KR20070034311A - Substrate Transfer System and Method, and Substrate Alignment Method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of transporting a substrate, which in accordance with the invention aligns the wafers in the FOUP horizontally by applying vibration to the FOUP before unloading the wafers from the FOUP. Therefore, the mapping process can be performed accurately and the wafers can be unloaded from the FOUP stably.

FOUP, Alignment, Board Transfer System, EFEM, Vibration

Description

Substrate transfer system and method, and substrate alignment method {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRANSFERRING SUBSTRATES AND METHOD FOR ALIGNING SUBSTRATES}

1 schematically shows an example of a substrate processing apparatus in which the substrate transfer system of the present invention is used;

2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1;

3 is a perspective view of the load port of FIG.

4A and 4B are views showing a state in which a wafer in a container is horizontally aligned and horizontally aligned, respectively;

5 is a view showing a load port in which an alignment device having a striker is installed; And

6 is a flowchart sequentially showing a method of transferring wafers in the substrate transfer system of the present invention;

7 to 10 show in sequence the process from the body of the container to the door of the device of FIG. And

11 shows another example of an apparatus for aligning a substrate in a container.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: FOUP 20: Process Equipment

30: substrate transfer system 100: load port

120: station 140: moving plate

160: moving plate driver 200: frame

300: alignment member 310: controller

320: blower 400: alignment device

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for processing a semiconductor substrate, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for horizontally aligning wafers in a container.

The semiconductor manufacturing process is performed in clean rooms that maintain high cleanliness, and open wafer containers are mainly used for storage and transportation of wafers. However, in recent years, in order to reduce the maintenance cost of the clean room, high cleanliness is maintained only inside the process facility and inside some facilities related to the process facility, and relatively low cleanliness is maintained elsewhere. Closed wafer containers are used to protect wafers from airborne contaminants or chemical contamination in areas where low cleanliness is maintained. A representative example of such closed wafer containers is a front open unified pod (“FOUP”). There is).

In addition, as the diameter of semiconductor wafers is recently increased from 200 mm to 300 mm, semiconductor chips are manufactured by an automated system, and the wafers between FOUPs and process equipments are connected to process facilities for the automation and cleaning environment of such semiconductor manufacturing processes. An wafer front transfer system (hereinafter referred to as "EFEM") is used.

US Patent No. 6,473,996 discloses a load port of the above-described EFEM facility. When the FOUP is placed on the station of the load port, the FOUP door is opened by the door opener. Thereafter, a mapping process of checking whether wafers are loaded in a plurality of slots formed in the FOUP and measuring the number of wafers loaded in the FOUP is performed. If the data on the wafers in the slot and the received data do not match after mapping, the process stops. In contrast, if the data match, wafers are taken out of the FOUP and transferred to the process facility. After the process is completed, the wafers are brought back into the FOUP, and the FOUP door is closed to seal the FOUP from the outside.

FOUPs are moved between process facilities by operators or by automated equipment such as overhead transfer. Often, while the FOUP is moved, the wafers inserted into the slots of the FOUP deviate from the horizontal state. In this case, the wafer is not properly detected by the sensor in the slot during the mapping process. Since the mapping results differ from the set data, equipment errors occur and the process stops. In addition, the wafer out of the horizontal state may not be stably loaded on the transfer arm so that the wafer may break off the transfer arm during transfer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of preventing wafers inserted into slots in a container from being out of the horizontal state and causing problems such as equipment error and wafer breakage.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method capable of horizontally aligning wafers inserted into slots in a container.

The present invention provides a method of transferring the semiconductor substrates from a container containing the semiconductor substrates is formed therein slot is inserted into the edge of the semiconductor substrate. The method of transferring the semiconductor substrates includes placing the container on a load port, aligning the semiconductor substrates in the container, and unloading the semiconductor substrates in the container from the container. Aligning the substrates includes shaking the container outside of the container.

In one example, shaking the container includes applying vibration to the container. Vibrating the container may include linearly reciprocating the moving plate of the load port on which the container is placed.

The method further includes opening a door from the body of the container, wherein opening the door from the body of the container further comprises opening the door of the door opener to a latch hole formed in the door of the container prior to aligning the container. Separating the door from the body of the container after the latch key formed in the holder is inserted and the container is aligned.

The method also includes loading the semiconductor substrates into the vessel after unloading the semiconductor substrates in the vessel from the vessel and applying vibration to the vessel outside of the vessel to remove the semiconductor substrates in the vessel. The method may further include sorting.

In another example, shaking the container includes applying a physical impact to the container.

In addition, the present invention provides a substrate transfer system in which slots for inserting edges of semiconductor substrates are formed therein to transfer the semiconductor substrates between a container containing the semiconductor substrates and a process facility. The system includes a load port for supporting the container, a frame located between the load port and the processing equipment and having a robot installed therein for transporting the semiconductor substrates, and slots of the container by shaking the container placed in the load port. And an alignment member for horizontally aligning the semiconductor substrates inserted therein.

According to one example, the load port includes a station, a moving plate positioned on the upper surface of the station, and a moving plate driver for linearly moving the moving plate on the upper surface of the station, wherein the alignment member includes: And a controller for controlling the moving plate driver such that the moving plate reciprocates on the upper surface of the body when performing the process of aligning the substrate in the container.

In another example, the alignment member includes a striking device that strikes the outer wall of the container placed on the load port.

In addition, the present invention provides a semiconductor substrate alignment apparatus in which slots for inserting edges of a semiconductor substrate are formed therein to horizontally align semiconductor substrates inserted therein in a container containing the semiconductor substrates. The apparatus includes a stage, a moving plate installed on the stage, on which the container is placed, and a moving plate driver for shaking the moving plate.

In an example, the moving plate driver applies vibration to the moving plate. The moving plate driver reciprocates the moving plate back and forth, left and right, or up and down.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. Embodiment of the present invention may be modified in various forms, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shape of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

1 schematically shows a substrate processing apparatus 1 to which the substrate transfer system 30 of the present invention is applied. Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate processing apparatus 1 has a container 10, a substrate transfer system 30, and a process facility 20. The container 10 houses semiconductor substrates such as the wafer W. As shown in FIG. As the container 10, a sealed container is used to protect the wafer W from foreign matter or chemical contamination in the air during transportation. As a closed container, a front open unified pod (hereinafter referred to as "FOUP") may be used. Referring to FIG. 2, which is a perspective view of the FOUP 10, the FOUP 10 has a body 12 having an open space on one surface and a door 14 opening and closing it. On the inner wall of the body 12, a plurality of slots 12a into which a portion of the edge of the wafer W is inserted are provided in parallel up and down. A latch hole 14b and a registration hole 14a are formed in the door 14 of the FOUP 10. In addition, a leaf spring (not shown) may be installed on the inner wall of the door 14 to apply a predetermined pressure to the wafers W in the FOUP 10 while the door 14 is closed.

The process facility 20 may be a facility for performing chemical vapor deposition, dry etch, thermal furnace, development, or cleaning. Although not shown, process equipment 20 may be provided with a loadlock chamber, transfer chamber, and process chambers for performing the above-described process.

The substrate transfer system 30 transfers the wafer W between the FOUP 10 and the process facility 20. The substrate transfer system 30 has a loadport 100, a frame 200, a transfer robot, and an alignment member 300. Frame 200 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the rear wall 202 adjacent to the process equipment 20 of the side walls of the frame 200, an inlet 202a, which is a passage for transferring the wafer W, is formed, and the rear wall 202 Openings are formed in the opposing front wall 204. The fan filter unit 240 is installed at an upper portion of the frame 200 to maintain the inside of the frame 200 at a predetermined cleanness. The fan 242 allows air to flow in a laminar flow from top to bottom in the frame 200, and the filter 244 filters the air by removing particles in the air. An exhaust port 206, which is an exhaust passage of air, is formed on the lower surface of the frame 200. In the frame 200, the transfer robot 220 which transfers the wafer W between the FOUP 10 and the process facility 20 is installed. One or more carrier robots 220 may be installed.

In addition, the substrate transfer system 30 is provided with a mapping member 260 for checking the presence or absence of the wafer W in the slot 12a in the FOUP 10. The mapping member 260 includes a light emitting sensor (not shown) and a light receiving sensor (not shown), and are installed in the transfer robot 220 or installed in the door holder 182. The mapping method for checking the presence or absence of the wafer (W) according to whether light is received using the light emitting sensor and the light receiving sensor is well known in the art, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The load port 100 is positioned in contact with the front wall 204 of the frame 200 and supports the FOUP 10 during the process. 3 is a perspective view of the load port 100 of FIG. Referring to FIG. 3, the load port 100 has a vertical frame 160, a station 120, a moving plate 140, a driver, and a door opener 180. The vertical frame 160 is inserted into the opening of the front wall 204 of the frame 200 and coupled to the frame 200. The vertical frame 160 has a through hole 162 through which the wafer W enters and exits. The through hole 162 is formed in a generally rectangular shape. The station 120 is mounted on one side of the vertical frame 160, and the moving plate 140 is coupled to an upper surface of the station 120. The station 120 has a generally flat top surface, and a guide groove 122 is formed at the center to guide the moving plate 140 to linearly move in a direction toward the vertical frame 160.

The moving plate 140 has a generally rectangular top plate 142 and a bottom plate 144 extending downward therefrom and inserted into the guide groove 122. A plurality of kinematic fins 142a are installed on the moving plate 140. The kinematic pins 142a are inserted into grooves (not shown) formed in the bottom of the FOUP 10 so that the FOUP 10 is placed at a predetermined position on the moving plate 140. The door opener 180 opens and closes the door 14 of the FOUP 10 placed on the moving plate 140. The door opener 180 has a door holder 182, an arm 184, and a holder driver (not shown). The door holder 182 has a size and shape corresponding to that of the through hole 162. Arm 184 is fixedly coupled to the back of door holder 182. The holder driver is coupled to the arm 184 to move the arm 184 in the up and down or front and rear directions. The holder driver may be installed in the station 120. The door holder 182 is provided with a latch key 182b inserted into the latch hole 14b of the door 14 and a registration pin 182a inserted into the registration hole 14a.

As described above, the wafers W are inserted into the slot 12a in the FOUP 10. However, the wafers W are liable to twist in the horizontal state within the FOUP 10 while the FOUP 10 is moved by an automatic transfer device such as an overhead transfer (not shown). During the mapping process, the mapping member 260 may not recognize the wafer W positioned in an inclined state in the FOUP 10.

The alignment member 300 aligns the wafers W so that the wafers W are placed horizontally in the FOUP 10. The alignment member 300 shakes the FOUP 10 to align the wafers W in the FOUP 10 horizontally. To this end, the alignment member 300 applies vibration to the FOUP 10 or strikes the FOUP 10. As an example of a method of applying vibration to the FOUP 10, the FOUP 10 may be linearly reciprocated.

Next, an example of a method of applying vibration to the FOUP 10 by linearly reciprocating the FOUP 10 will be described. As the alignment member 300, a controller 310 that controls the moving plate driver 160 is used. The controller 310 controls the moving plate driver 160 to linearly move the moving plate 140 on which the FOUP 10 is placed. For example, the controller 310 controls the moving plate driver 160 to reciprocate along the guide groove 122 in a direction toward and away from the vertical frame 160. The reciprocating movement distance and the moving speed of the moving plate 140 are enough to shake the wafers W in the FOUP 10 so that the wafers W can be placed in the right position, which can be determined through experiments or the like. .

FIG. 5A illustrates a state in which some wafers W are positioned out of the horizontal in the FOUP 10, and FIG. 5B illustrates that vibrations are applied to the FOUP 10 so that the wafers W are horizontal in the FOUP 10. It is a figure which shows the ordered state. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the FOUP 10 is initially placed in the load port 100, a portion of the edge of the wafer W is placed in contact on the slot 12a but the other portion is spaced apart from the slot 12a. It may be in contact with the inner wall of the body 12. However, when vibration is applied to the FOUP 10, a portion of the edge of the wafer W spaced apart from the slot 12a falls down and contacts the slot 12a, thereby aligning the wafers W horizontally.

Alignment of the wafer W in the FOUP 10 is performed before the door 14 is opened. This prevents the wafer W from escaping from the FOUP 10 when applying vibration. Alignment of the wafer W in the FOUP 10 is performed after the latch key 182b of the door holder 182 is engaged with the latch hole 14b of the door 14 to unlock the door 14, and then 14 may be made before being separated from the body 12 of the FOUP 10.

In the above-described example, it has been described that the vibration is applied to the FOUP 10 by allowing the moving plate 140 to linearly reciprocate along the guide groove 122. However, vibration to the FOUP 10 can be applied in various other ways. For example, the reciprocating movement direction of the moving plate 140 may be different from the above-described example. Optionally, the moving direction of the moving plate 140 may be moved in an irregular direction.

In addition, in the above-described example, it has been described that the moving plate 140 is moved and vibration is applied to the FOUP 10. Unlike this, however, vibration may be applied to the FOUP 10 by reciprocating the door holder 182 in the up, down, left or right directions in a state in which the FOUP 10 is coupled to the door holder 182. In addition, generally known vibrators that perform the function of applying vibration to a particular object may be used.

As another example, the alignment member 300 ′ may have a striker 320 that strikes the FOUP 10. 5 shows an example in which a striker 320 hitting the FOUP 10 is installed in the load port 100. Referring to FIG. 5, the striking unit 320 has a striking rod 322, a moving rod 324, and a striking rod driver (not shown). The striking rod 322 strikes the FOUP 10 and directly impacts the FOUP 10. The striking rod 322 generally has a rod shape, and an end portion that strikes the FOUP 10 has a spherical shape. The striking rod 322 is generally disposed in the horizontal direction. The moving rod 324 is coupled with the striking rod 322. The moving rod 324 has a horizontal rod 324a which penetrates the hole 124 formed in the side wall of the station 120 and is generally disposed in a horizontal direction and extends vertically from the end thereof to the vertical rod 324b. The above-mentioned striking rod 322 is coupled to the end of the vertical rod 324b. The vertical rod 324b is linearly moved in the direction passing through the hole 124 by the striking rod driver.

Next, a method of transferring a substrate in the substrate transfer system 30 described above with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10 will be described sequentially. FIG. 6 is a flowchart sequentially showing a substrate transfer method, and FIGS. 7 to 10 are views sequentially showing a process until the door 14 of the FOUP 10 is separated from the body 12 of the FOUP 10. . The door holder 182 is initially inserted and positioned in the through hole 162, and the FOUP 10 is placed on the moving plate 140 by the overhead transfer (FIG. 7, step S10). Thereafter, the moving plate 140 is moved forward in the direction toward the door holder 182. The registration pin 182a of the door holder 182 is inserted into the registration hole 14a of the door 14, and the latch key 182b of the door holder 182 is inserted into the latch hole 14b of the door 14. do. The latch key 182b of the door holder 182 is rotated in the latch hole 14b of the door 14 so that the door holder 182 is coupled to the door 14 (FIG. 8, step S20). The moving plate 140 reciprocates along the guide groove 122, and the FOUP 10 is vibrated (FIG. 9, step S30). Thereafter, the door holder 182 is moved backward and downward by the holder driver so that the door 14 of the FOUP 10 is separated from the body 12, and the FOUP 10 is opened (FIG. 10, step S40). In the above-described example, the vibration is applied to the FOUP 10 after the door 14 of the FOUP 10 is engaged with the door holder 182. Alternatively, vibration may be applied to the FOUP 10 before the door 14 of the FOUP 10 engages with the door holder 182.

Next, the presence or absence of the wafer W in the slots 12a is detected by the mapping member 260 (step S50). If the detected data matches the input data, the process proceeds. The wafers W are unloaded from the FOUP 10 by the transfer robot and then transferred to the process facility 20 (step S60). The wafers W processed in the process facility 20 are loaded into the FOUP 10 again. When the process is complete for all wafers W, the door holder 182 is moved upwards and forwards so that the door 14 of the FOUP 10 is coupled to the body 12. Thereafter, the latch key is rotated, and the moving plate 140 is moved in the opposite direction to the door holder 182 along the guide groove 122. Optionally, after the door 14 of the FOUP 10 is coupled to the body 12, the moving plate 140 travels a fine distance linearly reciprocating along the guide groove 122 to remove the wafers W in the FOUP 10. You can sort.

In the above-described example, the case where the wafers W are aligned in the FOUP 10 before the wafers W are transferred from the FOUP 10 in the substrate transfer system 30 has been described. However, in the present invention, the alignment of the wafers W may be performed in a device other than the substrate transfer system 30 described above. Next, referring to FIG. 11, the structure of the apparatus 400 for aligning the wafers W horizontally in the container 10 will be described schematically.

The apparatus 400 for horizontally aligning the wafers W in the FOUP 10 has a station 420, a moving plate 440, a moving plate driver 460, and a controller 480. The moving plate 440 is mounted on the top surface of the station 420. The moving plate 140 is generally flat and has an upper plate 442 on which the wafer W is placed and a lower plate 444 extending downward therefrom. The upper plate 442 has a generally rectangular shape, and the lower plate 444 protrudes downward from the center area of the upper plate 442. The insertion groove 422 for inserting the lower plate 444 of the moving plate 440 is mounted on the station 420. The insertion groove 422 has a larger area than the lower plate 444. The lower plate 444 is provided with a driver 460 for vibrating a certain distance in the vertical direction, left, right, or front and rear direction. When the FOUP 10 is placed on the moving plate 440, the driver 460 is controlled by the controller 480 to vibrate the moving plate 140 in the up, down, left, and right directions. The vibration of the moving plate 440 described above may be performed by the driver 460 by moving the moving plate 440 in a vertical distance linear reciprocating motion in the vertical, vertical, horizontal direction.

According to the present invention, since wafers are unloaded from the container after the wafers are aligned horizontally in the container, the wafers can be stably transferred.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the mapping process is performed after the wafers are aligned horizontally in the container, the mapping process can be performed accurately.

Claims (13)

In the method for transferring the semiconductor substrates from the container containing the semiconductor substrate is formed therein slot is inserted into the edge of the semiconductor substrate, Placing the container on a load port; Aligning semiconductor substrates in the vessel; Unloading semiconductor substrates in the vessel from the vessel, Aligning the semiconductor substrates in the vessel comprises shaking the vessel outside of the vessel. The method of claim 1, Shaking the container, And vibrating the container. The method of claim 2, Vibrating the container, And linearly reciprocating the moving plate of the load port on which the container is placed. The method of claim 3, The method further comprises opening a door from the body of the container, Opening the door from the body of the container, Inserting a latch key formed in the door holder of the door opener into a latch hole formed in the door of the container prior to the step of aligning the container; Separating the door from the body of the container after aligning the container. The method of claim 1, The method comprises after the step of unloading the semiconductor substrates in the container from the container, Loading the semiconductor substrates into the vessel; And aligning the semiconductor substrates in the container by applying vibration to the container outside of the container. The method of claim 1, Shaking the container, And subjecting the container to a physical impact. In the substrate transfer system for transferring the semiconductor substrates between the container and the processing equipment for receiving the semiconductor substrate is formed therein slots for inserting the edge of the semiconductor substrate, A load port for supporting the container; A frame located between the load port and the process facility and having a robot configured to transfer the semiconductor substrates therein; And And an alignment member for shaking the container placed in the load port to horizontally align the semiconductor substrates inserted into the slots of the container. The method of claim 7, wherein The load port, A station; A moving plate located on an upper surface of the station and on which the container is placed; A moving plate driver for linearly moving the moving plate on an upper surface of the station, The alignment member has a controller for controlling the moving plate driver to reciprocate on the upper surface of the body when performing the process of aligning the substrate in the container, And vibration is applied to the container by the reciprocating motion of the moving plate. The method of claim 7, wherein And the alignment member includes a striker striking the outer wall of the vessel placed in the load port. An apparatus for horizontally aligning semiconductor substrates inserted therein in a container for accommodating the edges of the semiconductor substrate is formed therein in a container containing the semiconductor substrates, A stage; A moving plate installed on the stage and on which the container is placed; And a moving plate driver for shaking the moving plate. The method of claim 10, And the moving plate driver applies vibration to the moving plate. The method of claim 10, And the moving plate driver reciprocates the moving plate back and forth, left and right, or up and down. The method of claim 10, And the container is a closed container.

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