JPH0699051B2 - Ultra thin plate transfer device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an ultra-thin plate-like object transfer device for separating and transferring an ultra-thin plate-like object such as a large number of stacked semiconductor wafers one by one. is there.

[Prior Art] A conventional transfer apparatus for separating and transferring a large number of stacked semiconductor wafers, etc., one by one, is generally a contact type device that sucks semiconductor wafers in vacuum by using a suction cup in the air. It was a composition.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above conventional configuration, a semiconductor wafer or the like is contaminated, warped or damaged due to contact or suction of a suction cup. Also, especially in the case of semiconductor wafers after mirror finishing or lapping, it is necessary to prevent contamination due to contact with suction cups and contamination due to dust in the air as much as possible, so transfer in water or other liquid. Is desired.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the ultrathin plate-shaped object transfer device of the present invention has an upper end that is located in a liquid and accommodates a large number of ultrathin plate-shaped objects in a stacked state. An opened storage container and a movable body that can reciprocate a predetermined distance in the vertical direction and can enter the storage container from the upper end opening of the storage container are provided, and the movable body has an ultrathin plate-shaped body stored in the storage container. A liquid suction port that opens in the center of the facing surface and a first liquid jet opening that opens continuously or at appropriate intervals along the outer edge of the facing surface, and is stored in the storage container. A notch located at the upper end of the container for discharging one ultra-thin plate-like member, a plurality of second liquid injection ports opened at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner surface of the side wall of the container, and the container On the inner surface of the side wall of the second liquid ejection port and at a position above the second liquid ejection port and facing the notch. 3 liquid injection ports are formed, and among the ultrathin plate-like bodies stacked by suction of the liquid from the liquid suction port and injection of the liquid from the first liquid injection port, several ultrathin plate shapes from the top The body is levitated, and these ultrathin plate-like bodies are separated one by one by jetting the liquid from the second liquid ejection port, and the top ultrathin plate-like body among the separated ultrathin plate-like bodies is separated into the third one. The liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection port to the outside of the container through the cutout portion.

[Operation] Due to the suction of the liquid from the liquid suction port and the injection of the liquid from the first liquid jet port, several ultrathin plate-shaped members from the top of the stacked ultrathin plate-shaped members float. By jetting the liquid from the second liquid jet port, the several floating ultrathin plate-like bodies are separated one by one. When the liquid is ejected from the third liquid ejection port, the uppermost ultrathin plate-shaped member among the separated ultrathin plate-shaped members flows out of the storage container through the cutout portion. An embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ultra-thin plate-like body transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a bottomed cylindrical container 2 faces an opening on a gantry 1 installed in a liquid such as water. Is installed. A large number of ultra-thin plate-like bodies 3 such as semiconductor wafers are housed in the container 2 in a stacked state in the thickness direction, and the upper surface of the container 2 is located below the liquid level 4 by a predetermined distance. ing. A movable body 5 that can be moved up and down by a predetermined distance is arranged near the upper surface of the storage container 2 concentrically with the storage container 2, and the movable body 5 has a truncated cone-shaped large diameter portion 6a at its lower end. The columnar moving body 6 and the lower cover 7 that covers the large diameter portion 6a, and the moving body 6 that is fixed to the upper surface of the lower cover 7.
And an upper cover 8 that covers the intermediate portion of the.
The lower cover 7 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface and faces the inner peripheral surface of the storage container 2 with a slight gap, and the inner peripheral surface slightly overlaps the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 6a of the movable body 6. They are facing each other with a gap. The upper cover 8 has a cylindrical shape whose outer peripheral surface is smaller in diameter than the outer peripheral surface of the lower cover 7, and whose inner peripheral surface faces the outer peripheral surface of the movable body 6 except for the upper end portion with a slight gap. There is. The inner peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the upper cover 8 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the upper portion of the movable body 6. The upper end of the moving body 6 is a bracket 9
The driving device 10 is mounted on a support base 12 which is erected on the frame 1. The drive device 10 includes, for example, an electric motor and a rack and pinion mechanism, and the lifting shaft 11 is moved up and down by the operation of the electric motor. A liquid suction port 14 is opened at the center of the lower surface of the moving body 6, that is, the surface facing the ultrathin plate-like body 3.
14 communicates with a suction port of a pump (not shown) through a through hole 15 formed on the axis of the moving body 6 and a hose 16 connected to the upper surface of the moving body 6. The lower end of the through hole 15 is formed in a divergent shape. On the lower surface of the moving body 5, an annular first liquid jet port 17 is opened at the outer peripheral edge portion, and the first liquid jet port 17 is formed by the gap between the moving body 6 and the lower cover body 7. Has been formed. First liquid injection port 17
Is a gap between the moving body 6 and the lower cover 7, a gap between the moving body 6 and the upper cover 8, a through hole 18 formed in the peripheral wall of the upper cover 8 along the horizontal direction, Upper cover 8
Through a hose 19 connected to the outer peripheral surface of the pump, and communicates with the discharge port of a pump (not shown). A notch 21 for discharging one ultra-thin plate-like body 3 is formed at the upper end of the container 2. A second liquid ejection port 22, a liquid ejection port 23, and a third liquid ejection port 24 are opened in this order from bottom to top on the inner surface of the side wall of the container 2. A plurality of second liquid ejection ports 22 are opened at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction, and these second liquid ejection ports 22 are through holes that horizontally penetrate the side wall of the container 2.
It communicates with a discharge port of a pump (not shown) via a hose 26 connected to the outer surface of the side wall of the container 2. A plurality of liquid ejection ports 23 are opened at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction,
These liquid injection ports 23 are pumps (not shown) via through-holes 27 penetrating the side wall of the storage container 2 obliquely downward from the outer surface to the inner surface and a hose 28 connected to the outer surface of the side wall of the storage container 2.
It communicates with the discharge port of. The third liquid ejection port 24 has a cutout portion.
21 is connected to the discharge port of a pump (not shown) through a through hole 29 that horizontally penetrates the side wall of the storage container 2 and a hose 30 connected to the outer surface of the side wall of the storage container 2. ing. The third liquid ejection port 24 may be one or plural. On the outer surface of the side wall of the container 2, a flat plate-like guide plate 31 is provided at a position slightly lower than the cutout portion 21 to guide one ultrathin plate-like body 3 discharged from the cutout portion 21. One end is in contact. An annular seal member 32 that abuts the upper surface of the lower cover 7 is attached to the annular groove formed on the lower surface of the upper cover 8, and the annular groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the upper end of the upper cover 8 is attached. A ring-shaped seal member 33 that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the upper portion of the movable body 6 is attached to the. Although not shown, the hoses 16, 19, 26, 28, 30 are provided with electrically operated on-off valves, flow rate adjustment valves, etc., and these on-off valves, flow rate adjustment valves, pumps, etc. are controlled by a control device. It is controlled and the liquid pressure, flow rate, etc. are adjusted. Also guide plate 31
A storage device such as a movable rack type holder for storing the ultrathin plate-like bodies 3 one by one is arranged near the other end of the.

Next, the operation will be described. When a worker inserts a large number of stacked ultra-thin plate-like bodies 3 into the container 2 and operates a start switch (not shown), the drive unit 10 is instructed by the controller.
Is activated, the moving body 5 descends, and enters the container 2. When the lower surface of the moving body 5 reaches a position below the upper end of the storage container 2 by a predetermined distance, the moving body 5 is instructed by the control device.
Is stopped, and the pump operates in response to a command from the controller to inject the liquid from the first liquid injection port 17 and suck the liquid from the liquid suction port 14. As a result, a substantially arcuate liquid flow is generated in the storage container 2 from the inner surface of the side wall to the central portion side, and among the ultrathin plate-like bodies 3 stacked in large numbers by the liquid flow, several ultrathin plate-like bodies from the top are formed. 3 emerges. At this time, several ultra-thin plate-like bodies 3 are integrated in a stacked state.
After a predetermined time of about several seconds has passed since the moving body 5 was stopped descending, the liquid ejection from the first liquid ejection port 17 is stopped and the moving body 5 rises in response to a command from the control device. Several ultrathin plate-like bodies 3 also rise due to the liquid flow caused by the suction of the liquid from the liquid suction port 14, and when the moving body 5 rises by a predetermined distance, the several ultrathin plate-like bodies 3 become the second liquid. It has risen to the height of the injection port 22. At this point, the rising of the moving body 5 is temporarily stopped by a command from the control device, the liquid is jetted from the second liquid jet port 22 by a command from the control device, and the liquid flow causes several integrated ultra-thin plates. The sheets 3 are separated one by one. When the moving body 5 rises again according to a command from the control device, the separated ultra-thin plate-like bodies 3 also rise along with it. When the moving body 5 moves up by a predetermined distance, the uppermost ultrathin plate-shaped body 3 out of several ultrathin plate-shaped bodies 3 rises to a position above the liquid injection port 23. At this time, when the liquid is jetted obliquely downward from the liquid jet port 23 according to a command from the control device, this liquid flow causes several ultra-thin plate-like members 3 to be formed as shown in FIG.
The ultra-thin plate-like body 3 except the uppermost ultra-thin plate-like body 3 is prevented from rising by the liquid flow. When the moving body 5 further rises for a predetermined distance, the uppermost thin plate-like body 3 reaches the position of the height of the third liquid injection port 24, and the liquid suction port is instructed by the control device.
The suction of liquid from 14 is stopped and the third liquid injection port 24
When the liquid is jetted from, the uppermost ultrathin plate-like body 3 flows out from the cutout portion 21 to the outside of the container 2 by the liquid flow. Since the liquid flow is guided by the guide plate 31 and proceeds horizontally, the cutout
The ultrathin plate-like body 3 that has flowed out of 21 also advances to the right side in FIG. 1 along the guide plate 31 as shown by an imaginary line, and is stored in a storage device (not shown). The same operation is repeated thereafter, and the storage container 2
A large number of the ultrathin plate-shaped bodies 3 therein are transferred one by one to the storage device.

In this way, since the ultrathin plate-shaped body 3 can be transferred in the liquid without contact, contamination, warpage, damage, etc. of the ultrathin plate-shaped body 3 can be favorably prevented. Moreover, since the ultrathin plate-like body 3 is moved by the liquid flow, the transfer can be performed quickly. Further, by providing the liquid injection port 23 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to more reliably prevent two or more ultrathin plate-like bodies 3 from simultaneously flowing out from the cutout portion 21.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the liquid injection port 23 is provided, but it is more reliable that two or more ultrathin plate-like bodies 3 float at the position of the third liquid injection port 24 at the same time. This is for the purpose of prevention and is not always necessary.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the annular first liquid jet port 17 is continuously provided on the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the moving body 5.
A plurality of first liquid ejection ports 17 may be provided at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example of transferring the circular ultrathin plate-shaped body 3 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and may be appropriately set according to the shape of the ultrathin plate-shaped body 3. The shapes of the container 2 and the moving body 5 may be set.

Further, the movable body 5 is moved up and down while rotating around the axis, or the ultrathin plate-like body 3 in the storage container 2 is supported by an elevating type supporting device so that the height of the uppermost ultrathin plate-like body 3 is increased. Various modifications are possible, such as always maintaining a fixed position.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, from among the ultrathin plate-like bodies stacked by suction of the liquid from the liquid suction port and jetting of the liquid from the first liquid jet port, The ultrathin plate-like bodies are floated up, and the ultrathin platelike bodies are separated one by one by jetting the liquid from the second liquid injection port. Since the body is carried out from the cutout portion to the outside of the container by jetting the liquid from the third liquid jet port, the ultrathin plate-like body can be transferred in the liquid in a non-contact manner. It is possible to favorably prevent contamination, warpage, damage, etc. Moreover, since the ultra-thin plate-like body is moved by the liquid flow, the transfer can be performed quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ultra-thin plate-like body transfer device in one embodiment of the present invention. 2 ... container, 3 ... ultra-thin plate, 5 ... moving body, 14
...... Liquid suction port, 17 ...... First liquid injection port, 21 ...... Notch,
22 …… Second liquid jet, 24 …… Third liquid jet

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 4728018 (JP, A) JP 62-185642 (JP, A) JP 62-2533 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An accommodating container having an open upper end for accommodating a large number of ultra-thin plate-shaped bodies in a liquid state, and an upper end opening of the accommodating container which is reciprocally movable in a vertical direction by a predetermined distance. A moving body that can enter into the storage container is provided, and the moving body has a liquid suction port that opens at the center of the surface facing the ultrathin plate-shaped body stored in the storage container, and the outer peripheral portion of the facing surface. A first liquid injection port that opens continuously or at appropriate intervals along the outer edge of the container, and discharges one ultra-thin plate-shaped body at the upper end of the container at the container. For cutting, a plurality of second liquid injection ports that are opened on the inner surface of the side wall of the storage container at appropriate intervals in the circumferential direction, and at positions on the inner surface of the side wall of the storage container and above the second liquid injection port. Forming a third liquid ejection port that opens and faces the cutout portion,
By sucking the liquid from the liquid suction port and jetting the liquid from the first liquid jet port, several ultrathin plate-shaped members are floated from the top among the stacked ultrathin plate-shaped members, and these ultrathin plates are The plate-shaped bodies are separated one by one by jetting the liquid from the second liquid jet port, and the uppermost ultrathin plate-shaped body among the separated ultrathin plate-shaped bodies is the liquid jetted from the third liquid jet port. Is ejected from the cutout portion to the outside of the container by the jetting.