WO2013027605A1

WO2013027605A1 - Conveyance mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2013027605A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/070439
Authority: WO
Inventors: 阿部　純一
Original assignee: 東京エレクトロン株式会社
Priority date: 2011-08-25
Filing date: 2012-08-10
Publication date: 2013-02-28
Also published as: JP2013045912A; TW201326013A

Abstract

A conveyance mechanism (24, 64) for conveying an item to be processed is provided with: arm parts (26, 28, 66, 68) which can move elastically and in rotation or slidably; pick parts (30, 32, 70, 72) which are provided at the tip of the arm parts and mount the item to be processed; and a plurality of holding members (34) which are provided in the pick parts, abut the rim of the item to be processed, swing or rotate due to the weight of the item to be processed and hold the item to be processed.

Description

Transport mechanism

The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for transporting an object to be processed.

In general, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device or the like, various processes such as a film forming process, an etching process, an oxidative diffusion process, and a reforming process are performed on an object to be processed such as a plate-shaped semiconductor wafer such as a silicon substrate or a glass substrate This process is repeated. For example, a single-wafer processing apparatus will be described as an example. A plurality of single-wafer processing apparatuses for performing various kinds of processing around a transfer chamber which is formed into a polygonal shape and is in a vacuum state is connected. A processing system is configured.

Then, the semiconductor wafer taken from the outside is transferred between the processing apparatuses by, for example, an articulated transfer mechanism provided in the transfer chamber, so that the processing apparatus performs various processes on the wafer. (Patent Document 1). In this case, for example, the transfer mechanism can be bent and stretched and turned, and a pick portion for holding the wafer is provided at the tip of the multi-joint arm, and the multi-joint arm is bent and stretched and swung. It is designed to be conveyed (Patent Documents 2 and 3).

The pick part is formed as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, for example. FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B are diagrams showing an example of a general pick portion provided in a conventional transport mechanism. Here, a plan view and a side view of two types of pick portions are shown. In the case shown in FIG. 10A, a plurality of, specifically, three support pins 4 are arranged on the same circumference on the upper surface of the bifurcated pick portion 2, and the semiconductor wafer W is placed on the support pins 4. It supports the peripheral part of the back surface.

In the case shown in FIG. 10B, a plurality of, specifically four, conical support pins 6 are arranged on the same circumference on the upper surface of the bifurcated pick portion 2, and the support pins 6 The lower surface edge portion of the peripheral edge portion of the wafer W is supported on this slope.

JP 2009-293069 A JP 2000-003951 A JP 2001-203251 A

By the way, further improvement in throughput is required with the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor devices and high-speed operation. For this reason, the operation speed at the time of transporting a semiconductor wafer is further improved to shorten the entire process time. Is requested.

However, in the conventional transfer mechanism as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, since the holding force with respect to the wafer W is weak, the acceleration with respect to the wafer W increases when the turning speed or transfer speed of the wafer W is increased. As a result, there is a problem that the wafer W slips with respect to the

support pins

4 and 6 to cause a positional shift or fall off the pick portion 2.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention resides in a transport mechanism capable of holding and transporting a target object by its own weight.

In order to solve the above-described problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, in a transport mechanism for transporting an object to be processed, an arm unit capable of bending and stretching and turning or sliding, and provided at a tip of the arm unit, the A pick part for placing the object to be processed, and a plurality of parts that are provided in the pick part and are in contact with a peripheral part of the object to be processed, swing or rotate by the weight of the object to be processed, and hold the object to be processed A holding mechanism is provided.

The object to be processed can be held and transported by its own weight.

It is a schematic plan view which shows an example of the general processing system provided with the conveyance mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the processing system shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the pick part of the conveyance mechanism which concerns on one Embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view showing movement of a holding member provided in a pick part concerning one embodiment. It is a figure which shows the rocking | fluctuation piece of the holding member which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the rocking | fluctuation piece of the holding member which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 1st modification of a rocking | fluctuation piece. It is a figure which shows the 2nd modification of a rocking | fluctuation piece. It is a figure which shows the 3rd modification of a rocking | fluctuation piece. It is a figure which shows the 3rd modification of a rocking | fluctuation piece. It is a figure which shows the 4th modification of a rocking | fluctuation piece. It is a figure which shows an example of the general pick part provided in the conventional conveyance mechanism. It is a figure which shows an example of the general pick part provided in the conventional conveyance mechanism.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a transport mechanism according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a general processing system provided with a transport mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the processing system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the movement of the holding member provided in the pick part, FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing the swinging piece of the holding member, FIG. 5A is a perspective view, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view. In FIG. 2, a processing apparatus 14A is shown as a representative of the four processing apparatuses 14A to 14D, and a mounting table 22A is provided therein. A load lock device 20A is shown as a representative of the two

load lock devices

20A and 20B.

First, an example of a processing system including a transport mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processing system 12 includes four

processing apparatuses

14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D that can be evacuated. As these processing apparatuses 14A to 14D, all processing apparatuses performed in a vacuum atmosphere such as a film forming process and an etching process are applied. These processing apparatuses 14A to 14D are connected through a gate valve G around a hexagonal transfer chamber 16 that can be evacuated. Further, the processing system 12 includes

load lock devices

20A and 20B for transferring the semiconductor wafer W as an object to be processed while maintaining the vacuum in the transfer chamber 16, and both loads The

locking devices

20A and 20B are connected to the transfer chamber 16 via gate valves G, respectively.

In each of the processing apparatuses 14A to 14D, mounting tables 22A to 22D for mounting the semiconductor wafer W are provided. The transfer chamber 16 is provided with a first transfer mechanism 24 according to an embodiment of the present invention that can be bent and stretched to transfer the semiconductor wafer W, and is provided between the processing apparatuses 14A to 14D. In addition, the semiconductor wafer W can be transferred between these and the

load lock devices

20A and 20B.

Specifically, the first transport mechanism 24 includes a pair of

arm portions

26 and 28 that can be bent and extended as described above, and a pick portion 30 provided at the tip of each

arm portion

26 and 28. , 32 and a holding member 34, which is a feature of one embodiment of the present invention, provided in these

pick portions

30, 32. The semiconductor wafer W is held on the

pick units

30 and 32 and can be transferred as described above.

The

arm portions

26, 28 respectively connect the

first arms

26A, 28A, the

second arms

26B, 28B, and the

third arms

26C, 28C in series so that they can be bent and extended. Each

pick part

30 and 32 is connected to the tip. The base end portions of the

arm portions

26 and 28 are attached to a common turntable 36 so as to be turnable. Accordingly, by bending and extending the

arm portions

26 and 28, the whole can be moved forward and backward. The transfer chamber 16 has a reduced-pressure atmosphere of an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. The holding member 34 will be described later.

Further, holding stands 38A and 38B for temporarily holding the semiconductor wafer W are provided in the

load lock devices

20A and 20B, respectively. The two

load lock devices

20A and 20B are configured in exactly the same manner. Here, the configuration of one load lock device 20A will be described.

First, the load lock device 20A has a load lock container 39 formed into a box shape from, for example, an aluminum alloy. The holding table 38A provided in the load lock container 39 is attached to the upper end of the support column 40 standing up from the container bottom. Here, the holding table 38A is formed in a thick disk shape that is slightly larger than the size of the semiconductor wafer W. The holding table 38A is provided with a lifter mechanism 42 that lifts and lowers the semiconductor wafer W when the semiconductor wafer W is loaded and unloaded.

Specifically, the lifter mechanism 42 includes three (only two in the illustrated example) lifting pins 44, and the lower end of each lifting pin 44 is shared by a lifting plate 46 formed in an arc shape. It is supported by. The elevating plate 46 is supported by the upper end of an elevating rod 48 provided through the container bottom, and the elevating rod 48 can be raised and lowered by an actuator 50. Further, a metal bellows 52 that can be expanded and contracted is provided in the penetrating portion of the elevating rod 48 in order to allow the elevating rod 48 to be raised and lowered while maintaining airtightness in the load lock container 39.

The holding base 38 </ b> A is provided with a pin insertion hole 54 through which the elevating pin 44 is inserted, and the elevating pin 44 is moved up and down when the semiconductor wafer W is loaded / unloaded, from the pin insertion hole 54. It can be infested. A gas inlet 56 is provided at the bottom of the load lock container 39. From this gas inlet 56, for example, N 2 soot gas can be supplied as an inert gas as required.

Further, an exhaust port 58 is provided at the bottom of the container, and the atmosphere in the load lock container 39 can be evacuated through the exhaust port 58. In the load lock container 39, a vacuum atmosphere and an atmospheric pressure atmosphere are repeatedly realized as the wafer is transferred. In addition, a horizontally long load module 60 is attached to the opposite side of the

load lock devices

20A and 20B via gate valves G, respectively. A cassette (multiple wafers) can be stored on one side of the load module 60 ( There is provided an I / O port 62 on which (not shown) is placed. The load module 60 is provided with a second transport mechanism 64 that can be bent and stretched.

Specifically, the second transport mechanism 64 is configured in the same manner as the first transport mechanism 24, and includes a pair of

arm portions

66 and 68 that can be bent and stretched, and each arm portion. The

pick parts

70 and 72 provided at the tips of 66 and 68 and the holding member 34 that is a feature of the embodiment of the present invention provided in the

pick parts

70 and 72 are mainly configured. The semiconductor wafer W is held on the

pick units

70 and 72 and can be transferred as described above.

The

arm portions

66, 68 respectively connect the

first arm

66A, 68A, the

second arm

66B, 68B, and the

third arm

66C, 68C in a flexible manner in series. Each pick

part

70, 72 is connected to the tip. The base end portions of the

arm portions

66 and 68 are attached to a common turntable 74 so as to be turnable. Accordingly, the

arm portions

66 and 68 are bent and extended so that the whole can move forward and backward.

Further, the second transport mechanism 64 is movable along the guide rail 75 in the longitudinal direction. At one end of the load module 60, an orienter 76 for aligning and directing the semiconductor wafer W is provided. Before the semiconductor wafer W is loaded into the processing apparatuses 14A to 14D, the semiconductor wafer W is here. Are aligned and oriented. The inside of the load module 60 is made into an atmospheric pressure atmosphere by nitrogen gas or clean air.

<Processing device>
Here, each processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The processing apparatus 14A includes a processing container 80 formed into a box shape from, for example, an aluminum alloy. The mounting table 22A provided in the processing container 80 is attached to the upper end of a support 82 standing up from the bottom of the container. A heating means 84 such as a resistance heater is embedded in the mounting table 22A so that the semiconductor wafer W mounted on the mounting table 22A can be heated to a predetermined temperature. Yes. In addition, a lifter mechanism 86 for moving the semiconductor wafer W up and down when the semiconductor wafer W is loaded and unloaded is provided on the mounting table 22A.

Specifically, the lifter mechanism 86 has three (only two in the illustrated example) lifting pins 88, and the lower ends of the lifting pins 88 are shared by a lifting plate 90 formed in an arc shape. It is supported by. The elevating plate 90 is supported by the upper end of an elevating rod 92 provided through the bottom of the container, and the elevating rod 92 can be moved up and down by an actuator 94. In addition, a metal bellows 96 that can be expanded and contracted is provided in the penetrating portion of the elevating rod 92 to allow the elevating rod 92 to be raised and lowered while maintaining airtightness in the processing container 80.

The mounting table 22 </ b> A is provided with a pin insertion hole 98 for inserting the elevating pin 88. When the semiconductor wafer W is carried in and out, the elevating pin 88 is moved up and down. It can be infested. In addition, a gas supply unit 100 including, for example, a shower head is provided on the ceiling portion of the processing container 80 so as to supply necessary gas into the processing container 80. This gas supply means 100 is not limited to a shower head.

An exhaust port 102 is provided at the bottom of the container, and an exhaust unit 104 having a pressure adjusting valve and a vacuum pump is connected to the exhaust port 102 in order to exhaust the atmosphere in the processing container 80. The pressure can be adjusted while evacuating the atmosphere in the container 80. In the processing apparatus 14A thus formed, for example, a film forming process is performed.

Further, as the other processing apparatuses 14B to 14D, processing apparatuses corresponding to various processes to be performed on the semiconductor wafer W are used as necessary, and a plasma processing apparatus can also be used. Further, as described above, the transfer chamber 16 connected to each of the processing apparatuses 14A to 14D can supply an inert gas such as N 2 soot gas, and the internal atmosphere can be evacuated. During operation, it is always maintained in a vacuum atmosphere.

<Pick part holding member>
Here, the holding member 34 which is a feature of the embodiment of the present invention provided in each of the

pick parts

30, 32, 70, 72 of the first and

second transport mechanisms

24, 64 is also referred to FIGS. I will explain. Since each holding member 34 has the same structure, here, a pick unit 30 provided on the arm unit 26 of the first transport mechanism 24 as a representative of the pick unit will be described as an example.

The entire bifurcated pick part 30 attached to the tip of the third arm 26C of the arm part 26 is formed of a ceramic material such as aluminum, aluminum alloy, stainless steel, quartz, alumina, or the like. The thickness of the pick part 30 is about 2 to 6 mm. A plurality of, for example, four, holding members 34 are provided on the upper surface side of the pick portion 30. The holding members 34 are distributed and arranged so as to correspond to the peripheral edge of the wafer W held by the pick unit 30.

The holding member 34 is in contact with the peripheral edge of the wafer W, and swings by its own weight to hold the peripheral edge of the wafer. Specifically, the holding member 34 includes a swinging piece 108 that is partly housed in a receiving part 106 (see FIG. 4) provided in the pick part 30 and supported so as to be swingable. It has a receiving portion 110 provided at a part of the swing piece 108 and having a predetermined opening angle θ for coming into contact with the peripheral portion of the wafer W.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the swing piece 108 is entirely formed in a columnar shape, and a part of the columnar shape is cut out in a sectional fan shape. 110 is formed. The receiving part 110 is composed of a receiving surface 110A having an opening angle θ as described above. Support shafts 112 are provided so as to protrude from both ends of the swing piece 108 including the receiving portion 110 and having a cylindrical shape. The support shaft 112 is provided so as to protrude from the center of the circular end surface of the swing piece 108. The support shaft 112 is rotatably supported by a pair of support protrusions 114 provided upright from the upper surface of the pick section 30. As a result, the swing piece 108 is supported so as to be rotatable or swingable.

Here, the accommodating portion 106 is formed in a concave shape so that the cross section has an arc shape, and accommodates the lower end portion of the swing piece 108 in a non-contact manner. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the center of gravity G1 of the swing piece 108 is located at a position eccentric to the opposite side of the support shaft 112 from the position of the receiving portion 110. Therefore, in a free state where no load is applied to the swing piece 108, the center of gravity G1 is located directly below the support shaft 112 and the receiving portion 110 is opened upward as shown in FIG. 4A. Will stop at. This state is the initial position.

When the wafer W descends with respect to the receiving portion 110, the swing piece 108 is pushed by the wafer W and rotates (swings) by a predetermined angle as shown in FIG. The peripheral surface (edge portion) of the wafer W is supported by the receiving surface 110A of the portion 110 and can be held by its own weight. In this case, the opening angle θ of the receiving portion 110 is, for example, 90 to 150 degrees so that the lower surface of the wafer W does not contact the upper surface of the pick portion 30 and the peripheral edge portion of the wafer W is surely captured. Is preferably within the range of 120 to 140 degrees. Further, here, a stopper member 116 for stopping the rotation of the swinging piece 108 that holds and swings the wafer W is provided.

The stopper member 116 includes a stopper groove 16A formed along the outer periphery of the swing piece 108 and a stopper provided so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the accommodating portion 106 of the pick portion 30 into the stopper groove 116A. The protrusion 116B is included. The stopper groove 116A is set to a predetermined length along the swing direction or the rotation direction of the swing piece 108. When the stopper groove 116A rotates by a predetermined angle, the stopper projection 116B hits the end of the stopper groove 116A and the swing piece 108A. The rotation is stopped. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4B, the lower surface of the wafer W is positioned slightly above the upper surface of the pick unit 30. That is, here, the length of the stopper groove 116A is set such that at least the swing piece 108 can rotate from the state shown in FIG. 4A to the state shown in FIG. 4B. . The stopper groove 116A may be provided on the accommodating portion 106 side, and the stopper protrusion 116B may be provided on the swinging piece 108 side.

Here, as the material of the swing piece 108 and the support shaft 112, aluminum, aluminum alloy, ceramic such as alumina, quartz, resin typified by Teflon (registered trademark) or polyvinyl chloride, Vespel (registered trademark), or the like is used. be able to. The swing piece 108 has a diameter of about 5 to 10 mm and a length of about 5 to 10 mm. Note that a bearing may be provided on the side of the support protrusion 114 that receives the support shaft 112 so that the swing piece 108 can smoothly rotate (swing).

<Description of operation>
Next, the operation in the processing system 12 configured as described above will be described. First, an unprocessed semiconductor wafer W is taken into the load module 60 by the second transfer mechanism 64 from a cassette container (not shown) installed in the I / O port 62, and the taken-in semiconductor wafer W is taken. Is transferred to an orienter 76 provided at one end of the load module 60, where it is positioned and oriented. The semiconductor wafer W is made of, for example, a silicon substrate.

The semiconductor wafer W that has been positioned is transferred again by the second transfer mechanism 64 and is transferred into one of the two

load lock devices

20A and 20B. After the load lock device is evacuated, the semiconductor wafer W in the load lock device is taken into the transfer chamber 16 by using the first transfer mechanism 24 in the transfer chamber 16 that has been evacuated in advance.

Then, the unprocessed semiconductor wafer taken into the transfer chamber 16 is sequentially transferred to the processing apparatuses 14A to 14D by the first transfer mechanism 24 as necessary, and predetermined in each of the processing apparatuses 14A to 14D. Will be processed. For example, the semiconductor wafer W is subjected to a film formation process, an etching process, an oxidative diffusion process, or the like.

The semiconductor wafer W that has been processed after all the various processes to be performed in this manner is performed by the first transfer mechanism 24 in one of the two

load lock apparatuses

20A and 20B. It is carried in. After the inside of the vacuum load lock device containing the processed semiconductor wafer W is returned to atmospheric pressure, the semiconductor wafer W in the load lock device is moved into the load module 60 using the second transfer mechanism 64. It is taken in again and further accommodated in a cassette container (not shown) for processed semiconductor wafers in the I / O port 62. Transfer of the wafer W between the pick portions of the

transfer mechanisms

24 and 64 and the mounting tables 22A to 22D or the holding tables 38A and 38B is performed by moving the wafer W up and down by the vertical movement of the lifting pins 44 and 88. .

Here, the situation when the wafer W is transferred using the first and

second transfer mechanisms

24 and 64 will be described. As described above, the operations of the holding members 34 in the

pick portions

30, 32, 70, 72 of the first and

second transport mechanisms

24, 64 are the same, and therefore, here, the first transport mechanism 24 is the same as described above. The pick part 30 provided in one arm part 26 will be described as an example.

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the wafer W is not placed on the pick unit 30 and the wafer W is positioned above the pick unit 30, the swing piece 108 of the holding member 34. Is in an initial position in which the receiving portion 110 stops upward. In this case, the center of gravity G1 of the swing piece 108 is positioned below the support shaft 112 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the portion immediately below the end portion (edge portion) of the wafer W corresponds to the inside of the receiving portion 110 opened at a predetermined angle θ.

In this state, when the lift pins 88 or 44 are lowered (FIG. 4 is not shown) and the wafer W is lowered, the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the wafer W opens at a predetermined opening angle θ of the swing piece 108. When the wafer W comes into contact with the vicinity of the front end of the receiving portion 110 and is further lowered, each swinging piece 108 rotates inward as shown by an arrow 120 in FIG. 4B with the support shaft 112 as a fulcrum. Or go rocking. Then, when the stopper projection 116B of the stopper member 116 comes into contact with one end of the stopper groove 116A, the rotation of the swing piece 108 is stopped and the state shown in FIG. In this way, finally, as shown in FIG. 4B, the peripheral portion of the wafer W is held by the receiving surface 110 </ b> A of the receiving portion 110.

That is, the peripheral portion of the wafer W is supported by the receiving surface 110 </ b> A of the receiving portion 110 due to its own weight. At this time, as described above, the rotation of the swinging piece 108 is stopped by the stopper projection 116B of the stopper member 116, and the lower surface of the wafer W does not reach the upper surface of the pick unit 30, and the gap L1 slightly smaller than this. (See B in FIG. 4).

As described above, since the peripheral portion of the wafer W is held by the receiving portion 110 of the swing piece 108, when the wafer W is transported by turning or bending the arm portion 26, this operation is performed at a high speed. Even if it goes, it is possible to prevent the wafer W from being displaced relative to the pick unit 30 or from jumping out. Accordingly, the throughput can be improved by the amount that can increase the transfer speed of the wafer W. In other words, the swing piece 108 is pressed and fixed to the stopper projection 116B by its own weight, so that the wafer W is securely held by the receiving portion 110 of the swing piece 108. It is in the state. Further, when the wafer W is held in contact with the swinging piece 108 of the pick unit 30, the swinging piece 108 is swung so that there is no rubbing between them. As a result, the generation of particles is suppressed. be able to.

Although the pick unit 30 has been described here, the wafer W is similarly held by the holding member 34 under its own weight in the

other pick units

32, 70, 72 as described above. When the wafer W is transported to the destination and the wafer W is lifted upward by the lift pins 44 or 88, the swing piece 108 swings by its own weight in the direction opposite to the arrow 120 in FIG. Or it will rotate and it will return to the initial position as shown to A of FIG.

Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, in the transfer mechanism for transferring the object to be processed, for example, the semiconductor wafer W, the object to be processed is provided on the plurality of holding members 34 provided in the

pick units

30, 32, 70, 72. , The holding member 34 can be swung by its own weight to hold the peripheral edge of the object to be processed. Therefore, since the object to be processed is held by its own weight, the object to be processed can be transported at a high speed, and the throughput can be improved accordingly.

In the above-described embodiment, the support shaft 112 is positioned at the center of the circle including the receiving portion 110 on the end face of the swing piece 108. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the support shaft 112 is shifted to the center of gravity G1 side. The support shaft 112 may be provided eccentrically.

Further, in the above embodiment, the support shaft 112 is supported by the support protrusion 114 (see FIG. 5B) raised from the upper surface of the pick portion 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the swing piece shown in FIG. As shown in the first modified embodiment, the housing portion 106 of the pick portion 30 is deeply cut into a concave shape and supported on the side wall of the pick portion 30 that partitions the housing portion 106 so as to be freely rotatable (swingable). May be.

Further, in the above embodiment, the swing piece 108 is formed in a columnar shape including the receiving portion 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the receiving portion is similar to the second modified embodiment of the swing piece shown in FIG. 110 may be formed into a spherical shape. That is, in this case, the receiving surface 110A is provided by forming the receiving portion 110 having a predetermined opening angle θ on a part of the sphere. Then, the support shaft 112 is provided so as to protrude along the receiving portion 110 toward, for example, the diameter direction of the sphere.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, each support shaft 112 is provided so as to protrude outward from the swing piece 108, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the support shaft 112 is provided on the support protrusion 114 side or the pick portion 30. It is also possible to provide a recess that protrudes from the side and inserts the tip of the support projection 114 into the swing piece 108 so as to be swingably supported.

Further, it may be configured as shown in the third modified embodiment of the swing piece shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. 8A shows a cylindrical swing piece, and FIG. 8B shows a spherical swing piece. In this case, each swing piece 108 is provided with a through hole 124 that extends to the opposite side corresponding to the portion where the support shaft 112 is provided, and a long support shaft that extends through the through hole 124 to the opposite side. The swinging piece 108 is swingably or rotatably supported by inserting 112. In this case, both ends of the support shaft 112 are fixed to the support protrusion 114 and the pick part 30 side. Also in this case, the same effect as the previous embodiment can be exhibited.

In each of the above embodiments, the support shaft 112 is provided on the swing piece 108. However, when the swing piece 108 is cylindrical, as shown in the fourth modification of the swing piece shown in FIG. The support shaft may not be provided. That is, in this case, the accommodating portion 106 is formed slightly deep so that half or more of the cylindrical swing piece 108 in the cross-sectional direction can be accommodated in the accommodating portion 106. An annular portion is formed around the swing piece 108 accommodated in the storage portion 106 so that the opening of the storage portion 106 is narrowed at the peripheral portion of the storage portion 106 in order to prevent the swing piece 108 from popping out. A pop-out prevention ring 122 formed in the above is provided. The pop-out prevention ring 122 is fixed to the pick portion 30 side that partitions the housing portion 106. The inner diameter of the pop-out prevention ring 122 is set to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the swing piece 108, and prevents the swing piece 108 from popping out as described above.

In this case, the bottom portion of the accommodating portion 106 is formed in an arc shape larger than the circular shape of the swing piece 108, and the swing piece 108 has the arc-shaped bottom portion with the receiving portion 110 facing upward. It will swing or rotate up. Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the arm portion of the

transport mechanisms

24 and 64 has been described by taking as an example a structure in which a plurality of arms are connected so as to be able to bend and stretch. The arm portion can also be applied to this embodiment.

As described above, according to the configuration of the transport mechanism according to the embodiment and the modified example, the following excellent operational effects can be exhibited. In other words, in the transport mechanism that transports the object to be processed, by placing the object to be processed on the plurality of holding members 34 provided in the pick unit, the holding member 34 swings or rotates due to the weight of the object to be processed. The peripheral part of a process body can be hold | maintained. Therefore, since the object to be processed is held by its own weight, the object to be processed can be transported at a high speed, and the throughput can be improved accordingly.

As described above, the transport mechanism for transporting the object to be processed has been described with reference to the embodiments and the modified examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modified examples, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. Variations and improvements are possible.

For example, in the above embodiment, the semiconductor wafer is described as an example of the object to be processed. However, the semiconductor wafer includes a silicon substrate and a compound semiconductor substrate such as GaAs, SiC, and GaN, and is not limited to these substrates. The present invention can also be applied to glass substrates, ceramic substrates, and the like used in liquid crystal display devices.

This international application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-183236 filed on August 25, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

24

1st conveyance mechanism

26, 28, 66, 68

Arm part

26A,

28A 1st arm

26B, 28B

2nd arm

26C, 28C

3rd arm

30,32,70,72 Pick part 34 Holding member 64 2nd conveyance Mechanism 106 Accommodating portion 108 Swing piece 110 Receiving portion 110A Receiving surface 112 Support shaft 114 Support protrusion 122 Pop-out prevention ring W Semiconductor wafer (object to be processed)

Claims

In a transport mechanism for transporting a workpiece,
An arm that can bend and stretch and turn or slide; and
A pick part provided at the tip of the arm part for placing the object to be processed;
A plurality of holding members that are provided in the pick portion and are in contact with a peripheral portion of the object to be processed, swing or rotate by the weight of the object to be processed, and hold the object to be processed;
A transport mechanism comprising:
Each of the plurality of holding members is provided in a part of the swing piece, and a swing piece that is partly housed and supported in a swingable or rotatable manner in a storage part provided in the pick part. 2. The transport mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: a receiving portion formed at a predetermined opening angle so as to contact the peripheral portion of the object to be processed and hold the object to be processed.
3. The transport mechanism according to claim 2, further comprising a stopper member that stops the rotation of the swinging piece that swings or rotates while holding the object to be processed.
3. The transport mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the swing piece is swingably or rotatably supported by the pick unit by a support shaft.
5. The transport mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the support shaft is supported by a support protrusion provided upright on an upper surface of the pick portion.
An annular pop-out prevention ring fixed to the pick portion is provided at a peripheral portion of the housing portion in order to prevent the swing piece from popping out at a peripheral portion of the swing piece. The transport mechanism according to claim 2.
The opening angle of the receiving part is set within a range of 90 to 150 degrees so that the lower surface of the object to be processed does not contact the upper surface of the pick part when the object to be processed is held. The transport mechanism according to claim 2.
The position of the center of gravity of the swing piece is set so that the swing piece swings or rotates to return to the initial state when the object to be processed is separated from the swing piece. The transport mechanism according to claim 2.
3. The transport mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the swing piece is formed into a spherical shape or a cylindrical shape including a portion of the receiving portion.