KR100909988B1 - Carrier transfer device and substrate cleaning system having same - Google Patents

Abstract

The carrier conveying apparatus includes a first holder, a second holder, a first carrier and a second carrier. The first mounting portion has a structure capable of mounting the carrier for loading a plurality of substrates. The second mounting portion can carry the carrier, and is disposed below the first mounting portion. The first transfer unit transfers the carrier in the vertical direction between the first and second holders to mount the carriers on the first and second holders. The second transfer unit directly transfers the carrier mounted on the second mounting unit by the first transfer unit to the outside, or directly transfers the carrier carried from the outside to the second mounting unit in a state capable of being transferred by the first transfer unit. Therefore, it is possible to effectively transport the carrier on which the substrates are loaded to improve the efficiency of the overall cleaning process.

Description

Carrier transfer device and substrate cleaning system having the same {APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING CARRIER AND SYSTEM FOR CLEANING SUBSTRATES}

The present invention relates to a carrier transfer apparatus and a substrate cleaning system having the same, and more particularly, to an apparatus for transferring a carrier loaded with a plurality of substrates and a system for cleaning the substrate while having the same.

In general, substrates such as semiconductor substrates used to manufacture semiconductor elements, glass substrates used for panels of display devices for displaying images, and the like, are considered to be very important in cleanliness of their surfaces. Accordingly, an additional cleaning process for cleaning the substrate is added before and after the processes for manufacturing the semiconductor device or the display panel.

Recently, as the size of the substrate increases, the manufacturing processes are automated, and the cleaning system for the cleaning process is also complicated. In particular, the cleaning system has a complex configuration in the manner of transferring the substrate. In the cleaning system, a plurality of substrates are basically transported as a unit with a carrier loaded thereon.

Thus, the process of transferring the carrier in a simple manner, first, the carrier loaded with a plurality of the substrate for cleaning from the outside is carried into the carrier loading portion of the cleaning system. Subsequently, the carrier carried into the carrier carrying part is transferred to a position where the first opening and closing part for opening and closing the door is installed. At this time, when the first opening / closing unit opens the door of the carrier, the substrates loaded on the carrier are carried out to the substrate cleaning unit for substantial cleaning.

Subsequently, the substrates are taken out to vertically transfer the empty carrier. Subsequently, the empty carrier is transferred to a carrier carrying part. Subsequently, the carrier, which is empty inside the carrier discharging unit, is vertically transferred to a position where a second opening / closing unit for opening and closing the door is installed. In this case, when the second opening / closing unit opens the door of the carrier, the substrates, which have been cleaned by the substrate cleaning unit, are brought into the empty carrier. Subsequently, when the substrates cleaned therein are loaded, the carriers on which they are loaded are carried out to the outside.

However, the apparatus for vertically conveying from the first opening / closing portion or vertically conveying to the second opening / closing portion has a problem in that a load is applied by additionally horizontally conveying in front of the first opening portion or in front of the second opening portion.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a carrier transfer device capable of improving productivity by removing the load of carrier transfer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning system having a carrier transfer device.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the carrier transporting device includes a first holder, a second holder, a first transporter and a second transporter. The first mounting portion has a structure capable of mounting the carrier for loading a plurality of substrates. The second holder may be mounted on the carrier and is disposed below the first holder. The first transfer part transfers the carrier in the vertical direction between the first and second holders to mount the carriers on the first and second holders. The second transfer unit directly transfers the carrier mounted on the second mounting unit to the outside by the first transfer unit, or directly transfers the carrier carried from the outside to the second mounting unit in a state capable of being transferred by the first transfer unit. Transfer.

The second holder includes a first stage on which the carrier transported by the first transfer unit is mounted, and a second stage continuously extending from the first stage and having an end exposed to the outside. Thus, the second transfer unit is coupled to the support portion and the support portion for supporting the carrier, and includes a sliding portion for transporting from the lower side of the first and second stage to the left and right according to the sliding method.

On the other hand, the carrier transfer device is disposed in the first stage, and further includes an opening and closing portion for opening and closing the door of the carrier to load the substrate on the carrier.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, a substrate cleaning system according to one aspect includes a substrate cleaning portion, a carrier loading portion and a carrier carrying portion. The substrate cleaning section has a treatment tank for cleaning the substrate. The carrier loading unit carries a carrier loaded with the substrates for cleaning, and transports the substrates for cleaning to the substrate cleaning unit while transporting the loaded carriers. The carrier discharging unit carries the substrates for cleaning into the substrate cleaner and loads the substrates on which the cleaning is performed into an empty carrier to the outside. Accordingly, the carrier carrying part may be a third holder part capable of mounting the carrier, a fourth holder part capable of mounting the carrier, and a fourth holder part disposed below the third holder part, and mounted on the third holder part. A fourth transfer unit for transferring the carrier mounted on the fourth holder by the third transfer unit and the third transfer unit to transfer the carrier to the fourth holder along the up and down direction to the fourth holder; It includes.

The carrier carrying part may include a second mounting part capable of mounting the carrier, a first mounting part disposed on the second mounting part, and a carrier mounted on the second mounting part, in a vertical direction. Accordingly, a third transfer part for transferring to the first mounting part and a second transfer part for directly transferring the carrier carried from the outside to the second mounting part in a state capable of being transferred by the first transfer part.

On the other hand, the third holder may have a structure connected to each other with the first holder so that the carrier mounted on the first holder.

According to such a carrier conveying apparatus and a substrate cleaning system having the same, the first conveying unit directly conveys a carrier configured to stack a plurality of substrates in a vertical direction between the first and second mounting portions, and the second conveying unit is the first conveying unit. The first and the second transfer unit may be directly transferred to the outside of the carrier mounted on the second holder by the transfer unit, or the carrier carried from the outside may be directly transferred to the second holder capable of being transferred by the first transfer unit. The transport of the carrier through can be smoothly progressed without time interference.

Thereby, the process for cleaning the said board | substrate can be advanced more efficiently.

Hereinafter, a carrier transfer device and a substrate cleaning system having the same according to an embodiment 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 the specific form disclosed, it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In describing the drawings, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements. 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 example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described on the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, 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, unless expressly defined in this application, are construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings. It doesn't work.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a substrate cleaning system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate cleaning system 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a carrier loading unit 100, a substrate cleaning unit 200, and a carrier carrying unit 300.

The carrier loading part 100 is loaded with a carrier 20 loaded with a plurality of substrates 10 for carrying out a cleaning process from the outside. For example, about 25 sheets or about 50 sheets of the substrates 10 may be loaded in the carrier 20. In addition, the substrate 10 may be formed of a semiconductor substrate used to manufacture a semiconductor device or a glass substrate used for a panel of a display device displaying an image.

In addition, the carrier loading part 100 transfers the carrier 20 on which the substrates 10 are loaded to advance the cleaning process, and transfers the substrates 10 loaded therein to the substrate cleaning part 200. Export to Thus, the carrier loading part 100 includes a second mounting portion 110, the first mounting portion 120, the second transfer portion 130 and the first transfer portion 140.

The second holder 110 includes a second stage 112 and a first stage 114. The carrier 20 carried in to the outside is carried in the second stage 112. That is, the second stage 112 includes an import port 113 into which the carrier 20 is carried. The import port 113 may be composed of two ports to efficiently proceed with the overall work.

The second stage 112 has an elongated shape. The second stage 112 may be formed in plurality in order to seat the plurality of substrates 10. The first stage 114 is connected to an end of the second stage 112. The first stage 114 may have a structure in which one carrier 20 is seated.

The first holder 120 is disposed above the first stage 114 of the second holder 110. The first mounting part 120 may extend to the carrier carrying part 300 in a lengthwise direction substantially perpendicular to the second mounting part 110. Meanwhile, the carrier loading part 100 further includes a first opening / closing part 150 disposed below the first stage 114 to open and close the door of the carrier 20.

The second transfer part 130 includes the second stage 112 of the second mounting part 110 to transfer the carrier 20 to the first stage 114 from side to side. That is, the second transfer unit 130 transfers the carrier 20 without the distinction between the second and first stages 112 and 114.

The first transfer unit 140 transfers the carrier 20 transferred to the first stage 114 by the second transfer unit 130 to the first mounting unit 120 in the vertical direction. In this case, the door 20 is opened and closed by the first opening and closing unit 150. In addition, the substrates 10 loaded on the carrier 20 are carried out through a separate substrate carrying apparatus 500. Here, before the substrates 10 are taken out by the substrate carrying apparatus 500, the substrates 10 may be rotated by 90 degrees to facilitate carrying out of the substrates 10 at a time.

Since the configuration for the transfer of the carrier 20 may be substantially the same as the carrier carry-out unit 300, a more detailed description of the carrier carry-out unit 100 may be provided for the carrier carry-out unit 300. It is intended to be replaced by the following detailed description.

The substrate cleaner 200 substantially cleans the substrates 10 carried out from the carrier 20. The substrate cleaner 200 includes at least one treatment tank 210. The treatment tank 210 is a chemical tank filled with chemical liquids such as sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4), hydrofluoric acid (HF), hydrochloric acid (HCl), aqueous peroxide solution (H 2 O 2), a washing tank filled with a washing liquid such as water for washing the chemical liquid, and It may be made of any one of a drying tank for drying the cleaning liquid that may be buried in the substrate (10). The substrates 10 having such a cleaning process are carried out through a separate substrate loading apparatus 600 for the cleaning process.

In addition, the substrate cleaning unit 200 may further include a separate transfer robot 220 for transferring the substrates 10 to each of the treatment tanks 210 when a plurality of the treatment tanks 210 exist. Can be. The transfer robot 220 is disposed long in the arrangement direction in front of the treatment tank 210.

The carrier discharging unit 300 includes a third holder 310, a fourth holder 320, a third transfer unit 330, and a fourth transfer unit 340. Hereinafter, the carrier carrying unit 300 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.

2A to 2C are diagrams illustrating a carrier transport process at a carrier discharging unit of the substrate cleaning system of FIG. 1.

2A, the third holder 310 is formed on the same layer as the first holder 120. That is, the third holder 310 may be structurally connected to the first holder 120.

The substrates 10 are carried out to the third holder 310 so that the cleaning process may be carried out, and thus the carrier 20 having an empty inside thereof is transferred from the first holder 120. To this end, the first and third mounting portions 120 and 310 may be connected to each other to transport the carrier 20 having an empty inside according to a conveyor roller driving method. Alternatively, the carrier 20 disposed on the first holder 120 may be transferred to the third holder 310 using a separate transfer device.

The fourth mounting portion 320 is disposed below the third mounting portion 310. The fourth mounting portion 320 may have a structure that substantially crosses the third mounting portion 310 substantially perpendicularly. That is, the fourth mounting portion 320 extends continuously from the third stage 322 and the third stage 322 formed in an area substantially intersecting with the third mounting portion 310, and has a carrying port at an end thereof. 325 includes a fourth stage 324 formed.

The third and fourth stages 322 and 324 may have substantially the same structures as the first and second stages 114 and 112, respectively. Accordingly, the carrying port 325 may have the same structure as the carrying port 113 except for carrying out the carrier 20 in its function. Meanwhile, the carrier carrying unit 300 further includes a second opening and closing unit 350 disposed under the third stage 322 to open and close the door of the carrier 20.

The third transfer part 330 transfers the carrier 20 mounted on the third mounting part 310 to the third stage 322 of the fourth mounting part 320 along the vertical direction. The third transfer part 330 may have the same structure as the first transfer part 140 and may have, for example, an elevator structure.

3 and 4, the state in which the substrates 10 cleaned by the substrate cleaning unit 200 are carried in through the substrate loading apparatus 600 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the fourth mounting unit on which the carrier is mounted in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 4 is a view of the third stage of the fourth mounting unit of FIG. 3, viewed from above.

3 and 4, the door 30 of the carrier 20 having an empty inside thereof is opened by using the second opening / closing part 350.

Next, the substrate 10 having the cleaning process is loaded into the carrier 20 through the substrate loading apparatus 600. In this case, the substrate loading device 600 is coupled to the center of the first transfer arm 610 and the first transfer arm 610 that the substrate 10 is substantially seated and rotates in a horizontal direction. It may include a second transfer arm 620 to transfer the first transfer arm 610 in the vertical direction.

When all of the substrates 10 are loaded in the carrier 20 through this process, the fourth transfer part 340 directly transfers the carrier 20 transferred to the third stage 322 to the fourth. Transfer to stage 324.

The fourth conveying part 340 is coupled to the support part 342 supporting the carrier 20 and the support part 342 and sliding in a left and right direction under the third and fourth stages 322 and 324. Part 344 is included. Accordingly, the fourth transfer part 340 has substantially the same configuration as the second transfer part 130, so that the second transfer part 130 also has the support part 342 and the sliding like the fourth transfer part 340. It may include the same configuration as the portion 344. In addition, the carrier discharging part 300 further includes a guide part 360 installed under the sliding part 344 to guide the sliding part 344 to be transferred.

In addition, the third and fourth stages 322 and 324 have openings 326 exposing the support part 342 so that the support part 342 supports the carrier 20. The opening 326 is formed to be elongated along the conveying direction of the fourth conveying unit 340 to smoothly convey the fourth conveying unit 340. In this case, when the support part 342 has a triangular shape in order to efficiently support the carrier 20, both ends of the opening part 326 are formed corresponding to the shape of the support part 342.

Next, the fourth transfer unit 340 transfers the carrier 20 to the discharge port 325 of the fourth stage 324. Next, the carrier 20 transferred to the discharge port 325 is carried out to the outside to proceed with another process. In this case, a plurality of carriers 20 may wait to be carried out in the fourth stage 324 due to a difference from the working time of the other process.

Accordingly, the first and third transfer parts 140 and 330 respectively carry the carrier 20 configured to mount the plurality of substrates 10 to the second mounting part 110 and the first mounting part 120. ) And directly between the third mounting portion 310 and the fourth mounting portion 320 in the vertical direction, and the second transfer portion 130 transfers the carrier 20 carried in from the outside. Directly transferred to the second holder 110 in a state where the transfer by the first transfer unit 140 is possible, the fourth transfer unit 340 is the fourth holder 320 by the third transfer unit 330. By transferring the carrier 20 mounted on the outside directly to the outside, the transfer of the carrier 20 through the second, first, third and fourth transfer unit (130, 140, 330, 340) It can proceed smoothly without interference.

Thereby, the process for cleaning the said board | substrate 10 can be advanced more efficiently.

Although the detailed description of the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art or those skilled in the art will have the idea of the present invention described in the claims to be described later. It will be understood that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The present invention described above can be applied to an apparatus for transferring a carrier on which a plurality of substrates are stacked in a process for cleaning a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate, whereby the overall productivity can be improved.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a substrate cleaning system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2A to 2C are diagrams illustrating a carrier transfer process in a carrier discharging unit of the substrate cleaning system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a position of a fourth holder on which a carrier is mounted in FIG. 2A.

4 is a view of the third stage of the fourth cradle of FIG. 3 as viewed from above.

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

10 substrate 20 carrier

100: carrier carrying part 150: first opening and closing part

200: substrate cleaning unit 300: carrier carrying unit

350: second opening and closing part 500: substrate carrying device

600: substrate loading device 1000: substrate cleaning system

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Claims (7)

A first mounting part capable of mounting a carrier for loading a plurality of substrates; A second holder configured to be mounted on the carrier and disposed below the first holder; A first transfer part for transferring the carrier in the vertical direction between the first and second holders to mount the carriers on the first and second holders; And A second transfer part which directly transfers a carrier mounted on the second mounting part by the first transfer part to the outside, or directly transfers a carrier carried from the outside to the second mounting part in a state in which the carrier is transferred by the first transfer part; Including, The second holder A first stage on which a carrier conveyed by the first conveying part is mounted and an opening / closing part which opens and closes a door of the carrier to load the substrate on the carrier; And A second stage extending continuously from the first stage, the end being exposed to the outside; The second transfer unit A support for supporting the carrier; And And a sliding part coupled to the support part and configured to move left and right at the bottom of the first and second stages in a sliding manner. delete delete delete A substrate cleaning unit having a treatment tank for cleaning the substrate; A carrier loading part into which a carrier loaded with the substrates for cleaning is loaded, and carrying the substrates for cleaning to the substrate cleaning part while transferring the loaded carrier; And The carrier for carrying out the cleaning to the substrate cleaning unit includes a carrier carrying out portion for carrying out the substrates having the cleaning in the empty carrier to the outside to carry out, The carrier carrying part A third holder capable of mounting the carrier; A fourth holder configured to be mounted on the carrier and disposed below the third holder; A third transfer part which transfers the carrier mounted on the third mounting part to the fourth mounting part along the vertical direction and mounts the carrier on the fourth mounting part; And A fourth transfer unit configured to directly transfer the carrier mounted on the fourth mounting unit to the outside by the third transfer unit, The fourth mounting portion A third stage on which a carrier conveyed by the third conveying part is mounted, and a second opening / closing part which opens and closes a door of the carrier to load the substrate on the carrier; And A fourth stage extending continuously from the third stage, the end being exposed to the outside; The fourth transfer unit A support for supporting the carrier; And And a sliding part coupled to the support and moving left and right at the bottom of the third and fourth stages in a sliding manner. The method of claim 5, wherein the carrier loading portion A second holder capable of mounting the carrier; A first holder configured to be mounted on the carrier and disposed above the second holder; A first transfer unit configured to transfer the carrier mounted on the second mounting unit to the first mounting unit along a vertical direction; And And a second transfer part for directly transferring the carrier carried from the outside to the second mounting part in a state capable of being transferred by the first transfer part. The second holder A first stage on which a carrier conveyed by the first conveying part is mounted and a first opening / closing part which opens and closes a door of the carrier to load the substrate on the carrier; And And a second stage extending continuously from the first stage, the end being exposed to the outside. The substrate cleaning system of claim 6, wherein the third holder has a structure in which the carrier mounted on the first holder is connected to the first holder.

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