KR20070081701A - Robot for transporting substrate and equipment for cleaning substrates having the robot - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate transfer robot and substrate cleaning equipment with the same are provided to prevent the re-contamination of substrates after a cleaning process by supporting the substrates at different positions using an improved blade with a first support member and a second support member. A substrate transfer robot includes a blade. The blade(126) includes a first support member and a second support member. The first support member(128) supports substrates before a substrate cleaning process. A front end portion of the first support member is inclined. The second support member(129) supports the substrates after the substrate cleaning process. A rear end portion of the second support member is inclined. The first support member is composed of a first support pins for supporting the front end portion of the substrate and a second support pins for supporting the rear end portion of the substrate. The height of the second support pin is larger than that of the first support pin. The second support member is composed of third support pins for supporting the front end portion of the substrate at a higher portion than the first support pin and forth support pins for supporting the rear end portion of the substrate at a lower portion than the second support pin.

Description

Substrate transfer robot and substrate cleaning equipment having the robot {ROBOT FOR TRANSPORTING SUBSTRATE AND EQUIPMENT FOR CLEANING SUBSTRATES HAVING THE ROBOT}

1 is a block diagram showing a substrate cleaning facility according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the alignment of the substrate cleaning facility according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing a blade of the horizontal transfer robot installed in the alignment unit.

4 is a plan view showing a blade of the horizontal transfer robot installed in the alignment unit.

5 is a view showing a blade of the horizontal transfer robot is placed on the substrate before cleaning.

6 is a view showing the blade of the horizontal transfer robot is placed on the substrate after cleaning.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

120: alignment unit 121: position switching device

122: pusher 123: vertical transport robot

124: horizontal transport robot 125: substrate support arm

126: blade 128: first support member

129: second support member

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate transfer robot that transfers substrates when they are sent to each treatment tank for wet cleaning and wet etching, and a substrate cleaning facility having the robot.

The manufacturing process of a semiconductor device is a process of implementing a specific circuit by repeatedly performing each unit process such as forming a material film on the wafer, ion implantation, photo and etching processes. As described above, the wafer until the semiconductor device is formed has a source of contamination such as a process gas, a chemical or a polymer produced by the process, and various particles on its surface during each process. These pollutants cause process defects in the next process, and there are problems such as deterioration in the quality of semiconductor devices produced. Therefore, the wafer needs a cleaning process for removing contaminants remaining on the surface after performing each process.

For example, in the cleaning process, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) as a substrate is cleaned with a cleaning liquid such as a predetermined chemical liquid or pure water, and the particles such as particles, organic contaminants, and metal impurities adhered to the surface of the substrate. Wet cleaning processes, which can effectively remove termination and can be cleaned by batch treatment, are widely used.

Conventionally, the wet cleaning apparatus is composed of an import / export section and a cleaning treatment section. Said carrying in / out part is a carrier mounting stand for receiving the carrier which received the predetermined number of board | substrates, for example, 25 board | substrate in the vertical state, the load mechanism which delivers a board | substrate by a carrier unit, It is formed by the alignment part which aligns the board | substrate of 50 sheets for two carriers, for example loaded by the loading mechanism.

In the carrying-in part of the said washing | cleaning apparatus, after the carrier carried in the said carrier mounting object is positioned, it is conveyed by a conveyance apparatus, for example. Subsequently, the substrates accommodated in the carrier in the vertical state are pushed upward in the carrier and taken out by the rod mechanism. Thereafter, the substrate is transferred to the alignment portion. In this way, 50 board | substrates taken out in the carrier, for example, are waiting by the posture aligned in parallel with the alignment part. And the board | substrate waiting for the alignment part is collectively hold | maintained by the board | substrate chuck, and is conveyed to the washing process part.

By the way, in the conventional wet cleaning apparatus, the board | substrate before a washing process and the board | substrate which finished washing are conveyed by the same board | substrate conveyance robot. Therefore, a case may arise where the cleaned substrates are contaminated by the substrate transfer robot. In order to prevent this, separate substrate transfer apparatuses may be used before and after the process treatment, or the substrate transfer apparatus may be separately separated before and after the process using a substrate transfer apparatus having a dual arm structure. However, using a separate conveying device or using a dual-arm substrate conveying device causes complexity in terms of equipment configuration and causes an increase in cost of equipment components, which in turn impedes an increase in price competitiveness.

The present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, an object thereof is to provide a substrate transfer robot and a substrate cleaning facility having the robot that can prevent the back contamination of the substrate in the process of transporting the cleaned substrate to the cassette. It is.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the substrate transfer robot of the present invention comprises: a first support member for supporting a substrate before cleaning in an inclined shear state; It includes a blade having a second support member for supporting the substrate after cleaning in a state in which the rear end is inclined.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first support member comprises: first support pins for supporting the front end of the substrate before cleaning; A second support pin for supporting a rear end of the substrate before cleaning at a position higher than the first support pins, and the second support member includes a third support for supporting the front end of the substrate at a position higher than the first support pin after cleaning. Support pins; Fourth support pins supporting the rear end of the substrate after the cleaning at a position lower than the second support pins.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the third support pins are located outside the first support pins, and the fourth support pins are located inward of the second support pins.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the substrate cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate transport robot for loading or unloading substrates from a carrier; A position shifting device for shifting the substrates conveyed by the substrate transport robot into a vertical or horizontal state; The substrate transport robot includes at least one blade having first and second support members respectively supporting the substrate before cleaning and the substrate after cleaning.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, the substrate cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate transport robot for loading or unloading substrates from a carrier; A position shifting device for shifting the substrates conveyed by the substrate transport robot into a vertical or horizontal state; The substrate transport robot includes a first support member for supporting the substrate before cleaning in a state in which the front end is inclined; It includes a blade having a second support member for supporting the substrate after cleaning in a state in which the rear end is inclined.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first support member comprises: first support pins for supporting the front end of the substrate before cleaning at the front end of the blade; Second support pins supporting a rear end of the substrate before cleaning at a position higher than the first support pins at the rear end of the blade, wherein the second support member is configured to support the front end of the substrate after cleaning at the front end of the blade; 3 support pins; Fourth support pins supporting the rear end of the substrate after cleaning at the rear end of the blade at a position lower than the second support pins.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the second support member includes: third support pins for supporting the front end of the substrate at a position higher than the first support pin after cleaning at the front end of the blade; Fourth support pins supporting the rear end of the substrate after cleaning at the rear end of the blade at a position lower than the third support pins.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the third support pins of the second support member are located outside the first support pins of the first support member, and the fourth support pins of the second support member are the first support pins. It is located inside the second support pins of the member.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments introduced herein are provided to ensure that the disclosed subject matter is thorough and complete, and that the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art will fully convey. Portions denoted by like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the specification.

1 shows a substrate cleaning facility 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the substrate cleaning apparatus 100 includes a loading / unloading unit 110 in which a carrier is loaded or unloaded, an alignment unit 120 in which substrates are aligned, and a cleaning unit 160 in which substrates are cleaned. ).

The carrier C containing the substrates is placed in the in / out port 112 of the loading / unloading unit 110 by an automated transport device (AGV) or a rail guided vehicle (RGV). ), 25 substrates W are stored horizontally one by one in the carrier C. The carrier C has 25 parallel grooves for preservation in a state in which the substrate W is laid horizontally. For example, the carrier C may be a front open unified pod (FOUP), a next-generation substrate storage jig for storing, transporting, and storing the substrate in a horizontal state. Means a substrate for a photo reticle, a display panel substrate such as a substrate for a liquid crystal display panel or a substrate for a plasma display panel, a substrate for an electronic device such as a hard disk substrate, a semiconductor device, or the like.

The loading / unloading unit 110 is an in / out port 112 in which carriers are loaded / unloaded, a carrier C transported for a cleaning process, or a stocker in which carriers for transport to a next process are stored in a standby state. (stocker; 116). The stocker comprises shelves on which the carriers c are placed and a carrier conveying robot. Meanwhile, an opener 118 for opening the door of the carrier is installed between the loading / unloading unit 110 and the alignment unit 120.

1 and 2, the alignment unit 120 is where the substrates are aligned to meet the cleaning process or the substrates that have been cleaned are rearranged to accommodate the carrier. The alignment unit is provided with a horizontal transport robot 124, a position shifting device 121, a pusher 122, and a vertical transport robot 123.

The horizontal transport robot 124 collectively loads 25 substrates from the carrier C in a horizontal state and transfers them to the position shifting device 121 or 25 substrates from the position shifting device 121 in a horizontal state. It loads in a batch and transfers to the carrier (C). The horizontal transfer robot 124 has a substrate support arm 125 that is freely operated in a three-dimensional space such as X, Y, and Z axes. The substrate support arm 125 has blades 126 having the same number and spacing as those of the substrates stacked in the carrier C, and the bottom surface of the substrate is supported in a point contact state at a plurality of locations (four locations).

3 and 4 are a perspective view and a plan view showing a blade of the horizontal transport robot shown in FIG.

3 and 4, the blade 126 of the horizontal transfer robot 124 has first and second support members that support the pre-cleaned substrates and the post-cleaned substrates separately. The first support member 128 may include the first support pins 128a for supporting the front end of the pre-cleaning substrate w1 and the rear end of the pre-cleaning substrate w1 at a position higher than the first support pins 128a. And supporting second support pins 128b. The second support member 129 may include the third support pins 129a for supporting the front end of the substrate w2 after cleaning, at a position higher than the first support pin 128a, and the rear end of the substrate w2 after cleaning. Fourth support pins (129b) for supporting at a lower position than the second support pins (128b). Here, since the third support pins 129a are located outside the first support pins 128a, and the fourth support pins 129b are located inside the second support pins 128b, the substrate after cleaning When (w2) and the pre-cleaning substrate w1 are placed on the first and second support members 128 and 129, mutual interference does not occur.

The position change device 121 includes a cassette 121a that receives the substrates from the substrate support arm 125 of the horizontal transfer robot 124. This cassette 121a is rotated for substrate alignment. In the position shifting device 121, the substrates are rearranged from the full pitch (10 mm) to the half pitch (5 mm), and are switched from the horizontal state to the vertical state. For example, the alignment device may use the alignment device disclosed in Patent Publication No. 2000-44848 and Patent Application 2002-18939. On the other hand, the substrates that have been vertically shifted by the position shifting device 121 are separated from the cassette by the pusher 122. Subsequently, the substrates separated from the cassette are clamped vertically from the pusher 122 by the vertical transport robot 123 and transferred to the shuttle 168a of the processing unit.

The substrates are conveyed to the end of the cleaning processing unit 162 in the state loaded in the shuttle 168a, and then the substrate cleaning is performed while moving from the end of the cleaning processing unit 162 toward the alignment unit. Then, the processed substrates are loaded into the pusher 122 by the robot 164 of the cleaning process unit, aligned in the reverse order, and unloaded into the cassette.

5 is a view showing a blade of the horizontal transfer robot is placed on the substrate before cleaning, Figure 6 is a view showing a blade of the horizontal transfer robot is placed on the substrate after cleaning.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pre-clean substrate w1 transferred from the carrier C to the position changer 121 is supported by the first support member 128 of the blade 127. That is, the substrate w1 before cleaning is supported to be inclined forward while being mounted on the first support pins 128a and the second support pins 128b. At this time, the substrate w1 before cleaning is supported at a position where interference with the fourth support pin does not occur.

As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate w2 after cleaning transferred from the position changer 121 to the carrier C is supported by the second support member 129 of the blade 127. That is, after cleaning, the substrate w2 is supported on the third support pins 129a and the fourth support pins 129b to be inclined backwards. At this time, after cleaning, the substrate w2 is supported at a position where interference with the first support pin does not occur.

As described above, the substrate cleaning facility of the present invention can prevent re-contamination of the substrates after cleaning because the substrates are supported at different positions even though the substrates before and after the process are conveyed by one horizontal transfer robot. .

In the above, the configuration and operation of the substrate cleaning equipment according to the present invention has been shown in accordance with the above description and drawings, but this is merely an example, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course.

As described above, the present invention can prevent re-contamination of the substrates after cleaning since the substrates are different from each other, even though the substrates before and after the process are conveyed by one horizontal transport robot.

Claims (9)

In the substrate transfer robot: A first support member for supporting the substrate before cleaning with the shear inclined; A substrate transfer robot, comprising: a blade having a second support member for supporting a substrate after cleaning with the rear end tilted. The method of claim 1, The first support member is First support pins supporting a front end of the substrate before cleaning; Comprising a second support pin for supporting the rear end of the substrate at a position higher than the first support pins, The second support member Third support pins for supporting the front end of the substrate at a position higher than the first support pin after cleaning; And a fourth support pin for supporting a rear end of the substrate at a position lower than the second support pins after cleaning. The method of claim 2, The third support pins are located outwardly than the first support pins, And the fourth support pins are positioned inward of the second support pins. In substrate cleaning equipment: A substrate transport robot for loading or unloading substrates from a carrier; A position shifting device for shifting the substrates conveyed by the substrate transport robot into a vertical or horizontal state; The substrate transport robot And at least one blade having first and second support members respectively supporting the substrate before cleaning and the substrate after cleaning. In substrate cleaning equipment: A substrate transport robot for loading or unloading substrates from a carrier; A position shifting device for shifting the substrates conveyed by the substrate transport robot into a vertical or horizontal state; The substrate transport robot A first support member for supporting the substrate before cleaning with the shear inclined; And a blade having a second support member for supporting the substrate after cleaning with the rear end tilted. The method according to claim 4 or 5, The first support member is First support pins for supporting the front end of the substrate before cleaning at the front end of the blade; And second support pins supporting the rear end of the substrate before cleaning at a position higher than the first support pins at the rear end of the blade. The method of claim 6, The second support member Third support pins for supporting the front end of the substrate after cleaning at the front end of the blade; And a fourth support pin for supporting the rear end of the substrate at a lower position than the second support pins after cleaning at the rear end of the blade. The method of claim 6, The second support member Third support pins for supporting the front end of the substrate at a position higher than the first support pin after cleaning at the front end of the blade; And a fourth support pin for supporting the rear end of the substrate at a lower position than the third support pins after cleaning at the rear end of the blade. The method of claim 7, wherein The third support pins of the second support member are located outside the first support pins of the first support member, And the fourth supporting pins of the second supporting member are located inward of the second supporting pins of the first supporting member.

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