WO2006137370A1

WO2006137370A1 - Substrate transfer robot and processing apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2006137370A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/312272
Authority: WO
Inventors: Masaaki Sato; Daigo Tamatsukuri; Seiichi Fujii; Naoki Ogawa; Atsuyoshi Tanioka; Hirofumi Hosokawa; Kenji Hirota
Original assignee: Rorze Corporation
Priority date: 2005-06-22
Filing date: 2006-06-20
Publication date: 2006-12-28
Also published as: TW200709900A; KR20080018205A

Abstract

A transfer robot is composed of two concentrically arranged driving sources; a driving arm protruding from a side plane of each driving source; two driven arms arranged at the other end of the driving arm; and a hand arranged at a leading end of the driven arm to form a pair with another. The transfer robot advances, retracts and turns the first hand and the second hand through each arm by turning the driving sources in different directions or in the same direction. A processing apparatus provided with the transfer robot is provided with a plurality of placing chambers whose planar shapes are square, by connecting the chambers with connecting chambers, and transfer and receive substrates to and from two process chambers provided on each side wall plane of the placing chamber, by the substrate transfer robot arranged close to the center inside the placing chamber.

Description

Substrate transfer robot and processing apparatus

Technical field

The present invention relates to a transfer robot and a processing apparatus that move and process a substrate in a highly clean environment.

The present invention can be applied to either a substrate that requires a high clean environment or a similar article when moving and processing, and in particular, a semiconductor wafer or an LCD substrate as an electronic component. This is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the present invention.

Background art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of substrates such as semiconductors and LCDs (liquid crystal displays), the yield (non-defective rate) of products decreases due to the adhesion of dust or the like to the surface of the substrate. In order to prevent such problems, the substrate is manufactured in a highly clean environment such as a so-called clean room. For example, a processing apparatus (cluster tool) that performs a wide variety of processing is used for manufacturing a substrate. . In this processing apparatus, each processing is performed in a clean environment by closing the processing chamber in an airtight and highly clean manner or by setting the inside of the processing chamber in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere.

[0003] A processing apparatus includes a processing chamber (process chamber) for processing a substrate, a transfer chamber for loading / unloading a substrate into / from the processing chamber, and a load lock for carrying the substrate in / out of the apparatus. And a chamber. In general, a single processing apparatus is provided with a plurality of processing chambers for various processing. The transfer chamber has a pentagonal or polygonal planar shape, and each processing chamber is arranged around the transfer chamber. A transfer robot for loading / unloading substrates into / from each processing chamber is installed at the approximate center inside the transfer chamber. A door that can be opened and closed air-tightly by a vacuum nozzle is installed on the peripheral wall of the transfer chamber. By opening this door, communication with the processing chamber or load lock chamber is possible. The transfer robot is structured so that the substrate can be moved to each processing chamber by operating the center force of the transfer chamber radially.

[0004] As a conventional processing apparatus, the technique of Patent Document 1 is known. FIG. 10 shows a substrate processing apparatus (multistage semiconductor processing apparatus described in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1).

).

In FIG. 10, the processing apparatus 120 includes two polygonal transfer chambers (robot-type buffer chamber 124, transfer robot chamber 128), which are connected via two linked processing chambers (intermediate processing chambers 126, 127). It is connected.

The connection processing chamber is subjected to, for example, plasma edge cleaning, heating, and cooling. In the center of each of the transfer chambers 124 and 128, a transfer robot (having a link mechanism that also has a four-arm force) transfer robot (transfer robot 142) holds the substrate and transfers it between the processing chambers. Buffer robot 140) is installed.

[0005] Around the transfer chamber, a plurality of processing chambers (vacuum processing chambers 101 to 107) and a load lock chamber (load lock chambers 121 and 122) for receiving and temporarily storing substrates from outside the apparatus are installed. ing. Openable and closable doors (vacuum valves) are installed between the transfer chambers, the connected processing chambers, the processing chambers, and the load lock chamber, and the chambers can be closed in an airtight state. Therefore, since each chamber can be selectively sealed and isolated from each other, the interiors of the chambers are mutually airtight so that the atmospheres have different vacuum degrees or are compatible with each other! /, And an inert gas atmosphere. can do.

In addition, the transfer chamber described above is evacuated, etc., and in order to facilitate sealing, a large lump of aluminum is scraped out by a caulking machine to process the connecting surface of the processing chamber, etc. A monolith structure for forming a cavity for a processing chamber or the like.

[0006] Techniques described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 are known as conventional transfer robots.

7 and 8 show the transfer robot (joint arm transfer device) described in FIGS. 2 and 4 of Patent Document 2. FIG.

In FIG. 8, this transfer robot 200 has a cylindrical mounting flange 238 attached to the bottom (bottom wall) 228 of the transfer chamber so as to protrude downward from the opening 227 (outside the transfer chamber). It is attached. Inside the mounting flange 238, two drive sources 215, 216 are installed concentrically with their positions shifted in the height direction.

The drive sources 215 and 216 are concentric and protrude from the top of the mounting flange 238 into the transfer chamber. The rotating shaft (outer shaft 239, inner shaft 240) can be rotated independently.

That is, each of the drive sources 215 and 216 includes one armature 230 (starter) in which a plurality of coils are arranged in a ring shape. Inside each armature 230, a rotating shaft (outer shaft 239 and inner shaft 240) is rotatably installed via a bearing 233 (guide bearing). The outer shaft 239 is just inside the armature 230 and corresponds to the upper armature 230b. The inner shaft 240 is just inside the outer shaft 239 and corresponds to the lower armature 230a. Magnets 237 (237a, 237b) as rotors are installed on the outer wall surfaces of the outer shaft 239 and the inner shaft 240 and corresponding to the armatures 230 (230a, 230b) as starters. A bellows 241 that separates the vacuum atmosphere from the space where the armature 230 etc. is separated is provided at the upper part of the housing of the drive sources 215, 216 to prevent dust generated in the space where the armature 230 etc. flows from entering the vacuum atmosphere be able to

In FIG. 7, a first drive arm 17 (first upper arm) and a second drive arm 18 (second upper arm) are attached to the upper ends of the rotating shafts 239 and 240. The arms 217 and 218 are arranged in the inner region of the transfer chamber, and protrude in the radial direction from the rotation shaft centers of the drive sources 215 and 216. First and second follower arms 219 and 220 (first forearm and second forearm) are attached to the upper end of the other end of the first drive arm 217, and third and second followers are attached to the second drive arm 18. Four driven arms 221, 222 (first forearm, second forearm) are attached and can be rotated independently in the same horizontal plane. A first hand 223 is rotatably supported on the other ends of the first and third driven arms 219 and 21, and a second hand 24 is rotatably supported on the second and fourth driven arms 220 and 222. ing. As a result, the transfer robot 200 rotates the first and second hands 223 and 224 by rotating the rotation shafts 239 and 240 in different directions by the first and second drive sources 215 and 216, respectively. It can be extended or retracted in the radial direction (vertical direction in Fig. 9) with respect to the center of the shaft 239, 240. Further, the first and second hands 223 and 224 can be simultaneously rotated with respect to the centers of the rotation shafts 239 and 240 by rotating the rotation shafts 239 and 240 in the same direction.

FIG. 9 shows the transfer robot 300 (transfer device) shown in FIG. The transfer robot 300 is different from the transfer robot 200 described above, which has two rotation shafts (an outer shaft 239 and an inner shaft 240) that are driven by driving sources 215 and 216 in a concentric manner. It has a parallel configuration.

In FIG. 9, the transfer robot 300 has two rotating shafts 342 (a first driving shaft 342a and a second driving shaft 342b), which are connected to the base plate 325 (support portion) on the nodes 323, 324. Are arranged side by side in the direction of travel. In this transfer robot, the first drive arm 317 and the second drive arm 318 are arranged at different heights at the upper ends of the respective rotation shafts 342 (342a, 342b). Further, the shape of the upper surface of the first drive arm 317 is a rod having a partially recessed portion, and it is possible to avoid contact with the first drive shaft 342a when the second drive arm 318 is rotated. The first and second driven arms 319 and 320 (transmission link) are placed on the top end of the first drive arm 317 (first drive link), and the third and top are placed on the top end of the second drive arm (second drive link). The fourth follower arms 321, 322 (transmission links) are provided so as to be concentric with each other. Each rotation shaft 342 has a drive source (not shown) for driving each rotation shaft 342, and is driven independently by each. Usually, the drive sources are arranged side by side in a space below the base plate 325.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-19252

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 08-506771

Patent Document 3: Japanese Translation of Special Publication 2004-237436

Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0011] The transfer chamber described above is desired to have a small internal volume. There are two reasons for this.

The first reason is to quickly make the inside a vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere. The second reason is that, as described above, the transfer chamber is often manufactured by a chain that is cut out from a large aluminum lump, but it is small in order to reduce processing cost, time, and accuracy. is important.

However, if the transfer chamber is made smaller, it is necessary to reduce the size and operating range of the transfer robot itself while maintaining the stroke (allowable transfer distance) of the transfer robot provided inside the transfer chamber. It is also necessary to make the transfer robot itself compact so that the transfer robot can be easily attached to the transfer chamber. Considering the compactness of the transfer robots 200 and 300 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 described above, there are the following problems.

In the transfer robot 300 of FIG. 9, the rotation shafts 342a and 342b are arranged in parallel, and the drive arms 317 and 318 are arranged to be rotatable in the same horizontal plane. On the other hand, at the front ends of the drive arms 217 and 218, the rotational connection portions of the driven arms 319 to 322 are concentrically arranged, and the driven arms 319 to 322 are arranged at different heights.

In the transfer robot 200 of FIG. 7, the rotation shafts 239 and 240 are arranged concentrically, and the two drive arms 217 and 218 are arranged at different heights. On the other hand, each of the follower arms 219 to 212 connected to each other is individually pivotally connected to the tip of each of the drive arms 217 and 218. In other words, the end portions of the driven arms 219 to 212 are connected to the tip ends of the drive arms 217 and 218 by shifting their positions by a plurality of parallel rotation shafts.

[0014] In this way, each pivot shaft or connection portion between each drive arm and each driven arm! However, when each is concentric, the height increases, but the planar shape becomes smaller. When the components are arranged in parallel, the height can be reduced, but the planar shape increases. Considering these contradictory relationships, it is required to make the transport robot compact. For example, in order to suppress the planar shape, both the rotating shafts and the connecting portions of the drive arms and the driven arms are connected together. When arranged concentrically, the height dimension is the sum of the heights. On the other hand, if the rotating shafts and the connecting parts of each drive arm and each driven arm are arranged in parallel to reduce the height, the plane dimensions may increase cumulatively.

Due to such structural differences, there is a problem that even if the lengths of the drive arm and the follower arm are the same, the compactness of the transport robot is difficult.

A main object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer robot capable of compactness.

[0016] On the other hand, in the conventional processing apparatus, the shape of the transfer chamber is a polygon having five or more corners, and the transfer chamber is radially arranged toward the rotation center of the transfer robot. . This is because the frog redder type transfer robot placed at the center of the transfer chamber allows the substrate to be transferred by simply moving the held substrate to the processing chamber on the center of rotation force radiation. It is. Further, such a processing apparatus can be realized by simple operation control for moving the transfer robot in the linear direction and in the rotational direction.

[0017] However, since it is necessary to provide a processing chamber as a transfer destination in the radiation direction with the transfer robot as the center, there is more under the condition that one processing chamber is provided for each side of the transfer chamber. If you wanted to have a process chamber, you had to increase the number of sides of the transfer chamber. Naturally, the processing chamber has a predetermined width, and as a result, it is necessary to secure the minimum length of one side of the transfer chamber. Therefore, the transfer robot must be enlarged, and accordingly, the transfer robot In addition, it is necessary to lengthen the stroke, and it is also necessary to increase the size of the entire processing apparatus.

[0018] On the other hand, without increasing the number of corners of the transfer chamber, a plurality of processing chambers are provided for one side wall, and the connecting portions of all the processing chambers are inclined with respect to the side wall. The same effect can be obtained by providing the (opening) toward the rotation center of the transport robot. However, the area of the connecting portion is increased compared to the case where the connecting portion is provided facing the side wall, thereby increasing the vacuum valve for sealing the inside of the processing chamber when processing is performed in the processing chamber. Since the inside of the transfer chamber and the processing chamber are separated from each other, the internal processing environment that is harder to seal is more unstable when the opening area of the connecting portion is larger.

[0019] Further, as a problem when the processing apparatus is increased in size, firstly, the foot space (the floor occupied area of the facility) increases, and secondly, the volume of the transfer chamber increases, If the vacuum is filled with a vacuum or inert gas, the time and cost for obtaining the desired pressure or concentration will be increased.

[0020] In addition, in a processing apparatus having a plurality of transfer chambers connected to each other, if the shape of each transfer chamber is a polygon of pentagon or more, it is difficult to connect them vertically and horizontally, and the foot space becomes large. There is also a problem of widening.

[0021] In addition, since the transfer chamber is produced by cutting out a large aluminum lump, the transfer chamber is square-shaped (the work of turning the aluminum lump by turning 90 degrees is very difficult due to the mechanism of the processing machine. Compared to), it is very difficult, and it is also very difficult to open an opening for communicating with the processing chamber on the side surface.

[0022] As described above, more processing devices can be provided, and the volume of the transfer chamber is minimized. In addition, it is easy to process the transfer chamber where the foot space is narrow, it is easy to connect multiple transfer chambers, and the required force that the transfer robot can operate freely is desirable. ing.

[0023] Another object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus that is compact and easy to manufacture.

The substrate transfer robot of the present invention includes a first drive source having a rotation axis on a base plate, a second drive source having a rotation axis concentrically with the rotation axis of the first drive source, A first drive arm provided protruding from a side surface of the first drive source; a second drive arm provided protruding from a side surface of the second drive source; and the other end of the first drive arm concentrically and independently. A first driven arm and a second driven arm provided for rotation, and a third driven arm and a fourth provided for rotation independently at positions having different rotation axes on the other end of the second drive arm. A first hand supported and provided rotatably by a driven arm, a first driven arm and a third driven arm, and a second hand provided supported and rotatably by a second driven arm and a fourth driven arm The first drive source and the second drive source are rotated in different directions or in the same direction. First hand through the arm, forward and backward movement of the second hand, and characterized in that it can be rotated.

[0025] In the present invention, the first drive source and the second drive source are rotated at different speeds, so that the first drive source and the second drive source are on a straight line that forms an angle with the radiation direction with respect to the rotation center of the first drive source. You can move the first hand, second hand, and hand.

[0026] Further, the transfer robot includes a second drive arm and a third drive arm as a second drive source, projecting in a direction that forms an angle with respect to the rotation direction around the second drive source. The drive arm may be provided with a third driven arm, and the third drive arm may be provided with a fourth driven arm.

[0027] The substrate transfer robot according to the present invention rotates the first drive source and the second drive source at different speeds, thereby setting a radiation direction and an angle with respect to the rotation center of the first drive source. It is preferable that the first hand and the second hand can be moved on a straight line formed.

[0028] In the substrate transfer robot of the present invention, the first hand and the second hand move forward and backward in the radiation direction with respect to the rotation centers of the first drive source and the second drive source. However, it is preferable that the traveling direction of the first hand and the second hand is 150 to 179 degrees.

[0029] The substrate transfer robot of the present invention is a first drive source and a second drive source that are concentric with the base plate and are displaced in the height direction. Preferably, the first drive source is provided, and the second drive source is provided above the first drive source.

[0030] The present invention is a substrate transfer robot, which projects on a base plate and is arranged along a predetermined rotation axis and can be individually rotated. A first drive arm extending in a radial direction from the first drive body; a second drive arm extending in a radial direction from the second drive body; and a first follower rotatably connected to a tip of the first drive arm. Supported by the arm and the second driven arm, the third driven arm and the fourth driven arm connected to the tip of the second drive arm, and the first driven arm and the third driven arm. And a second hand supported by the second driven arm and the fourth driven arm, and the first driving body and the second driving body are concentric with each other and are The first drive The moving arm is disposed closer to the base plate than the second driving arm, and the first driven arm and the second driven arm are concentric with respect to the tip of the first driving arm. The third driven arm and the fourth driven arm are connected in series, and are individually connected to the tip of the second drive arm by a parallel rotation shaft.

[0031] In the present invention as described above, the first drive body and the second drive body are arranged concentrically with each other, thereby suppressing the planar shape. Further, the first driven arm, the second driven arm, and the rotational connection of the tip of the first drive arm are also concentric, and this also suppresses the planar shape.

Here, since the connection between the first driven arm and the second driven arm and the tip of the first drive arm is concentric, the dimension in the height direction is increased. However, the first drive arm is arranged closer to the base plate than the second drive arm, and therefore the height dimension at the connecting portion of the first drive arm or the first driven arm and the second driven arm is larger. However, the overall height dimension of the base plate force is not easily affected. On the other hand, in the second drive arm separated from the base plate force, the third driven arm and the fourth driven arm that are pivotally connected to the tip of the second drive arm are individually connected by a parallel rotary shaft, so that the planar drive arm has a planar shape. Although the suppression effect is low, it is effective for reducing the overall size without impairing the above-described suppression effect of the height dimension on the first drive arm side.

In the substrate transfer robot of the present invention, the first driving body includes a first driving source, the second driving body includes a second driving source, and the first driving body is mounted on a base plate. It is desirable that the second driving body is installed in a stacked manner on the first driving body.

In the present invention, it is desirable to use a built-in drive source having a small size in the rotation axis direction, such as a direct drive type electric motor.

By using such a motor, the laminated structure of the base plate, the first driving body, and the second driving body as described above can be realized, and the conventional shaft or the second driving body can be used as the first driving body and the second driving body. A rotating shaft is not necessary, and the structure can be simplified.

[0033] In the substrate transfer robot of the present invention, the first hand and the second hand are rotated relative to each other so that the first hand and the second hand are moved to the rotation axis, respectively. In contrast, it is possible to move back and forth in the opposite radial direction, and it is desirable that the angle formed by the movement trajectory of the first hand and the movement trajectory of the second hand be in the range of 150 to 179 degrees.

In the present invention, each hand is expanded and contracted by rotating the first drive body and the second drive body in the opposite directions at the same speed. Then, by rotating them in the same direction at the same speed, the direction of each hand can be changed without changing the stretched state of each hand.

Here, if the angle formed by the first hand and the second hand is 180 degrees, the result is the same regardless of which direction it is rotated. However, since the angle on one side is smaller than 180 degrees as in the present invention, the required operating angle is reduced by actively using this small angle side when changing directions. As a result, the operation time can be shortened.

In the substrate transfer robot of the present invention, the first driving body and the second driving body are combined with each other. By rotating counterclockwise, the first hand and the second hand can move forward and backward in the opposite radial direction with respect to the rotational axis, respectively, and the first drive body and the second drive body are It is desirable to be able to operate at different rotational speeds.

In the present invention, the first driving body and the second driving body are operated in the same direction and at different rotational speeds, so that each hand is gradually expanded and contracted while changing the direction. be able to. In addition, by operating them at different rotational speeds in the opposite directions, the direction can be changed while mainly expanding and contracting each hand. As a result, the moving axis of each hand can be inclined with respect to the radial direction of each driving body, and can be applied to various transport operations.

The processing apparatus of the present invention is arranged on a transfer chamber having a square plane shape, a substrate transfer robot installed near the inner center of the transfer chamber, and each side wall surface of the transfer chamber. And a plurality of process chambers, wherein the transfer robot transfers a substrate by movement or combination in a radiation direction and a rotation direction with respect to a rotation center of the transfer robot. It is characterized by being able to.

Alternatively, the processing apparatus of the present invention includes a transfer chamber, a substrate transfer robot installed in the vicinity of the center inside the transfer chamber, and a plurality of side walls disposed on the side walls of the transfer chamber. A processing chamber, wherein the transfer chamber has a substantially quadrangular planar shape.

[0037] In the present invention as described above, when a large aluminum lump, which is generally used for manufacturing a processing apparatus, is cut out and formed by a processing machine, the shape of the transfer chamber is a square shape. Because it has a simple shape, it is extremely easy to carry out Xiao IJ. Furthermore, since the transfer chamber has a quadrangular shape, it is easy to arrange a plurality of transfer chambers in parallel, and it is easy to connect them via the connection processing chamber.

[0038] In the processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that two process chambers are provided on each side wall surface of the transfer chamber! /.

According to the present invention, the process chamber is attached in a direction in which the opening portion forms an angle with the radiation direction with respect to the rotation center of the transfer robot, and the substrate held by the transfer robot is delivered by performing linear and curved operations. be able to. [0039] In the processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of the transfer chambers are provided and a connection processing chamber for connecting the transfer chambers to each other is provided.

According to the present invention, more process chambers can be arranged by a plurality of transfer chambers. Then, by using the connection processing chamber, the substrate is temporarily placed in the connection processing chamber provided between the transfer chambers when the substrate is transported from one transfer chamber to the other transfer chamber. At this time, the substrate is heated or cooled by the substrate heating means or the cooling means provided in the connection processing chamber before and after performing various processes such as CVD and PVD in the other transfer chamber as the transfer destination. Thus, various processes can be performed promptly.

In the processing apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of connected processing chambers also serve as a substrate heating unit or a substrate cooling unit.

According to this invention, for example, the substrate can be heated by the heating means, or the substrate can be cooled by the cooling means.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a transfer chamber of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the transfer robot of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially broken perspective view showing the drive unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the hand and the rotation transmission means of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a modification of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a conventional transfer robot.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional transfer robot.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a conventional transfer robot.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a conventional processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

[0042] 1 Processing device

2 Transfer room

3 Board

4 Transfer robot 5 Side wall surface

6 Process chamber

7 Consolidated processing room

13 mouth-de, lock room

15 · ¾¾

柬 —One drive source

16 Dual drive source

17 One drive arm

18 Double drive arm

19 One Follower Arm

20 Second Follower Arm

21 Three followers

22 Fourth Follower Arm

23 -Nord

24 Ninond

25 base plate

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a processing apparatus 1 is a processing apparatus according to the present invention, and this processing apparatus 1 includes a transfer robot 4 according to the present invention.

Specifically, the processing apparatus 1 has two transfer chambers 2 (2a, 2b) inside. Each transfer chamber 2 has a square planar shape, that is, a quadrangle having the same length on all four sides. A side wall surface 5 is disposed on each side of each transfer chamber 2.

Inside each transfer chamber 2, a transfer robot 4 for transferring the substrate 3 is installed in the approximate center! The transfer robot 4 will be described in detail later.

[0044] A connection processing chamber 7 is disposed between the transfer chambers 2a and 2b, and a load lock chamber 13 is disposed between the transfer chamber 2a and a transfer device 8 (described later).

Further, two processing chambers (process chambers) 6 are arranged on each side of each transfer chamber 2a, 2b except for the side where the above-described connection processing chamber 7 or load lock chamber 13 is installed. Is placed.

In each process chamber 6, the substrate 3 is loaded into the inside by the transfer robot 4 (see FIG. 2), and various processes such as CVD can be performed on the loaded substrate 3.

In the connection processing chamber 7, a heating means for the substrate 3 is provided, and when the substrate 3 is transported from the transfer chamber 2a to the transfer chamber 2b, another substrate 3 is placed on the process chamber 6. The substrate 3 stored in the connection processing chamber 7 can be heated using time or the like.

A transfer device 8 is installed adjacent to the load lock chamber 13.

The transfer device 8 carries the substrate 3 into and out of the processing device 1, and is used to remove the lid of the pod 9 and a mounting table on which the pod 9 for carrying the substrate 3 is carried in the talen room. A load port 12 and a pod 9 internal force are also provided with a substrate transfer robot 14 that transfers the substrate 3 to the load lock chamber 13.

In FIG. 2, as described above, the transfer chamber 2 has a quadrangular shape, four side wall surfaces 5 are formed around the transfer chamber 2, and a process chamber 6 is installed on the outside thereof.

The side wall surface 5 is formed with an opening that communicates the inside of the process chamber 6 and the inside of the transfer chamber 2. This opening can be opened and closed by a vacuum nozzle (not shown). In the closed state, the inside of the process chamber 6 and the inside of the transfer chamber 2 are separated in an airtight state. On the other hand, when the opening is opened, the substrate 3 can be transferred from the transfer chamber 2 to the process chamber 6 by the transfer robot 4 or vice versa.

It should be noted that a circle indicated by a dotted line in the figure indicates a locus of the substrate 3 when the transfer robot 4 holds the substrate 3 and transfers the internal force to the process chamber 6 to another process chamber 6. In this transfer robot 4, by moving a first drive source 15 and a second drive source 16, which will be described later, at different speeds, each hand 23, 24 is linearly moved in a direction that forms a predetermined angle with respect to the radial direction. That's right.

For this reason, two process chambers 6 are arranged on each side of the transfer chamber 2, that is, the movement axes that enter and exit each process chamber 6 from the front are the center of the transfer chamber 2 and the central axis of the transfer robot 4, respectively. Even if it does not pass, the substrate 3 can be carried into each process chamber 6 with a frontal force. That is, the transfer robot 4 installed in the processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can transfer a substrate by radiation or movement in the rotation direction or a combination with respect to the rotation center of the transfer robot. Therefore, the substrate can be transferred even if the connecting portion (opening portion) of the processing chamber does not face in the radiation direction with respect to the rotation center of the transfer robot.

[0048] In the processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the transfer chamber 2 has a monolith structure in which a large aluminum lump is cut out by a processing machine and has a cavity or the like. At this time, the transfer chamber 2 has a quadrangular planar shape and a simple shape, so that it can be easily polished.

In addition, since the transfer chamber 2 has a quadrangular shape, it is easy to arrange a plurality of transfer chambers 2 in parallel and to continue them through the connection processing chamber 7. In addition, more process chambers 6 can be provided even if the foot space is smaller than the conventional polygonal (pentagonal or more polygonal) transfer chamber 2.

Furthermore, since the plurality of transfer chambers 2 can be connected in a vertical and horizontal order via the connection processing chamber 7, the layout of the factory (process) is facilitated.

Next, the substrate transfer robot 4 installed in the processing apparatus 1 will be described.

In FIG. 3, the transfer robot 4 of the present embodiment is a so-called frog redder type transfer port bot, which is fixed to the transfer chamber 2 of the processing apparatus 1 described above and transfers the substrate 3. .

A thin plate-shaped first drive source 15 is installed on the base plate 25, and a similar second drive source 16 is installed on the first drive source 15.

In FIG. 4, each of the first drive source 15 and the second drive source 16 includes an electric motor inside.

The base plate 25 is used to mount the first and second drive sources 15 and 16 on the inner bottom wall of the housing 28 of the transfer chamber 2. The base plate 25 is in contact with the flange portion of the base plate 25 and the inner bottom wall. A sealing member 27 for keeping the inside of the transfer chamber 2 airtight is installed between the two.

The central portion of the base plate 25 is a cylindrical portion 25a that also projects the opening force of the housing 28 to the outside (downward in the figure), and has a bottomed cylinder that protrudes to the inside (upward in the figure) of the housing 28 at the center. A partition wall 29 is formed. These sealing member 27, base plate 25, cylindrical portion 25a, partition wall 29 Thus, the vacuum region IV inside the housing 28 and the air region IA outside the housing 28 are shut off in an airtight state.

[0051] A fixed shaft member 32 is formed on the inner wall surface of the partition wall 29, and a plurality of armatures 30a and 30b and sensors 31a to 31d are arranged adjacent to each other in a ring shape on the fixed shaft member 32. Yes.

Around the fixed shaft member 32, rotating members 26a and 26b are installed.

Each of the rotating members 26a and 26b has a cylindrical portion and a flange portion formed on the outer periphery of the upper end thereof. This flange portion serves as a base plate 25 as the first drive source 15 and the second drive source 16 described above. It becomes a part exposed in a laminated state on the top.

The cylindrical portion of the rotating member 26a is rotatably supported on the base plate 25 via a bearing 33a. The cylindrical portion of the rotating member 26b is rotatably supported inside the rotating member 26a via a bearing 33b. As a result, the cylindrical portions of the rotating members 26a and 26b are arranged concentrically with each other, and are individually rotatable.

Each cylindrical part of the rotating members 26a and 26b is provided with a plurality of magnets 37a and 37b attached adjacent to each other in a ring shape. These magnets 37a and 37b and the above-described armatures 30a and 30b of the fixed shaft member 32 are arranged at positions facing each other to constitute a direct drive type electric motor.

Returning to FIG. 3, the first and second drive arms 17 projecting in the horizontal direction on the peripheral surfaces of the first and second drive sources 15 and 16 (flange portions of the rotating members 26a and 26b), respectively. , 18 is formed. In the present embodiment, the rotating member 26a to the first drive arm 17 are integrally formed, and the rotating member 26b to the second drive arm 18 are integrally formed.

A base end portion of the first driven arm 19 is rotatably connected to an upper portion near the distal end of the first drive arm 17, and a base end portion of the second driven arm 20 is further connected to the upper portion of the first driven arm 19. Are rotatably connected. Here, the rotatable connecting portions of the first and second driven arms 19, 29 are arranged concentrically with each other and can be individually rotated. The second driven arm 20 is rotatable in the region above the upper surface of the second drive source 16 (with a gap of several millimeters in this embodiment).

The upper part of the second drive arm 18 near the tip thereof has a third driven arm 21 and a fourth driven arm. The base end force of the drum 22 is connected to each other in a rotatable manner. The respective connecting positions are adjacent to each other, and the respective rotating shafts are arranged in parallel with each other, and are rotatable in substantially the same horizontal plane as that of the second driven arm 20 described above. The first driven arm 19 is partially bent in the height direction so that the first driven arm 19 and the third driven arm 21 are the same as the height region in which the first driven arm 19 rotates.

[0053] The first hand 23 is rotatably installed at the tip of the first and third driven arms 19, 21. A second hand 24 is rotatably installed at the distal ends of the second and fourth driven arms 20 and 22.

Each of the hands 23 and 24 has a tip portion formed into two forks, and has a concave portion corresponding to the substrate 3 on the upper surface side thereof. Then, the substrate 3 can be held in the recess, and can be moved back and forth and rotated in the same horizontal plane.

In this embodiment, the rotation center force of the first drive source 15 is also equal to the distance between the rotation axes of the driven arms 19 to 22 on the drive arms 17 and 18. The distance from the hand to the center of the support shaft is all equal, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0054] In this transfer robot 4, the forward and backward directions of the first hand 23 and the second hand 24 are directed in the radial direction from the rotation center of each drive source, and the directions of both hands 23 and 24 are less than 180 degrees. The angle is 175 degrees in this embodiment. For this reason, compared with a conventional transfer robot having an angle of 180 degrees, the rotation angle when transferring the substrate 3 is smaller, and the operation time for delivering the substrate 3 can be shortened.

In FIG. 5, the transfer robot 4 of the present embodiment includes a rotation transmission means 34 for adjusting the directions of the hands 23 and 24.

That is, in the transfer robot 4 of this embodiment, the drive arms 17 and 18, the driven arms 19 to 22, and the hands 23 and 24 form a substantially pentagonal link mechanism. As a result, the above-mentioned link mechanism moves forward and backward to move each hand 23, 24. At this time, if each of the hands 23 and 24 and each of the driven arms 19 to 22 are simply pivotably connected, the direction of each of the hands 23 and 24 is not constant and the substrate cannot be transported stably. Therefore, in this embodiment, the angle of the hand with respect to one driven arm and the other driven arm. Rotation transmission means 34 is provided to ensure that the angle with the hand is always equal.

The rotation transmitting means 34 supports the first hand 23 (second hand 24) in a rotatable manner at the distal end portions of the driven arms 19 (22), 21 (20). Here, pulleys are formed on the support shafts 35a and 35b that support the hand 23 (24), and two steel belts 36 are shifted in the height direction on the pulleys to form an S-shape and an inverted S-shape. The belts form a figure of 8 together. As a result, the amount of rotation of the support shaft 35a and the support shaft 35b with respect to the hand 23 (24) is controlled to be the same, that is, to be rotated by the same angle in the opposite directions, so I can keep it.

Such a rotation transmission means 34 is not limited to the steel belt 36 but may be replaced with a gear or other link.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

What is necessary is just to set suitably the material, dimension, shape, etc. of each part in embodiment mentioned above in the implementation of this invention.

For example, the transfer robot 4d in FIG. 6 is a person provided with three drive arms 17, 18a, and 18b, whereas the transfer robot 4 of the embodiment includes two drive arms 17 and 18. Specifically, the front end side of the drive arm 18 is divided into forks to form drive arms 18a and 18b.

With such a configuration, the angle formed by the hands 23 and 24 (the angle on the second drive arm 19 side) can be further reduced.

[0058] The transfer robot provided on the inner bottom wall of the transfer chamber in the present embodiment is provided with two driven arms concentrically with the drive arm attached to the lower drive source and the drive arm attached to the upper drive source. By providing two driven arms so that they can rotate in the same horizontal plane, the transportable range (maximum reach of the hand) can be increased, the operating range during rotation can be reduced, and the entire transport robot The height can be lowered.

As a result, the internal volume of the transfer chamber can be reduced, and the processing preparation time in various processing chambers can be shortened by shortening the time required for the inside of the transfer chamber to be in an atmosphere such as a vacuum. Also, when manufacturing the transfer chamber, it is smaller than the conventional size, so processing is highly accurate. It is easy and the cost is reduced.

[0059] The drive source of the transfer robot has a partition that hermetically separates the atmosphere side outside the transfer chamber and the vacuum atmosphere or inert gas atmosphere (hereinafter referred to as vacuum atmosphere) side inside the transfer chamber. By providing a stator on the atmosphere side and a rotor on the atmosphere side such as a vacuum, generation of dust in the vacuum atmosphere can be reduced.

Industrial applicability

The present invention can be used as a transfer robot and a processing apparatus for moving and processing a substrate under a highly clean environment, and can be used particularly for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer that is an electronic component or an LCD substrate.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] In a transfer robot that transfers substrates,

A first drive source having a pivot on the base plate;

A second drive source having a pivot axis concentrically with the pivot axis of the first drive source;

A first drive arm provided protruding from a side surface of the first drive source;

A second drive arm provided protruding from a side surface of the second drive source;

A first driven arm and a second driven arm that are concentrically and independently rotatable at the other end of the first drive arm;

A third driven arm and a fourth driven arm provided at the other end of the second drive arm so as to be rotatable in the same horizontal plane;

A first hand provided rotatably with the first driven arm and the third driven arm, and a second hand provided rotatable with the second driven arm and the fourth driven arm,

The first drive source and the second drive source can be rotated in different directions or in the same direction, so that the first hand and the second hand can be moved back and forth and rotated via each arm.

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[2] The substrate transfer robot according to claim 1,

By rotating the first drive source and the second drive source at different speeds, the first hand and the second hand are moved on a straight line that forms an angle with the radiation direction with respect to the rotation center of the first drive source. Can move

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[3] A substrate transfer robot according to claim 1 or claim 2,

The first hand and the second hand move forward and backward in the radiation direction with respect to the rotation centers of the first drive source and the second drive source,

The direction of travel of the first hand and the second hand is 150 to 179 degrees

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[4] The substrate transfer robot according to any one of claims 1 and 3, wherein:

Concentric on the base plate, A first drive source and a second drive source provided with a shifted position in the height direction, the first drive source provided on the upper part of the base plate,

A second drive source is provided above the first drive source.

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[5] A substrate transfer robot,

A first driving body and a second driving body which protrude on the base plate and are arranged along a predetermined rotation axis and are individually rotatable;

A first drive arm extending radially from the first drive body;

A second drive arm extending radially from the second drive body;

A first driven arm and a second driven arm rotatably connected to the tip of the first drive arm;

A third driven arm and a fourth driven arm rotatably connected to the tip of the second drive arm;

A first hand supported by the first driven arm and the third driven arm, a second hand supported by the second driven arm and the fourth driven arm, and

The first driving body and the second driving body are arranged concentrically and shifted from each other in the rotation axis direction, and the first driving arm is arranged closer to the base plate than the second driving arm. And

The first driven arm and the second driven arm are connected in series with a concentric rotating shaft with respect to the tip of the first drive arm,

The third driven arm and the fourth driven arm are individually connected to the tip of the second drive arm by a parallel rotation shaft.

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[6] The substrate transfer robot according to claim 5,

The first driver includes a first drive source, the second driver includes a second drive source,

The first driving body is installed on a base plate, and a second driving body is stacked on the first driving body. It is installed in layers

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[7] The substrate transfer robot according to claim 5 or claim 6,

By rotating the first drive body and the second drive body relative to each other, the first hand and the second hand can be moved forward and backward in the radially opposite direction with respect to the rotation axis. ,

The angle formed by the movement trajectory of the first hand and the movement trajectory of the second hand is in the range of 150 to 179 degrees.

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[8] The substrate transfer robot according to claim 5 or 7, wherein

The first driver and the second driver can be operated at different rotational speeds.

A substrate transfer robot characterized by that.

[9] A transfer chamber having a square shape in plan view,

A substrate transfer robot installed near the center of the inside of the transfer chamber;

A plurality of process chambers disposed on each side wall surface of the transfer chamber;

A processing apparatus comprising:

The transfer robot can transfer a substrate by movement or combination in the direction of rotation and rotation with respect to the rotation center of the transfer robot.

The processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

[10] A processing apparatus having a transfer chamber, a substrate transfer robot installed in the vicinity of the center inside the transfer chamber, and a plurality of process chambers arranged on each side wall of the transfer chamber. And

The transfer chamber has a substantially quadrangular planar shape.

The processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

[11] The processing apparatus according to claim 9 or claim 10,

Two processing chambers are provided on each side wall surface of the transfer chamber.

[12] The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 9 and 11, wherein

With a plurality of the transfer chambers,

Provided with a connected processing chamber for connecting the transfer chambers to each other.

The processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

[13] The processing apparatus according to claim 12,

The plurality of coupled processing chambers also serve as a substrate heating unit or a substrate cooling unit.