4, wherein the reject port comprises: a reject port plate installed at one side of the plurality of spin developers in the processing unit; Multi-spinner, characterized in that provided with a plurality of third guide member for guiding the wafer is installed and accommodated at each corner of the reject port plate.

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