JP4774486B2 - Wafer transfer hand - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot hand for transporting a wafer such as a semiconductor wafer, that is, a substrate.

In a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, for example, an apparatus that grinds the surface of a wafer with a grindstone, a robot is used to transfer each wafer between a cassette on which a large number of wafers are loaded and a wafer chuck of a grinding table. Many of such robot hands are configured to hold and hold a wafer by sucking the wafer. Patent Document 1 discloses a robot hand having a rubber suction pad and a robot hand having a suction portion made of a porous material having air permeability. Patent Document 2 also discloses a robot hand configured using a porous material having air permeability.
JP-A-8-55896 JP 2000-183133 A

  In the cassette, a large number of wafers are stacked at a constant pitch, and the gap between the wafers is as narrow as a millimeter order (for example, about 5 millimeters). In order to be able to move wafers in and out of any position in the cassette, in particular to allow a same flow (removing the wafer from a position in the cassette and then returning it to the same position) In this case, the robot hand must be inserted into a narrow gap between the wafers without hitting the wafer. Particularly in the case of an articulated robot, the movement trajectory of the hand may become an arc due to an error, and thus a large clearance is required between the hand and the wafer. Therefore, the thickness of the hand must be considerably thinner than a narrow gap between wafers (for example, about 2 millimeters). However, it is difficult to make a hand with a conventional rubber suction pad or a hand with a porous material suction portion so thin.

  Further, the air passage for generating suction negative pressure inside the hand may become clogged with shavings from a wafer or a grindstone. Therefore, it is desirable that maintenance of the air passage is easy. However, in the conventional hand, since the air passage cannot be completely opened unless the hand is destroyed, the maintenance of the air passage is not easy. In particular, in the case of an air passage made of a porous material, its maintenance is more difficult. In the worst case, a hand with a clogged air passage must be replaced.

  Also, the surface of the chuck that adsorbs the wafer must always be parallel to the surface of the grindstone. In order to maintain this, sometimes a self-cut is applied to the wafer support surface of the chuck. The cutting depth of the wafer support surface of the chuck by one self-cut is, for example, about 100 to 200 μm. When self-cutting is performed, the wafer support surface of the chuck is retracted by the cutting depth, and the position where the robot should set the wafer on the chuck is also shifted. Also, the thickness of the wafer varies. Therefore, if re-teaching to the robot is not performed in a timely manner, the robot may drop the wafer at a position away from the chuck, or the wafer may be pressed too much against the chuck, resulting in damage to the wafer. However, every time re-teaching is performed, the operation of the wafer processing apparatus must be stopped, and the production efficiency decreases.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to make a wafer transfer hand very thin.

  Another object is to facilitate maintenance of the air passage in the hand.

  Another object is to enable the wafer transfer hand to be set on the wafer support surface of the chuck without damaging the wafer without re-teaching the robot each time the wafer chuck is self-cut.

  The wafer transfer hand according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a flat hand body having a wafer suction surface on at least one surface, and the hand body at a predetermined portion away from the wafer suction surface in the planar shape of the hand body. And a support device that supports the robot arm, and the support device elastically supports the hand main body with respect to the robot arm so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface.

  According to this wafer transfer hand, the hand main body has a flat plate shape, and is supported by the robot arm at a predetermined portion off the wafer suction surface in the planar shape. The part can be made thin enough so that it can be inserted into the gap between the wafers of the cassette. Since the hand body is elastically supported so that it can move in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface, it can be used to prevent variations in wafer thickness and changes in the position of the wafer support surface due to wafer chuck self-cutting. , Can be accommodated by that movement. Therefore, the wafer can be transferred to the wafer chuck without damaging the wafer without re-teaching the robot each time the wafer chuck is self-cut. As a result, the wafer processing apparatus can be operated continuously for a long time. Is possible.

  In the wafer transfer hand according to a preferred embodiment, the support device includes a first elastic device that applies a first elastic force to the hand body in a first direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface, and a direction opposite to the first direction. And a second elastic device that applies a second elastic force in the second direction. Then, in a state where no other external force is applied to the hand body, the hand body comes to rest at a predetermined position within a predetermined movable range due to the balance between the first elastic force and the second elastic force. Yes. Therefore, when an external force is applied to the wafer attracted to the hand main body and the hand main body moves in the direction perpendicular to the wafer attracting surface, the external force applied to the wafer is suppressed to be much weaker than the elastic force, so that the wafer is effectively Can protect.

  Further, in the wafer transfer hand according to a preferred embodiment, the hand main body includes a suction hole provided in the wafer suction surface, an air passage provided in the hand main body and connected to the suction hole, and one side of the hand main body. A lid that is provided on the surface and covers the air passage and is opened when the air passage is removed; and a cover that is attached to the surface of the one side of the hand body so as to cover the lid, And a sealing tape for sealing a surrounding gap. The sealing tape can be peeled off from the hand body without destroying the hand body.

  Thereby, by peeling off the sealing tape and removing the lid, the air passage can be easily opened, and maintenance of the air passage is easy. Moreover, since the thickness of the sealing tape may be very thin, it is easy to make the hand body very thin.

  Furthermore, in the wafer transfer hand according to a preferred embodiment, the hand main body is detachably attached to the support device. Therefore, the maintenance of the air passage of the hand body is easier. Furthermore, in the wafer transfer hand according to a preferred embodiment, when the hand body is attached to the support device, the positioning member provided in the support device contacts the hand body, so that the relative position of the hand body to the support device is It comes to be decided by itself. Therefore, assembly after disassembly for maintenance is easy.

  A wafer transfer hand according to another aspect of the present invention includes a flat hand body having a wafer suction surface, the hand body being provided with a suction hole provided in the wafer suction surface, and a suction hole provided in the hand body. An air passage connected to the surface of the hand body, a cover provided on one surface of the hand body, covering the air passage and opening the air passage when removed, and covering the cover on the surface of the hand body on one side And a sealing tape for sealing a gap around the lid of the air passage. The sealing tape can be peeled off from the hand body without destroying the hand body.

  According to this wafer transfer hand, maintenance of the air passage of the hand body is easy, and the life of the hand body is long.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is easy to make the wafer suction portion of the wafer transfer hand very thin, and the robot is re-teached every time the wafer chuck self-cuts. Even if it is not, it becomes easy to transfer the wafer to the wafer chuck without damaging the wafer.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, maintenance of the air passage in the wafer transfer hand is facilitated.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a top view of a wafer transfer hand according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the hand, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the hand. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the fingers of the hand along the line AA in FIG. The wafer transfer hand according to this embodiment is suitable for applications in which individual semiconductor wafers are transferred between a cassette on which a large number of wafers are loaded and a wafer chuck of a processing table in a wafer grinding apparatus or other wafer processing apparatus. is there.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a wafer transfer hand (hereinafter simply referred to as “hand”) 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hand body 13 and a heel block 15 to which the hand body 13 is attached. And a wrist bracket 17 to which a heel block 15 is attached. The wrist bracket 17 is fixed to a robot arm 19 (the main part is not shown in the figure and the tip is shown). The hand main body 13 is a thin plate-like member. In this specification, a portion 301 corresponding to a substantially central region in the planar shape of the hand main body 13 is referred to as “palm”, and is forward of the palm 301 (see FIG. Two parallel elongated portions 303 and 303 extending in the middle right direction) are referred to as “finger”, and a portion 305 corresponding to a region behind the palm 301 (left direction in the figure) is referred to as “heel”. As shown in FIG. 1, the main surface of one side of the palm 301 and the fingers 303, 303 of the hand main body 13 (upper surface in FIG. 2) is a wafer suction surface for sucking and holding and holding the semiconductor wafer 21. ing. The heel 305 of the hand main body 13 (that is, the portion of the planar shape of the hand main body 13 that is off the wafer suction surface) is inserted into the heel block 15 and fixed to the heel block 15. The heel block 15 and the wrist bracket 17 constitute a support device for supporting the hand main body 13 on the robot arm 19 with the heel 305. As will be described later, this support device elastically supports the hand main body 13 with respect to the robot arm 19 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the thickness of the hand main body 13 is very thin (for example, about 2 mm). Therefore, the hand main body 13 has a gap between the semiconductor wafers 21 and 21 loaded in a cassette (not shown) ( For example, it can be inserted into the semiconductor wafers 21 and 21 on both sides with a sufficiently large clearance (for example, about 1.5 mm). The heel 305 of the hand main body 13 is inserted into the heel block 15 and fixed to the heel block 15. As the material of the base body 327 of the hand body 13 (see FIG. 4), it is preferable to use a material having high rigidity and small specific gravity, for example, ceramics. The higher the rigidity is, the more difficult it is to deform even if it is very thin as described above, and the smaller the specific gravity, the smaller the inertial force of the movement, and the easier it is to control the movement. However, other materials such as aluminum or stainless steel can be used.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, two air passages 307 and 307 are formed in the hand body 13. These air passages 307 and 307 extend from the two fingers 303 and 303 to the heel 305 via the palm 301, respectively. As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, each air passage 307 includes a groove 329 formed in the lower surface side formed in the base body 327 of the hand body 13, and a recess formed around the lower surface side opening of the groove 329. The lid 323 is defined by a lid 323 that is fitted into the groove 331 and closes the lower surface side opening of the groove 329. As shown in FIG. 4, since each air passage 307 is a simple cavity, it is easy to make the hand main body 13 thinner than an air passage using a conventional porous material, and It is hard to clog the shavings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, suction holes 309 and 309 are opened at two locations corresponding to the tip portions of the air passages 307 and 307 on the upper surfaces of the fingers 303 and 303, respectively. Adsorption holes 311 and 311 are also opened at two locations corresponding to the central portions of the air passages 307 and 307 on the top surface of the palm 301, respectively. Connection holes 313 and 313 are respectively opened at two locations corresponding to the rear end portions of the air passages 307 and 307 on the upper surface of the heel 305, and the air passages 307 and 307 are connected to the heel by the connection holes 313 and 313, respectively. It is connected to one air passage 505 formed in the block 15. Within the heel block 15, the air passage 505 is connected to another air passage 507, and the air passage 507 is connected to a flexible air suction pipe (not shown) coming from the outside of the heel block 15. When the air in the air passages 307 and 307 is sucked by the external air suction pipe, negative pressure is generated in the suction holes 309, 309, 311, and 311 on the upper surface of the hand main body 13 to suck the semiconductor wafer 21. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 1, protective tapes 315, 315, 317, and 317 are attached to areas around the suction holes 309, 309, 311 and 311 on the upper surface (that is, the wafer suction surface) of the hand main body 13, respectively. Has been. The protective tapes 315, 315, 317, and 317 are affixed to the hand main body 13 with an adhesive force that can be removed without destroying the hand main body 13. The protective tapes 315, 315, 317, and 317 prevent the base made of a hard material of the hand main body 13 from directly contacting the semiconductor wafer 21 when the hand main body 13 sucks the semiconductor wafer 21. It has a role to protect. For this purpose, the material of the surface of the protective tapes 315, 315, 317, 317 should be softer than the material of the semiconductor wafer 21 and less likely to get dirty, such as fluorine resin or other suitable synthetic resin. Can do. It is desirable that the thickness of the protective tapes 315, 315, 317, 317 is much thinner (for example, about 0.1-0.2 mm) than the thickness of the hand body 13 (for example, about 2 mm). For example, Chuko Flow (registered trademark) adhesive tape provided by Chukoh Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. is suitable as the protective tapes 315, 315, 317, and 317.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and as described above, in the recesses 331 and 331 along the air passages 307 and 307 on the lower surface of the hand body 13 (that is, the surface opposite to the wafer suction surface), respectively. Lids 323 and 323 are fitted. These lids 323 and 323 block the lower surface side openings of the air passages 307 and 307 (grooves 329 and 329) over the entire length of the air passages 307 and 307. The thicknesses of the lids 323 and 323 are preferably much thinner (for example, about 0.2 to 0.3 mm) than the thickness of the hand body 13 (for example, about 2 mm). Further, a sealing tape 325 is attached to the entire lower surface of the hand body 13. The sealing tape 325 completely covers the above-described regions of the lids 323 and 323 and the surrounding region on the lower surface of the hand main body 13. The thickness of the sealing tape 325 is preferably much thinner (eg, about 0.1-0.2 mm) than the thickness of the hand body 13 (eg, about 2 mm). The sealing tape 325 prevents the lids 323 and 323 from falling off and seals the gap between the outer edges of the lids 323 and 323 so that air does not leak therefrom.

  The sealing tape 325 is affixed to the hand main body 13 with an adhesive force that can be removed from the hand main body 13 without destroying the hand main body 13. Therefore, the sealing tape 325 facilitates maintenance of the air passages 307 and 307. That is, if the sealing tape 325 is peeled off, the lids 323 and 323 can be removed, and the air passages 307 and 307 can be opened over the entire length. Therefore, when the air passages 307 and 307 are clogged, it is easy to open the air passages 307 and 307 to remove clogged debris.

  The material of the lids 323 and 323 has a high rigidity that can maintain a sufficient strength as a lid even if it is very thin as described above, and is a low-cost material that can be replaced without any problem, such as aluminum or Stainless steel is preferred. In addition, the material of the sealing tape 325 may be made of a material whose surface is softer than the material of the semiconductor wafer 21 and hardly gets dirty, and does not allow air to pass, such as a fluororesin or other suitable synthetic resin. it can. For example, the above-mentioned Chuko Flow (registered trademark) adhesive tape is also suitable as the sealing tape 325.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a window 319 that penetrates the hand main body 13 from the upper surface to the lower surface is formed at a predetermined position in the region of the hand main body 13 where the semiconductor wafer 21 is placed. As will be described later, the window 319 is used as a light beam passage hole for detecting whether or not the semiconductor wafer 21 exists in the vicinity of the upper surface (suction surface) of the hand main body 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the heel block 15 includes an upper block 501 and a lower block 503, and the upper block 501 and the lower block 503 are firmly connected to each other by bolting. A heel chamber 509 is formed in an upper portion facing the upper block 501 of the lower block 503, and the heel 305 of the hand main body 13 is accommodated in the heel chamber 509. By fastening the lower block 503 and the upper block 501 with bolts as described above, the heel 305 of the hand main body 13 is firmly sandwiched and fixed between the lower block 503 and the upper block 501 in the heel chamber 509. The Two positioning pins 511 and 511 are arranged at two predetermined positions at the rear of the heel chamber 509. Two corner portions at the rear end of the heel 305 of the hand main body 13 are provided with notches 321 and 321 recessed in a right-angled L shape. When the heel 305 is simply inserted deeply into the heel chamber 509, the positioning pins 511 and 511 in the heel chamber 509 come into contact with and engage with the corners of the notches 321 and 321 of the heel 305. The position of the hand body 13 with respect to the block 15 is determined to be a fixed position. The hand main body 13 can be easily removed from the heel block 15 by loosening the bolts connecting the lower block 503 and the upper block 501.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a sensor chamber 513 is formed below the heel chamber 509 in the lower block 503, and the wafer detection sensor 515 is fixed in the sensor chamber 513. Wafer detection sensor 515 is a reflective optical object sensor having a light projecting circuit and a light receiving circuit. The light projecting circuit of the wafer detection sensor 515 emits a light beam 527 in a predetermined direction passing through the window 319 of the hand body 13 from the lower surface side to the upper surface side. When the semiconductor wafer 21 exists in the vicinity of the upper surface of the hand main body 13 and is parallel to the hand main body 13, the light beam 527 from the light projecting circuit is reflected by the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 21, and the reflected beam 529 is The light is reflected by the wall 320 of the window 319 and enters the light receiving circuit of the wafer detection sensor 515. Thus, the wafer detection sensor 515 detects whether or not the semiconductor wafer 21 exists in the vicinity of the upper surface of the hand body 13. The output signal of the wafer detection sensor 515 is sent to the outside of the heel block 15 through a signal cable (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and as described above, in the upper block 501 of the heel block 15, an air passage 505 connected to the air passages 307 and 307 in the hand body 13 and the air passage 505 are connected. There is another air passage 507. The latter air passage 507 is connected to an air suction pipe (not shown) outside the heel block 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, rails 517 and 517 are respectively provided on the left and right outer surfaces of the upper block 501. These rails 517 and 517 are fitted in guide grooves 705 and 705 formed on the inner side surfaces of the left and right sides of the wrist bracket 17 in a state in which the rails 517 and 517 fit without sliding and are slidable. The rails 517 and 517 and the guide grooves 705 and 705 extend linearly in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface (suction surface) of the hand body 13. By sliding the rails 517 and 517 with respect to the guide grooves 705 and 705, the heel block 15 and the hand main body 13 fixed thereto are placed on the upper surface (suction surface) of the hand main body 13 with respect to the wrist bracket 17. Translate in the vertical direction, that is, up and down. As the heel block 15 translates in the vertical direction, the hand body 13 fixed to the heel block 15 also translates in the vertical direction.

  An upper jaw 519 that protrudes rearward is fixed to the back surface of the upper block 501, and a lower jaw 521 that similarly protrudes rearward is fixed to the rear surface of the lower block 503. The upper jaw 519 and the lower jaw 521 surround the wrist bracket 17 from both the upper and lower sides. A certain amount of space is provided between the upper jaw 519 and the wrist bracket 17, and a certain amount of space is also provided between the lower jaw 521 and the wrist bracket 17. Accordingly, the heel block 15 can move in the vertical direction with respect to the wrist bracket 17 by a distance corresponding to the distance between the upper jaw 519 and the wrist bracket 17 and the distance between the lower jaw 521 and the wrist bracket 17.

  In the upper jaw 519, a plurality of spring plungers 523, 523, 523 are provided. Due to the action of the spring built in the spring plungers 523, 523, 523, the distal ends of the spring plungers 523, 523, 523 protrude downward from the lower surface of the upper jaw 519 and come into contact with the upper surface of the wrist bracket 17. Pushing downward. A plurality of spring plungers 525, 525, 525 are also provided in the lower jaw 521. Due to the action of the spring built in the spring plungers 525, 525, 525, the distal ends of the spring plungers 525, 525, 525 protrude upward from the upper surface of the lower jaw 521 and come into contact with the lower surface of the wrist bracket 17. Pushing upwards.

  Therefore, in a state where no external force is applied to the hand main body 13, the hand main body 13 balances the elastic force from the upper plungers 523, 523, 523 and the elastic force from the lower plungers 525, 525, 525. It stops at the neutral position (as shown in FIG. 2, the position where the wrist bracket 17 is not in contact with either the upper jaw 519 or the lower jaw 521). When a downward or upward external force is applied to the hand body 13, the hand body 13 smoothly translates downward or upward. When the external force is removed, the hand body 13 automatically returns to the neutral position described above again.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the wrist bracket 17 includes a back frame 701 that is disposed on the back side of the heel block 15 and extends in the left-right direction, and the heel block 15 from both left and right ends of the back frame 701. It has two side wings 703 and 703 extending forward along the side surface. The two side wings 703 and 703 surround the heel block 15 from the left and right sides, and the above-described guide grooves 705 and 705 are formed on the inner side surfaces of the side wings 703 and 703, respectively. A back frame 701 is disposed between the upper jaw 519 and the lower jaw 521 of the heel block 15 described above, and is fixed to the robot arm 19.

  As described above, the heel block 15 can move relative to the wrist bracket 17 along the guide grooves 705 and 705 of the side wings 703 and 703 of the wrist bracket 17 in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface of the hand body 13. It is. The movable range is a range from a position where the upper jaw 519 of the heel block 15 hits the upper surface of the back frame 701 of the wrist bracket 17 to a position where the lower jaw 521 hits the lower surface of the back frame 701. In a state where no other external force is applied to the hand body 13, the balance between the downward elastic force from the spring plungers 523, 523 and 523 of the upper jaw 519 and the upward elastic force from the spring plungers 525, 525 and 525 of the lower jaw 521, The heel block 15 stops at a neutral position near the center of the movable range.

  According to the above-described configuration of the wafer transfer hand 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the air passages 307 and 307 in the hand main body 13 are not formed of a porous material but are formed as simple cavities. Further, as a sealing method for preventing air leakage from the air passages 307 and 307, a method in which a sealing tape 325 that is much thinner than the base body 327 of the hand main body 13 is applied to the surface of the hand main body 13 is employed. Further, a material having a high rigidity and a small specific gravity, such as ceramics, is used as the material of the base body 327 of the hand body 13. As a result, the hand main body 13 can be made very thin, for example, with a thickness of about 2 mm. Even when a joint robot is used in which the movement locus of the hand body 13 may become an arc due to an error, as shown in FIG. 2, the thin hand body 13 is loaded in a cassette (not shown). It is possible to suck and take out one semiconductor wafer 21 by being inserted into a narrow gap (for example, about 5 mm) between adjacent semiconductor wafers 21 and 21 without colliding with the semiconductor wafers 21 and 21.

  Further, according to the configuration of the hand main body 13 described above, maintenance of the air passages 307 and 307 is easy. That is, the hand main body 13 can be easily detached from the heel block 15 by loosening the connection between the upper block 501 and the lower block 503 of the heel block 15 by the bolts. And if the sealing tape 325 is peeled off from the surface of the hand main body 13, the lid | covers 323 and 323 can be removed and the air passages 307 and 307 can be opened over the full length. Therefore, it is easy to eliminate clogging of the air passages 307 and 307. After that, the air passages 307 and 307 are covered with the lids 323 and 323, and a new sealing tape 325 is affixed thereon. Then, the hand body 13 is inserted into the heel block 15, and the positioning pins 511 and 511 are put in the correct positions. The original wafer transfer hand 11 can be easily assembled by setting and rejoining and fixing the upper block 501 and the lower block 503 of the heel block 15. Therefore, the life of the wafer transfer hand 11 is very long.

  Further, according to the above-described configuration of the hand main body 13, the protective tapes 315, 315, 317, and 317 are also affixed to the contact surface with the semiconductor wafer 21, and the protective tapes 315, 315, 317, and 317 become dirty or scratched. If it is attached, it can be removed and replaced. Also in this respect, the maintenance of the hand main body 13 is easy, and the life of the wafer transfer hand 11 is long.

  Further, according to the above-described configuration of the wafer transfer hand 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the slide mechanism between the heel block 15 that supports the hand main body 13 and the wrist bracket 17 that is fixed to the tip of the robot arm 19. Thus, the hand main body 13 can move within a certain movable range with respect to the robot arm 19 in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface of the hand main body 13. In a natural state where no other external force is applied to the hand body 13, the hand body 13 can move by the balance of elastic forces in opposite directions from the spring plungers 523, 523, 523 and spring plungers 525, 525, 525 on both sides. It is stationary at the neutral position near the center of the range, and when an external force in the vertical direction is applied to the wafer suction surface, it can move forward or backward from the neutral position. To return to the neutral position. Thus, the hand body 13 is elastically supported at the neutral position and can move from the position in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface. Even if the position changes due to self-cutting, the semiconductor wafer 21 can be transferred to and from the chuck without damaging the semiconductor wafer 21 without re-teaching the robot. Since the re-teaching of the robot can be omitted, the wafer processing apparatus can be continuously operated over a long period of time.

  From this point of view, the distance at which the hand main body 13 can be retracted from the neutral position, that is, the distance 709 between the lower jaw 521 and the back frame 701 shown in FIG. It is preferable to set the dimension to be equal to or greater than the total cutting depth by a plurality of times of self-cutting. For example, when the cutting depth of the wafer support surface by one self-cut is about 100 to 200 μm, the retractable distance 709 is 0.5 to 0.5 corresponding to the total cutting depth for five self-cuts, for example. The dimension can be set to about 1 mm or more. By doing so, re-teaching of the wafer set position to the chuck to the robot can be omitted during the period when only the self-cut of the number of times or less is still performed. It should be noted that the distance that can be advanced from the neutral position of the hand body 13, that is, the distance 707 between the upper jaw 519 and the back frame 701 shown in FIG.

  Further, in this regard, the hand main body 13 has a one-way elastic force from one side spring plungers 523, 523, 523 and a reverse direction elastic force from the other side spring plungers 525, 525, 525. It is supported in the neutral position due to the balance with. Therefore, when the hand main body 13 moves backward or forward from the neutral position, the force that the hand main body 13 pushes back is when the spring plunger is provided only on one side (that is, only the upper spring plunger 523, 523, 523, Compared to the case where only the lower spring plungers 525, 525, and 525 exist, the force is much weaker. Therefore, when the hand main body 13 presses the semiconductor wafer 21 against, for example, a chuck, the hand main body 13 moves backward without applying a large stress to the semiconductor wafer 21, and the semiconductor wafer 21 is effectively protected.

  As described above, maintenance of the hand main body 13 is easy, and teaching to the robot can be omitted, so that downtime due to maintenance and teaching of the wafer processing apparatus is reduced, and production efficiency is improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this embodiment is only the illustration for description of this invention, and is not the meaning which limits the scope of the present invention only to this embodiment. The present invention can be implemented in various other modes without departing from the gist thereof.

It is a top view of the hand for wafer conveyance concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the hand. It is a bottom view of the hand. It is sectional drawing of the finger of the same hand along the AA line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Wafer transfer hand 13 Hand main body 15 Heel block 17 Wrist bracket 19 Robot arm 21 Semiconductor wafer 21 Semiconductor wafer 301 Palm 303 of hand main body 13 Finger 305 of hand main body 13 Heel 307 of hand main body 13 Air passages 309 and 311 Adsorption hole 313 Connection Holes 315, 317 Protective tape 319 Window 320 Wall 323 Lid 325 Sealing tape 327 Base 329 Groove 331 Recess 501 Upper block 503 of the heel block 15 Lower block 503 of the heel block 15 Block 503 Lower block 505, 507 Air passage 509 Heel chamber 511 Positioning pin 513 Sensor chamber 515 Wafer detection sensor 517 Rail 519 Upper jaw 521 Lower jaw 523, 525 Spring plunger 527 Light beam 529 Reflected beam 701 Back frame 703 of wrist bracket 17 Side wing 705 of wrist bracket 17 Guide groove 707 Interval (advanceable distance)
709 interval (retractable distance)

Claims (6)

A flat hand body (13) having a wafer suction surface on at least one surface;
A support device (15, 17) for supporting the hand main body (13) on a robot arm (19) at a predetermined portion (305) that is off the wafer suction surface in the planar shape of the hand main body (13); With
The support device (15, 17)
A first elastic device (523) for applying a first elastic force to the hand body (13) in a first direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface;
A second elastic device (525) for applying a second elastic force to the predetermined portion (305) of the hand body (13) in a second direction opposite to the first direction;
Have
The hand body (13) is elastically supported to the robot arm (19) so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface ,
In a state where no other external force is applied to the hand main body (13), the hand main body (13) is in a predetermined position within a predetermined movable range due to a balance between the first elastic force and the second elastic force. The wafer transfer hand (11) is designed to be stationary . A flat hand body (13) having a wafer suction surface on at least one surface;
A support device (15, 17) for supporting the hand main body (13) on a robot arm (19) at a predetermined portion (305) that is off the wafer suction surface in the planar shape of the hand main body (13); With
The support device (15, 17) elastically supports the hand body (13) with respect to the robot arm (19) so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the wafer suction surface ,
The hand body (13) can be moved in the vertical direction up to a predetermined distance (709), and the predetermined distance is equal to or greater than a cutting depth by at least one self-cut of the wafer chuck;
A wafer transfer hand (11) used for delivering a wafer to a wafer chuck of a wafer processing apparatus . In the wafer conveyance hand (11) according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The wafer transfer hand (11) is used to deliver a wafer to a cassette loaded with a plurality of wafers (21).
A wafer transfer hand (11) in which the thickness of the hand body (13) is thinner than the gap between adjacent wafers (21, 21) in the cassette. In the wafer conveyance hand (11) according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The hand body (13)
Suction holes (309, 311) provided on the wafer suction surface;
An air passage (307) provided in the hand body (13) and connected to the suction holes (309, 311);
A lid (323) provided on one side surface of the hand body (13), covering the air passage (307) and opening the air passage (307) when it is removed;
A sealing tape that is attached to the surface of the one side of the hand body (13) so as to cover the lid (323) and seals the gap around the lid (323) of the air passage (307). (325)
The wafer transfer hand (11) in which the sealing tape (325) can be peeled off from the hand body (13) without destroying the hand body (13). In the wafer conveyance hand (11) according to claim 4 ,
A wafer transfer hand (11) in which the hand body (13) is detachably attached to the support device (15, 17) at the predetermined portion (305). In the wafer conveyance hand (11) according to claim 5 ,
The support device (15, 17) is
When the hand body (13) is attached to the support device (15, 17), the hand body (13) is in contact with the support device (15, 17) by contacting the hand body (13). Positioning member for determining position (511)
A wafer transfer hand (11) having:

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