KR100842027B1 - Aligning apparatus and method for aligning a wafer using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An aligning apparatus and a method for aligning a wafer using the same are provided to significantly reduce wafer aligning time, since an aligned wafer is picked up by an external robot as soon as a new wafer is mounted on a wafer chuck. An aligning apparatus(100) comprises a wafer chuck, an edge sensor(150), a driving unit(160), a lifter(140), and an edge grip unit(130). The wafer chuck is configured to mount and rotate a wafer(200). The edge sensor makes sure that the wafer is well aligned on the wafer chuck. The driving unit aligns the wafer by driving the wafer chuck according to a control signal transferred from the edge sensor. The lifter comprises a plurality of support pins that are disposed below the wafer when the wafer is mounted on the wafer chuck so as to not to disturb alignment of the wafer, and come in contact with the wafer to lift the wafer, after the alignment of wafer is completed. The edge grip unit comprises a body surrounding the wafer chuck, and a plurality of edge grip arms disposed on the periphery of the body and horizontally moving towards the center of the wafer chuck to fix the wafer.

Description

Alignment device and wafer alignment method using same {{ALIGNING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ALIGNING A WAFER USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to an alignment apparatus and a wafer alignment method using the same, and more particularly, to an alignment apparatus for a substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor device and a wafer alignment method using the same.

In general, a semiconductor manufacturing process is performed by various processes such as photo, etching, deposition, diffusion, and ion implantation, and these processes are cyclically organically repeated.

Among these various processes, a method of equipping a wafer with a large-diameter wafer as a means for improving productivity in recent years and a multi-chamber type in which a process is simultaneously performed by a plurality of chambers in one facility is widely applied. have.

Since the wafer is exposed to the outside, the wafer is being transferred by a front open unified pod (FOUP), which is a separate wafer transfer container, in order to prevent inflow of various foreign matters from the outside.

At this time, the hoop is transferred in the equipment front end module (EFEM). The wafer thus transported is transported to the load lock port through the wafer alignment process by a separate alignment device in the facility front end module after the robot in the air is removed from the hoop.

In this case, since only one wafer alignment unit is used, the transfer time is significantly increased due to the time spent in the wafer alignment unit, which causes problems in the manufacturing process in the facility front end module.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an alignment apparatus that can easily exchange between wafers and can shorten the manufacturing process time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wafer alignment method using the above-described alignment device.

Alignment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object includes an alignment chuck, alignment check unit, drive unit and lifter. The chuck seats the wafer and rotates the wafer. The alignment checker checks the alignment of the wafer placed on the chuck. The drive unit drives the chuck in accordance with a control signal supplied from the alignment checker to align the wafer. The lifter is positioned under the wafer when the wafer is placed on the chuck, and does not interfere with the alignment of the wafer. After the alignment of the wafer is completed, the lifter contacts the aligned wafer and lifts the wafer. It includes.

Preferably, the alignment device may further include an edge grip. The edge grip arm includes a body surrounding the periphery of the chuck and a plurality of edge grip arms positioned at an edge of the body and horizontally moving toward the center of the chuck to secure the wafer.

In addition, the support pins of the lifter may be distributed on the opposite side of the entry and exit area of the wafer for exchange.

In the wafer alignment method according to another embodiment of the present invention, the wafer is placed on the rotatable chuck. In addition, the alignment means of the wafer is confirmed by sensing means, and the wafer is aligned by rotating the chuck in accordance with the alignment state of the wafer. In addition, the aligned wafers are contacted with a plurality of support pins, and the wafers are lifted to stand by in a carrying space where the aligned wafers are easily taken out. In addition, the transfer robot for transporting the wafer transfers the unaligned wafer to be seated on the chuck. Also, the transfer robot picks up the aligned wafer in the discharging space.

Preferably, in the lifting of the aligned wafer seated on the chuck using the support pins and waiting in the easy-to-carry-out space, the aligned wafers are vertically raised on the chucks using the support pins. The vertically raised wafer may be horizontally moved to the carrying space, which is easy to carry out.

According to the present invention described above, by using a lifter to transfer the aligned wafer to the carrying space where the external robot can easily pick up, the new wafer is settled when the new unaligned wafer is placed on the empty wafer chuck. In this way, it is possible to pick up the aligned wafers directly in the discharge space without waiting time, which can reduce a lot of processing time in the wafer alignment process.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As the inventive concept allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar components. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structures are shown in an enlarged scale than actual for clarity of the invention.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "having" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and that one or more other features It should be understood that it does not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, actions, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

1 and 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an alignment device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an alignment device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a wafer chuck 120, a driver 160, an edge sensor 150, and a lifter 140. The wafer chuck 120 supports and receives the wafer 200. The driving unit 160 is connected to the wafer chuck 120 and rotates the wafer chuck 120.

When the wafer 200 is seated on the wafer chuck 120, the alignment device 100 detects the wafer 200 through the edge sensor 150, and thus is supplied from the driver 160. The wafer chuck 120 is rotated by the rotation force. Thus, the wafer 200 is aligned.

The wafer 200 is formed with a flat zone or marking for alignment, and the edge sensor 150 detects a marking or flat zone formed on the wafer. The edge sensor 150 detects the marking or the flat zone formed on the wafer, and accordingly transmits an electrical signal to the driver 160, and the driver 160 receives the edge sensor 150 from the edge sensor 150. The wafer chuck 120 is rotated according to an electrical signal. As the wafer chuck 120 rotates, the wafer 200 rotates and the wafer 200 is aligned.

After the alignment, the wafer 200 is transferred by the lifter 140. The lifter 140 transfers the wafer 200 that has been aligned to a carrying space where an external robot can easily pick up.

In the process of exchanging the aligned and unaligned wafers in the alignment device, the aligned wafer is picked up, and the alignment is performed by loading the finished wafer into a hoop or a load port, and then bringing a new wafer to the alignment device. Settle down. This process has a drawback in that the wafer exchange takes a long time.

Since the alignment device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention transfers the wafer 200 which has been aligned by the lifter 140 to the discharge space, the external robot transfers a new wafer to the wafer chuck ( The wafer 200 is picked up at the same time as it is placed in the carrying space. Therefore, there is an advantage that can significantly shorten the wafer alignment time.

In addition, the alignment apparatus 100 may operate by simultaneously arranging two or a plurality of the alignment devices 100. In this case, there is an advantage in that the time of stacking during wafer alignment is adjustable.

The alignment device 100 may further include an edge grip 130 for fixing the wafer. Since the edge grip 130 fixes the wafer 200 while moving from the edge toward the center, the edge grip 130 may center the wafer 200 when the wafer 200 is seated on the wafer chuck 120. .

As mentioned above, since the wafer chuck 120 aligns the wafer 200 with the rotational movement, a means for fixing the wafer 200 during the rotational movement of the wafer 200 is required. do. The edge grip 130 aligns the center of the wafer 200 and simultaneously fixes the wafer 200.

3 is a schematic view illustrating a grip part of the alignment device of FIG. 1.

The grip part 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 131 and a plurality of edge grip arms 133. The grip 130 is coupled to the top of the wafer chuck 120 or coupled to the side of the wafer chuck 120 when the wafer 200 is rotated for alignment, the wafer chuck 120 It will rotate as shown.

The edge grip arm 133 may be moved back and forth in the direction of the center of the wafer chuck 120. When the wafer 200 is seated on the wafer chuck 120, the edge grip arms 130 move in the direction of the center of the wafer chuck 120 to fix the wafer 200. As the 133 moves in the center direction, the wafer 200 is seated in the center of the wafer chuck 120.

The edge grip arms 133 may be symmetrically disposed with respect to the center of the wafer chuck 120. When the edge drawing arms 133 are disposed symmetrically with each other, the process of aligning the wafer 200 with the center of the wafer chuck 120 may be performed more easily. However, the edge grip arms 133 may be asymmetrically disposed in consideration of securing a transfer path of a wafer and coupling with a robot that transfers the wafer.

4 is a schematic view illustrating a lifter of the alignment device of FIG. 1.

The lifter 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body portion 143, a support pin 141, and a lifter driver 145. The lifter 140 serves to move the aligned wafer to the discharge space. For example, the body 143 may be manufactured in an annular shape so as not to be disturbed by the driving unit 160 when moving. The body 143 may be manufactured in various forms as long as it is not hindered by the driver 160 driving the wafer chuck.

The lifter driver 145 for vertically moving the lifter body 143 is disposed below the lifter body 143. When the lifter driver 145 is connected to the lifter body 143 and the alignment of the wafer 200 is completed, the lifter 140 is vertically raised to move the wafer 200 to the discharge space. The lifter 140 may move not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction when necessary. The lifter 140 may be programmed to move horizontally to a place where pickup is easy after the vertical lift so that the external robot picks up the wafer 200 more easily.

Support pins 141 are disposed on the body portion 143. The support pin 141 contacts the wafer 200 to lift the wafer 200. The support pin 141 may be manufactured in the form of a long thin rod. This is because the support pin 141 may move to the carrying space by supporting the wafer 200 that has been aligned without being disturbed by the edge grip 130. For example, the support pins 141 may be distributed in the second half so as not to be disturbed by the wafers. In this case, only the support pins 141 should be distributed within a dynamic range capable of supporting the wafer 200 without losing its center. When the support pins 141 are located in the rear direction of the alignment device 100, the external robot picks up and seats the wafer in the front direction of the alignment device 100 without being disturbed. It will be able to perform the lifting role.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the wafer alignment method according to another embodiment of the present invention, the wafer 200 is seated on the rotatable wafer chuck 120. In addition, the wafer 200 is aligned by rotating the wafer chuck 120 based on the flat zone or notch of the wafer in association with the sensor 150 for detecting the wafer. Subsequently, the aligned wafer 200 seated on the wafer chuck 120 is transferred to the discharge space by using the lifter 140. In addition, a transport robot (not shown) for transporting the wafer transports the unaligned wafer to be seated on the wafer chuck 120. Subsequently, the aligned robot picks up the aligned wafer from the discharge space.

In addition, when the aligned wafer 120 seated on the wafer chuck is transferred to the discharge space using the lifter 140, the first wafer for vertically raising the aligned wafer 200 on the wafer chuck. The transfer step may be performed through a second transfer step of horizontally moving the lifter to facilitate the exchange of the vertically raised wafer.

In this case, the external robot seats the unaligned wafer on the wafer chuck 120 and then picks up the aligned wafer 200 transferred to the discharge space.

According to the present invention, the aligned wafers are transferred to a carrying space, which is easily picked up by an external robot, by using a lifter to wait. In the past, when the wafer alignment was completed in the wafer aligning device, the transfer robot was able to import other unaligned wafers only after the wafer was removed and transferred to the next work space.

However, when a new unaligned wafer is placed on an empty wafer chuck, a new wafer can be settled and picked up the aligned wafer in the discharge space immediately without waiting time, thereby reducing a lot of processing time in the wafer alignment process. You can do it.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

1 and 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an alignment device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a schematic view illustrating a grip part of the alignment device of FIG. 1.

4 is a schematic view illustrating a lifter of the alignment device of FIG. 1.

Claims (5)

A chuck that seats and rotates the wafer; An alignment checker for checking an alignment state of the wafer placed on the chuck; A driving unit for aligning the wafer by driving the chuck according to a control signal supplied from the alignment checking unit; When the wafer is placed in the chuck, a lifter having a plurality of support pins positioned below the wafer to prevent alignment of the wafer and contacting the aligned wafer after the alignment of the wafer is completed to lift the wafer. Alignment device comprising a. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising an edge grip having a body surrounding the periphery of the chuck and a plurality of edge grip arms positioned at an edge of the body and horizontally moving toward the center of the chuck to fix the wafer. Device. 2. An alignment device according to claim 1, wherein the support pins of the lifter are distributed on opposite sides of the entry and exit area where the wafer enters and exits for exchange. Seating the first wafer on the rotatable chuck; Checking an alignment state of the first wafer seated on the chuck, and aligning the first wafer by rotating the chuck according to the alignment state of the first wafer; Lifting the aligned first wafer out of the chuck and waiting; Seating the second wafer on the rotatable chuck Releasing the aligned wafer from the seating portion and simultaneously seating another wafer on the chuck; Aligning the wafer seated on the chuck and simultaneously removing the detached wafer to the outside; Waiting for the wafer and another wafer during the alignment of the wafer; When the alignment of the wafer is completed, placing the waiting wafer on the chuck simultaneously with how the wafer is processed; Contacting the aligned wafers with a plurality of support pins, lifting the wafers, and waiting the aligned wafers in an easy-to-carry space; A transfer robot for transferring the wafer transfers an unaligned wafer to be seated on the chuck; And And the transfer robot picking up the aligned wafer in the discharge space. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of lifting the aligned wafer seated on the chuck using the support pins and waiting in the easy-to-carry-out space A first transfer step of vertically raising the aligned wafer on the chuck using the support pins; And a second transfer step of moving the vertically raised wafer horizontally to the carrying space, which is easy to carry out.

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