WO2006057050A1

WO2006057050A1 - Substrate holding device

Info

Publication number: WO2006057050A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/017689
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kazuyuki Matsumura; Tetsunori Otaguro
Original assignee: Hirata Corporation
Priority date: 2004-11-29
Filing date: 2004-11-29
Publication date: 2006-06-01
Also published as: JPWO2006057050A1

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide a substrate holding device capable of delivering a substrate to a narrow entrance and performing accurate centering. [MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] This substrate holding device (1) for semiconductor wafers comprises a slider (13), a slider advance/retreat mechanism (10), a pair of right and left side blades (2a) and (2b), and link mechanisms (21a) and (21b) rotatably connecting the slider (13) to the base end parts of the blades (2a) and (2b) on both right and left sides. When the slider (13) advances or retreats, the blades (2a) and (2b) laterally move close to or apart from each other. The advance/retreat mechanism (10) comprises actuators (11) and (12) and a spring (16). The slider (13) is moved forward by a gradually attenuating resultant force of the action forces of the actuators (11) and (12) and the energization force of the spring (16) and, even if both holding parts of the blades (2a) and (2b) are brought into contact with the substrate (5) and the slider is stopped, continuously receives the gradually attenuating resultant force so that the both holding parts can hold the substrate (5) with a prescribed strength.

Description

Substrate gripping device

Technical field

The present invention relates to a substrate gripping device, and more particularly to a centering type substrate gripping device used for gripping a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and transporting it between a cassette carrier and an inspection device.

Background art

Conventionally, gripping of a semiconductor wafer includes a suction hand that holds the back surface of the wafer by suction, and an edge clamp node that grips the edge of the wafer. Since the suction hand has an adverse effect on the back surface of the wafer, in recent years, the edge clamp hand has been frequently used as a wafer gripping device.

[0003] By the way, this edge clamp node is gripped by pinching with a holding member having one as a fixed portion and the other as a movable portion (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-6534). There is also a grip (so-called centering method; refer to Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-37906) that presses the substrate evenly.

[0004] The former gripping operation is performed by moving the movable part after the gripping member that is opened larger than the wafer size approaches the wafer under the force of the wafer so that the wafer comes into contact with one end fixing part. In this case, when a wafer having been centered by a positioning device or the like is received, the center position is shifted again by the gripping operation. In addition, when the suction holding force of the inspection apparatus or the like receives the wafer, the timing of releasing the suction is bad, and it is difficult to hold it well.

In the latter case, there is no such problem, but a plurality of gripping members need to move equally toward the center of the hand. In fact, the clamp mechanism described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-37906 performs a centering operation by pulling the two levers, Y-shaped and T-shaped, close to each other, with the pin that engages with the long hole of the lever. Because the long holes naturally have backlash, the movement distances of the Y-shaped and T-shaped levers are not necessarily the same. [0006] As described in these two publications, the gripping operation of the edge clamp node grips the wafer using the biasing force of the spring and suppresses the spring force by operating the actuator to release the gripping. In this case, a cylinder with a force exceeding the spring force is required. However, if this is housed in the wrist of an edge clamp hand, the wrist part will inevitably become large. Therefore, the edge clamp node is difficult to use for delivering a substrate to a device having a narrow loading / unloading port.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-6534

Patent Document 2: Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-37906

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0007] The invention of the present application solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional substrate gripping device, and can transfer the substrate to a narrow V, carry-in / out port, and can perform accurate centering. It is an object to provide an apparatus.

Means for solving the problem

[0008] According to the invention of the present application, the above-described problems can be solved by the following substrate gripping apparatus.

That is, the substrate gripping device is a substrate gripping device used for gripping and transporting a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, and includes a slider, a moving mechanism of the slider, and a moving direction of the slider. A pair of left and right blades having gripping portions gripping from both sides in the right and left direction orthogonal to each other, and a link mechanism that rotatably connects the left and right side ends of the slider and the base end portions of the pair of left and right blades on the left and right sides When the slider advances and retreats, the pair of left and right blades move left and right by the same amount in conjunction with the advance and retreat, so that they can move toward and away from each other. The advancing / retreating mechanism of the slider includes an actuator and an elastic body that exerts an urging force that interferes with the acting force of the actuator, and the slider includes the actuator. The forward movement is caused by the resultant damping force of the actuator acting force and the urging force of the elastic body, but the forward movement causes the pair of left and right blades to approach each other and their gripping portions abut against the substrate. Even after stopping, the pair of left and right blurs continue to receive the resultant force that gradually decreases. The substrate gripping apparatus is characterized in that both grip portions of the door can grip the substrate with a predetermined strength.

According to this substrate gripping device, the pair of left and right blades move left and right by an equal amount and approach each other by the forward movement of the slider, and the substrate can be gripped by both side forces in the left and right direction. The forward thrust is due to the resultant damping force of the acting force of the actuator and the biasing force of the elastic body that interferes with this, and the slider advances and the pair of left and right blades approach each other. Even if the slider stops due to contact with the substrate, the gripping force of the pair of left and right blades will continue to receive the resultant force that gradually decreases so that the substrate is gripped with a predetermined strength. Can do. Conversely, by simply releasing the action of the actuator and canceling its acting force, the slider moves backward due to the biasing force of the elastic body, and the pair of left and right blades move left and right by equal amounts. They can be separated from each other to release the substrate.

[0010] Therefore, as in the conventional centering type substrate gripping device, the substrate is gripped using the biasing force of the spring, and the actuator is operated to suppress the spring biasing force and release the gripping of the substrate. Since the acting force of the actuator is small, the actuator can be reduced in size, and if this is stored in the wrist portion of the substrate gripping device, the wrist portion will not be enlarged. . As a result, the substrate gripping apparatus can be satisfactorily used for delivering a substrate to an apparatus having a narrow carry-in / out opening.

[0011] Further, if the substrate is gripped only by the acting force of the actuator, there is a manufacturing error in the substrate, and therefore there is a possibility of breaking the substrate. As described above, the acting force of the actuator Since the slider moves forward and the pair of left and right blades approach each other and their gripping portions abut against the substrate, the slider stops and is gradually relaxed by the urging force of the interference elastic body. The gripping force of the substrate, which is the resultant force, is also reduced as the gripping progresses, so that the gripping portions of the pair of left and right blades can grip the substrate with a predetermined strength, eliminating the possibility of breaking the substrate. The

[0012] Further, the operation of one actuator causes the substrate to be sandwiched between the pair of left and right blades, and all the grip points of the blades of the pair of left and right blades have the same timing toward the center position of the substrate. So that the same distance can be moved accurately. When receiving a substrate that has been processed, if the center position is shifted again due to the gripping operation, it is a must! ,.

[0013] Preferably, in the embodiment, each grip portion of the pair of left and right blades has a recess that receives the edge of the substrate, and the eccentric receiving seating force whose fixed position is variable about the eccentric shaft is obtained. To be done. As a result, when assembling the substrate gripping device, the arrangement of all the gripping portions on the pair of left and right blades matches the contour shape of the substrate of a predetermined shape such as a circle, so that it can be gripped without backlash. By rotating the receiving seat, it is easy to adjust the position of the grip.

[0014] In another preferred embodiment, the elastic body has a spring force. As a result, while using a general-purpose elastic material, this is interposed between the actuator and the slider, and the thrust of the actuator and the elastic body biasing force are gradually attenuated. It is possible to simplify the configuration for obtaining the resultant force.

The invention's effect

[0015] As described above, according to the substrate gripping device of the invention of the present application, like the conventional centering type substrate gripping device, the substrate is gripped using the biasing force of the spring, and the actuator is operated to actuate the spring. Since it is not intended to release the gripping of the board by suppressing the urging force, the acting force of the actuator can be reduced, and the actuator can be miniaturized and stored in the wrist part of the board gripping device. As a result, the wrist portion does not increase in size. As a result, the substrate gripping apparatus can be satisfactorily used for delivering a substrate to an apparatus having a narrow carry-in / out opening.

[0016] If the substrate is held only by the acting force of the actuator, there is a manufacturing error in the substrate, and there is a possibility that the substrate may be broken. The acting force of the actuator advances the slider. Even after the pair of left and right blades approach each other and their gripping portions come into contact with the base plate and the slider stops, the slider is gradually relaxed by the urging force of the interference elastic body. The gripping force is also eased as the gripping progresses, so that the gripping portions of the pair of left and right blades can grip the substrate with a predetermined strength, and the possibility of breaking the substrate is eliminated.

[0017] Also, the operation of sandwiching the substrate between the pair of left and right blades by the operation of one actuator is performed. The centering of the pair of left and right blades can be performed accurately at the same timing and with the same distance, so that all gripping points of each pair of left and right blades can move toward the center of the board. When receiving the substrate, if the center position is shifted again due to the gripping operation, it will be a problem.

[0018] Further, in the case where each gripping portion of the pair of left and right blades has four portions for receiving the edge of the substrate, and the eccentric receiving seating force whose fixed position is variable about the eccentric shaft is assumed. When the substrate gripping device is assembled, the eccentric receiving seats are arranged so that the arrangement of all the gripping portions on the pair of left and right blades matches the contour shape of the substrate of a predetermined shape such as a circle and can be gripped without backlash. By rotating the, it is easy to adjust the position of the grip portion. In addition, the effects as described above can be achieved.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the overall configuration of a substrate gripping apparatus of the present embodiment, in which (a) is a plan view showing the drive unit removed, and (b) is a side sectional view. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the drive unit, with one blade removed.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a slider advance / retreat mechanism portion of the drive unit.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an eccentric receiving seat constituting a substrate gripping portion fixed on a blade of the substrate gripping device, wherein (a) is a side view thereof and (b) is a plan view.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operating state of the drive unit over time.

Explanation of symbols

[0020] 1 ... Substrate gripping device, 2a, 2b ... Pair of left and right blades, 3 ... Drive mechanism, 4 ... Eccentric receiving seat, 4a ... Upside inverted truncated cone part, 4b ... Frustum part, 4c ... Recessed part, 4d … Eccentric shaft, 5… Wafer, 6—Support plate, 6a… Projection wall, 6b… Backward projecting part, 6c… Bottom surface, 10… Slider advance / retreat mechanism, 11… Air cylinder, 12… Piston rod, 13… Slider , 13a ... concave portion, 14- engaging member, 14a ... circular hole, 15 ... spring restraining member, 16 ... spring, 17 ... propulsion catching member, 19— guide rail, 20 ... motion conversion Mechanisms, 21a, 21b… A pair of left and right link mechanisms, 22a, 22b- A pair of left and right slide mechanisms, 23a—1, 23a—2,... A pair of front and rear guide levers, 23b—1, 23 b—2—Front and rear A pair of guide rails, 24 ... travel block, 30 ... wafer presence sensor. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Corrected paper (Rule 91) [0021] A substrate gripping device used for gripping and transporting a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer grips a slider, a slider advancing / retreating mechanism, and a substrate from both sides in the left-right direction perpendicular to the advancing / retreating direction of the slider. A pair of left and right blades having a gripping portion, and a link mechanism that rotatably connects the left and right ends of the slider and the base ends of the pair of left and right blades on the left and right sides, and the slider moves forward and backward In conjunction with the forward and backward movement, the pair of left and right blades move left and right by the same amount so that they can approach and separate from each other!

[0022] The advance / retreat mechanism of the slider includes an actuator and a spring that exerts an urging force that interferes with the acting force of the actuator. Even if the pair of left and right blades move forward and come close to each other and stop when their gripping parts come into contact with the substrate, they continue to receive a resultant force that gradually attenuates and both grips the pair of left and right blades. The unit is configured to be able to grip the substrate with a predetermined strength.

Each gripping part of the pair of left and right blades has a recess for receiving the edge of the substrate, and is constituted by an eccentric receiving seat that has a fixed position variable about the eccentric shaft.

Example

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the overall configuration of the substrate gripping apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view showing the drive unit removed, and FIG. 1 (b) is a side sectional view. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drive unit, with one blade removed, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a slider advance / retreat mechanism portion of the drive unit, and FIG. 4 is a blade of the substrate gripping device. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an eccentric receiving seat constituting a substrate gripping part fixed on the top, wherein FIG. 5A is a side view, FIG. 5B is a plan view, and FIG. FIG. In the following, the forward / backward direction of the slider is defined as the front / rear direction, and the direction orthogonal thereto is defined as the left / right direction.

The substrate gripping device (edge clamp node) 1 of this embodiment is used for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and transporting it between a cassette liner and an inspection device. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outline of the configuration is a pair of left and right blades 2a, 2b and their drive. It consists of mechanism 3. The pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b are precisely symmetrical.

[0025] On the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b, a total of three eccentric receiving seats 4 are fixed by bolt fastening, one at the tip and two at the root. The two eccentric receiving seats 4 are attached to the roots of the blades 2a and 2b, respectively, in order to use one of them as an auxiliary when the notch or the like of the wafer 5 comes into contact with the eccentric receiving seat of the root part. It is.

[0026] The eccentric receiving seat 4 is a portion that forms a gripping portion of the wafer 5, and is made of a grease material and has a recess 4c that is constricted in a V shape at the center as shown in FIG. It also becomes a member. This seat member has an upper inverted truncated cone part 4a above and a lower truncated cone part 4b below, with a central equal-diameter recess 4c as a boundary. The lower truncated cone part 4b has a larger diameter than the upper inverted truncated cone part 4a. This is because when the wafer 5 is gripped, the lower surface of the edge of the wafer 5 is first placed on the skirt of the lower truncated cone part 4b and smoothly raised from there, reaching a fixed position (recess 4c). This is because gripping is performed with rollers.

[0027] Further, when the eccentric receiving seat 4 is fixed on the blades 2a and 2b with a force that is circular in plan view, the fixing portion is also eccentric with a circular central force. Therefore, the fixing position of the eccentric receiving seat 4 can be changed to a desired rotational position by loosening the fixing by bolt tightening or the like, rotating it by a desired amount around the eccentric shaft 4d, and fixing it again. In this way, when the substrate gripping device 1 is assembled, even if it is necessary to adjust the fixed position of each eccentric receiving seat 4 to match the contour shape of the wafer 5, the adjustment is easily performed. be able to. Through such adjustment, the substrate gripping apparatus 1 is able to grip the wafer 5 evenly.

Next, the drive mechanism 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.

The drive mechanism 3 includes a slider advance / retreat mechanism 10 and a motion change mechanism 20 for converting the advance / retreat of the slider 13 by the operation of the slider advance / retreat mechanism 10 into the left / right movement of the pair of left and right blades 2a, 2b. Yes. The motion variable structure 20 is composed of a pair of left and right link mechanisms 21a and 21b, and a pair of left and right blades 2a. 2b also has a force with a pair of left and right slide mechanisms 22a, 22b for smooth left-right movement. In addition, a pair of left and right A wafer presence sensor 30 for detecting the presence of the wafer 5 on the blades 2a and 2b is provided.

[0029] The slider advance / retreat mechanism 10 includes a slider 13, an actuator for moving the slider 13 forward and backward, and a spring 16 that exerts a biasing force that interferes with the acting force of the actuator. . A coil spring is used as the spring 16. As can be understood from FIG. 3, the slider 13 is composed of a block body formed in a shape having a concave-shaped recess 13a when viewed from the front, and is a guide rail laid in the front-rear direction on the support plate 6. It is mounted on the guide rail 19 and is pushed or pushed back by the resultant force of the acting force of the actuator and the urging force of the interference spring 16, and the piston rod 12 and spring restraint described later are pressed. It moves forward and backward while avoiding interference with member 15.

The actuator is a portion that serves as a drive source for the slider advance / retreat mechanism 10, is configured by a cylinder / viston mechanism, and includes an air cylinder 11 and a piston rod 12. The cylinder 11 is fixed to the upper surface of the central portion of the support plate 6, and the piston rod 12 projects forward from the air cylinder 11. A disc-shaped spring restraining member 15 is fixed to the tip of the piston rod 12, and the piston rod 12 holds the compression force to the spring 16 through the spring restraining member 15, and the spring 16 Can be restored.

The spring 16 is accommodated in a diamond-shaped recess 13 a of the slider 13, and the rear end thereof is in contact with the spring holding member 15, and the front end thereof is in contact with the back surface of the engagement member 14. This engagement member 14 is ported on the side surface of the slider 13 opposite to the air cylinder 11 so as to close the diamond-shaped recess 13a of the slider 13, and a circular hole is formed in the central portion thereof. 14a.

Therefore, when the actuator is operated and the piston rod 12 moves forward, the forward movement is transmitted to the engagement member 14 via the spring 16 that compressively deforms, and the slider integrated with the engagement member 14 is transmitted. 13 travels forward on the guide rail 19. If the slider 13 stops for some reason and the piston rod 12 further advances, the spring restraining member 15 enters the recess 13a of the slider 13, and the piston rod 12 exerts the restoring force of the spring 16. Moving forward, the slider 13 continues to be pushed in the direction of travel.

[0033] The propulsion saddle member 17 has a cylindrical main body portion excluding the flange portion at the front end of the engagement member 14.

Corrected paper (Rule S1) It is slidably inserted into a circular hole 14a formed in the central portion, passes through the inside of the coiled spring 16 and abuts against the front surface of the spring restraining member 15, and has the same axial center. It is fixed. The length of the cylindrical body portion of the propulsion fill member 17 is sufficiently longer than the natural length of the spring 16. Therefore, when the piston rod 12 is retracted, the flange portion of the propelling member 17 is brought into contact with the engaging member 14 and the slider 13 is retracted. The spring 16 at this time is not compressed because the length of the cylindrical body portion of the propulsion Ml member 17 is sufficiently longer than the natural length of the spring 16.

[0034] As described above, as apparent, the pair of left and right blades 2a, 2b approach each other as the slider 13 moves forward, and the eccentric seats 4 on the blades 2a, 2b are placed on the corresponding edge portions of the wafer 5. Even after the slider 13 stops due to contact, the piston rod 12 can still advance a small distance while compressing the spring 16. The maximum forward position is a position where the resultant force of the acting force of the actuator (cylinder and piston mechanism) and the urging force (repulsive force) based on the compression deformation of the spring 16 becomes zero. Since this resultant force is gradually attenuated, when the gripping portion of the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b grips the wafer 5, the gripping force is relaxed and held to grip the wafer 5 with a predetermined appropriate strength. The wafer 5 can be protected against damage.

[0035] Next, the motion conversion mechanism 20! In the following, a detailed explanation will be given with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.

As described above, the motion conversion mechanism 20 is for converting the forward / backward movement of the slider 13 due to the operation of the slider advance / retreat mechanism 10 into the left / right movement of the pair of left and right blades 2a, 2b. For this purpose, the motion conversion mechanism 20 includes a pair of left and right link mechanisms 21a and 21b that rotatably connect the left and right ends of the slider 13 and the bases of the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b on the left and right sides, A pair of left and right slide mechanisms 22a and 22b for smoothly moving the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b to the left and right are provided.

[0036] The pair of left and right slide mechanisms 22a, 22b are a pair of front and rear guide rails 23a-1, 23a- laid respectively on the front and rear of the left half and right half of the bottom surface 6c of the support plate 6. 2, 23b-1 and 23b-2, and two traveling block bodies 24 slidably mounted on the guide rails, respectively. The pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b are connected to these traveling block bodies 24 at a total of four locations, two in each of the front and rear portions of the base.

| 1 corrected invitation 1191) Connected and fixed, ride on these four travel block bodies 24 and move to the left and right guide rails 23a-1, 23a-2, 23b-1, 23b_2 slidably to the left and right respectively

[0037] Therefore, when the slider 13 moves forward, the link mechanisms 21a, 21b are forced to move the blades 2a, 2b along with the forward movement of the slider 13. The blades 2a, 2b are Since it can only move left and right according to the slide mechanisms 22a and 22b, it tries to maintain the respective link lengths while moving the blades 2a and 2b close to each other. Therefore, the approaching amount of the blades 2a and 2b, in other words, the advancement amount of the slider 13 corresponds to the diameter of the wafer 5 and the gripping force of the wafer 5 by adjusting the compression force of the spring 16. Can be adjusted.

[0038] When the slider 13 moves backward, the blades 2a and 2b move to the left and right in the opposite direction, move away from each other, and release the gripped ueno 5. The backward movement of the slider 13 is simply by releasing the operation of the actuator, the piston rod 12 is retracted, the compression force of the spring 16 is released, and the propelling bell member 17 integrated with the piston rod 12 is This is possible by locking the slider 13 through the engaging member 14 at the collar portion at the front end and moving backward.

[0039] The support plate 6 has a plate shape with a convex shape in plan view, and a protruding surrounding wall 6a is formed around the portion excluding the rear protruding portion 6b. The guide rail 19 and the pair of left and right slide mechanisms 22a and 22b are installed on the inner bottom surface 6c surrounded by the wall of the rear projecting portion 6b. The air cylinder 11 is installed across the rear surface 6c of the support plate 6 over the bottom surface 6c! / All parts constituting the drive mechanism 3 are covered with a cover (not shown).

Next, the operation of the pair of left and right blades 2a, 2b will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Now when the actuator (cylinder 'piston mechanism) is operated, the piston rod 12 moves forward. As a result, the piston rod 12 advances the propulsion ail member 17 through the holding member 15. Then, the slider 13 is also moved forward by the spring 16 sandwiched between the holding member 15 and the engaging member 14. Since the slider 13 is connected to the blades 2a and 2b by the link mechanisms 21a and 21b, as the slider 13 advances, the blades 2a and 2b move leftward and rightward inward (FIG. 5 (a), ( b)). [0041] When the slider 13 further moves forward, the pair of left and right blades 2a, 2b approach each other, and the eccentric receiving seat 4 above them abuts the corresponding edge portion of the wafer 5, Slider 13 stops (Fig. 5 (c)).

On the other hand, even if the slider 13 stops, the piston rod 12 still pushes the propulsion ML member 17 as long as the spring 16 sandwiched between the restraining member 15 and the engagement member 14 allows, so the propulsion ffiSi member 17 continues to advance, and the piston rod 12 continues to press the slider 13 via the spring 16. However, the force that the piston rod 12 pushes the propulsion fill member 17, that is, the resultant force of the acting force of the actuator and the repulsive force based on the compression deformation of the spring 16, gradually attenuates and eventually becomes zero, so the propulsion ffiSl member The forward movement of 17 stops, and the pressing of the slider 13 via the spring 16 of the piston rod 12 also stops while maintaining the maximum pressing force. As a result, the increase in the force with which the blades 2a and 2b grip the wafer 5 is also stopped.

[0043] If the wafer 5 is gripped by a mechanical force, a cracking force S will be generated, but conversely, if the wafer 5 is simply touched, the wafer 5 may be dropped. Therefore, as described above, the wafer 5 is preferably held while being reduced only by the mechanical force of the actuator 16 and reduced by the force of the spring 16.

In the present embodiment, the theoretical thrust of the actuator is a force of about 0.57 kg. At this time, the repulsive force of the spring 16 reduces the theoretical thrust to about 0.46 kg. This force is distributed to the blades 2a and 2b, and the load applied from one blade to the wafer 5 is about 294 g (generally, the load on the wafer 5 is up to 300 g). The amount of expansion / contraction of 16 is 23 mm in the free state, 10.5 mm when installed in the equipment, and about 8.5 mm in the final compressed state where the thrust of the actuator is applied.

[0045] Since the substrate gripping apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

Unlike conventional centering-type substrate gripping devices, the substrate is gripped using the biasing force of the spring, and the actuator is not operated to suppress the spring biasing force and release the gripping of the substrate. The acting force of the actuator can be small, and the actuator can be made small. If this is housed in the wrist portion of the substrate gripping device 1, the wrist portion does not become large. This allows wafers 5 to be placed into equipment with a narrow entrance / exit.

Corrected jar '(®92) [0046] If the wafer 5 is gripped only by the acting force of the actuator, there is a manufacturing error in the wafer 5, and there is a possibility that the wafer 5 may be broken. After the pair of blades 2a and 2b approach each other and come to contact with the corresponding edge portion of the S-wafer 5 with the eccentric receiving seat 4 force on them, the slider 13 is stopped by the biasing force of the interference spring 16 gradually. Since the gripping force of the wafer 5, which is the resultant force, is eased, the gripping force of the wafer 5 is relaxed as the gripping progresses so that the gripping portions of the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b grip the wafer 5 with a predetermined appropriate strength. This eliminates the possibility of breaking the wafer 5.

[0047] Further, the operation of one actuator causes the wafer 5 to be sandwiched between the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b, and the gripping force of all the blades of the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b is the wafer. Since the same distance can be accurately moved to the center position of 5 at the same timing, the center position is shifted again due to the gripping operation when receiving the centered Ueno 5 There is no.

[0048] Furthermore, each gripping part of the pair of left and right blade blades 2a, 2b has a recess 4c that receives the edge of the wafer 5, and an eccentric receiving seat 4 whose fixed position is variable about the eccentric shaft 4d. Therefore, when the substrate gripping device 1 is assembled, the arrangement of all the gripping portions on the pair of left and right blades 2a and 2b matches the contour shape of the wafer 5 having a predetermined shape such as a circle. It is easy to adjust the position of the grip portion so that the grip portion can be gripped without play.

[0049] The invention of the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A substrate gripping device used to grip and transport a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a slider,

An advance / retreat mechanism of the slider;

A pair of left and right blades having gripping portions for gripping the substrate from both sides in the left-right direction perpendicular to the advancing / retreating direction of the slider;

A link mechanism for connecting the left and right side ends of the slider and the base end portions of the pair of left and right blades to the left and right sides so as to be freely rotatable;

With

When the slider moves forward and backward, the pair of left and right blades move left and right by an equal amount in conjunction with the forward and backward movement so that they can approach and separate from each other. The advance / retreat mechanism

With the actuator

An elastic body that exerts an urging force that interferes with the acting force of the actuator;

With

The slider moves forward by a resultant force that gradually decreases between the acting force of the actuator and the biasing force of the elastic body, but moves forward so that the pair of left and right blades approach each other, and their gripping portions are moved to the substrate. Even if stopped by contacting each of the blades, the gripping portion of the pair of left and right blades can continue to receive the resultant force that gradually decreases so that the substrate can grip the substrate with a predetermined strength. Have

A substrate gripping device.

[2] Each of the gripping portions of the pair of left and right blades has a recess for receiving the edge of the substrate, and has an eccentric receiving seating force whose fixed position is variable about the eccentric shaft. Item 4. The substrate holding apparatus according to Item 1.

[3] The substrate holding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the elastic body has a spring force.