TWI767603B - Substrate support device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a substrate support device having a carrier plate for supporting a substrate to be processed, which can reliably suppress positional displacement of the carrier plate relative to a support body that supports the carrier plate, and can easily and inexpensively Carry out the replacement work of the carrier plate.

The substrate support device 6 includes: a carrier plate 14 on which the substrate to be processed 100 is placed; a support body 13 which can be attached to and detached from the carrier plate 14 by moving the carrier plate 14 in the attaching and detaching direction X1; and plates 11 and 12 which are fixed There are a support body 13; and movement restricting members 15L, 15R. The movement restricting members 15L and 15R are provided so as to allow the substrate to be processed 100 to move in and out with respect to the carrier plate 14 and restrict the movement of the carrier plate 14 relative to the support body 13 . 15L and 15R can be attached and detached from the plates 11 and 12 .

Description

Substrate support device

The present invention relates to a substrate supporting device.

There is known an apparatus for heat-treating a semiconductor wafer (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). The apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is a vertical wafer support apparatus. The apparatus has the following configuration: protrusions are provided on the side surfaces of a plurality of pillars, and a wafer support ring is placed on the protrusions. The silicon wafer is placed on the wafer support ring.

[Prior Art Literature]

[Patent Literature]

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-50626

However, in the semiconductor heat treatment process, there is an annealing treatment for correcting the warpage of the resin substrate, such as annealing treatment of a Fan-Out wafer (fan-out wafer). In such a semiconductor heat treatment process, a carrier plate (substrate support plate) for supporting the lower surface of the wafer is required. Furthermore, in a batch type heat treatment apparatus, in order to heat-process a plurality of wafers at one time, it is necessary to provide a plurality of carrier plates. In addition, Patent Document 1 does not specifically disclose how to fix the pillars and the wafer support ring.

On the other hand, as a method of attaching the carrier plate to the pillar, the following method is exemplified: (1) The carrier board is inserted into the grooves formed in each of the plurality of pillars, and the carrier plate is connected to the carrier plate by the pillar. The outer peripheral portion is supported; (2) the carrier plate is welded and fixed to a plurality of pillars.

Among them, in the method of (1) above, when the substrate support device of the heat treatment apparatus is used for a long time, the external force such as vibration and air pressure will cause the positional displacement of the carrier plate relative to the support column, and there is a possibility that the support plate will fall off from the support column. . In addition, due to the above-mentioned external force, the carrier plate is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the support column in plan view, and there is a possibility that the wafer transfer hand or the like comes into contact with the carrier plate.

In the case of the above-mentioned method (2), positional displacement of the carrier plate with respect to the support column does not occur. However, if one carrier plate is damaged, it is also necessary to replace the entire substrate support device including the support column and the plurality of carrier plates. Therefore, it is necessary to store the spare parts of the substrate support device in the semiconductor manufacturing plant in advance, and thus the burden on the cost of the semiconductor manufacturing plant increases. In addition, in the case of repairing a wafer boat with a damaged carrier plate, in addition to the component cost of a new carrier plate, a welding processing cost is required, which not only takes time for the repair, but also increases the cost burden.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, an object of the present invention is to, in a substrate support apparatus including a carrier plate for supporting processing substrates such as wafers, can reliably suppress the positional displacement of the carrier plate with respect to a support body that supports the carrier plate, and The replacement operator of the carrier plate can be performed easily and inexpensively.

(1) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a substrate support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of carrier plates on which the substrates to be processed are placed, respectively, and a support body having a plurality of carrier plates for supporting the plurality of carrier plates. The supporting parts are arranged in the longitudinal direction, and the supporting parts corresponding to the supporting parts can be attached and detached by moving the supporting plate in a predetermined attaching and detaching direction crossing the longitudinal direction; the base plate is fixed The supporting body is provided; and a movement restricting member is provided for allowing the substrate to be processed to enter and exit with respect to the carrier plate and for restricting the movement of each of the carrier plates relative to the support body, and for attaching and detaching the carrier plate to a In the above-mentioned support body, the movement restricting member is detachable from the above-mentioned base plate.

According to this configuration, by providing the movement restricting member, positional displacement of the carrier plate with respect to the support body can be suppressed. Thereby, even if an external force such as vibration and air pressure acts between the support body and the carrier plate, the positional displacement of the carrier plate with respect to the support body can be suppressed more reliably. Thereby, the carrier plate can be suppressed from falling off from the support body. In addition, since the rotation of the carrier plate in the clockwise direction or the counterclockwise direction in plan view can be suppressed, the carrier plate can be more reliably prevented from coming into contact with other members such as the wafer transfer hand. Further, the movement restricting member is configured to be detachable from the base plate. Thereby, when the damaged carrier plate is replaced, the carrier plate can be detached from the support body by detaching the movement restricting member from the base plate. Thereby, for example, when replacing a damaged carrier plate among a plurality of carrier plates, only the damaged carrier plate can be removed from the support body. As a result, the replacement work of the carrier plate can be performed easily and inexpensively.

(2) There is a situation in which the support body includes a plurality of column members arranged to be separated from each other and extending along the vertical direction, and each of the column members is formed in a comb-like shape along the vertical direction. A plurality of the above-mentioned support portions are formed, and the above-mentioned movement restricting member includes a rod member that extends along the above-mentioned longitudinal direction and can be brought into contact with each of the above-mentioned carrier plates.

According to this configuration, a plurality of carrier plates can be individually supported by the comb-shaped portion of the column member. Moreover, by the rod member being in contact with the carrier plates, positional displacement of the carrier plates with respect to the column members can be suppressed.

(3) There is a situation in which the base plate and the movement restricting member are connected by a taper coupling having an axis extending along the longitudinal direction as a central axis.

According to this configuration, the movement restricting member can be firmly fixed to the base plate at a correct position. Furthermore, the movement restricting member can be easily detached from the base plate by releasing the taper coupling.

(4) There is a situation in which a bottom plate and a top plate are provided as the base plate, the bottom plate is disposed at the lower end of the support body in the longitudinal direction, the top plate is disposed at the upper end of the support body in the longitudinal direction, and the base plate is disposed. The support device further has: a first conical coupling mechanism whose conical The movement restricting member and the bottom plate are coupled together; and a second taper coupling mechanism that tapers the movement restricting member and the top plate.

According to this configuration, each of the bottom plate arranged on the lower part of the support body and the top plate arranged on the upper part of the support body can be taperedly coupled to the movement restricting member. Thereby, the mutual bonding strength of the movement restricting member and the base plate (the bottom plate and the top plate) can be further improved.

(5) There is a case where the carrier plate includes: a substrate arrangement part for arranging the substrate to be processed; and a stopper that protrudes from the substrate arrangement part in a predetermined width direction intersecting with the attachment and detachment direction and extends, and is received by the movement restricting member.

According to this configuration, the stopper protrudes from the substrate arrangement portion in the width direction. Thereby, the stopper can be arranged at a position avoiding the passage of the substrate to be processed. Thereby, the positional displacement of the carrier plate is suppressed by the stopper being in contact with the movement restricting member, and the moving in and out of the substrate to be processed is not hindered.

(6) There is a situation in which a pair of the stoppers are provided apart from each other in the width direction, each of the stoppers includes a first parallel portion, and the support body includes a pair of the first parallel portions that can be brought into contact with each other. Regarding the second parallel portion, the first parallel portion and the second parallel portion adjacent to each other extend parallel to each other.

According to this structure, each 1st parallel body which stops can be received by the corresponding 2nd parallel part of a support part. Thereby, the occurrence of positional deviation of the rotational movement of the carrier plate relative to the support body can be suppressed more reliably.

According to the present invention, in the substrate support apparatus including the carrier plate for supporting the substrate to be processed, positional displacement of the carrier plate with respect to the support body supporting the carrier plate can be reliably suppressed, and replacement of the carrier plate can be performed easily and inexpensively Operation.

1: Heat treatment device

2: Bottom plate

3: Heater

4: Chamber

5: Bottom flange

6: Substrate support device

7: Lifting mechanism

8: Sealing member

9: Sealing member

10: Transfer the hand

11: Bottom plate (base plate)

12: Top plate (base plate)

13: Support body

14: Carrier plate

15a: upper end

15b: lower end

15c: Middle part

15L: Movement limiting member

15R: Movement limiting member

16L: 1st conical coupling mechanism

16R: 1st conical coupling mechanism

17L: The second conical coupling mechanism

17R: 2nd conical coupling mechanism

21: Column member

21a: Support part

21b: Recess

22: Column member

22a: Support part

22b: Recess

23: Column member

23a: Support part

23b: Recess

25: Substrate configuration section

25a: Outer peripheral edge

26: Incision part

27L: stop

27R: stop

28L: Front end

28R: Front end

29L: 1st parallel part

29R: Parallel Part 1

30L: Left front

30R: Right Front

32L: 2nd parallel part

32R: 2nd parallel part

33L: 1st taper hole on the left

33R: Right side 1st tapered hole

34L: Left 1st tapered shaft

34R: Right side 1st tapered shaft

35L: The second taper hole on the left

35R: Right second taper hole

36L: Left cap

36R: Right cap

37L: Left 2nd tapered shaft

37R: Right side 2nd tapered shaft

38L: Left insertion hole

38R: Right insertion hole

100: substrate to be processed

X1: Loading and unloading direction

X11: Installation direction

X12: Disassembly direction

θ1: 1st taper angle

θ2: 2nd taper angle

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state of the heat treatment apparatus including a substrate support apparatus as viewed from the side.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate support apparatus in a state where a plurality of substrates to be processed are placed.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view enlarged in the middle part of the substrate supporting device shown in FIG. 2 , showing a state in which the movement restricting member is omitted.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIGS. 2 and 3 , showing the state of the substrate support device viewed from above.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the upper and lower parts of the substrate supporting device shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the replacement operation of the carrier plate, and shows a state in which the substrate support device is disassembled with a part omitted.

Hereinafter, embodiments for implementing the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a heat treatment apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state of the heat treatment apparatus 1 including the substrate support apparatus 6 viewed from the side. Referring to FIG. 1 , a heat treatment apparatus 1 is configured to perform heat treatment on a substrate 100 to be processed. An example of this heat treatment includes annealing treatment. In addition, the heat treatment performed in the heat treatment apparatus 1 may be other general heat treatment other than the annealing treatment. The substrate 100 to be processed, for example, a Fan-Out wafer, is formed in a disk shape in this embodiment.

The heat treatment apparatus 1 includes a base plate 2 , a heater 3 , a chamber 4 , a bottom flange 5 , a substrate support device 6 and a lift mechanism 7 attached to the bottom flange 5 .

A bottom plate 2 is provided as a member that supports the heater 3 and the chamber 4 . A through hole is formed in the center of the base plate 2 . The heater 3 is arranged so as to close the through hole from above. The heater 3 is, for example, an electrothermal heater, and is formed in a box shape as a whole and has a shape opened downward. being The chamber 4 is arranged in the space surrounded by the heater 3 .

The chamber 4 forms a processing chamber for heat-treating the substrate 100 to be processed. The chamber 4 is formed in a box shape as a whole, and has an opening that opens downward. The opening of the chamber 4 is in contact with the sealing member 8 . The space in the chamber 4 is continuous with the space below the bottom plate 2 through the through hole of the bottom plate 2 .

During the heat treatment of the heat treatment apparatus 1 , the substrate to be processed 100 is arranged in the space in the chamber 4 . In the present embodiment, the substrate 100 to be processed is supported by the substrate support device 6 (also referred to as a wafer boat) in a horizontal position.

The substrate support device 6 is attached to the upper surface of the bottom flange 5 . The bottom flange 5 can be raised and lowered integrally with the substrate support device 6 . The space in the chamber 4 is made a closed space by closing the opening of the bottom plate 2 with the bottom flange 5 . A sealing member 9 is arranged on the lower surface of the outer peripheral portion of the bottom plate 2 . The bottom flange 5 is supported by a lift mechanism 7 . The bottom flange 5 , the substrate support device 6 and the substrate to be processed 100 are integrally displaced in the vertical direction by the operation of the elevating mechanism 7 .

Regarding the operation during the heat treatment of the heat treatment apparatus 1 , first, a plurality of substrates to be processed 100 are placed on the substrate support apparatus 6 in a state where the substrate support apparatus 6 is lowered below the chamber 4 . Specifically, for example, by the operation of the transfer hand 10 provided at the front end of the multi-axis robot arm, the substrates 100 to be processed are carried into the substrate support device 6 one by one, for example, from a cassette (not shown). Then, after the plurality of substrates to be processed 100 are placed on the substrate support device 6 , the elevating mechanism 7 performs an ascending operation. Thereby, the bottom flange 5 , the substrate support device 6 , and the substrate to be processed 100 are arranged in the space in the chamber 4 .

Next, the heating operation of the heater 3 is performed. Thereby, the space in the chamber 4 is heated, and the heat treatment of the substrate 100 to be processed is performed. After the heat treatment of the substrate 100 to be processed is completed and the heater 3 is stopped, the elevating mechanism 7 performs a lowering operation. Thereby, the bottom flange 5 , the substrate supporting device 6 and the substrate 100 to be processed reach below the chamber 4 . Next, the transport hand 10 transports the substrates 100 to be processed one by one, for example, to take out the substrates to be processed from the substrate support device 6 . Substrate 100 .

Next, the detailed structure of the board|substrate support apparatus 6 is demonstrated.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate support device 6 in a state where a plurality of substrates to be processed 100 are placed. FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the middle portion of the substrate support device 6 shown in FIG. 2 , showing a state in which the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are omitted. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIGS. 2 and 3 , and shows a state of the substrate support device 6 viewed from above. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of main parts of the upper and lower parts of the substrate support device 6 shown in FIG. 2 .

In the present embodiment, the vertical and horizontal directions will be described based on the state in which the substrate support device 6 is viewed from the front. In addition, in this embodiment, the front-back direction is demonstrated based on the state which looked at the board|substrate support apparatus 6 in plan view.

2 to 5 , in this embodiment, the substrate supporting device 6 is formed of a single material of quartz. In this way, by forming the substrate supporting device 6 with a single material, the thermal expansion coefficients of the respective portions of the substrate supporting device 6 can be made substantially equal. Thereby, it can suppress that the mutual connection part of each part of the board|substrate support apparatus 6 slackens between members.

The substrate support device 6 has: a bottom plate 11 and a top plate 12, which serve as base plates; a support body 13, which is fixed to the plates 11, 12; and a plurality of carrier plates (substrate support plates) 14, which are supported by the support body 13; movement restricting members 15L, 15R, etc., for preventing positional displacement of the carrier plate 14 and attached to the plates 11, 12; first tapered coupling mechanisms 16L, 16R, etc. for making the movement restricting member 15L , 15R, and the bottom plate 11 are coupled to each other; and second tapered coupling mechanisms 17L, 17R for coupling the movement restricting members 15L, 15R and the top plate 12 to each other.

The bottom plate 11 is arranged at the lower end of the support body 13 . On the other hand, the top plate 12 is arranged on the upper end of the support body 13 . The bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 are plates to which the support body 13 is fixed. In the present embodiment, the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 are plate-like members, and the shapes and positions of the outer peripheral edge portions in plan view are set to be the same as each other. In addition, the top view shape of the bottom plate 11 is shown in FIG. 4 , and is omitted. An illustration of the top view shape of the top plate 12 . The shape of the front portion of each of the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 is formed in a rectangular shape extending parallel to the left-right direction. In addition, the rear shape of each of the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 is formed in a semicircular shape protruding rearward. The bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 are integrally coupled via the support body 13, and are configured to be inseparable from each other.

The support body 13 is provided for supporting a plurality of carrier plates 14 . In the present embodiment, the support body 13 has a right column 21, a left column 22, and a rear column 23 as a plurality of column members extending in the up-down direction.

The right column 21 is arranged on the right front portion of each of the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 . The left pillar 22 is arranged on the left front portion of each of the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 . The rear pillar 23 is arranged at the rear end portion of each of the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 . In this way, the columns 21 , 22 and 23 are arranged on the plates 11 and 12 to be separated from each other. In addition, the number of columns is not limited to the three shown in this embodiment, and may be two or four or more. Each of the columns 21, 22, and 23 is formed in an elongated shaft shape. The lower ends of the pillars 21 , 22 and 23 are integrated with the bottom plate 11 by a fixing method such as welding. The upper ends of the pillars 21 , 22 and 23 are integrated with the top plate 12 by a fixing method such as welding.

A plurality of support portions 21 a are formed on the right column 21 . Similarly, a plurality of support portions 22 a are formed on the left column 22 . A plurality of support portions 23 a are formed on the rear pillar 23 . The numbers of the support portions 21a, 22a, 23a are set to be the same as each other. In this embodiment, the number of the support parts 21a, 22a, and 23a is about 30, respectively. The support portions 21a, 22a, and 23a are formed in the middle portions of the corresponding pillars 21, 22, and 23 in the vertical direction.

The support portion 21 a is formed on a small piece portion of the left side portion of the right column 21 . The support part 21a and the recessed part 21b formed in the left part of the circular-shaft-shaped right column 21 are arrange|positioned alternately in an up-down direction. Thereby, the plurality of support portions 21a supporting the plurality of carrier plates 14 are arranged in the up-down direction (vertical direction). The recessed part 21b is a part which penetrates the support part 21a along the front-back direction, and is opened to the left side of the right column 21. As shown in FIG. In this way, the right column 21 is formed in a comb-tooth shape along the vertical direction, thereby forming A plurality of support parts 21a.

The support portion 22 a is formed on a small piece portion of the right side portion of the left column 22 . The support part 22a and the recessed part 22b formed in the right side part of the circular-axis-shaped left column 22 are arrange|positioned alternately in an up-down direction. Thereby, the plurality of support portions 22a supporting the plurality of carrier plates 14 are arranged in the up-down direction (vertical direction). The recessed part 22b is a part which penetrates the support part 22a along the front-back direction, and is opened to the right side of the left column 22. As shown in FIG. In this way, the left column 22 is formed in a comb-tooth shape along the vertical direction, thereby forming a plurality of support portions 22a.

The support portion 23 a is formed on a small piece portion of the front side portion of the rear pillar 23 . The support portion 23a and the recessed portion 23b formed on the front side of the circular-axis-shaped rear column 23 are alternately arranged in the up-down direction. Thereby, the plurality of support portions 23a supporting the plurality of carrier plates 14 are arranged in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction). The recessed part 23b is a part which penetrates the support part 23a along the left-right direction, and is open to the front side of the rear pillar 23. As shown in FIG. In this way, the rear pillar 23 is formed in a comb-tooth shape along the vertical direction, thereby forming a plurality of support portions 23a.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the support parts 21a and 22a extend in the front-rear direction, and the support part 23a extends in the left-right direction. In addition, the positions of the support parts 21a, 22a, and 23a in the up-down direction are the same. According to this configuration, the support parts 21a, 22a, and 23a having the same height position cooperate to support one substrate 100 to be processed in a horizontal posture. In this embodiment, the carrier plate 14 is moved in a predetermined attaching and detaching direction X1 (in this embodiment, the front-rear direction) that intersects the longitudinal direction with respect to the support parts 21a, 22a, and 23a having the same height position, thereby making it possible to The carrier plate 14 is attached to and detached from the support parts 21a, 22a, and 23a.

In the present embodiment, the carrier plate 14 can be placed and mounted on the support portions 21a, 22a, 23a by displacing the carrier plate 14 in the mounting direction X11 with respect to the support portions 21a, 22a, and 23a. Moreover, the carrier plate 14 can be removed from the support parts 21a, 22a, 23a by displacing the carrier plate 14 in the detachment direction X12 with respect to the support parts 21a, 22a, and 23a. In this way, the support parts 21a, 22a, 23a supports the outer peripheral edge of the carrier plate 14 at three points.

The carrier plate 14 is a member on which the substrate to be processed 100 is placed. One carrying plate 14 is installed for a set of support parts 21a, 22a, 23a at the same height position. In the present embodiment, the carrier plate 14 is attached to a part of the support portions 21a, 22a, and 23a. In addition, the number of the carrier plates 14 may be one or more, and is not limited to a specific number. The carrier plate 14 is attached to a horizontally extending flat plate-like member. In the present embodiment, the carrier plate 14 is formed in a left-right symmetrical shape, and is formed in a substantially Ω-shape in plan view. In addition, the carrier plate 14 is shown by hatching in FIG. 4 .

The carrier plate 14 has: a board arrangement part 25 ; a cutout part 26 extending from the outer peripheral edge part 25 a of the board arrangement part 25 toward the center of the board arrangement part 25 ; The edge portion 25a protrudes.

The substrate arrangement portion 25 is a portion where the substrate to be processed 100 is arranged. The substrate arrangement portion 25 is formed in a substantially circular shape. The rear end portion of the outer peripheral edge portion 25a of the substrate arrangement portion 25 is placed on the support portion 23a.

The entire length of the substrate arrangement portion 25 in the left-right direction (the diameter of the substrate arrangement portion 25) is set to be shorter than the entire width of the support portions 21a and 22a (the length from the right end of the support portion 21a to the left end of the support portion 22a). Thereby, the board arrangement|positioning part 25 can be moved from the front of the support body 13 toward the support body 13 along the mounting direction X11, and can pass the support part 21a, 22a, 23a of the support body 13 by this.

The entire upper surface of the substrate placement portion 25 is defined as a surface on which the substrate to be processed 100 is placed. In the present embodiment, the substrate 100 to be processed is placed on the substantially center of the substrate placement portion 25 by the conveyance hand 10 .

The notch part 26 is extended from the front end part of the board|substrate arrangement|positioning part 25 to the back in order to provide the notch part 26 by the conveyance hand part 10. As shown in FIG. The cutout portion 26 has a width wider than the width of the conveyance hand portion 10 in the left-right direction, and extends to a position rearward of the center position of the board arrangement portion 25 in the front-rear direction. set. According to this configuration, the transfer hand 10 can arrange the substrate to be processed 100 in the center of the substrate arrangement portion 25 .

The stoppers 27L and 27R extend so as to protrude from the board arrangement portion 25 in the left-right direction (the width direction) intersecting with the attaching and detaching direction X1 (orthogonal in this embodiment), and are supported by the corresponding movement restricting members 15L and 15R and the corresponding movement restricting members 15L and 15R. The part received by the corresponding columns 22 and 21 . The pair of stoppers 27L and 27R are provided as a pair so as to be separated from each other in the left-right direction.

The right stopper 27R, which is one of the pair of stoppers 27L and 27R, extends from the right oblique front portion of the outer peripheral edge portion 25 a of the board arrangement portion 25 to the radially outer side of the board arrangement portion 25 . The left stopper 27L, which is the other of the pair of stoppers 27L and 27R, extends from the left oblique front portion of the outer peripheral edge portion 25 a of the board arrangement portion 25 to the radially outer side of the board arrangement portion 25 . Each stopper 27L, 27R is formed in the shape of a tip. More specifically, in a plan view, the connecting portions of the respective stoppers 27L, 27R and the outer peripheral edge portion 25a are formed in a curved shape so as to follow the diameter from the outer peripheral edge portion 25a to the board arrangement portion 25 in a plan view. Extend in such a way that the width is narrowed away from the outside. Moreover, the outer peripheral edge part of each front-end|tip part 28L, 28R of the stoppers 27L and 27R is formed in substantially V shape in planar view.

In the present embodiment, the front end portion 28R of the right stopper 27R is arranged at a position slightly protruding to the right from the position of the right end portion of the board arrangement portion 25 . In the present embodiment, the front end portion 28L of the left stopper 27L is arranged at a position slightly protruding to the left from the position of the left end portion of the board arrangement portion 25 . The respective stoppers 27L and 27R are arranged at positions advancing toward the rear side from the position of the front end portion of the board arrangement portion 25 .

The front end portion 28R of the right stopper 27R has a right first parallel portion 29R and a right front portion 30R. Similarly, the front end portion 28L of the left stopper 27L has a left first parallel portion 29L and a left front portion 30L.

The right side first parallel portion 29R constitutes the right end portion of the front end portion 28R, and in the present embodiment, extends linearly along the attachment and detachment direction X1. The right first parallel portion 29R is located on the substrate the front of the right end of the portion 25 . The right first parallel portion 29R and the right second parallel portion 32R face each other in the left-right direction. The right second parallel portion 32R is the right end surface of the concave portion 21b of the right column 21, and is disposed above the support portion 21a on which the corresponding right stopper 27R is placed. The right second parallel portion 32R extends in the attaching and detaching direction X1 which is the direction in which the right first parallel portion 29R extends, and extends parallel to the right first parallel portion 29R. That is, the right side first parallel portion 29R and the right side second parallel portion 32R which are adjacent to each other extend parallel to each other.

The left first parallel portion 29L constitutes the left end portion of the front end portion 28L, and in the present embodiment, extends linearly along the attachment and detachment direction X1. The left-side first parallel portion 29L is located forward of the left end portion of the board arrangement portion 25 . The left-side first parallel portion 29L and the left-side second parallel portion 32L face each other in the left-right direction. The left second parallel portion 32L is the left end surface of the concave portion 22b of the left column 22, and is disposed above the support portion 22a on which the corresponding left stopper 27L is placed. The left-side second parallel portion 32L extends in the attachment and detachment direction X1 serving as a direction in which the left-side first parallel portion 29L extends, and extends parallel to the left-side first parallel portion 29L. That is, the left-side first parallel portion 29L and the left-side second parallel portion 32L adjacent to each other extend parallel to each other.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the left column 22 and the right column 21 of the support body 13 have the pair of second parallel parts 32L and 32R which can be brought into contact with the pair of first parallel parts 29L and 29R. In addition, in this embodiment, a slight gap is formed between the right first parallel portion 29R and the right second parallel portion 32R, and a slight gap is formed between the left first parallel portion 29L and the left second parallel portion 32L. gap. Thereby, when the carrier plate 14 is attached to and detached from the support body 13 , the stoppers 27L and 27R can be prevented from coming into contact with the left column 22 and the right column 21 .

The right front portion 30R is a portion received by the right movement restricting member 15R. The right front portion 30R constitutes the front end portion of the front end portion 28R, and extends in the left-right direction (width direction). In the present embodiment, the length of the right front portion 30R and the length of the right first parallel portion 29R are set to be substantially the same. The right front portion 30R is disposed right behind the right movement restricting member 15R.

The left front portion 30L is a portion received by the left movement restricting member 15L. The left front portion 30L constitutes the front end portion of the front end portion 28L, and extends in the left-right direction (width direction). In the present embodiment, the length of the left front portion 30L and the length of the left first parallel portion 29L are set to be substantially the same. The left front portion 30L is arranged right behind the left movement restricting member 15L.

The right movement restricting member 15R and the left movement restricting member 15L, which are a pair of movement restricting members 15L and 15R, are provided in a state of being attached to the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 to allow the substrate 100 to be processed relative to the carrier plate 14 . The movement of each carrier plate 14 relative to the support body 13 is restricted. The movement restricting members 15L and 15R are rod members extending from the height position of the bottom plate 11 to the height position of the top plate 12, respectively, and are configured to be detachable from the plates 11 and 12 for attaching and detaching the carrier plate 14 to the support body 13. .

The right movement restricting member 15R corresponds to the right stopper 27R, and the left movement restricting member 15L corresponds to the left stopper 27L. Each of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R is a rod member, which is a circular shaft member in the present embodiment, and extends in the vertical direction so as to be in contact with the stoppers 27L and 27R corresponding to the respective carrier plates 14 . In addition, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R may be formed in a square column shape. Each movement restricting member 15L, 15R has a configuration in which the upper end portion 15a and the lower end portion 15b are formed in a block shape, and a through hole extending in the vertical direction is formed at the center of each of the upper end portion 15a and the lower end portion 15b. Moreover, the intermediate part 15c of each movement restricting member 15L, 15R is formed in cylindrical shape, and the upper end part 15a and the lower end part 15b are formed integrally.

The right movement restricting member 15R is disposed right in front of the right front portion 30R of the right stopper 27R, and is attached to the right front end portions of the plates 11 and 12 . The left movement restricting member 15L is disposed directly in front of the left front portion 30L of the left stopper 27L, and is attached to the left front end portions of the plates 11 and 12 . In the present embodiment, the diameter of each of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R is set to be substantially the same as the diameter of the right column 21 (the diameter of the left column 22 ).

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the respective carrier plates are received by the movement restricting members 15L and 15R The stoppers 27L and 27R of 14 prevent the bearing plate 14 from being displaced forward and falling off from the supporting body 13 . In addition, the pair of movement restricting members 15L and 15R receive the pair of stoppers 27L and 27R, so that the carrier plate 14 can be prevented from being rotationally displaced clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the support body 13 in a plan view (rotational displacement). ). In addition, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are arranged adjacent to the right column 21 and the left column 22 . As a result, the pair of second parallel parts 32L and 32R are arranged so as to be adjacent to the pair of first parallel parts 29L and 29R so as to sandwich the pair of first parallel parts 29L and 29R. Thereby, the rotational displacement of the carrier plate 14 in a plan view is regulated by any one of a pair of 1st parallel part 29L, 29R contacting the corresponding 2nd parallel part.

In this way, the right column 21 and the right movement restricting member 15R arranged adjacent to each other and the left column 22 and the left movement restricting member 15L arranged adjacent to each other cooperate with each other. In this way, the positional displacement of the carrier plate 14 in the detachment direction X12 from the support body 13 and the positional displacement of the carrier plate 14 in the rotation direction in a plan view can be prevented. In addition, since the rear pillar 23 receives the carrier plate 14 , the rearward position of the carrier plate 14 relative to the support body 13 can be prevented from being displaced.

The interval between the movement restricting members 15L and 15R is set to be larger than the diameter of the substrate to be processed 100 . Thereby, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R can be prevented from coming into contact with the substrate to be processed 100 when the substrate to be processed 100 is moved in and out by the conveyance hand 10 .

2 and 5 , in this embodiment, the plates 11 and 12 are connected to the movement restricting members 15L and 15R by tapered coupling with an axis extending in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) as the central axis. In addition, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are configured to be detachable from the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 . Specifically, it is provided with the first tapered coupling mechanisms 16L and 16R for taperingly coupling the movement restricting members 15L and 15R to the bottom plate 11 . In addition, it is provided with second tapered coupling mechanisms 17L and 17R for coupling the movement restricting members 15L and 15R to the top plate 12 in a tapered manner.

The right first tapered coupling mechanism 16R, which is one of the pair of first tapered coupling mechanisms 16L and 16R, has a right first tapered hole portion 33R and a right first tapered shaft portion 34R. same The left first taper coupling mechanism 16L, which is the other of the pair of first taper coupling mechanisms 16L and 16R, has a left first tapered hole portion 33L and a left first tapered shaft portion 34L.

The right-side first tapered hole portion 33R is formed in the right front portion of the base plate 11 where the right-side movement restricting member 15R is arranged. The left-side first tapered hole portion 33L is formed in the left front portion of the portion of the bottom plate 11 where the left-side movement restricting member 15L is arranged. Each of the first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R is a truncated cone-shaped portion open to the upper surface of the bottom plate 11 , and penetrates the bottom plate 11 in the vertical direction in this embodiment. In the present embodiment, the first taper angle θ1 of the taper angle of each of the first taper hole portions 33L and 33R is set to 40° with respect to the vertical direction.

The right first tapered shaft portion 34R is formed on the lower end portion of the right movement restricting member 15R. The left-side first tapered shaft portion 34L is formed at the lower end portion of the left-side movement restricting member 15L. Each of the first tapered shaft portions 34L and 34R is a truncated cone-shaped portion whose diameter decreases as it advances downward. In the present embodiment, the taper angle of each of the first tapered shaft portions 34L and 34R is set to a first taper angle θ1 which is the same angle as the taper angle of each of the first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R. The respective first tapered shaft portions 34L and 34R are taperedly fitted to the corresponding first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R. Thereby, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are taper-coupled to the corresponding first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R of the bottom plate 11 .

The right second tapered coupling mechanism 17R of one of the pair of second tapered coupling mechanisms 17L and 17R has a right second tapered hole portion 35R and a right cap 36R including a right second tapered shaft portion 37R. Similarly, the left second tapered coupling mechanism 17L of the other of the pair of second tapered coupling mechanisms 17L and 17R has a left second tapered hole portion 35L and a left cap including a left second tapered shaft portion 37L 36L.

The right-side second tapered hole portion 35R is formed in the right front portion of the top plate 12 where the right-side movement restricting member 15R is arranged. The left-side second tapered hole portion 35L is formed in the left front portion of the portion of the top plate 12 where the left-side movement restricting member 15L is arranged. Each of the second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R is a truncated cone-shaped portion, and penetrates the top plate 12 in the up-down direction. In this embodiment, the vertical direction is As a reference, the second taper angle θ2 of the taper angle of each of the second taper hole portions 35L and 35R is set to 30°.

That is, the first taper angle θ1 is set to be larger than the second taper angle θ2. In this way, by making the first taper angle θ1 large, first, the lower ends of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R can be positioned in the first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R with high accuracy, and the positions can be adjusted The upper end portions of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are arranged in the second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R. Furthermore, since the second taper angle θ2 is made smaller than the first taper angle θ1, the overall posture of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R can be stabilized by using the second taper coupling mechanisms 17L and 17R using the caps 36L and 36R. change. Thereby, the lower end portions of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R away from the second tapered coupling mechanisms 17L and 17R are also positioned at predetermined positions of the first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R, and their movement is restricted. Therefore, even when the first taper angle θ1 is large, the first tapered shaft portions 34L and 34R can be prevented from falling off through the inclination of the first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R. Therefore, both the improvement of the positional accuracy of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R and the stabilization of the posture can be achieved. In addition, the above-mentioned configuration in which the first taper angle θ1 is larger than the second taper angle θ2 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this configuration. According to the arrangement position and shape of the substrate support device 6 , the second taper angle θ2 may be made larger than the first taper angle θ1.

The upper end portion 15a of the right movement restricting member 15R is arranged in the right second tapered hole portion 35R. Similarly, the upper end portion 15a of the left movement restricting member 15L is arranged in the left second tapered hole portion 35L.

The right cap 36R has a right second tapered shaft portion 37R formed in the outer peripheral surface of the right cap 36R, and a right insertion hole portion 38R formed in the inner peripheral surface of the right cap 36R into which the right movement restricting member 15R is inserted . Similarly, the left cap 36L has a left second tapered shaft portion 37L formed in the outer peripheral surface of the left cap 36L, and a left insertion hole portion 38L formed in the inner peripheral surface of the left cap 36L, which is inserted and moved to the left The restricting member 15L.

The diameter of each insertion hole portion 38L, 38R is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the movement restricting members 15L, 15R, and the caps 36L, 36R are configured so that the corresponding movement restricting members 15L, 15L No shaking occurs between 15R.

The right second tapered shaft portion 37R is formed on the lower end portion of the right cap 36R. The left second tapered shaft portion 37L is formed on the lower end portion of the left cap 36L. Each of the second tapered shaft portions 37L and 37R is a truncated cone-shaped portion whose diameter decreases as it goes downward. In the present embodiment, the taper angle of each of the second tapered shaft portions 37L and 37R is set to a second taper angle θ2 which is the same angle as the taper angle of each of the second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R. Each of the second tapered shaft portions 37L and 37R is inserted into the second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R from above the corresponding second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R to perform tapered fitting. Thereby, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are taper-coupled to the second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R corresponding to the top plate 12 .

When the caps 36L and 36R are fitted into the second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R, respectively, the upper end portions of the caps 36L and 36R protrude upward from the top plate 12 . Thereby, an operator can grasp|grip the upper end part of each cap 36L, 36R with a gripping tool etc. FIG. Thereby, the caps 36L and 36R can be easily removed from the top plate 12 .

The above is the schematic configuration of the heat treatment apparatus 1 .

In the substrate support device 6 of the heat treatment apparatus 1 , when replacing the carrier plate 14 , referring to FIG. 6 , first, the operator removes the caps 36L and 36R from the top plate 12 . Next, the operator lifts the movement restricting members 15L and 15R upward to remove the movement restricting members 15L and 15R from the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 .

Thereby, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are removed from the front of the carrier plate 14 . In this state, the operator pulls out forward by moving the carrier plate 14 to be replaced with respect to the support body 13 in the detachment direction X12 (the front side of the drawing in FIG. 6 ). Then, the carrier plate 14 newly mounted on the support body 13 is placed on the corresponding support portion 21 a of the support body 13 by moving from the front side of the support body 13 to the mounting direction X11 (the back side of the drawing in FIG. 6 ). , 22a, 23a.

Next, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R pass through the corresponding first plate 12 . The two tapered hole portions 35L and 35R are further fitted into the first tapered hole portions 33L and 33R corresponding to the bottom plate 11 in a tapered manner. After that, the respective caps 36L and 36R are taperedly fitted to the corresponding second tapered hole portions 35L and 35R. Through the above operations, the replacement operation of the carrier plate 14 can be completed.

As described above, according to the substrate support device 6 of the present embodiment, by providing the movement restricting members 15L and 15R, the positional displacement of the carrier plate 14 with respect to the support body 13 can be suppressed. Thereby, even if an external force such as vibration and air pressure acts between the support body 13 and the carrier plate 14 , the positional displacement of the carrier plate 14 relative to the support body 13 can be suppressed more reliably. Thereby, the carrier plate 14 can be suppressed from falling off from the support body 13 . In addition, since the carrier plate 14 can be prevented from rotating clockwise or counterclockwise in plan view, the carrier plate 14 can be more reliably prevented from coming into contact with other members such as the wafer transfer hand 10 . Further, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are configured to be detachable from the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 . Thereby, when the damaged carrier plate 14 is replaced, the carrier plate 14 can be removed from the support body 13 by removing the movement restricting members 15L and 15R from the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 . Thereby, for example, when replacing the damaged carrier plate 14 among the plurality of carrier plates 14 , only the damaged carrier plate 14 can be removed from the support body 13 . As a result, the replacement work of the carrier plate 14 can be performed easily and inexpensively.

Further, according to the substrate support device 6, the carrier plate 14 is positioned in the front-rear direction by the movement restricting members 15L, 15R. According to this configuration, when the damaged carrier plate 14 is replaced with a new one, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R position the carrier plate 14 . Thereby, even when the replacement operation of the carrier plate 14 is performed repeatedly, the positional relationship of each part of the board|substrate support apparatus 6 in the new state of the board|substrate support apparatus 6 can be maintained. Thereby, the accuracy of the positioning operation of the carrier plate 14 accompanying the replacement operation of the carrier plate 14 can be improved regardless of the operator's proficiency. Thereby, the labor required for the education of the worker can be further reduced.

Further, according to the substrate support device 6 , although the carrier plate 14 is not bonded to the support body 13 , by providing the movement restricting members 15L and 15R instead, the carrier plate 14 can be prevented from falling off the support body 13 . Therefore, the operator does not need to regularly visually check whether vibration, air pressure, etc. The resultant phenomenon is that the carrier plate 14 is displaced from the support body 13 due to positional displacement. As a result, the maintenance cycle (period between maintenance and maintenance) of the substrate support device 6 can be further extended.

Moreover, according to the board|substrate support apparatus 6, the some carrier board 14 can be individually supported by the comb-shaped part (support part 21a, 22a, 23a) of each column member 21,22,23. Furthermore, by bringing the movement restricting members 15L and 15R of the rod members into contact with the bearing plates 14, the bearing plates 14 can be suppressed from being displaced relative to the columns 21, 22, and 23.

Moreover, according to the board|substrate support apparatus 6, each plate 11,12 and the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are connected to each other by the taper coupling with the axis line extending in an up-down direction as a center axis. According to this configuration, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R can be firmly and accurately fixed to the respective plates 11 and 12 . Further, by releasing the taper coupling, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R can be easily detached from the respective plates 11 and 12 .

Moreover, according to the board|substrate support apparatus 6, the 1st taper coupling mechanism 16L, 16R and the 2nd taper coupling mechanism 17L, 17R are provided. According to this configuration, the bottom plate 11 arranged on the lower part of the support body 13 and the top plate 12 arranged on the upper part of the support body 13 can be taper-connected to the movement restricting members 15L and 15R, respectively. Thereby, the mutual bonding strength of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R and the respective plates 11 and 12 can be further improved.

Moreover, according to the board|substrate support apparatus 6, the stoppers 27L and 27R protrude from the board|substrate arrangement|positioning part 25 in the left-right direction. Thereby, the stoppers 27L and 27R can be arranged at positions avoiding the passage of the substrate to be processed 100 . Therefore, the stoppers 27L and 27R are in contact with the movement restricting members 15L and 15R to suppress the positional displacement of the carrier plate 14 and do not interfere with the moving in and out of the substrate to be processed 100 by the transfer hand 10 .

Moreover, according to the board|substrate support apparatus 6, the stoppers 27L and 27R contain the 1st parallel parts 29L and 29R. In addition, the left column 22 and the right column 21 include second parallel portions 32L and 32R. Furthermore, the mutually adjacent first parallel portion 29L and the second parallel portion 32L extend parallel to each other, and The adjacent first parallel portion 29R and the second parallel portion 32R extend parallel to each other. According to this configuration, the respective first parallel parts 29L and 29R of the stoppers 27L and 27R can be received by the second parallel parts 32L and 32R corresponding to the left and right columns 22 and 21 . Thereby, the occurrence of positional displacement of the carrier plate 14 relative to the rotational movement of the columns 21 , 22 , and 23 can be suppressed more reliably.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. In the present invention, various modifications can be made within the scope described in the claims.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, in the first tapered coupling mechanisms 16L and 16R, the lower ends of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R are formed in a convex shape and the bottom plate 11 is formed in a concave shape as an example. Be explained. However, the present invention may not be limited to this. For example, recesses may be provided at the lower ends of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R, and projections may be formed at the bottom plate 11 , and these projections and recesses may be fitted into each other, whereby the movement restricting members 15L and 15R and the base plate 11 may be fitted. Combined in a detachable manner. In addition, the movement restricting members 15L and 15R and the respective plates 11 and 12 may be connected by a screw connection structure or the like other than the tapered connection.

(2) In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the structure in which the board|substrate support apparatus 6 has various members was demonstrated as an example. However, the substrate support device 6 should just have at least one of the carrier plate 14 , the support body 13 , one of the plates 11 and 12 , and any one of the movement restricting members 15L and 15R.

(Industrial Availability)

The present invention can be applied to a substrate supporting device.

10: Transfer the hand

11: Bottom plate (base plate)

13: Support body

14: Carrier plate

15L: Movement limiting member

15R: Movement limiting member

21: Column member

21a: Support part

21b: Recess

22: Column member

22a: Support part

22b: Recess

23: Column member

23a: Support part

23b: Recess

25: Substrate configuration section

25a: Outer peripheral edge

26: Incision part

27L: stop

27R: stop

28L: Front end

28R: Front end

29L: 1st parallel part

29R: Parallel Part 1

30L: Left front

30R: Right Front

32L: 2nd parallel part

32R: 2nd parallel part

100: substrate to be processed

X1: Loading and unloading direction

X11: Installation direction

X12: Disassembly direction

Claims (6)

A substrate support device, comprising: a plurality of carrier plates on which substrates to be processed are respectively placed; a support body having a configuration in which a plurality of support parts supporting the plurality of the carrier plates are arranged in a longitudinal direction , and is configured so that the carrying plate can be attached to and detached from the corresponding supporting part by moving the carrying plate along a predetermined attaching and detaching direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction; a base plate to which the supporting body is fixed; and a movable A restriction member is provided for allowing the substrate to be processed to enter and exit with respect to the carrier plate and restricting movement of each carrier plate relative to the support body, and for attaching and detaching the carrier plate to the support body, the movement restriction member A member can be attached to and detached from the base plate; the support system is configured so that the substrate to be processed can be attached to and detached from the corresponding carrier plate by moving the substrate to be processed along the attachment and detachment direction, and the movement restricting member is arranged on the The outer side of the area through which the substrate to be processed passes is arranged on the inner side of the width of the carrier plate in the direction intersecting with the above-mentioned loading and unloading direction, and is arranged in the direction of removal of the above-mentioned substrate to be processed from the carrier plate in the above-mentioned loading and unloading direction. The downstream side of the above-mentioned carrier plate. The substrate support device according to claim 1, wherein the support body includes a plurality of column members arranged to be separated from each other and extending along the longitudinal direction, and each of the column members is formed as comb teeth along the longitudinal direction A plurality of the above-mentioned support parts are formed in the shape, and the above-mentioned movement restricting member includes a rod member that extends along the above-mentioned longitudinal direction and can be brought into contact with each of the above-mentioned carrier plates. The substrate support device of claim 1, wherein, The said base plate and the said movement restricting member are connected by the taper coupling which becomes a center axis along the said longitudinally extending axis. The substrate supporting device according to claim 3, wherein a bottom plate and a top plate are provided as the base plate, the bottom plate is arranged at the lower end of the support body in the vertical direction, the top plate is arranged at the upper end of the support body in the vertical direction, and the The substrate support device further includes: a first tapered coupling mechanism for coupling the movement restricting member and the bottom plate in a tapered manner; and a second tapered coupling mechanism for coupling the movement restricting member and the top plate in a tapered manner. The substrate supporting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the carrier plate includes: a substrate arranging portion for arranging the substrate to be processed; and a stopper at a predetermined position intersecting the attaching and detaching direction. The width direction protrudes and extends from the substrate arrangement portion, and is received by the movement restricting member. The substrate supporting device according to claim 5, wherein a pair of the stoppers are provided apart from each other in the width direction, each of the stoppers includes a first parallel portion, and the support body includes a pair of the first parallel portions that can contact the pair of the first parallel portions. The pair of second parallel portions of the pair of the second parallel portions, which are adjacent to each other, extend in parallel to each other.

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