JP3707832B2 - Method for transferring object to be processed and method for manufacturing semiconductor - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for storing a plurality of objects to be processed in a carrier, transporting them between manufacturing processes, taking out a specific object to be processed from the carrier in a predetermined manufacturing process, and a semiconductor manufacturing method. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a plurality of wafers are transferred to a predetermined manufacturing process while being stored in a carrier, and a wafer to be processed in the manufacturing process is taken out of the carrier and transferred to another carrier. Thus, processing in the manufacturing process is performed. The transfer of the wafer from the carrier for processing to the carrier for processing is performed by an ID recognition transfer for reading an identification number (ID) attached to the wafer from taking out the wafer and further transferring the wafer to a predetermined position. It is done by the machine.
[0003]
Conventionally, when transferring a wafer by this ID recognition transfer machine, first, the wafer stored at the end of a plurality of wafers stored in a carrier for transfer is taken out, The identification number of the taken-out wafer is read, and if it matches the identification number of the wafer to be transferred, it is transferred to a predetermined transfer destination (processing carrier or the like). On the other hand, if the identification numbers do not match, the taken wafer is returned to the original storage position, and the next wafer is taken out to determine whether or not the identification numbers match.
[0004]
In this way, the wafers are sequentially taken out from the end of the carrier, and the wafers are repeatedly taken in and out until the identification number matches the identification number of the wafer to be transferred.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a method for transferring an object to be processed, the tact time becomes longer as the number of objects to be processed stored in a carrier such as a wafer increases, leading to a decrease in productivity. . In other words, when the object to be processed is taken in and out from the end of the carrier until the identification numbers of the objects to be transferred match, the corresponding object to be processed is stored closer to the opposite end. In some cases, it takes a long time to transfer the object to be processed. Therefore, it aims at providing the transfer method of the to-be-processed object which can transfer to-be-processed object accurately in the short time of this invention.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is a method for transferring an object to be processed, which is made to achieve the above object. That is, the present invention transports a carrier containing a plurality of objects to be processed between manufacturing processes, takes out a specific object to be processed from the carrier when the carrier is transported to a predetermined manufacturing process, This is a method of transferring to a position, and is attached to a storage position and a plurality of objects to be processed, which indicate in which position each object to be processed is stored in the carrier after a manufacturing process immediately before a predetermined manufacturing process. The correspondence with the identified identification number is stored as position information, and when the carrier is transported from the immediately preceding manufacturing process to the predetermined manufacturing process, the transfer target is determined based on the previously stored position information. The storage position in the carrier corresponding to the identification number of the target object to be processed is read out, and the target object stored in the read storage position is taken out.
[0007]
Next, when the identification number attached to the taken-out object to be processed matches the identification number of the object to be transferred, the taken-out object is transferred to a predetermined position as it is, If they do not match, predetermined mismatch processing is performed. The present invention is also a semiconductor manufacturing method including the transfer method as described above.
[0008]
In such a method for transferring the object to be processed, when a specific object to be processed is taken out from the carrier, the object to be transferred is based on the positional information on the storage position of the object to be processed in the carrier in the stage that has undergone the previous manufacturing process. It is read out in which position of the carrier the object to be processed is stored. For this reason, it becomes possible to take out the object to be transferred directly from the carrier without taking the object in order from the end of the carrier.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the method for transferring an object to be processed according to the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. That is, according to the transfer method of the present invention, a carrier containing a plurality of objects to be processed is conveyed to a predetermined manufacturing process, where a specific object to be processed is taken out using an ID recognition transfer machine and transferred to a predetermined position. It is a method to put. In carrying out this transfer, the present invention is characterized in that it uses position information indicating the storage position of the object to be processed in the carrier at the stage after the manufacturing process immediately before the manufacturing process.
[0010]
First, as shown in step S1, the lot number of the transfer source is read. In a normal manufacturing process, since a plurality of objects to be processed are transported and processed together, production management is performed using this single batch as a lot. In step S1, a process of reading a lot number indicating a lot as a transfer source is performed. Next, a process of reading the transfer source carrier number and the transfer destination carrier number shown in step S2 is performed. From this reading, information for associating the relationship between the object to be processed and the carrier of the target lot is obtained.
[0011]
Next, as shown in step S3, the position information and transfer information of the object to be processed in the carrier of the lot read earlier are downloaded from the database for production management. The position information of the object to be processed stores the correspondence between the storage position of the object to be processed in the carrier and the identification numbers assigned to the plurality of objects to be processed in the stage immediately before the predetermined manufacturing process. It is table data and is rewritten sequentially as the manufacturing process progresses. The transfer information is information in which an identification number of a target object to be taken out from the carrier is registered.
[0012]
Next, as shown in step S4, the identification number of the object to be transferred is read from the transfer information, and the storage position of the object to be processed is read from the position information. In this process, the storage position in the position information that matches the identification number registered in the transfer information is searched and output.
[0013]
Subsequently, as shown in step S5, a process of taking out the object to be processed from the storage position obtained in the previous step S4 is performed. That is, the position information stores the storage position of the object to be processed at the stage after the previous manufacturing process, and is transported to a predetermined manufacturing process as it is (without changing the storage position of the object to be processed). For example, a specific object to be processed can be accurately taken out based on the position information.
[0014]
Then, in the next step S6, a process of reading the identification number attached to the object taken out from the carrier by the ID recognition device is performed. In the next step S7, it is determined whether or not the extracted object to be processed is correct. As described above, if the storage state at the stage after the immediately preceding manufacturing process is maintained, the object to be processed that is taken out based on the position information must be consistent with the object to be transferred. Become. However, if the object to be processed is replaced regardless of the position information for some reason, even if the object to be processed is taken out based on this position information, the object to be transferred is the object to be transferred. It may not be.
[0015]
Therefore, in step S7, it is determined whether or not the identification number of the object read in the previous step S6 matches the identification number registered in the transfer information. If they match, the determination in step S7 results in Yes, and the process proceeds to step S8, where the extracted object is transferred to a predetermined transfer destination. Further, after the transfer, information “empty” is written in a portion corresponding to the storage position of the extracted object to be processed in the position information.
[0016]
On the other hand, if the identification number assigned to the extracted object to be processed and the identification number registered in the transfer information do not match, the extracted object to be processed is not a transfer object. Accordingly, the determination in step S7 is No, and the mismatch process in step S9 is performed. As the mismatch processing, for example, the taken-out object to be processed is returned to the original storage position, and a part corresponding to the storage position in the position information is rewritten with an accurate identification number (read identification number). Then, it is determined whether or not the identification number of the extracted object to be processed matches with other registered identification numbers in the transfer information, and if there is a match, the extracted object to be processed is transferred without returning it. The processing to be described is performed.
[0017]
Then, in step S10, it is determined whether or not all the transfers have been completed. If not completed, the process returns to step S4 to perform the next transfer process, and if completed, the transfer process is terminated. By such an operation, even when a plurality of objects to be processed are stored in the carrier, a process for finding an object to be transferred by inserting and removing the objects in order from the end. Without performing, it is possible to take out the object to be transferred in a short time and transfer it to the target position.
[0018]
【Example】
Next, specific examples of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the first embodiment (part 1), and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the first embodiment (part 2). FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment (part 1), and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the second embodiment (part 2). In both the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the object to be processed is a wafer, and a plurality of wafers are stored in a carrier for transport and transported to a predetermined manufacturing process, where they are identified by an ID recognition transfer machine. In this example, the wafer is taken out and transferred to a processing carrier. First, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0019]
FIG. 2 shows position information A in which correspondence is stored between the carrier storage position (carrier position) and the identification number (wafer number) assigned to the wafer after the previous manufacturing process, and the transfer target. The transfer information B in which the wafer number of the wafer is registered, and the actual storage position C indicating the correspondence between the carrier position in the actual carrier and the wafer number at the stage where the wafer is transported to a predetermined manufacturing process are shown. ing. The database stores the position information A and the transfer information B, and the actual storage position C indicates the actual storage state at the stage of transport, and is stored particularly in the database. It is not what you have.
[0020]
In the first embodiment, first, the wafer “W-3” registered in the transfer information B is transferred. This wafer number “W-3” corresponds to the carrier position “6” in the position information A, and the wafer of “W-3” has passed through the last manufacturing process and the carrier position “6” in the carrier. It can be seen that it is stored.
[0021]
Therefore, the wafer stored in the carrier position “6” is taken out from the carrier that has been transported to a predetermined manufacturing process by the ID recognition transfer machine. After removal, the identification number attached to the wafer is optically read, for example, and it is confirmed whether or not this is the wafer number “W-3” of the wafer to be transferred. As shown in the actual storage position C, since the wafer “W-3” is stored in the carrier position “6”, the confirmations coincide with each other. Transfer to
[0022]
After the transfer, “empty” is written in the portion corresponding to the carrier position “6” in which “W-3” was stored, as shown in the position information A1 in FIG. Record that it is empty.
[0023]
Next, the wafer having the transfer information B “W-6” shown in FIG. 2 is transferred. In this case, the carrier position “4” in which the wafer number “W-6” is recorded in the position information A1 shown in FIG. 3 is read and stored in the carrier position “4” by the ID recognition transfer machine. Remove the wafer. However, the wafer number “W-2” is stored in the carrier position “4” of the actual storage position C, and the ID recognition transfer machine reads the wafer number “W-2”.
[0024]
Since the read wafer number “W-2” is different from the wafer number “W-6” of the wafer to be transferred, it is understood that the wrong wafer is taken out by the ID recognition transfer machine. In the first embodiment, when the read wafer number does not match the wafer number of the wafer to be transferred, a process of returning the taken out wafer to the original storage position is performed as a mismatch process.
[0025]
Then, the wafer number corresponding to the carrier position “4” that is the original storage position is rewritten to the actually read wafer number “W-2”. Furthermore, since the wafer number “W-2” is actually stored in the carrier position “4”, the wafer number “W-2” corresponding to the carrier position “2” in the position information A1. Is wrong, and the wafer number “W-2” is rewritten to “W-?” To create position information A2. That is, at this stage, the wafer number of the wafer stored in the carrier position “2” is unknown, and “W−?” Is written to indicate this.
[0026]
Next, in the first embodiment, the wafer with the next wafer number “W-8” in the transfer information B is transferred. In this case, the carrier position “5” in which the wafer number “W-8” is recorded in the position information A2 is read, and the wafer stored in the carrier position “5” is taken out by the ID recognition transfer machine.
[0027]
As shown in the actual storage position C, since the wafer with the wafer number “W-8” is stored in the carrier position “5”, it is assumed that the correct wafer has been taken out, and the wafer is loaded into the carrier for predetermined processing. Transport. Then, after transferring the wafer, “empty” is written in the portion corresponding to the carrier position “5”, and the position information A3 shown in FIG. 3 is created.
[0028]
Next, since the transfer of the wafer with the wafer number “W-6” has not been performed in the previous process, the transfer of the wafer is performed again. That is, it was found that the wafer number “W-2” was actually stored in the carrier number “4” that was supposed to be stored in the previous process. Therefore, the wafer number “W-2” is recorded in the position information A and A1, and “W−?” Which is no longer known at the present stage (position information A2 and A3) is stored. The wafer stored in the carrier position “2” is taken out by the ID recognition transfer machine.
[0029]
As shown in the actual storage position C, the wafer with the wafer number “W-6” is stored in the carrier position “2”. That is, the wafer number of the wafer thus taken out coincides with the wafer number of the wafer to be transferred, and the wafer is transferred to a processing carrier. Then, “empty” is written in the portion corresponding to the carrier position “2”, and the position information A4 shown in FIG. 3 is created.
[0030]
If the wafer number of the wafer stored at the carrier position where “W-?” Is recorded does not match the wafer number of the wafer to be transferred, the actual wafer read is read. The number is written in the position of “W−?”. Then, the portion corresponding to the other carrier position where the read actual wafer number is recorded is newly set as “W-?”, And then the wafer at this carrier position is taken out. By sequentially repeating such processing, it becomes possible to reliably take out a wafer to be transferred.
[0031]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows position information A ′, transfer information B ′, and actual storage position C ′ used in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, first, the wafer with the wafer number “W-3” is transferred. That is, the wafer stored in the carrier position “6” in which the wafer number “W-3” is recorded based on the position information A ′ is taken out by the ID recognition transfer machine, and the wafer number attached to the taken-out wafer. Read.
[0032]
As shown in the actual storage position C ′, since the wafer number “W-3” is stored in the carrier position “6”, the wafer number of the removed wafer and the wafer number of the wafer to be transferred are stored. And the correct wafer is taken out, the wafer is transferred to the carrier for processing as it is. Then, the portion corresponding to the carrier position “6” shown in the position information A ′ is set to “empty”, and the position information A ′ 1 shown in FIG. 5 is created.
[0033]
Next, the wafer with the transfer information B ′ “W-6” shown in FIG. 4 is transferred. In this case, the carrier position “4” in which the wafer number “W-6” is recorded in the position information A′1 shown in FIG. 5 is read and stored in the carrier position “4” by the ID recognition transfer machine. Take out the wafer. However, as shown in the actual storage position C ′, the wafer with the wafer number “W-2” is stored in the carrier position “4”.
[0034]
The ID recognition transfer machine reads the wafer number “W-2” of the taken-out wafer, determines that it does not match the wafer number “W-6” specified previously, and performs a predetermined mismatch process. In the second embodiment, it is determined whether or not the read wafer number “W-2” exists in the transfer information B ′ before returning the wafer taken out first to the original storage position as the mismatch processing. to decide. That is, when a plurality of wafer numbers are registered in the transfer information B ′, a wafer taken out by mistake is actually registered in the transfer information B ′ as another transfer target. In some cases.
[0035]
Since the wafer number “W-2” of the taken-out wafer exists in the transfer information B ′, the wafer taken out at the stage where this is found is switched to the wafer transfer process of the wafer number “W-2”. The wafer taken out by the recognition transfer machine is transferred to the transfer destination corresponding to the wafer number “W-2”. Then, “empty” is written in the portion corresponding to the carrier position “4” in the position information A′1, and “W−?” Is written in the portion where the wafer number “W-2” of A′1 is recorded. .
[0036]
At this stage, since the transfer of the wafer numbers “W-3” and “W-2” has been completed, the transfer process of the wafer of the wafer number “W-6” that could not be taken out in the previous process is performed again. . In order to transfer the wafer having the wafer number “W-6”, the wafer stored in the carrier position “2” in which “W-?” Of the position information A′2 is recorded is taken out.
[0037]
The ID recognition transfer machine takes out the wafer stored in the carrier position “2” and reads the wafer number attached to the wafer. As shown in the actual storage position C ′ in FIG. 4, since the wafer number “W-6” is stored at the carrier position “2”, the read wafer number and the wafer number to be transferred are stored. Will match. As a result, the ID recognition transfer machine performs processing for transferring the wafer taken out as it is to the transfer destination of wafer number “W-6”. Then, “empty” is written in the portion corresponding to the carrier position “2” of the position information A′2, and the position information A′3 is created.
[0038]
If the wafer number of the wafer stored at the carrier position where “W-?” Is recorded does not match the wafer number of the wafer to be transferred, the actual wafer read is read. The number is written in the position of “W−?”. Then, the portion corresponding to the other carrier position where the read actual wafer number is recorded is newly set as “W-?”, And then the wafer at this carrier position is taken out. By sequentially repeating such processing, it becomes possible to reliably take out a wafer to be transferred.
[0039]
As described above, when the wafer number of the taken-out wafer does not match the wafer number of the wafer to be transferred and “W-?” Is recorded in the position information, this “W-?” Is described. There is a high probability that the wafer to be transferred is stored at the carrier position. Therefore, by taking out the wafer stored in the carrier position corresponding to “W-?” In the next process, the wafer to be transferred can be accurately taken out in a short time.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the method for transferring an object to be processed according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, in the present invention, since the storage position of the target object to be transferred is read based on the position information regarding the storage position of the target object in the carrier, a plurality of target objects are stored in the carrier. Even in such a case, the object to be processed can be accurately taken out and transferred to a predetermined position in a short time. Thereby, it is possible to shorten the transfer work time in the manufacturing process, and to shorten the turnaround time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 1) for explaining the first embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a diagram (part 1) for explaining a second embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining the second embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
A Position information B Transfer information C Actual storage position

Claims (3)

A method of transporting a carrier containing a plurality of objects to be processed between manufacturing processes, taking out a specific object to be processed from the carrier when the carrier is transported to a predetermined manufacturing process, and transferring it to a predetermined position Because
A storage position that indicates in which position each object to be processed is stored in the carrier in a stage that has undergone a manufacturing process immediately before the predetermined manufacturing process, and an identification number assigned to the plurality of objects to be processed Remember the correspondence as location information,
At the stage where the carrier is transported from the immediately preceding manufacturing process to the predetermined manufacturing process, the identification number of the target object to be transferred corresponds to which storage position in the carrier based on the position information. And take out the object to be processed stored in the read storage position,
Next, when the identification number attached to the extracted object to be processed is read by the recognition device, and the identification number read by the recognition device matches the identification number of the object to be transferred The processed object taken out as it is is transferred to the predetermined position, and when it does not match, as a predetermined mismatch processing, the taken out processed object is returned to the original storage position and the storage position of the position information The corresponding identification number is replaced with the identification number attached to the extracted object to be processed, and the object to be processed is later taken out to the storage position of the position information where the replaced identification number was originally attached. To transfer the object to be processed. A method of transporting a carrier containing a plurality of objects to be processed between manufacturing processes, taking out a specific object to be processed from the carrier when the carrier is transported to a predetermined manufacturing process, and transferring it to a predetermined position Because
A storage position that indicates in which position each object to be processed is stored in the carrier in a stage that has undergone a manufacturing process immediately before the predetermined manufacturing process, and an identification number assigned to the plurality of objects to be processed Remember the correspondence as location information,
At the stage where the carrier is transported from the immediately preceding manufacturing process to the predetermined manufacturing process, the identification number of the target object to be transferred corresponds to which storage position in the carrier based on the position information. And take out the object to be processed stored in the read storage position,
Next, when the identification number attached to the extracted object to be processed is read by the recognition device, and the identification number read by the recognition device matches the identification number of the object to be transferred The processed object taken out as it is is transferred to the predetermined position, and when there is a mismatch, if there is a plurality of processed objects to be transferred, the extracted processed object is returned. Before determining whether the identification number assigned to the object to be processed is among the identification numbers of a plurality of objects to be transferred, and if there is, the extracted object to be processed The body is transferred to a predetermined position on the target object to be transferred with the matching identification number. If not, the extracted target object is returned to the original storage position and the storage position of the position information A corresponding identification number is attached to the extracted object to be processed. Transferring method of the object, characterized in that to replace the that identification number. A carrier in which a plurality of objects to be processed are transported between manufacturing processes, a specific object to be processed is taken out from the carrier when the carrier is transported to a predetermined manufacturing process, and transferred to a predetermined position. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor comprising:
A storage position that indicates in which position each object to be processed is stored in the carrier in a stage that has undergone a manufacturing process immediately before the predetermined manufacturing process, and an identification number assigned to the plurality of objects to be processed Remember the correspondence as location information,
At the stage where the carrier is transported from the immediately preceding manufacturing process to the predetermined manufacturing process , the identification number of the target object to be transferred corresponds to which storage position in the carrier based on the position information. And take out the object to be processed stored in the read storage position,
Then, when the matching reading an identification number assigned to the target object extracted in the recognition device, and the identification number of the object of interest placing transfer the recognition number read by the recognition device is The object to be processed taken out is transferred to the predetermined position, and when it does not match, as a predetermined mismatch process,
a: Returning the extracted object to be stored to the original storage position, replacing the identification number corresponding to the storage position of the position information with the identification number assigned to the extracted object to be processed, and then replacing the identification Go to take out the object to be stored in the position information storage position where the number was originally attached.
b: When there are a plurality of objects to be transferred, a plurality of objects to be transferred are those that match the identification number given to the object before returning the extracted objects to be processed. Judgment whether or not it is within the identification number of the body, and if there is, the transferred object to be transferred is transferred to a predetermined position on the object to be transferred with the matching identification number To return the object to be processed to the original storage position and replace the identification number corresponding to the storage position of the position information with the identification number attached to the object to be extracted.
Any one of the above. A method for producing a semiconductor, comprising:

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