KR19980065415A - Semiconductor Wafer Transfer Device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer transfer device which facilitates a job of transferring a wafer having a large diameter to a sheet, and at the same time, safely transfers the wafer without damage.

The present invention provides a table 21 having a first stage 26 on which a source cassette C1 on which a plurality of wafers are loaded is placed, and a second stage 27 on which a target cassette C2 for transferring wafers is placed. And a robot 22 provided on a table between the first and second stages for transferring wafers in sheets, a controller 23 provided on one side of the table to control the driving of the robot, Installed in the first and second stages is composed of a plurality of position sensor 24, 25 for detecting the mounting state of the source and target cassette.

Therefore, the operation of transferring the wafer loaded on the source cassette to the target cassette by sheet unit is automatically performed by the robot, which facilitates and safely transports large diameter wafers, thereby improving work efficiency and improving the work efficiency. It is effective in reducing damage and contamination of

Description

Semiconductor Wafer Transfer Device

The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus that facilitates a task of transferring a large diameter wafer to a sheet unit and transfers the wafer safely without damage.

In general, semiconductor devices are manufactured by repeatedly performing many processes such as photographing, etching, and thin film formation.In each process, a plurality of semiconductor wafers are loaded into a cassette and moved from one process to another, or from one cassette to another. You lose.

As such, contamination and damage of the wafer in the process of transporting the wafers cause enormous obstacles to the production yield, requiring special attention during the transport of the wafers.

FIG. 1 shows a vacuum adsorption tweezer for transferring wafers in sheet units in the wafer transport apparatus as described above. The plunger 1 includes an adsorption unit 3 having a vacuum adsorption hole 2 formed therein, and an operator It consists of a holding part (4) that can be held by hand, the vacuum suction hole (2) of the adsorption part (3) is connected to a vacuum line (not shown).

When the wafer 1 is mainly transferred from the cassette to another cassette, the operator directly grasps the holding portion 4 of the flipper 1 and absorbs the wafer W one by one.

In addition, Figure 2 shows a wafer transfer device in a cassette unit for transferring a plurality of wafers loaded in a cassette to another cassette at once, the source (Source) on which the wafer is loaded on the table 11 equipped with the pusher 12 (Source When the cassette C1 and the target cassette C2 to which the wafer is to be moved are placed with their front sides facing each other, and the start button 13 provided on the table 12 is operated, the pusher ( 11) moves linearly and simultaneously moves a plurality of wafers loaded in the source cassette C1 to the target cassette C2.

However, in the conventional wafer transfer apparatus as described above, the method of transferring the wafers W into sheets by using the plunger 1 is performed by the operator directly, so that the wafers W are gradually larger in size. It is difficult to transport large-diameter wafers due to the increase in weight and size, and the source cassette C1 and the target cassette C2 in the process of absorbing the wafer, removing the wafer from the source cassette C1 and inserting the wafer into the target cassette C2. The wafer around the slot W and the wafer (W) is in contact with the damaged, there is a problem that causes contamination, such as particles by the operator's hand is applied a lot.

The present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, the object is to improve the work efficiency by automating the operation of transferring the wafer in a sheet unit in response to the trend that the semiconductor wafer is increasingly large diameter, wafer To provide a semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus that can reduce damage and contamination caused during transfer.

1 is a plan view showing a wafer transfer plunger for transferring a conventional semiconductor wafer in sheets.

2 is a front view showing a wafer transfer apparatus for transferring a conventional semiconductor wafer in cassette units.

3 is a front view showing a wafer transfer apparatus for transferring a semiconductor wafer in sheet units according to the present invention.

※ Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing

21: Table 22: Robot

23: controller 24, 25: position sensor

26, 27: stage C1: source cassette

C2: Target Cassette

The above object is a semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus for transferring a plurality of wafers loaded in a cassette to another cassette in a sheet unit, wherein the first stage and the wafer on which the source cassette loaded with the plurality of wafers is placed are placed. A table having a second stage on which a target cassette is placed, a robot provided on a table between the first and second stages for transferring wafers in sheets, and provided on one side of the table to drive the robot. It can be achieved by a semiconductor wafer transfer device characterized in that the controller is configured to control.

At this time, it is preferable that the first and second stages are provided with a plurality of position sensor to detect the mounting state of the source and target cassette so that the source and the target cassette can be accurately placed on the first and second stage.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 shows a semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention, in which a first cassette and a second stage capable of placing a source cassette C1 and a target cassette C2 loaded with a plurality of wafers on a table 21. (26) and (27) are provided at predetermined intervals, and the front and rear surfaces of the source cassette C1 and the target cassette C2 face each other on the first and second stages 26 and 27. .

In addition, the first and second stages 26 and 27 are each provided with a plurality of in-position detection sensors 24 and 25 for detecting whether the source cassette C1 and the target cassette C2 are in place. The position sensor 25 is formed at the corners of the surface where the source cassette C1 and the target cassette C2 are placed, respectively, to accurately position the source cassette C1 and the target cassette C2. To be detected.

Between the first and second stages 26 and 27 as described above, the robot 22 is installed to take out the wafers one by one from the source cassette C1 on which the wafer is loaded and insert them into the slot of the target cassette C2. The robot 22 is most preferably using a normal pick-up type, and in addition to this, a belt type may be used.

The operation of the robot 22 is controlled by a controller 23 provided on the table 21. The robot 22 targets the slot number of the source cassette C1 to be transferred and the position to be moved. When the slot number of the cassette C2 is inputted, the robot 22 is driven to execute the transfer operation, and a simple warning message can be displayed so that the source cassette C1 and the target cassette C2 can be installed. It is desirable to allow the operator to recognize this when it is not correctly placed on the first and second stages 26 and 27 or when a malfunction of the robot 22 occurs.

According to the present invention, the source cassette C1 having a plurality of wafers loaded thereon is placed on the first stage 26 of the table 21, and the empty target cassette C2 is placed on the second stage 27. Next, when the controller 23 is operated to input the slot number of the wafer to be transferred and the slot number of the target cassette C2 to be transferred among the wafers loaded in the source cassette C1, the robot 22 is driven accordingly. Therefore, the desired wafer is accurately and safely transferred to the desired position.

In this case, the position detection sensors 24 and 25 installed in the first and second stages 26 and 27 may not be placed in the correct position in the controller 23 if the source cassette C1 and the target cassette C2 are not in the correct position. By outputting a warning message, the source and target cassettes C1 and C2 are not positioned in the correct position, thereby preventing the wafer from being damaged by malfunction.

The wafer transfer device operated as described above can be transferred without difficulty even in the case of a large-diameter wafer because the wafer transfer operation is automatically performed by the robot 22, thereby improving work efficiency. In addition, since the wafer is transferred accurately and safely by the robot, and the operation is stopped immediately when a malfunction occurs, the damage of the wafer is reduced, and contamination by particles is reduced as compared with the method of direct transfer by the operator.

As described above, according to the semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention, the transfer of the wafer loaded in the cassette to the other cassette by sheet unit is automatically performed by the robot, the transfer operation of the large-diameter wafer is made easy and safe work The efficiency is improved, and the damage and contamination of the wafer generated during the wafer transfer process are reduced.

Although the present invention has been described in detail only with respect to the described embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations are possible within the technical scope of the present invention, and such modifications and modifications are within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (3)

A semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus for transferring a plurality of wafers stacked in a cassette to another cassette in a sheet unit, wherein a first stage on which a source cassette in which the plurality of wafers are loaded is placed and a target cassette for transferring wafers are placed. A table having a second stage to lose; A robot provided on a table between the first and second stages to transfer wafers in sheets; And a controller provided at one side of the table to control driving of the robot. Semiconductor wafer transfer device, characterized in that consisting of. The semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus of claim 1, wherein a plurality of in-position sensors are installed in the first and second stages to detect a seating state of the source and the target cassette. The semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus of claim 2, wherein the in-situ sensor is installed to detect a corner of the surface on which the source and the target cassette are placed on the first and second stages.