JPS5928940B2 - Wafer holding device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a wafer holding device.

In an ion implanter, a carrier containing a large number of wafers is introduced into a vacuum chamber, where the wafers are pulled out one by one from the carrier and sent to the ion implantation position, where they are held at that position. Ions are then implanted into the wafer.

Conventionally, to hold the wafer at the ion implantation position, horse-shaped holding plates were fixed to the surface of the holding substrate at intervals corresponding to the thickness of the wafer, and the wafer was removed from the carrier by a lift. One wafer is fed into the gap between the holding board and the holding plate, the outer edge of the wafer is held by the holding plate, and the receiving claw sent out from the bottom back surface of the holding board is used to hold the wafer. I was trying to catch the bottom end of the first one. According to this, since the wafer is held only by the outer peripheral edge of the wafer and the surface is exposed, ion implantation can be conveniently performed without any problem. However, since such a holding device uses a horseshoe-shaped presser plate, the diameter of the horseshoe portion must be selected in accordance with the diameter of the wafer to be held. However, since there are several types of wafers with different diameters, it is necessary to prepare in advance a holding device having a holding plate specifically for each wafer diameter, which is extremely inconvenient. The object of this invention is to make it possible to hold wafers regardless of their size. An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. A pair of guide arms 2A and 2B are installed on the surface IA of the holding substrate 1 so as to be swingable about shafts 3A and 3B, and a roller is attached to the free end of the guide arms 2A and 2B. 4A and 4B are rotatably supported.

Further, rollers 6A and 6B that can be raised and lowered are arranged along grooves 5A and 5B that extend in the vertical direction. Back side 1 of holding board 1
B has a swinging arm 8 that can swing freely around the shafts 7A and 7B.
A and 8B are installed, and a holding roller 9 is installed at the free end.
A and 9B are rotatably supported. Swing arm 8A, 8
One end of the active arms 10A, 10B is pivotally connected to the middle of the shaft B, and the other end is integrally pivotally connected to the passive shaft 11. The passive shaft 11 is held movably up and down by a bearing 12, and its upper end shaft head 13 is in contact with a roller 16 installed on a cylinder arm 115 of a cylinder 14 (for hydraulic or pneumatic use). The swinging arms 8A, 8B are rotated toward the inside of the holding substrate 1 by the elasticity of the return springs 17A, 17B, but when the wafer is not fed, the cylinder 14 is Since the cylinder arm 115 is moved downward, the passive shaft 11 is in the lowered position and the lice acting arm 1 is lowered.
0A and 10B are in a state in which swinging arms 8A and 8B are pushed open against the elasticity of return springs 17A and 17B toward the outside of holding board 1. Also, at this time, the guide arms 2A, 2B swing downward due to their own weight as shown in FIG. 21, and further swinging is stopped by the pins 18A, 18B.
It is convenient if each roller is formed as a grooved roller as shown in the figure, as the peripheral edge of the wafer being fed will fit into the groove of the roller and will not easily fall off, as will be described later. In the above configuration, 1 ejected from the carrier
The wafers 20 are lifted up parallel to the surface of the holding substrate 1 from below the holding substrate 1 while being supported at the lower end by the lift 21.

Since the rollers 39A and 9B are located outside the ascending path of the wafer 20, the wafer 20 is placed on the rollers 9A and 9B.
ascend the ground without being disturbed in any way. First, the peripheral edge of this wafer 20 comes into contact with the rollers 4A and 4B, but as the wafer 20 continues to rise, the guide arm 2
A and 2B rotate about shafts 3A and 3B so as to be pushed up. As the wafer 20 continues to rise, its peripheral end comes into contact with the rollers 6A, 6B, but as the wafer 20 rises, the rollers 6A, 46B are lifted along the grooves 5A, 5B. In this way, the wafer 20
When the lift 21 has risen to a predetermined position, the lift 21 is stopped from rising any further, and then the operation of the cylinder 14 is stopped to release the downward force of the shaft head 13, and the swinging arms 8A, 8B
is due to the elasticity of the return springs 17A and 17B, the holding board 1
Rotate inward. Then, the rollers 9A and 9B come into contact with the lower peripheral edge of the wafer 120 at that time, and the wafer 12
Support 0 from below. In this way, the wafer 20
are rollers 4A, 4B, 9A, 9B} and rollers 6A, 6
After the peripheral edge is held by B, the lift 21 is lowered. FIG. 4 shows the state at this time. Regardless of its size, the wafer 20 is always held with its center facing a fixed position on the surface 1A of the holding substrate 1.

Therefore, for a wafer 1 having a smaller diameter than the wafer 1 shown in FIG. 4, the guide arms 2A, 2B and the swinging arms 8A,
The rotation angle of roller 8B and the upward stroke of rollers 6A and 6B are smaller than those shown in FIG. 4, and conversely, the rotation angle and upward stroke of rollers 6A and 6B become even larger for wafer 1 having a large diameter. However, regardless of the size of the wafer, it is always held securely in a fixed position by each roller. The rollers 6A, 6B are not necessarily necessary for small diameter wafers, and the rollers 4A, 4B, 9A,
It is well retained only by 9B. However, for a large-diameter wafer, when the four rollers described above are not sufficient, it is convenient to use the rollers 6A and 6B together to ensure that the wafer is held. In this sense, the rollers 6A and 6B may not be made movable, but may be set at fixed positions corresponding to the large diameter wafer. When the ion implantation process is completed, the lift 21 rises again to support the lower edge of the wafer 20.

Here, the cylinder 14 is operated to push the swinging arms 8A, 8B outward against the elasticity of the return springs 17A, 17B, thereby releasing the wafer 20 from the rollers 9A, 9B.
Thereafter, as the lift 21 is lowered, the wafer 20 is moved to the lift 2.
It descends while remaining at 1 and returns to the carrier. As the wafer 21 descends, the guide arms 2A, 2B rotate due to their own weight, and the rollers 6A, 6B similarly descend, returning to the state shown in FIG. As described above in detail, the present invention has the advantage that any type of wafer can be commonly and reliably held regardless of the size of the wafer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIG. 3 is a rear view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing the holding state. 1...Holding substrate, 1A...Surface, 1B
・・・・・・Back side, 2A, 2B・・・Guide arm,
4A, 4B...Roller, 6A, 6B...
・Roller, 8A, 8B... Swinging arm, 9A, 9B
...Roller, 14 ...Cylinder, 17
A, 17B...Return spring, 20...U...1.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A roller for supporting a wafer is supported at its tip on the surface of the holding substrate and comes into contact with the periphery of the wafer being transferred;
A pair of swingable guide arms are provided which are swingable as the wafer is transferred, and a pair of swinging arms that support a wafer holding roller at the tip and are swingable by a drive source are provided on the back side. A wafer holding device comprising a movable arm, the drive source being controlled so as to swing the swing arm to a position where the wafer holding roller holds the peripheral edge of the wafer that has been transferred to a fixed position. 2. A wafer supporting roller is supported on the surface of the holding substrate at its tip, and the roller is in contact with the periphery of the wafer being transferred.
and a pair of swingable guide arms that swing as the wafer is transferred, and a wafer supporting roller that supports the periphery of the wafer between the two rollers when the transferred wafer is in a fixed position. A pair of swinging arms are provided on the back surface, each supporting a roller for holding the wafer at the tip and swinging by a drive source. A wafer holding device, wherein the driving source is controlled to swing the swinging arm to a position where the wafer holding roller holds the wafer.