200307639 玖、發明說明 【發明所屬之技術領域】 本發明係關於在半導體製造或液晶製造步驟中，將通 常採用25片裝晶盒或F〇up(密閉盒）而所進行的晶圓對製 造裝置之供應回收事宜，藉由潔淨隧道（clean tunnel)而所 構成的連結形態移載設備（即，EFEN1(Equipment Front End200307639 发明 Description of the invention [Technical field to which the invention belongs] The present invention relates to a wafer-pair manufacturing device that typically uses a 25-chip crystal box or a FOup (closed box) in a semiconductor manufacturing or liquid crystal manufacturing process. Supply and recycling matters, connected form transfer equipment (ie, EFEN1 (Equipment Front End)
Module)、設備前詈描&、 〇〇 引i Μ組）’單片搬送移載晶圓，俾達縮短 製造期間、削減半成σ由士 紙扣庠存等合理化功效的特殊EFEM、 晶圓搬送移載、晶圓紘味# 曰曰_編戒讀取方法等。 【先前技術】 習知在半導體製& a &工廠前處理步驟中的晶圓搬送處 置，係在將晶圓玫入9 片裝晶盒或第15圖所示FOUP(來 閉盒）中之後，在提佴认 放入晶盒中的心；1造裝置’俾執行回收事宜。因此 24片均已處理完成之\之最初的第1片’必須直到剩餘的 a π 月】，均在FOUP等之内等待著。所右 晶圓在直到F0UP内的 寻竹者所有 戌咕 其他晶圓已處理完成為止之前妁v 須等待著，便產生等接荽， 勹止之刚均必 、耆1〇〇台以上且高達500牛酹u 之半導體或液晶的所右制、4 门運500步驟以上 方法中，戴至被處理前的楚y _牛成口口。在此 龐大。此外，對製造事 口口句將交為 表置鹃要從F〇UP中取出曰 裝置中進行處理之後， 取出日日51，且在 晶盒、刚"自動搬送度放入 '圓的機構。另外，對此 尺寸、重量的較大自動保官方面’ f要配合該等 一，、同價的物流系統’在為求提昇生 4 200307639 產效率而將晶圓尺寸大口徑化，而且晶盒或FOUP的尺寸 與重量亦需要高額投資’而導致潔淨室工廠建設經費增加 的主因之一。本發明係藉由將晶圓在極小潔淨區域中進行 單片連續搬送，而將製造裝置間利用晶圓單體予以聯繫著 的系統，乃彌補習知技術缺點，並將單片製造的實現予以 具體化。 半導體或液晶晶圓係從直徑 200mm演變至直徑 300mm，300mm所對應的製造裝置亦從200mm代的批次處 理方式，大半轉變為單片處理方式，利用製造裝置與搬送 的單片化而提昇生產效率，此乃業界的目標。譬如，之前 IBM在EAST FISHKILL工廠中，便有發表QTAT之利用空 氣壓力使半導體晶圓浮起並進行搬送的系統，即便使晶圓 汙起，但是隨強大氣流的靜電，將使搬送移載存在困難點，Module), equipment front-line description & 〇 引 引 Ｍ group) 'Single-chip transfer and transfer wafers, to achieve a special EFEM, crystal, and other rationalized effects such as shortening the manufacturing period, reducing half of the σ, and deducting and depositing paper.圆 送 送 载, wafer 纮 味 # anya said _ edit ring read method and so on. [Prior technology] The wafer transfer process in the pre-processing step of the semiconductor & a & factory is conventionally carried out by inserting the wafer into a 9-chip wafer box or a FOUP (closed box) as shown in FIG. 15 After that, the heart that was put in the crystal box was identified; a device was built to carry out the recycling. Therefore, all the 24 pieces have been processed, and the first first piece ’must wait until the remaining a π months], all of which are waiting within FOUP and so on. All the wafers on the right will wait until all other wafers from the bamboo seeker in F0UP have been processed. The v must wait, and then there will be a connection. The last one must be more than 100 units and up to 100 units. For 500 ohms of semiconductor or liquid crystal system, the method of 4 steps and 500 steps or more is to be worn until the chu _ 牛 成 口 口 before being processed. It's huge here. In addition, the production sentence will be handed over to the table to remove the cuckoo from the F0UP for processing, then take out the day 51, and put it in the 'round' mechanism in the crystal box, rigid " automatic conveyance degree. . In addition, the larger the size and weight of the automatic security official 'f to cooperate with the same, the same price of the logistics system' is in order to improve the production efficiency of 2003 20033939 wafer size larger, and the crystal box Or the size and weight of the FOUP also require high investment ', which is one of the main reasons for the increase in clean room plant construction costs. The present invention is a system for continuously conveying a single piece of wafer in a very small clean area, and using a single wafer to communicate between manufacturing equipment, which compensates for the shortcomings of the conventional technology, and realizes the realization of single piece manufacturing. Materialize. The semiconductor or liquid crystal wafer system has evolved from a diameter of 200mm to a diameter of 300mm. The manufacturing equipment corresponding to 300mm has also changed from a batch processing method of the 200mm generation. Most of it has been converted to a single-chip processing method. The use of manufacturing equipment and single-chip transportation has improved production. Efficiency is the goal of the industry. For example, in the EAST FISHKILL factory, IBM previously announced the QTAT system that uses air pressure to float and transport semiconductor wafers. Even if the wafers are fouled, static electricity with strong airflow will cause the transfer to exist. More difficult,
再者 亦有將晶圓利 用習 知技術之使用輸送帶 進行裝 5 200307639 置間搬送的方法。譬如，美國專利US5820679A與日本專 利JP7-1 22 622A中所示，但是輸送帶與裝置的移載方法並 未明確’而且輸送帶乃由皮帶承受晶圓底面，因此隨晶圓 與皮帶間的磨擦便將產生粉塵，因而無法滿足對晶圓製造 要求著極力不接觸晶圓底面的最新規格。此外，在該等之 中亦未揭示將半導體或液晶生產上所需的潔淨區域予以極 小化的想法。亦未存在有將多數個EFFM間利用潔淨區域 進行連接’並藉由將晶圓利用單片進行搬送，俾將製造期 間及早形成連結狀態EFEM的概念。將製造裝置間在最小 潔淨區域中進行搬送之事，在降低潔淨工廠的設備投資額 與運轉成本上乃屬極其重要的因素。 有鑒於斯，本發明乃在半導體製造或液晶製造中，藉 由利用連結形態的EFEM而實現單片搬送，藉此將縮短生 產時間（Quick Turn Around Time)、減少半成品與完成品庫 存量予以具體化。 【發明内容】 本發明主要部分的連結形態EFEM係由下述四個構成 要件所構成。即，在半導體與液晶各製造裝置之前，由機 器人（2)、FOUP(12)、及FOUP開口機（14)所構成的特殊 EFEM (Equipment Front End Module)、設備前置模組）（10); 將該等特殊EFEM(10)與潔淨區域形成共通狀態的潔淨隧道 (clean tunnel)(l);在潔淨隧道内連續搬送晶圓（16)的單片 輸送帶（15);以及將半導體或液晶晶圓裝填於FOUP中的 200307639 裝填站（3)。藉由（普通的EFEM請參照第14圖所示）此四個 構造而呈連結EFEM組群之形態的連結形態efem，係利 用將晶圓（16)裝填於F〇Up(12)中的裝填站（3)，而連接於連 、…1 &、的EFEM夕卜部。在連結形態白勺EFEM内將晶圓（i 6) 依單片進行搬送移載，而在連結形態的EFEM外部則將晶 圓（16)依FOUP(12)單位進行搬送移載。在晶圓（16)單位與 FOUP(12)單位之接點的晶圓裝填站⑺中，利用機械臂 將F〇UP(12)内的晶圓〇6)形成單片並裝填於F〇UP(12)中， 然後組合於暫時收容著真正空之F〇up(12)的緩衝站㈠）中， 緩衝站（4)則連繫於執行著連結形態之efem間搬送的小批 次搬送機（5 )。 特殊E F E Μ (2)係具備有：晶圓移載用機械臂（2 〇);讀取 條碼、英數字的讀取機器（25);自動運轉用緩衝晶盒（13)、 手動運轉用F0UP(12);以及刚ρ開口機（14);並利用潔 淨隧道1而連接於潔淨區域（第1圖斜線部分）。 特殊EFEM(2)内的機械臂（2〇)係具備有僅保持著晶圓 (16)外周緣部的保持部（22);並在單片輸送帶（15)、製造裝 置（50〜54)、緩衝晶盒（13)、以及F〇up(12)之間進行移載。In addition, there are also methods for transferring wafers using conventional technology using conveyor belts. For example, the US patent US5820679A and Japanese patent JP7-1 22 622A are shown, but the method of transferring the conveyor belt and the device is not clear. Moreover, the conveyor belt is supported by the bottom surface of the wafer by the belt. Dust will be generated, so it cannot meet the latest specifications that require wafer manufacturing to be extremely close to the bottom surface of the wafer. In addition, the idea of minimizing the clean area required for semiconductor or liquid crystal production has not been disclosed among these. There is also no concept of connecting a plurality of EFFMs in a clean area 'and transferring the wafers in a single piece, thereby forming an EFEM in a connected state early during manufacturing. Moving the manufacturing equipment between the smallest clean areas is an extremely important factor in reducing the amount of equipment investment and operating costs of clean factories. In view of this, the present invention is used in semiconductor manufacturing or liquid crystal manufacturing to realize single-chip transfer by using EFEM in a connected form, thereby reducing the Quick Turn Around Time and reducing the inventory of semi-finished products and finished products. Into. [Summary of the Invention] The connection form EFEM of the main part of the present invention is composed of the following four constituent elements. That is, before the semiconductor and liquid crystal manufacturing equipment, a special EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) and a device front module (10) composed of a robot (2), a FOUP (12), and a FOUP opening machine (14) (10) A clean tunnel (l) that forms a common state between these special EFEMs (10) and the clean area; a single-chip conveyor belt (15) that continuously transports wafers (16) in the clean tunnel; and The liquid crystal wafer is loaded in the 200307639 loading station (3) in the FOUP. With the four structures (common EFEM, please refer to Figure 14), the connection form efem which is connected to the EFEM group is based on the loading of the wafer (16) in F0Up (12). Station (3) and connected to the EFEM Xibu Department of Lianyung, ... 1 &. The wafer (i 6) is transferred and transferred in a single piece within the EFEM in the connected form, and the wafer (16) is transferred and transferred in units of the FOUP (12) outside the EFEM in the connected form. In the wafer loading station ⑺ where the wafer (16) unit and the FOUP (12) unit are connected, a robotic arm is used to form a single wafer in the F0UP (12) and load it into the F0UP. (12), and then combined in a buffer station (暂时) temporarily holding a really empty F0up (12), and the buffer station (4) is connected to a small batch transfer machine that performs the transfer between the efems in a connected form. (5). The special EFE Μ (2) is equipped with: a robotic arm (200) for wafer transfer; a reading device (25) for reading bar codes and alphanumeric characters; a buffer crystal box (13) for automatic operation and F0UP for manual operation (12); and a rigid opening machine (14); and connected to the clean area by using the clean tunnel 1 (the oblique part in FIG. 1). The robot arm (20) in the special EFEM (2) is provided with a holding portion (22) that holds only the outer peripheral edge portion of the wafer (16); the single-piece conveyor belt (15), and a manufacturing device (50 to 54) ), Buffer cell (13), and F0up (12).
早片輸送帶（15)係形成環狀形狀，乃利用輸送皮帶（38) 二區動的連續移動式，纟LM導執(36)上的區塊(37)中，安 :著將曰曰圓(16)依一定間隔搭載著的鉤指。因為輸送皮 帶(3 8)若經過-定期間的話，便將產生延伸現象，因此在L M 、()’、中部份上设置著供拉緊輸送皮帶（3 8)用的拉緊 機構（17)與調整執更換處所（18)。（第16圖、帛Η圖）當輸 200307639 送皮可（3 8)延伸之際，便將所延伸尺寸份量更換為接著而 至的調整用LM導執。在單片輸送帶（15)之鉤指（23)上，安 裝著供將對晶圓（16)之接觸形成最小極限的保持部（24),而 僅保持著晶圓（1 6)的外周緣部。屬於為使隨單片輸送帶（15) 之驅動而所產生的粉塵，不致對潔淨隧道1内的潔淨度造 成影響’而採取安裳著供將單片輸送帶（15)内部形成負壓 的排氣風扇（3 1),並連繫於排氣集塵器（32)，俾經由空氣過 濾器將空氣予以排放出的潔淨對策的輸送帶。 屬於主掌半導體或液晶工廠之生產管理的電腦的 MES(ManufactuHng Engineering system)，因為頗難將全部 曰曰圓笔無錯誤的進行循軌，因此最好在將晶圓（丨6)裝入製 造裝置（50〜54)之前（即，特殊EFEM(2)内之機械臂（2〇)，從 單片輸送帶（1 5)擷取晶圓（丨6)之時點），便讀取晶圓編號， 然後將應處理晶圓之事宜報告給MEs，之後在經製造裝置 (5 0〜54)而所決定的裝置平台（19)位置處’配合著晶圓（μ) 的方向而傳遞。為符合本規格，機器臂（21)便具備有：保持 著晶圓（16)外周緣部，並在機器臂（21)移載動作中使晶圓（1 6) 產生旋轉’當檢測出V缺口或定向緣之時便停止旋轉，而 出現既定位置並讀取晶圓（16)之英數字或條碼的讀取機 構0 【實施方式】 為求詳述本發明，便依照所添附圖式進行說明。 第1圖與第2圖所示係連結形態之EFEM與緩衝站（4) 200307639 及小批次搬送機（5)間之關係。第3圖與第4圖所示係特殊 EFEM(2)。半導體或液晶製造裝置之前的特殊efem(2)， 係屬於通常潔淨度級數1之超級潔淨區域、與級數丨〇〇〇程 度的潔淨區域，在級數1的區域中具備有：移載機械人（2〇) 與緩衝晶盒（丨3)。在及數約1000的區域中設置有 F Ο U P (1 2)’乃當搬送系統有障礙的情況時，供為對半導體 或液晶製造裝置進行特別緊急處理，俾使操作員依人工搬 送FOUP用者，在通常的自動運轉時並不使用。此外，通 常的EFEM(第14圖）係全部依F0UP單位進行處理，而本 發明就特殊EFEM(2)乃對應著緩衝晶盒（13)與F〇up(l2)二 者之點而言，係不同於通常的EFEM。 潔淨隧道（1)係如第1圖與第2圖所示，依沿單片輸送 f(15)’且覆蓋著其上方之方式而設計著。 在此潔淨隨道⑴上方，如第2圖所示，安裝著hepa 過濾器（6)，俾將經潔淨化過的空氣供應給潔淨隧道（1)内。 再者，潔淨隧道（π側邊在除連接於上述特殊efem(2) 之區域外的其餘區域，利用既定構件進行隔間。 開 再者’潔淨隧道⑴之下方乃利用單片輸送帶(15)而隔 如上述’依隨單片輸送帶⑴)之驅動而所產生的粉塵， 不致影響到潔淨随道⑴内潔淨度的方式，經由排氣風扇（川 而連接於排氣集塵器（3 2)。 、y叩疋按於潔淨隧道（1 並構成潔淨度級數丨的區域，包含裝置平台（I”在内， 此潔淨度級數」之區域内’晶圓（16)將全部依單片進今 200307639 載搬送處理的人工操作之情況外，晶圓（i6)裝填 於F〇UP(12)中之事’乃僅有透過晶圓褒填站⑺的情況，、 因為晶圓（16)的FOUP化、軍片各充s 早片化乃屬於晶圓裝填站（3)的 其中-個處.所’因此便構成連接著特$ efem(2)的連結 EFEM形態。 依程序管理用電腦的指示，經小批次搬送機⑺所搬送 至的FOUP(12)，在晶圓裝填站（3)中將利用機械人⑽）而單 片化，並搭載於單片輸送帶I « 乙忝（15)上，但是當製造裝置（50〜5 4〕 與搬送的時序未吻合的情況時，便暫時存放於緩衝站⑷ 中’右依&理用電腦之指不而形成對製造裝置〜54)屬於 適時機狀態的話，F0UP⑽便從緩衝站移往晶圓裝填站 (3)中’並在單片化之後，再利用單片輸送帶（15)搬送至製 造裝置（50〜54)中。單片輸送帶（15)上所搭載的晶圓（16), 便利用既定製造裝置（50〜54)前的特殊EFEM(2)内之機械人 (2 0),而暫時放置於緩衝晶盒（13)中，或者供應給裝置平台 (19)。在製造裝置（50〜54)中經完成加工後的晶圓（16)便利 用機械人（20)，而搭載於單片輸送帶（15)上，並搬送往次一 裝置（50〜54)。 因為連結形態的EFEM係將半導體或液晶製造裝置連 接著1 0台以上’因此單片輸送帶（丨5)便需要單位時間5 〇 〇 至1 000片程度的搬送能力，但是本發明的單片輸送帶（丨5) 在當鉤指間距500mm、輸送帶速度1〇m/分的情況下，單位 時間可進行1 200片的搬送，甚至亦可提高此能力。 再者’從特殊EFEM(2)遞送至晶圓裝填站（3)的晶圓 10 200307639 (16)，可將在晶圓裝填站（3)中將晶圓（16)裝填於f0UP(12) 中並進行傳遞的時序，設定為任意小批次。譬如，經過所 決定的時間、或者到達所決定片數的話，便自動關閉 F Ο U P (1 2 )的蓋子’並利用小批次搬送機（5)自動傳遞給其他 的連結形態E F E Μ。因為即便將連結形態e e Μ内進行單 片搬送’而毫無等待晶圓處理時間，若在連結形態Efeμ 間進行批次搬送的話，將削減單片搬送效果，因此便設定 供形成小批次的時間與片數，並執行小格搬送。結果，若 將連結形態EFEM間依單片輸送帶進行搬送的話，當每分 鐘l〇m至15m的速度之情況時，於長度i5〇m現場的狀況 下，一圈需要20分鐘至30分鐘，但是因為小批次搬送機（5) 係每分鐘1 50m速度，因此一圈的時間僅要2分鐘便可， 不致削減連結形態EFEM内的單片搬送效果。整體的流程 圖如第1 8圖所示。 第5圖與第6圖所示係經單片輸送帶（15)所搬送至的 晶圓（16)，對製造裝置（5〇〜54)進行供應、回收的動作關係。 單片輸送帶（15)係利用環狀輸送皮帶（38)而驅動於a方向 的連續移動式輸送帶。在單片輸送帶（丨5)鉤指（2 3 )的4個保 持部（24)上所搭载的晶圓（16)，在遮蓋到既定製造裝置 (5〇〜5 4)前面的時候，機器臂（21)便與朝a方向前進的單片 輸送帶（15)移動速度同步，鑽入鉤指（23)下方，並將機器臂 (2 1)之B方向速度與鉤指（23)之a方向速度設定為等速度， 機械人本體（20)便利用朝c方向上昇，而將晶圓（16)搭載 於機器臂（21)上的4個保持部（22)上。在將晶圓（16)搭載於 200307639 輸达帶上之時，空的鉤指（23)若來到製造裝置之既定位置 的話，將晶圓（16)搭載於保持部（22)上的機器臂（21),便將 朝A方向前進的鉤指（23)上，連動於上述鉤指而朝b方向 移動，並將A與B之移動設為等速度，然後利用機器臂（2 1) 朝D方向下降而執行移载。 曰曰圓（1 6)的V缺口或定向緣之定位、以及刻畫於晶圓（丨6) 上的條碼或英數字之讀取，乃透過習知機器人附近所設置 的旋轉式晶圓定位專用裝置（定位器）與編號讀取裝置而執 行，將旋轉機構組裝於機器臂（21)中，便無須移動更換， 可細短動作時間。此情況下，當從單片輸送帶（1 5)擷取晶 圓（16)之時，或製造裝置（50〜54)的加工結束並搭載於單片 輸迈f(15)上之時，搭载於機槭人（2〇)上的讀取機器均 可4取曰曰圓（1 6)上刻晝的英數字或條碼。在進行晶圓（丨幻的 疋位與讀取之際，便利用内建於機器臂（21)内的旋轉機構。 此外’晶圓（16)的移載係經由接觸晶圓（16)面積較少，且對 晶圓(16)損傷最少之…乃利用單片鉤指(23)之保持部 (2 4)與機械臂之保持部，而保持著晶圓（16)外周緣部。 另第7圖所不係對第4圖、第5圖之連續移動式輸送帶， 在#置平。（19)之前’冑時停止輸送帶之鉤指⑴）的方法。 鉤私（23)係安i於托盤（28)上，並利用驅動輥（^)而移動。 # & M 到達既定位置的話’便利用升起升降式擒止 ()。俾使托盤（28)停止。在停止之同時，機器臂⑴）將鑽 入晶圓(16)下方，並利用上昇而擷取晶圓(16)。在擷取之時 *占因為升降式擔止（3〇)將下降，托盤（2 8)便利用，驅動報（29) 12 200307639 的作用而再声, 日， 度移動。當在鉤指（23)上放置著晶圓（16)之情況 ()的移動亦相同，機械人（2 0)的移動乃如第4圖、 第 圖中說明般。使托盤停止方法係使用具累積機能的驅 並利用使接觸停止式擋止的作用，亦可達相同的機 月匕。為使在輥式輸送帶本體（15，）外不致有粉塵，而所安裝 的八過濾器之排氣風扇（3 1 )、或排氣集塵器（32)，係與連續 運轉形式的單片輸送帶（15)共通著。 在製造裝置（50,51，52,53,54)之前，便讀取晶圓（16)之 條碼或英數字’且當聯絡於生產管理用電腦（ME§)的系統 之情況時，便在機器臂（21)上安裝著使晶圓（16)進旋轉的機 構。 第8圖所示係單片輸送帶（1 5)、晶圓號碼讀取裝置、 及機器臂（21)之旋轉機構。機械人（2〇)係持著晶圓，並使臂 前端部的臂旋轉機構（33)產生旋轉的形式。第9圖與第1〇 圖所不係機器臂（2 1)上的晶圓旋轉形式，有二種類，均具 相同機能。 第9圖、第1〇圖之形式！係與移動的單片輸送帶（15) 之鉤指（23)速度同步的使機器臂（21)進行移動，而依機器臂 (2 1)由旋轉驅動親（4〇)與自由親（4 1，42)之傾斜面承受著晶圓 (16)外緣，且使旋轉驅動輥（40)一邊進行旋轉一邊朝e方向 移動’而將晶圓（1 6)夾置於自由輥（41，42)垂直部與旋轉驅 動輥（40)垂直部間。 第 Π圖、第12圖之形式π係利用4個自由輥 (41’，42’，43’，44’）承接晶圓（16)外緣，並使旋轉驅動輥（40，）朝 13 200307639 E方向進行移動而包夾晶圓（丨6)。二種形式因為均屬於利用 使輥（40,41，42、或40，，41，，42,543，，44，）在旋轉的情況下而夾 置’而使晶圓（1 6)在進行旋轉的情況下登上輥的傾斜部， 因此便可防止晶圓（16)的磨擦。此外，鉤指（23)與機械臂之 輥（40,41，42、或40’，41’，42’，43，，44，）間的移載尺寸誤差係在 1.3mm以内，旋轉驅動輥（40或4(r)朝e方向的撞擊亦較小， 晶圓（16)之V缺口等的定位與讀取條碼、英數字的時間亦 在3秒以内。若採用習知定位專用定位器進行晶圓之定位 與讀取的話，因為需要20秒以上，因此便將產生極大的處 理時間縮短效果。 再者’因為屬於將晶圓（16)夾置於自由輥（41，42)垂直 部與旋轉驅動輥（40)垂直部間的卡夾機構，因此拾取來自 移動單片輸送帶（15)之鈎指（23)的晶圓（16)，而所需要的旋 轉驅動輥（40)間便形成晶圓（丨6)+ α的間隔。 再者’藉由此卡夾機構便可使高速的進行晶圓（丨6)之 旋轉。 再者’藉由此卡夾機構，即便機械臂產生移動，仍可 進行晶圓（16)的定位。 第1 3圖所示係當搬送頻率較高，且僅要搬送晶圓的話 便可之情況下的規格，乃當將晶圓（16)無法趕上依單片單 位進行搬運之情況時，便可搬送複數個多段式輸送帶鉤指 (34)與多段式機器臂（3 5)的狀況。將晶圓（16)利用在縱向具 有多段保持部之多段式輸送帶鉤指（34)上，同時將晶圓（16) 搭載於2段、3段上而進行搬送，在移載之際，亦利用將 14 200307639 機器臂⑴”月縱向形成多段式進行㈣，便可增加搬送— 力。若將搭载晶圓（16)的多段式輪送帶鉤指（34)與多段: 器臂(35)設定為2段式的話，便可形成2倍的搬送及移機 若設定為3段式的話，便可提昇至3倍的能力。 ， 【產業上可利用性】 如上述，本發明係將習知裂入晶盒或密閉盒 搬送的晶®，改為單片連續搬送者，可連續的供應、回： 晶圓。在使㈣剛P冑的批次處理之方法中，即便在處 理著剛P内之25片中的第"，亦必須等待剩餘24片 的處理而並未移送往下一步驟，因此在達5〇〇以上之前處 理步驟中，便形成需要極多等待時間的系統。 本發明之單片搬送移載方式係將經處理過的1片晶圓 馬上运往下一步驟。相關此單片搬送移載效果的具體例， 乃在習知晶圓2 5片單位的批次搬送中，於對準步驟便需要 2 5天’但是若改為丨3片單位批次搬送的話，便可縮短為j 3 天。甚至有報告指出若利用人工依單片進行搬送晶圓的話 將變為5、8天。晶圓對準步驟的單片搬送化可謂終究的搬 送方式，而長久以來並未存在可實現量產工廠的具體系統。 藉由本發明，利用將半導體製造裝置或液晶製造裝置的製 造程序改變為依序的流線式生產方式（在S〇NY公司的長崎 工廠中，便實現利用人工流線式生產方式），而在連結形態 EFEM内進行晶圓單片搬送，並藉由將緩衝站間執行繼續 單片搬送之概念而進行小批次搬送，藉此便可大幅縮短截 至晶圓完成為止前的前處理步驟時間，而降低製造的半成 15 200307639 品量、與完成品的半成品量，且隨搬送、保管的空間 而有助益於建設投資額的削減。 半導體之對準步驟的製造天數，在現今需要25天 天程度，但是若如上述依單片進行處理的話，僅要5 6天以内之製造天數的話便足夠。相較於習知批次方 下，因為1/5的TAT與半成品均較佳，因此半成品的 額度，即便晶圓月產5000片之較小規模工廠，亦仍可 達數十億圓（曰圓）。就降低半成品庫存量的效果而言 達1 00億圓（日圓）前後的規模，在提昇資金調度上具 的效果。第1 9圖所示係利用習知批次方式進行生產、 用單片進行生產間，就從生產天數的半成品量與隨此 生金額的差異進行試算結果。得知隨工廠的生產片數 片銷售單價、本金比率，在數值上將出現不同的頗大 效率差異。此外，就利用習知FOUP進行搬送方面， 告指出當將經熱處理過的晶圓裝填入FOUP中等情況 將隨FOUP内的溫度上昇而從FOUP本身產生有機氣 導致產品良率惡化的結果。甚至亦有更進一步朝為供 加工細微化，而在F〇uP中内建有機氣體去除努 、衣罝的 進行研究。但是，本發明乃屬於在潔淨隧道 、 μ的開放 方式’並不需要有機氣體對策。本發明不單 m砘機械 方面佳’亦可馬上實現促進整體半導體生產前處理+ 合理化。 # 【圖式簡單說明】 減少 至30 天至 式之 刪減 刪減 ，將 極大 與利 所衍 、晶 生產 有報 時， 體， 晶圓 方向 氣體 效率 驟的 16 200307639 第1圖係連結形態之EFEM與周邊設備關係的平視圖。 第2圖係連結形態的EFEM剖視圖。 第3圖係特殊EFEM平視圖。 第4圖係特殊EFEM剖視圖。 第5圖係單片輸送帶與機械人之詳細平視圖。 第6圖係單片輸送帶與機械人之詳細剖視圖。 第7圖係輥式單片輸送帶與機械人之詳細剖視圖。 第8圖係機器人之臂部旋轉機構與讀取裝置的側視 圖。 第9圖係晶圓旋轉機構I的平視圖。 第1 0圖係晶圓旋轉機構I的剖視圖。 第1 1圖係晶圓旋轉機構Π的平視圖。 第1 2圖係晶圓旋轉機構Π的剖視圖。 第1 3圖係執行複數晶圓搬送、移載的多段式輸送帶與 多段式單片機器人的剖視圖。 第14圖係EFEM的平視圖。 第15圖係FOUP。 第1 6圖係單片輸送帶的剖視圖。 第17圖係單片輸送帶的拉緊部。 第1 8圖係流程圖。 第1 9圖係庫存金額的計算。 【元件代表符號簡單說明】The early film conveyor belt (15) is formed in a ring shape. It is a continuous moving type that uses the conveyor belt (38) to move in two zones. In the block (37) on the LM guide (36), Ann: Zhu Jiangyue Round (16) hook fingers mounted at regular intervals. Because the conveying belt (3 8) will stretch if it passes through the fixed period, a tensioning mechanism (17) for tightening the conveying belt (3 8) is provided on the LM, () 'and the middle part. ) And adjust the premises (18). (Fig. 16 and）) When the 2003200339 skin delivery can be extended (3 8), the extended size will be replaced by the following adjustment LM guide. On the hook finger (23) of the single-chip conveyor belt (15), a holding portion (24) is installed for minimizing the contact with the wafer (16), and only the outer periphery of the wafer (16) is held. Edge. In order to prevent the dust generated by the driving of the single-piece conveyor belt (15) from affecting the cleanliness in the clean tunnel 1 ', Ansang was adopted to create a negative pressure inside the single-piece conveyor belt (15). An exhaust fan (31) is connected to an exhaust dust collector (32), and a clean-measure conveyor belt that discharges air through an air filter. The MES (ManufactuHng Engineering system), which is the computer in charge of the production management of the semiconductor or liquid crystal factory, is difficult to track all the round pens without errors, so it is best to load the wafer (丨 6) into the manufacturing Before the device (50 ~ 54) (that is, when the robot arm (20) in the special EFEM (2) retrieves the wafer (丨 6) from the monolithic conveyor belt (15)), the wafer is read Serial number, then report to the MEs about the wafer to be processed, and then pass the direction of the wafer (μ) at the position of the device platform (19) determined by the manufacturing device (50 ~ 54). In order to comply with this specification, the robot arm (21) is provided with: holding the outer periphery of the wafer (16), and rotating the wafer (16) during the robot arm (21) transfer operation. When the gap or orientation edge stops, the rotation stops, and a predetermined position appears and reads the alphanumeric or barcode reading mechanism of the wafer (16). [Embodiment] In order to describe the present invention in detail, it is performed according to the attached drawings. Instructions. The relationship between the EFEM connected to the buffer station (4) 200307639 and the small batch conveyor (5) shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Figures 3 and 4 are special EFEM (2). The special efem (2) before the semiconductor or liquid crystal manufacturing device belongs to the super clean area of the normal cleanliness level 1 and the clean area of the level 丨 00 °. The area of the level 1 includes: transfer Robot (20) and buffer crystal box (3). F 0 UP (1 2) 'is installed in the area of about 1,000. It is used for special emergency treatment of semiconductor or liquid crystal manufacturing equipment when the transportation system is obstructed, so that the operator can manually transfer the FOUP. It is not used during normal automatic operation. In addition, the usual EFEM (Figure 14) is processed in units of F0UP, and the present invention is that the special EFEM (2) corresponds to both the buffer crystal box (13) and F0up (l2), The system is different from the usual EFEM. The clean tunnel (1) is designed as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 so that f (15) 'is conveyed along a single sheet and covers the upper part. Above this clean channel ⑴, as shown in Figure 2, a hepa filter (6) is installed, and 俾 supplies cleaned air into the clean tunnel (1). Furthermore, the clean tunnel (the side of π is in the rest of the area except the area connected to the special efem (2) above, using the established components for compartments. Below the clean tunnel, a single piece of conveyor belt (15 ) And the dust generated by the drive according to the above-mentioned 'according to the single-piece conveyor belt ⑴) does not affect the cleanliness of the clean chandelier, and is connected to the exhaust dust collector (chuan) through an exhaust fan (chuan) 3 2)., Y 叩 疋 presses on the clean tunnel (1 and constitutes the area of cleanliness 丨, including the device platform (I), in the area of this cleanliness "" wafers (16) will be all According to the manual operation of the single wafer advancement process on 200307639, the wafer (i6) is loaded in F0UP (12) 'only through the wafer filling station, because the wafer The FOUP of (16) and the early filling of military films belong to one of the wafer loading stations (3). Therefore, the 'location' constitutes a link EFEM form connected to the special $ efem (2). According to the procedure The FOUP (12) transferred by the small batch transfer machine 的 is instructed by the management computer at the wafer loading station (3) It is singulated by robot ⑽) and mounted on a single-piece conveyor I «忝 15 (15), but when the manufacturing equipment (50 ~ 5 4) does not match the timing of the transfer, it is temporarily stored in In the buffer station ⑷, the “right-handed & logical computer” will not form a manufacturing device ~ 54) If it is in a timely state, F0UP⑽ will be moved from the buffer station to the wafer loading station (3) and be singulated After that, it is transferred to the manufacturing equipment (50 to 54) by the single-piece conveyor belt (15). The wafer (16) carried on the single-piece conveyor belt (15) is convenient before using the predetermined manufacturing equipment (50-54) The robot (20) inside the special EFEM (2) is temporarily placed in the buffer crystal box (13) or supplied to the device platform (19). After the processing is completed in the manufacturing device (50 ~ 54) The wafer (16) is conveniently used by a robot (20), and is mounted on a single-chip conveyor belt (15) and transported to the next device (50 to 54). Because the EFEM is connected, it connects semiconductor or liquid crystal manufacturing equipment. More than 10 units', so the single-chip conveyor belt (丨 5) needs a transport capacity of about 500 to 1,000 pieces per unit time, It is the single-piece conveyor belt (5) of the present invention. When the hook finger spacing is 500mm and the belt speed is 10m / min, it can carry 1,200 pieces per unit time, and even improve this capability. 'Wafer 10 200307639 (16) delivered from special EFEM (2) to wafer loading station (3), wafer (16) can be loaded into f0UP (12) in wafer loading station (3) and The timing of delivery is set to any small batch. For example, if the determined time elapses or the determined number of pieces is reached, the cover of F 0 UP (1 2) is automatically closed and a small batch transfer machine (5 ) Is automatically passed to the other connected forms EFE M. Even if the single-chip transfer is performed within the connection pattern ee M without waiting for the wafer processing time, if the batch transfer is performed between the connection patterns Efeμ, the single-chip transfer effect will be reduced, so it is set to form a small batch. Time and number of pieces, and perform small cell transfer. As a result, if the EFEM in the connection form is transported by a single piece of conveyor belt, when the speed is 10m to 15m per minute, it takes 20 minutes to 30 minutes for one lap under the condition of a site of length i50m. However, because the small batch conveyor (5) has a speed of 150m per minute, the lap time is only 2 minutes, which does not reduce the single-chip transfer effect in the connected form EFEM. The overall flow chart is shown in Figure 18. Figures 5 and 6 show the operation relationship between the wafer (16) transferred to the manufacturing equipment (50 to 54) via the single-chip conveyor (15). The single-piece conveyor belt (15) is a continuously moving conveyor belt driven in the a direction by an endless conveyor belt (38). When the wafer (16) carried on the four holding parts (24) of the single finger conveyor belt (丨 5) hook fingers (2 3) is covered in front of a predetermined manufacturing device (50 to 54), The robot arm (21) is synchronized with the moving speed of the single-piece conveyor belt (15) moving in the direction a, drills under the hook finger (23), and sets the speed in the B direction of the robot arm (2 1) and the hook finger (23). The speed in the a direction is set to constant speed, and the robot body (20) is conveniently raised in the c direction, and the wafer (16) is mounted on the four holding portions (22) on the robot arm (21). When the wafer (16) is mounted on the 200307639 conveyor belt, if the empty hook finger (23) comes to a predetermined position in the manufacturing device, the machine that mounts the wafer (16) on the holding section (22) The arm (21) moves the hook finger (23) moving in the direction of A to the b direction in conjunction with the hook finger, and sets the movement of A and B to equal speed, and then uses the robot arm (2 1) Descend in D direction and perform transfer. The positioning of the V-notch or orientation edge of the circle (16), and the reading of the barcode or alphanumeric characters engraved on the wafer (丨 6) are exclusively for the positioning of the rotary wafer near the conventional robot. The device (positioner) and the number reading device are executed, and the rotating mechanism is assembled in the robot arm (21), so there is no need to move and replace, and the operation time can be shortened. In this case, when the wafer (16) is picked up from the single-chip conveyor belt (15), or when the processing of the manufacturing device (50-54) is completed and mounted on the single-chip conveyor f (15), The reading machine mounted on the maple man (20) can take 4 alphanumeric characters or bar codes engraved on the day circle (16). When performing wafer positioning and reading, it is convenient to use the rotating mechanism built into the robot arm (21). In addition, the wafer (16) is transferred by contacting the area of the wafer (16) Less, and the least damage to the wafer (16) ... is the use of the holding part (24) of the single hook finger (23) and the holding part of the robot arm to hold the outer periphery of the wafer (16). Figure 7 does not refer to the method of flattening the continuous-moving conveyor belts in Figures 4 and 5 in #. (19) Stop the hooks of the conveyor belt before (胄). The hook (23) is attached to the tray (28) and is moved by the driving roller (^). # & M When you reach the position you want, ‘it ’s easier to use the lift ().俾 Stop the tray (28). At the same time, the robot arm 钻) will drill under the wafer (16) and use the ascent to retrieve the wafer (16). At the time of picking * Zhan moves down because of the lifting load (30), the tray (2 8) is convenient, and the driver (29) 12 200307639 acts again. When the wafer (16) is placed on the hook finger (23), the movement of () is the same, and the movement of the robot (20) is as described in FIG. 4 and FIG. The method of stopping the pallet is to use the drive with cumulative function and use the effect of the contact stop stop to achieve the same mechanism. In order to prevent dust outside the main body of the roller conveyor belt (15,), the exhaust fan (3 1) or exhaust dust collector (32) of the eight filters installed is connected with the continuous operation type. The sheet conveyors (15) are in common. Before manufacturing the device (50,51,52,53,54), the barcode or alphanumeric value of the wafer (16) is read and when it is connected to the system of the production management computer (ME§), A mechanism for rotating the wafer (16) into the robot arm (21) is installed. Figure 8 shows the rotation mechanism of the single-chip conveyor belt (15), the wafer number reading device, and the robot arm (21). The robot (20) holds the wafer and rotates the arm rotation mechanism (33) at the front end of the arm. Figure 9 and Figure 10 do not show the wafer rotation pattern on the robot arm (21). There are two types of wafers, all of which have the same function. The format of Figure 9 and Figure 10! The hook (23) of the moving single-chip conveyor belt (15) is synchronized with the speed of the robot arm (21) to move, and the robot arm (21) is driven by the rotary pro (40) and the free pro (4) The inclined surface of 1, 42) bears the outer edge of the wafer (16), and the rotary driving roller (40) is moved in the e direction while rotating, and the wafer (16) is sandwiched by the free roller (41, 42) Between the vertical portion and the vertical portion of the rotary driving roller (40). The form of Figure Π and Figure 12 uses four free rollers (41 ', 42', 43 ', 44') to receive the outer edge of the wafer (16), and the rotary drive roller (40,) faces 13 200307639. The E direction moves to sandwich the wafer (6). Both forms belong to the use of the roller (40,41,42, or 40,41,42,543,, 44,) to sandwich the rotation of the wafer (16) while rotating. In this case, the inclined portion of the roller is mounted, so that the wafer (16) can be prevented from being rubbed. In addition, the transfer size error between the hook finger (23) and the roller of the robot arm (40, 41, 42, or 40 ', 41', 42 ', 43 ,, 44) is within 1.3mm. (The impact of 40 or 4 (r) in the e direction is also small, and the time for positioning and reading the barcode and alphanumeric characters of the V-notch of the wafer (16) is also within 3 seconds. If a dedicated positioning device for conventional positioning is used When positioning and reading the wafer, it takes more than 20 seconds, which will greatly reduce the processing time. Furthermore, 'Because the wafer (16) is sandwiched between the vertical portions of the free rollers (41, 42)' The clamping mechanism between the vertical part of the rotary driving roller (40), so picking up the wafer (16) from the hook finger (23) of the moving single-piece conveyor belt (15), and the required rotary driving roller (40) The wafer (丨 6) + α interval is formed. Furthermore, 'the wafer (丨 6) can be rotated at a high speed by this clamping mechanism. Furthermore,' even by the clamping mechanism, even the robot arm When the movement occurs, the wafer (16) can still be positioned. As shown in Figure 13 when the transfer frequency is high and only the wafer needs to be transferred In the case of the specifications, when the wafer (16) cannot catch up with the single-chip unit for transportation, multiple multi-section conveyor belt hook fingers (34) and multi-section robot arms (3 5) can be transported. Condition: The wafer (16) is used on a multi-section conveyor hook (34) with a multi-section holding section in the longitudinal direction, and the wafer (16) is carried on the second and third stages for transportation. At the same time, it is also possible to increase the carrying force by using 14 200307639 robot arms to form a multi-segment longitudinal direction. If the multi-segment carousel with the wafer (16) is equipped with the hook fingers (34) and multiple segments: the arm (35) If it is set to the two-stage type, it can be doubled. If it is set to the three-stage type, the capacity can be increased to three times. [Industrial availability] As described above, the present invention It is used to transfer conventional wafers that have been cracked into crystal boxes or closed boxes to single-chip continuous carriers, which can continuously supply and return: wafers. In the method of batch processing of ㈣ Gang P㈣, even in Processing the "" of the 25 pieces in P just now, must also wait for the processing of the remaining 24 pieces without transferring to the next step Therefore, in the processing steps up to 5,000 or more, a system that requires much waiting time is formed. The single-chip transfer and transfer method of the present invention immediately transports a processed wafer to the next step. Related to this The specific example of the effect of the single-chip transfer is that in the conventional batch transfer of 25 wafer units, it takes 25 days in the alignment step '. However, if it is changed to 3-chip unit batch transfer, it can be shortened. It is j 3 days. There are even reports that if the wafer is transferred manually by a single wafer, it will become 5 or 8 days. The single wafer transfer in the wafer alignment step can be described as the final transfer method, which has not existed for a long time. Specific systems for mass production plants. According to the present invention, the manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing device or a liquid crystal manufacturing device is changed to a sequential streamlined production method (in the Nagasaki factory of Sony Corporation, an artificial streamlined production method is implemented), and in In the connected form EFEM, single wafer transfer is performed, and small batches are transferred by performing the concept of continuous single wafer transfer between buffer stations, thereby greatly reducing the pre-processing step time until the completion of the wafer. The amount of semi-manufactured 15 200307639 and semi-finished products of finished products is reduced, and the amount of construction investment will be reduced with the space of transportation and storage. The number of manufacturing days for the semiconductor alignment step currently requires about 25 days, but if it is processed as a single piece as described above, only the manufacturing days within 56 days are sufficient. Compared with the conventional batch method, because 1/5 of the TAT and the semi-finished product are better, the quota of the semi-finished product can still reach billions of dollars even in a small-scale factory with a monthly wafer production of 5,000 wafers. circle). In terms of the effect of reducing the inventory of semi-finished products, the scale reached around 100 billion yen (yen), which was effective in improving capital dispatch. Figure 19 shows the results of the trial batch calculation based on the difference between the amount of semi-finished products produced in the number of days of production and the amount generated during the trial period. It is learned that with the number of pieces produced by the factory, the unit sales price and the principal ratio will have different considerable efficiency differences in value. In addition, regarding the transfer using the conventional FOUP, it was pointed out that when a heat-treated wafer is loaded into the FOUP, the organic gas from the FOUP itself will be produced as the temperature in the FOUP rises, which will result in the deterioration of product yield. There are even further researches in order to refine the process, and the built-in organic gas removal equipment and clothing in FouP are being researched. However, the present invention belongs to a clean tunnel. The open method of μ 'does not require countermeasures against organic gas. The present invention is not only good in mechanical aspects, but also immediately promotes the overall semiconductor production pre-treatment + rationalization. # [Schematic description] Reduction to 30 days. Reduction and deletion of the pattern will greatly improve the efficiency of the gas and wafer production. 16 200307639 The first diagram is the connection form. A flat view of the relationship between EFEM and peripherals. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the EFEM in a connected form. Figure 3 is a special EFEM plan view. Figure 4 is a special EFEM sectional view. Figure 5 is a detailed plan view of the single-piece conveyor belt and the robot. Figure 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a single-piece conveyor belt and a robot. Figure 7 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a roller-type single-piece conveyor belt and a robot. Fig. 8 is a side view of a robot arm rotation mechanism and a reading device. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the wafer rotation mechanism 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer rotation mechanism 1. Figure 11 is a plan view of the wafer rotation mechanism Π. Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer rotation mechanism Π. Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of a multi-segment conveyor belt and a multi-segment single-chip microcomputer robot that perform multiple wafer transfers and transfers. Figure 14 is a plan view of EFEM. Figure 15 is FOUP. Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view of a single-piece conveyor belt. Fig. 17 is a tension part of a single-piece conveyor belt. Figure 18 is a flowchart. Figure 19 is the calculation of the inventory amount. [Simple description of component representative symbols]
1潔淨隧道 2特殊EFEM 17 200307639 3裝填站 5 小批次搬送機 11 EFEM 1 3 緩衝晶盒 15單片輸送帶 16晶圓 1 8調整執更換處所 21機器臂 2 3 輸送帶之鉤指 25晶圓條碼、英數字讀取 2 6 讀取裝置之伺服器 28托盤 30 升降式擋止 3 2排氣集塵器 3 4多段式輸送帶鉤指 36 LM導軌 38輸送皮帶 41，42,41’，42’，43，，44’ 自由 i 50,51，52,5 3,54 製造裝置 4緩衝站 6 HEPA過濾器 12 FOUP 14 FOUP 開口機 15’輥式輸送帶本體 1 7拉緊機構 2 0機械人本體 22機器臂之晶圓保持部 24鉤指上的保持部 機器 27臂部之基座部 2 9驅動輥 31排氣風扇 3 3臂旋轉機構 3 5多段式機器臂 37區塊 40,401 旋轉驅動輥1 Clean tunnel 2 Special EFEM 17 200307639 3 Loading station 5 Small batch conveyor 11 EFEM 1 3 Buffer crystal box 15 Single-piece conveyor belt 16 wafers 1 8 Adjusting and replacing the space 21 Robotic arm 2 3 Hook of the conveyor belt 25 crystals Round bar code, alphanumeric reading 2 6 Reading device's server 28 Tray 30 Lifting stop 3 2 Exhaust dust collector 3 4 Multi-section conveyor belt hook finger 36 LM guide 38 Conveyor belt 41, 42, 41 ', 42 ', 43, 44' free i 50,51,52,5 3,54 Manufacturing equipment 4 Buffer station 6 HEPA filter 12 FOUP 14 FOUP Opener 15 'roller conveyor body 1 7 tensioning mechanism 2 0 machinery Human body 22 Wafer holding portion of the robot arm 24 Holding portion on the hook finger 27 Machine base portion of the arm 2 9 Driving roller 31 Exhaust fan 3 3 arm rotation mechanism 3 5 Multi-section robot arm 37 Block 40,401 Rotary drive Roller