KR20060083244A - A loader having function for carrying out semiconductor material - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function, wherein an upper surface opening portion for forming a pod is formed on an upper surface thereof, and a main body portion having a side opening portion for carrying out semiconductor material on one side thereof, and moves up and down from the lower side of the upper surface opening portion. A semiconductor part housed in the pod detached from the pod removed from the stage by a stage part for detaching the lower surface of the pod seated in the upper surface opening from the pod body, a stage transfer part coupled to the lower surface of the stage part, and moving the stage up and down; It characterized in that it comprises a material conveying portion to be carried out to the outside through the side opening.

Semiconductor, SMIF, Pod, Loadport, Loader, SEMI, Wafer, Reticle

Description

Loader Having Function For Carrying Out Semiconductor Material

1 is a perspective view showing a normal state of a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

2 is a perspective view showing a loading state of the loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

4 is a front view showing the internal structure of a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a detailed structure of the stage part and the rotation driver of FIG. 3.

<Description of Major Reference Symbols>

1: Loader device

10: main body

20: stage part

30: material transfer unit

40: stage transfer unit

100: Pod

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a loader device, and more particularly, to a loader device having a semiconductor material export function capable of carrying out a semiconductor material as well as loading and unloading a pod (POD), which is a semiconductor material storage container.

The loader device of the present invention is an automated equipment related to the transport of materials such as wafers or reticles in a semiconductor manufacturing process, and is a SMIF among standards recommended by SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Meterials International) (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) Included in the equipment making up the system.

SMIF is concerned with local cleanliness, which is a closed wafer storage container pod to block particles, which are air pollutants that may occur during wafer manufacturing process, and mini-environment (ME) and pod that keeps only the local space clean. A minimum common standard is proposed for devices for interface between ME or process equipment.

Among the SMIF systems, the loader device of the present invention is an interface device for transferring semiconductor materials such as wafers and reticles stored in pods to the next step.

Among the components of the SMIF system, pods, which are closed wafer storage containers, include separate and downward open pods mainly used for 200mm wafers, and frontal unified pods (FOUPs), which are cassette-integrated and front-opened types mainly used for 300mm wafers. The present invention relates to a loader device for passing a semiconductor material stored in a pad for 200 mm which is a downward opening type among pods to a subsequent step.

Applicant has proposed a SMIF loader device for automatic opening and closing of the pod in the patent application No. 10-2003-17298.

The SMIF loader device is attached to the main plate attached to the vertical transport structure, the base plate is vertically coupled to the main plate, the control panel, the fan, the cover for the inlet of the clean air flow is mounted, the vertical transport structure of the main plate A port plate that can be fixedly attached to a base, a stage fixedly attached to the base, a stage that can be attached to a vertical transport structure of the main plate, and a horizontal transport structure that is fixed to the cassette for loading the cassette into the connection equipment through the opening of the main plate. It includes a loading device.

However, the above application is a device for loading the cassette loaded with the semiconductor material into the connection equipment of the subsequent process, there is a problem that can not be used for direct loading of the semiconductor material.

Currently, the loader device used for loading semiconductor materials takes a method of loading semiconductor materials loaded on the cassette lower surface by the connecting equipment of the rear stage process when the stage opens to the opening position formed on one side by opening the lower surface of the pod.

However, in this case, since the arm of the rear end fixed connection equipment must be considerably long, the moving distance and the turning radius are increased, so that the transfer work efficiency is significantly lowered.

In addition, since the radius of rotation must be taken into account, the work space of the robot must be increased, thereby reducing the space utilization.

This reduction in transfer efficiency and space utilization is a serious problem in terms of semiconductor yield.

In addition, in the conventional loader device, the operation is completed by opening the lower surface of the pod and descending to the opening position. Therefore, when the direction in which the reticle is loaded is incorrect (for example, 90 ° or 180 ° from the forward direction), the desired pattern is not obtained. There is a problem that often occurs because of poor quality.

In addition, the reticle often needs to be processed after forming a pattern on the upper surface, but the conventional loader device does not have such a function, so the reticle needs to be processed upside down in the subsequent process, so that the working time becomes longer and the semiconductor yield is increased. It is a factor to decrease.

Therefore, there is an increasing demand for a loader device capable of overcoming the problems of the conventional loader device and increasing space efficiency and work efficiency.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a loader device having a semiconductor material export function capable of carrying out the semiconductor material can be loaded in a post-stage process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function which can improve the yield rate by correcting the loading direction of a semiconductor material, in particular a reticle, by having a rotation driving unit capable of rotating the stage part.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a loader apparatus having a semiconductor material carrying-out function having an arm capable of inverting and loading a semiconductor material in consideration of the case where a back surface of a semiconductor material, in particular a reticle, is required.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function capable of reducing a defect rate and improving work speed by providing a sensor capable of detecting a type of pod, loading of semiconductor material, and presence of an obstacle. To provide.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a loader apparatus having a semiconductor material carrying out function which can bring about space efficiency and cost reduction by implementing a vertical movement of the stage transfer unit and the material transfer unit by one motor.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the upper surface opening for the pod mounting is formed on the upper surface and the main body portion having a side opening for carrying out the semiconductor material on one side, the vertical movement from the lower side of the upper surface opening And a stage portion for detaching the lower surface portion of the pod seated in the upper surface opening portion from the pod body, a stage transfer portion coupled to the lower surface of the stage portion to move the stage portion up and down, and a semiconductor housed in the pod removed by the stage portion. Provided is a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function, comprising a material transfer part for holding a material and carrying it out through the side opening.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing a normal state of a loader apparatus 1 having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the loader device 1 having a semiconductor material carrying-out function according to the present invention includes an upper surface opening 13 in which a pod 100 is seated on an upper plate 12 of a body portion 10 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. ) Is formed and a side opening 11, which is a passage through which the semiconductor material is carried out, is formed on one side of the side surface.

The upper plate 12 has eight pod guiding pins 12-1 and pods 100 for providing the correct position and orientation when loading the pod 100 near the top opening 13. ), Two clamping parts 12-3 are provided for tight contact.

A material transfer part 30 for carrying out the semiconductor material to the side opening 11 is provided at one inner side of the main body part 10. The structure of the material transfer part 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

2 is a perspective view showing a loading state of the loader device 1 having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pod 100 containing the semiconductor material is loaded on the upper plate 12.

The state shown in FIG. 2 represents an operation in which the material conveying unit 30 grips the semiconductor material loaded on the pod lower surface unit 150 on the stage unit 20 and delivers it to a subsequent process as a final operation of the loading operation.

3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a loader device 1 having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the internal structure of the loader apparatus 1 of the present invention is largely composed of a stage unit 20, a stage transfer unit 40, and a material transfer unit 30.

 The stage portion 20 moves up and down from the lower side of the upper surface opening portion 13 to detach the lower surface portion 150 of the pod 100 seated in the upper surface opening portion from the pod body, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5. .

The stage transfer unit 40 is coupled to the lower surface of the stage unit 20 to move the stage unit 20 up and down.

The stage feeder 40 is composed of the stage supporter 42, the rotational drive and the vertical driver 41.

The stage supporter 42 is a cylindrical support, the upper surface of which is coupled to the lower surface of the stage 20 to support the stage.

The rotation drive unit is for rotating the stage support, and is composed of a motor portion 43 that provides rotational force, and a belt portion 44 wound between the stage support portion 42 and the motor portion 43. That is, when the motor part 43 provides the rotational force, the stage part 20 rotates correspondingly to the belt part 44 and the stage support part 42 wound around the belt part 44 rotates, thereby causing the semiconductor material to rotate. The direction of 200 may be adjusted.

The support plate 47 is located between the stage support part 42 and the up-and-down drive part 41, and the stage fixing pin 46 is provided in the support plate 47. When the stage 20 is rotated and the direction of the desired semiconductor material 200 is determined, the stage fixing pin 46 extends and is coupled to a groove (not shown) formed on the lower surface side of the stage 20 so that it is no longer present. The stage part 20 is prevented from rotating and is positioned correctly.

The vertical drive part 41 is for moving the stage support part 42 and the rotation drive part up and down and moves the Z axis up and down by the servo motor 45 provided in the lower end part.

The material transfer unit 30 grips the semiconductor material 200 stored in the pod 100 removed by the stage unit 20 and is carried out to the outside through the side opening 11.

The material conveying part 30 is composed of a first guide part 31, a second guide part 33, an arm part 35, and a clutch part 38.

One surface of the first guide portion 31 is attached to one side of the inner surface of the main body portion 10, and two long holes 32 are formed in the upper and lower rows in the side opening 11.

The second guide part 33 has two rows of long holes 34 formed in a lateral opening direction, and one surface thereof is coupled to two long holes of the first guide part 31 to be formed in the first guide part 31. It moves forward and backward along the long hole 32 toward the side opening 11.

The arm part 35 is coupled to the long hole 34 formed in the second guide part 33 to move back and forth along the long hole 34 in the direction of the side opening 11, and grips the semiconductor material 200. Two robot arm-shaped grip portions 36 are formed. On both inner surfaces of the grip portion 36, there are provided mounting portions 37 having mounting grooves (not shown) on which the semiconductor material 200 is mounted. In another embodiment of the present invention, the mounting portion 37 is implemented to be able to rotate about the grip portion 36 with the central axis. This is to reverse the machining surface of the reticle by rotating the mounting portion for the backside machining of the reticle in a particular process of semiconductor material, in particular the reticle.

Although not shown in the drawing, the front part of the arm part 35 is provided with a sensor part (not shown) for detecting whether a semiconductor material is mounted on the pod 100. This is to enable both the loading of semiconductor materials (the operation of transferring the semiconductor material from the pod to the back end process) and the unloading (the operation of loading the finished semiconductor material in the post process and mounting on the pod).

The clutch unit 38 is for connecting the first guide unit 31 and the stage transfer unit 40. The upper end unit is coupled to the lower end unit of the first guide unit 31, and the lower end unit is positioned near the stage transfer unit 40. . The use of the clutch portion 38 will be described in FIG. 4.

4 is a front view showing the internal structure of the loader device 1 having a semiconductor material carrying out function according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the loader device 1 of FIG. 3, except for the configuration of the clutch unit 38 and the pivot unit 48.

Slightly lower than the lower end of the clutch 38, the pivot 48 is pivoted 48 is pivotally coupled to one side of the up and down drive 41.

The pivot 48 has a folded first position and an unfolded second position, and is located below the lower end of the clutch portion 38 in the unfolded second position via the simultaneous simultaneous clutch portion 38 of the stage transfer portion 40. The material transfer unit 30 is interlocked with each other.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a detailed structure of the stage unit 20 and the rotation driving unit of FIG. 3.

First, the structure of the pod lower surface portion 150 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. Four support parts 153 are positioned on the lower surface of the pod 150, and the semiconductor material 200 is seated on the four support parts 153. Two purging holes 151 for purging are formed at the corners of the bottom surface of the pod 150.

The stage 20 is provided with three sensors 23 for detecting whether the three registration pins 21 and the pods 100 are normally mounted to allow direction identification. Two latch keys 25 are positioned at the center of the stage 20 to remove or mount the pod lower surface 150 from the pod 100. The two latch keys 25 are coupled to grooves (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the pod bottom surface 150, and when rotated, the pod bottom surface 150 is removed from the pod body 100.

The right side of the latch key 25 is provided with a pod detection sensor 27 for detecting the presence or absence of the pod.

Two through holes 28 formed at positions corresponding to the purge holes 151 formed in the lower surface of the pod 150 are drilled, and a sealing member for sealing is provided on the inner surface side of the through hole 28.

Purging gas may be introduced through the through hole 28 and the purge hole 151 on one side, and a vacuum pressure may be generated when the internal gas is discharged through the through hole 28 and the purge hole 151 on the other side. The pod 150 of the portion without the purge hole 151 may be slightly floating without being properly mounted. Although not shown in FIG. 5, a vacuum pad (not shown) may be installed to fix and seat the pod 150 by vacuum-adsorbing the pod 150 on the stage unit 20 to eliminate this phenomenon.

Hereinafter, a loading operation of the loader device 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. Since the unloading operation is the reverse of the loading operation, understanding the loading operation will be sufficient.

Mounting Steps of the Pod

First, when the pod 100 is mounted on the upper plate 12 of the main body portion 10 by an operator or an automated guided vehicle (AGV: Automatic Guided Vehicle) or the like, the clamping portion 12-3 is mounted on the pod 100. Is fixed to the upper plate (12).

At this time, it is checked whether the pod 100 is normally mounted by the pod detection sensor 27, the registration pin 21, and the position sensor 23 in the stage 20 in the raised position.

Purging step

When the pod 100 is tightly fixed to the upper plate 12, a purging gas such as N ₂ is introduced into the purging hole 151 of the pod lower surface 150 through the through hole 28 formed in the stage 20. Makes the interior of the pod 100 clean.

Pod bottom opening step

 After the purging operation is completed, the latch key 25 of the stage unit 20 is coupled to the coupling groove formed in the pod lower surface unit 150, and then rotated to separate the pod lower surface unit 150 from the pod body 100. It descends to a predetermined position.

Semiconductor material loading status inspection and stage lowering stage

When the stage part 20 descends to a predetermined position, the arm part 35 checks whether the semiconductor material 200 is loaded on the bottom surface part 150 and moves forward to move the mounting part inside the grip part 36. 37) the semiconductor material 200 is gripped.

When the semiconductor material 200 is gripped, the stage 20 is lowered until the pivot 48 is located at the lower end of the clutch 38.

Semiconductor Material Export Step

When the stage part 20 descends until the pivot part 48 is located at the lower end of the clutch part 38, the upper and lower conveyance parts 41 move upward after the pivot part 48 of the upper and lower conveyance parts 41 is unfolded. The material transfer part 30 moves upward by interlocking the stage part 20 and the clutch part 38 coupled with the pivot part 48.

When the material conveying part 30 rises to a carrying out position, the 2nd guide part 33 and the arm part 35 advance to a maximum stroke, respectively, and deliver a semiconductor material to the next process.

 According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to provide a loader device having a semiconductor material export function capable of carrying out that can be loaded in a subsequent step process.

In addition, there is an effect that the yield rate can be improved by providing a rotation driving unit capable of rotating the stage unit, by correcting the loading position of the semiconductor material, especially the reticle.

In addition, in consideration of the case where the rear surface processing of the semiconductor material, in particular the reticle is necessary, it is possible to provide a loader device having a semiconductor material carrying out function having an arm that can load the semiconductor material upside down.

In addition, by having a sensor that can detect the type of the pod, whether the semiconductor material is loaded, the presence of obstacles, there is an effect that can reduce the failure rate and improve the work speed.

In addition, by implementing a vertical movement of the stage transfer unit and the material transfer unit by a single motor there is an effect that can bring about space efficiency and cost reduction.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, it is possible to make various modifications or variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the appended claims will cover such modifications and variations as fall within the spirit of the invention.

Claims (9)

A main body portion having an upper surface opening for pod mounting on an upper surface thereof, and a side opening portion for carrying out semiconductor materials on one side thereof; A stage part which moves upward and downward from the lower side of the upper surface opening to detach the lower surface of the pod seated in the upper surface opening from the pod body; A stage transfer unit coupled to a lower surface of the stage unit to move the stage unit up and down; And And a material conveying unit for holding a semiconductor material stored in the pod removed by the stage unit and carrying it out through the side opening. The method of claim 1, At least one through hole formed at a position corresponding to a purge hole formed at the base plate of the pod; A sealing member located at an inner surface side of the through hole; And And a vacuum pad for vacuum suction of the base plate of the pod. The method of claim 1, The stage transfer unit A stage supporter having one end coupled to a lower surface of the stage and supporting the stage; A rotation driver for rotating the stage support; And And a vertical drive unit for vertically moving the stage support unit and the rotary drive unit. The method of claim 3, wherein The rotation drive unit A motor unit; And And a belt portion wound between the stage support portion and the motor portion. The method of claim 4, wherein The support plate is located between the stage support and the vertical drive, When the stage portion is rotated and the direction of the desired semiconductor material is determined on the supporting plate, a stage fixing pin is installed to be coupled to a groove formed on the lower surface side of the stage portion to prevent rotation of the stage portion. Loader device with function. The method of claim 4, wherein The material transfer part may include a first guide part having one surface attached to one side of an inner surface of the main body part and having at least one long hole formed in the side opening direction; A second guide part having one surface coupled to the long hole of the first guide part and moving forward and backward in the side opening direction along the long hole formed in the first guide part, the at least one long hole being formed in the side opening direction; One side surface is coupled to the long hole formed in the second guide portion and moves forward and backward in the direction of the side opening along the long hole, the semiconductor material carrying out, characterized in that it comprises a gripping portion integrally formed with a gripping portion holding the semiconductor material Loader device with function. The method of claim 6, And a sensor unit for detecting whether or not the semiconductor material is mounted on the pod in a front portion of the arm unit. The method of claim 7, wherein And the holding portion includes a mounting portion having a mounting groove in which the semiconductor material is mounted, and the mounting portion rotates in a specific process to flip the processing surface of the semiconductor material. The method of claim 8, The material conveying part includes a clutch part having one end coupled to a lower end of the first guide part, The stage transfer unit includes a pivot unit pivotally coupled to one side of the vertical drive unit, The pivot portion has a folded first position and an unfolded second position, and is positioned below the clutch portion at the second position so that the material transfer portion is interlocked with the material transfer portion at the same time as the stage transfer portion. Loader device with function.

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