KR100782540B1 - Apparatus for conveying substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for conveying substrates is provided to enhance process speed by performing simultaneously the supplement of substrates to be processed and the retrieval of substrates to be done the process. A first side substrate conveying part(241) includes a first side straight driver(220) formed on one bottom of a chamber(210) and a first side robot arm(225) formed to move in vertical according to the first side straight driver. A second side substrate conveying part(242) includes a second side straight driver(230) formed on the other bottom of the chamber and a second side robot arm(235) formed to move in vertical according to the second side straight driver. A center substrate conveyor(260) includes a center straight driver(250) formed in parallel with the first and the second side straight drivers on the bottom of the chamber, and first and second center robot arms(255,256) moved according to the center straight driver.

Description

Apparatus for conveying substrate

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the substrate transfer apparatus of FIG. 2.

4 is a view for explaining the shapes of the first end effector and the second end effector.

5 and 6 are plan views illustrating the substrate transfer step of the substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view at the stage of FIG. 6. FIG.

8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating a substrate transfer step subsequent to FIG. 7.

9 is a configuration diagram illustrating a substrate transfer apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: substrate load portion 200: substrate transfer device

210: chamber 220, 230, 250: linear drive device

222, 232: vertical drive device 225, 235, 255, 256: robot arm

225E, 235E, 255E, 256E: End Effector

300: process module

The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate transfer apparatus applied to a processing apparatus for a semiconductor wafer.

Fabrication of semiconductor devices or display devices requires a variety of processes, such as deposition, etching, cleaning, etching, and the like. In order to complete one semiconductor device or display device, various processes as described above may be performed several times in a process module.

No matter how intensive the semiconductor device or the display device, the substrate must be carried in two or more different process modules, for which the manufacturing facility is provided with one or more substrate transfer devices.

For efficient substrate transfer, a model of the substrate transfer apparatus that has been preferred in the past is a cluster tool. The cluster tool has a transfer module adjacent to the process module. The transfer module is equipped with a vacuum robot to supply a substrate to each process module.

However, in such a cluster tool, a limited number of vacuum robots are responsible for both the loading and unloading of the substrate due to the space constraint of the process module, the unit cost of the process module, and the plurality of process modules. However, since the vacuum robot performs only one of the loading and unloading of the substrate, the loading and unloading of the substrate becomes a separate transfer process, and are added to the total process time. This causes an increase in the overall process time.

In addition, when the process speed is slow in one process module, even if the process is finished in another process module, a bottleneck may occur in which the substrate cannot be transferred and wait.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate transfer apparatus with improved process efficiency.

Technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate transfer apparatus including a chamber, a first side linear drive device installed along one side of the chamber on a bottom surface of the chamber, and the first side linear drive device. A first side substrate transfer part including a first side robot arm installed to linearly move and linearly move upward and downward, and a second side disposed along the other side of the chamber opposite to the one side of the chamber; A second side substrate transfer part including a side linear drive device, and a second side robot arm installed to perform linear motion along the second side linear drive device and to linearly move in the vertical direction, and a bottom surface of the chamber A central linear drive device installed across the center of the chamber in parallel with the first and second side linear drive devices; A central transfer unit to the substrate including the first and second center robot arm is installed, the linear motion to be along the central linear drive device.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms, and only the present embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and the general knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. In the drawings, the sizes and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

The substrate to be conveyed by the substrate transfer device according to the present invention may be, for example, a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate or a plastic substrate. Semiconductor wafers are applied to the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices such as DRAM, SRAM, FRAM, flash memory and the like. Glass substrates and plastic substrates are applied to displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic EL displays, plasma display panels (PDPs), field emitting displays (FEDs), and the like.

The substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to transfer for processing and processing the above-described semiconductor wafer, glass substrate, plastic substrate and the like. For example, it may be applied to transfer substrates to respective process modules for a photo process, an etching process, a heat treatment process, a thin film process, a cleaning process, and the like.

Hereinafter, a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiment, the case where the semiconductor wafer is applied as the substrate to be transferred will be illustrated. However, it is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 includes a substrate rod unit 100, a substrate transfer apparatus 200, and a process module 300.

The substrate rod part 100 provides a substrate w, which is a process target, and collects the processed substrate w. The substrate rod part 100 may include, for example, at least one robot arm 110. The robot arm 110 provided in the substrate rod part 100 is installed to be rotatable, and loads the substrate w moving along the process movement line and provides the adjacent substrate to the adjacent process module 300. In addition, the substrate w processed and recovered from the process module 300 is loaded and provided to the process moving line. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the modification of the present invention includes a case in which the substrate rod unit does not include the robot arm or the substrate rod unit is omitted.

The substrate transfer device 200 is responsible for the transfer of the substrate w between the substrate rod part 100 and the process module 300. The substrate transfer device 200 includes at least one substrate transfer part, and the robot arm 225 may be linearly moved along the linear drive devices 220, 230, and 250 and the linear drive devices 220, 230, and 250. 235, 255, 256). A more detailed description of the substrate transfer device 200 will be described later.

The process module 300 processes the substrate w transferred from the substrate transfer apparatus 200 and re-delivers it to the substrate transfer apparatus 200 side. The process module 300 may include a lift unit (not shown) for adjusting a position of the substrate w in the vertical direction. Accordingly, the vertical position of the substrate w may be adjusted before and after the process treatment in the process module 300. For example, the substrate w may be positioned relatively downward before the process by the control of the lift unit, but the substrate w may be positioned relatively upward after the process.

Hereinafter, a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the substrate transfer apparatus of FIG. 2. 4 is a view for explaining the shapes of the first end effector and the second end effector.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the substrate transfer apparatus 200 has a rectangular chamber shape as a whole. The door 211 carries in the board | substrate w into the chamber 210, and carries out the board | substrate w in the chamber 210 to the outside in the side wall of the chamber 210 located in the conveyance direction side of the board | substrate w. It may be provided.

The first side substrate transfer part 241, the second side substrate transfer part 242, and the central substrate transfer part 260 are installed in the chamber 210 of the substrate transfer device 200. The substrate transfer parts 241, 242, 260 are fixedly installed on the bottom surface of the chamber 210.

The first side substrate transfer part 241 may be connected to the first side linear drive device 220, the first vertical drive device 222 installed on the first side linear drive device 220, and the first vertical drive device 222. It includes a first side robot arm 225 installed.

The first side linear driving device 220 extends along one side of the chamber 210 on the bottom surface of the chamber 210.

The first side linear drive device 220 is provided with a first vertical drive device 222 that can drive linear motion in the vertical direction. The first vertical driving device 222 may linearly move along one side of the chamber 210 by driving of the first side linear driving device 220.

The first side linear driving device 220 and the first vertical driving device 222 may each include a linear motor, a cylinder, a ball screw, or a belt. Linear motors or cylinders may be preferred to reduce contamination inside the dual chamber. However, it is not limited thereto.

The first vertical drive device 222 is provided with a first side robot arm 225 having a first end effector 225E on which the substrate is mounted. The first side robot arm 225 extends obliquely or vertically toward the center of the chamber 210. The first side robot arm 225 may be moved in the vertical direction along the first vertical driving device 222. Since the first vertical drive device 222 is installed in the first side linear drive device 220 as described above, the first side linear drive device 220 and the first vertical drive device 222 are selectively or both. When driven, the first side robot arm 225 may selectively or simultaneously perform linear motion and vertical motion along one side of the chamber 210.

The second side substrate transfer part 242 also has a structure substantially the same as that of the first side substrate transfer part 241. That is, the second side substrate transfer part 242 may include the second side linear drive device 230 and the second side linear drive device extending in parallel with the first side linear drive device 220 along the other side of the chamber 210. The second vertical driving device 232 installed at 230, and the second side robot arm 235 installed at the second vertical driving device 232. In addition, the second side robot arm 235 is similar in that the first end effector 235E is provided at the tip.

The second side robot arm 235 of the second side substrate transfer part 242 is linearly driven and vertically driven independently of the first side substrate transfer part 241. Therefore, the second side robot arm 235 may have a height and a linear position separate from the first side robot arm 225. For example, the first side robotic arm 225 may move vertically while being generally located in the lower region of the chamber 210, and the second side robotic arm 235 may be vertically positioned while being generally located in the upper region of the chamber 210. Can be set to move. In particular, when the stage provided in the process module is located at the bottom before the process, but is lifted up by the lift part after the process, the first side robot arm 225 is dedicated to inputting the substrate to the process module. The second side robot arm 235 may be dedicated to recovering the processed substrate, thereby improving process efficiency. As such, when the roles of the first side robot arm 225 and the second side robot arm 235 are shared, their vertical movement distance may be shortened, and thus the process speed may be increased.

Unlike the first and second side substrate transfer units 241 and 242 described above, the central substrate transfer unit 260 does not provide vertical motion, and thus there is a structural and functional difference therefrom.

In more detail, the central substrate transfer unit 260 includes a central linear drive device 250, a vertical support 252 installed on the central linear drive device, and first and second central robot arms 255 fixed to the vertical support 252. , 256).

The central linear drive device 250 is installed on the bottom surface of the chamber 210 and extends in parallel with the first and second side linear drive devices 220 and 230 across the center of the chamber 210. The vertical support 250 is provided in the center linear drive device 250. The vertical support 250 can be linearly moved by the drive of the center linear drive device 250, but does not provide vertical drive by itself, which is different from the vertical drive devices 222 and 232.

The first and second central robot arms 255 and 256 are fixed to the vertical support 250 to linearly move together according to the linear motion of the vertical support 250. The first central robot arm 255 extends obliquely or vertically toward the first side substrate transfer part 241. The second central robot arm 256 extends obliquely or vertically toward the second side substrate transfer part 242.

The first central robot arm 255 and the second central robot arm 256 fixed to the vertical support 250 may have different heights from the bottom surface of the chamber 210. For example, the first central robot arm 255 is relatively fixed to the lower portion to be positioned below the chamber 210, the second central robot arm 256 is relatively positioned to be located above the chamber 210. Can be fixedly installed on the top.

Meanwhile, initial heights of the first side robot arm 225 and the second side robot arm 235 may be determined according to the heights of the first and second central robot arms 255 and 256. For example, the initial height of the first side robot arm 225 is lower than the height of the first central robot arm 255, and the initial height of the second side robot arm 235 is greater than the height of the second central robot arm 256. Can be set low.

At the front end of the first center robot arm 255 and the second center robot arm 256, second end effectors 255E and 256E having the same shape are provided, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, the second end effectors 255E and 256E may have a shape that meshes with the first end effectors 225E and 235E. Therefore, the first end effectors 225E and 235E and the second end effectors 255E and 256E may cross each other in the vertical direction without hitting each other while overlapping each other.

According to the relative movement of the linear driving devices 220, 230, 250, the first end effect 225E of the first side robot arm 225 and the second end effect 255E area of the first central robot arm 255 These can overlap on different planes. Here, the overlap between the first end effect 225E and the second end effect 255E is precisely defined by the interlocking shape of the first end effect 225E and the second end effect 255E as described above. Even if there is no overlapping part, the area of the first end effect 225E and the area of the second end effector 255E should be interpreted as overlapping if they are substantially overlapped.

In addition, overlapping on different planes is caused when the heights of the first side robot arm 225 and the first central robot arm 255 are different as described above. Of course, depending on the vertical movement of may overlap on the same plane.

Meanwhile, as will be described later, when the first side robot arm 225 is further vertically moved, the first end effect 225E of the first side robot arm 225 and the second end effect of the first central robot arm 255 are further described. As 255E crosses, the end effect with which the substrate is loaded may change. For example, when the substrate is loaded in the second end effect 255E of the first central robot arm 255, the first side robot arm 225 may be moved through the vertical movement of the first side robot arm 225. When the first end effect 225E crosses the second end effect 255E of the first central robot arm 255, the substrate loaded on the second end effect 255E of the first central robot arm 255 is removed. It may be delivered to the first end effect 225E of the one side robot arm 225.

The same relationship as described above also holds between the first end effect 235E of the second side robot arm 235 and the second end effect 256E of the second central robot arm 256.

Hereinafter, the operation of the substrate transfer apparatus as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8. Hereinafter, the first side robot arm is located at the bottom of the chamber to serve as a process module to provide a substrate to be processed, and the second side robot arm is located at the top to recover the processed substrate from the process module. This case will be described as an example. 5 and 6 are plan views illustrating the substrate transfer step of the substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view at the stage of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating a substrate transfer step subsequent to FIG. 7.

5 shows that the first side robot arm 225 unloads the process target substrate to the process module 300 side, and the second side robot arm 235 removes the processed substrate w 'from the process module 300 side. In the loaded state, the first central robot arm 255 again loaded the process target substrate w from the substrate rod part 100 side, and the second central robot arm 256 loaded the processed substrate onto the substrate. The state unloaded to the part 100 side is shown.

6 and 7, the second central robot arm 255 and the second end effector 256E having the target substrate w loaded by driving the central linear drive device 250 are empty. The central robot arm 256 is moved to the process module 300 side. At the same time, the first side linear driving device 220 and the second side linear driving device 230 are driven to move the first and second side robot arms 225 and 226 toward the substrate rod part 100, respectively. The first end effector 225E of the first side robot arm 225 and the first end effector 235E of the second side robot arm 235 are respectively the second end effector 255E of the first central robot arm 255. And a point where the second end effector 256E of the second central robot arm 256 overlaps in a different plane.

Subsequently, referring to FIG. 8, the first vertical driving device 222 is driven to raise the first side robot arm 225. Then, the first end effector 225E of the first side robot arm 225 interlocks with and intersects with the second end effector 255E of the first central robot arm 255 and is loaded on the second end effector 255E. The process target substrate w is transferred to the first end effector 225E side of the first side robot arm 225.

At the same time, the second vertical driving device 232 is driven to lower the second side robot arm 235. Then, the first end effector 235E of the second side robot arm 235 interlocks with and intersects with the second end effector 256E of the second central robot arm 256 to be loaded on the first end effector 235E. The processed substrate w 'is transferred to the second end effector 265E side of the second central robot arm 256.

Thereafter, the first and second side linear driving devices 220 and 230 are driven to move the first and second side robot arms 225 and 235 to the process module 300, and the center linear driving device 250 is moved. By driving, the first and second central robot arms 255 and 256 are moved toward the substrate rod part 100. Then, the first and second vertical driving devices 222 and 232 are driven to adjust the first and second side robot arms 225 and 235 to their original heights. Of course, such height adjustment may be made after loading / unloading of the substrate.

Subsequently, on the process module 300 side, the process target substrate w loaded on the first side robot arm 225 is unloaded, and the processed substrate w 'is moved from the process module 300 to the second side robot arm. It is loaded to 235 side. In addition, the substrate w 'loaded on the second central robot arm 256 is unloaded into the substrate rod unit 100 on the substrate rod unit 100 side, and the process target substrate (waiting for the substrate rod unit 100) ( w) is loaded into the first central robot arm 255. That is, returning to the step as shown in Fig. 5, the same process is repeated.

As described above, according to the substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, it can be seen that the provision of the process target substrate and the recovery of the processed substrate may be simultaneously performed. Thus, process speed can be increased and process efficiency can be improved.

In the above substrate transfer apparatus, the first and second side robot arms only reciprocate only in an area adjacent to the process module in the entire chamber, and the first and second central robot arms are placed in the substrate rod part of the entire chamber. It only reciprocates in the adjacent area. In other words, because the moving distance of the robot arms moving simultaneously is reduced by half, the process speed can be further increased.

9 is a configuration diagram illustrating a substrate transfer apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, in the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present embodiment, each robot arm 225 ′, 235 ′, 255 ′, and 256 ′ has dual end effectors 225 E ′, 235E ′, 255E ′, and 256E ′. This is different from the embodiment of FIG. Since the dual end effectors 225E ', 235E', 255E ', and 256E' can simultaneously transfer two substrates, the process speed can be further improved.

As mentioned above, embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be manufactured in various forms, and the general knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive.

As described above, according to the substrate transfer apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the provision of the process target substrate and the recovery of the processed substrate are simultaneously performed, the process speed is increased. In addition, the first and second side robot arms reciprocate only in the region adjacent to the process module in the entire chamber, and the first and second central robot arms reciprocate only in the region adjacent to the substrate rod in the entire chamber. I just do it. That is, since each movement distance of the robot arms moved simultaneously is reduced by half, the process speed is further increased, and the process efficiency can be improved.

Claims (9)

chamber; A first side linear drive device installed along one side of the chamber on the bottom surface of the chamber, and a first side robot arm installed to perform a linear motion along the first side linear drive device and to linearly move in the vertical direction A first side substrate transfer part comprising a; A second side linear driving device installed along the other side of the chamber opposite to the one side of the chamber, and linear movement is possible along the second side linear driving device, and is installed to linearly move in the vertical direction; A second side substrate transfer part including a second side robot arm; And A central linear drive device installed across the center of the chamber in parallel with the first and second side linear drive devices on the bottom surface of the chamber, and first and second devices installed to enable linear motion along the central linear drive device; 2. A substrate transfer device including a central substrate transfer part including a central robot arm. According to claim 1, The first and second side robot arms each have a first end effector at a distal end, And the first and second central robot arms each have a second end effector at a distal end. The method of claim 2, And the first end effector has a shape to engage the second end effector. The method of claim 2, The first central robot arm is installed to face the first side substrate transfer part side, And the second central robot arm is installed to face the second side substrate transfer part. The method of claim 4, wherein According to the linear movement of the first side linear drive device and the central linear drive device, the first end effector of the first side robot arm overlaps with the second end effector of the first central robot arm on a different plane from each other. According to the linear movement of the second side linear drive device and the central linear drive device, the first end effector of the second side robot arm overlaps the second end effector of the second central robot arm on a plane different from each other. Conveying device. The method of claim 5, A first end effector of the overlapped first side robotic arm and a second end effector of the first central robotic arm cross each other according to a vertical movement of the first side robotic arm, And a first end effector of the overlapped second side robot arm and a second end effector of the second central robot arm cross each other according to a vertical movement of the first side robot arm. According to claim 1, The first side substrate transfer unit is installed to linearly move along the first side linear driving device, and includes a first vertical driving device on which the first side robot arm is installed. And the second side substrate transfer part is installed to linearly move along the second side linear drive device, and includes a second vertical drive device on which the second side robot arm is installed. According to claim 1, The first side robot arm is located below the chamber, And the second side robotic arm is positioned above the chamber. The method of claim 8, The first side robot arm carries a substrate to be processed, And the second side robotic arm transfers the processed substrate.

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