JPH0810723B2 - Wafer or wafer carrier transfer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement in a semiconductor wafer transfer device.

(Prior Art and Its Deficiencies) In order to convey a wafer to a processing apparatus such as an inspection apparatus, a belt conveyor type transfer apparatus is often used (a wafer may be directly transferred by a transfer apparatus, or a plurality of wafers may be transferred). The wafer may be carried by the carrier while being housed in the wafer carrier). In order to process wafers in the wafer processing apparatus, it is desirable to collectively process wafers of the same size in consideration of work efficiency and the like. However, when a plurality of types of wafers are mixed in random order on the transfer device (for example, when a plurality of processing devices dedicated to each size are arranged along the transfer device, the plurality of types of wafers are transferred by the transfer device). However, it takes a lot of time and labor for the operator to change the order of the wafer before it reaches the processing equipment, which is one of the causes of the decrease in the processing efficiency. It was

The present invention has been improved to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks in the prior art, that is, to enable each wafer to be efficiently supplied to the processing apparatus even when a plurality of types of wafers are mixedly transferred or out of order. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a wafer transfer device.

[Means and actions for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the type (for example, size) of a wafer or a wafer carrier that is conveyed and supplied is determined before the wafer processing apparatus in the wafer or wafer carrier conveying direction, and the result is determined according to the result. Thus, a buffer device that can change the order of the wafers or the wafer carriers in the transfer direction is arranged. This buffer does not operate when the wafer or wafer carrier being transferred is of a type other than the specified type (therefore, the wafer or wafer carrier is directly supplied to the processing unit), while it is of the specified type. At some time, the wafer or wafer carrier can be held and retracted to the outside of the carrier, and the wafer or wafer carrier can be returned to the carrier at a desired time. The order of the wafers or wafer carriers on the transfer device is changed by driving the transfer device between the time when the wafer or the wafer carrier is retracted to the transfer device and the time when it is returned to the transfer device.

It should be noted that a single buffer device may be provided to process all types of wafers, or a plurality of buffer devices may be provided to apply a dedicated buffer device according to the type of wafer and the number of wafer processing devices. The present invention is applicable to both cases.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a plan view (partially omitted) of the entire transfer device,
2, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are perspective views of different parts of the carrying device, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. 2, and FIG.
The figure is a diagram for explaining the operation.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a pair of guide rails 10 (only one is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) are arranged in parallel, and a plurality of trays are provided on each guide rail. 12
Are held movably in the longitudinal direction. That is, as is apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, the tray 12 has an L-shaped cross section, and two pairs of rollers 16 are fixedly installed in the vertical portion 14 in pairs. Holding the upper and lower edges of the. As shown in FIG. 3, a sprocket 22 is fixedly mounted on a member 20 protruding from the horizontal portion 18 of the tray 12, and the chain is stretched in a loop along the guide plate 10.
24 is engaged in this. The chain 24 is driven by a sprocket 30 fixed to the output shaft of a motor 28 installed on the table 26. Guide plate 10, tray 12 and chain 24
The transport means 35 is configured by the above.

The horizontal portion 18 of the tray 12 is provided with two tapered holes 32, into which the protrusions 42 of the pallet 36 are fitted.

The pallet 36 is in the shape of a flat plate and has a central protrusion
40 and the projections 42 on both sides thereof are projected by a pair,
The protrusions 42 on both sides fit into the tapered holes 32 of the tray 12. A wafer carrier 44 containing a plurality of wafers is placed on the pallet 36.

A plurality of pedestals 46 are arranged below the conveying means 35, and a ball screw 48 and a rod extending vertically as shown in FIG.
50 are supported by this. A ball nut 52 is screwed into the ball screw 48, and the nut and the rod 50 are connected to each other via a horizontal rod 54 and a block 56. The ball screw 48 is rotated by a motor 58. Another rod 60 extends vertically upward from the middle of the rod 54, and a piece 62 is fixed to the upper end of the rod 60. The piece 62 has an elongated prismatic shape and is fixed so that the longitudinal direction thereof is horizontal, and two pieces and a tapered hole 64 are formed in the upper surface thereof.
The taper hole 64 receives the intermediate projection 40 provided on the lower surface of the pallet 36.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the table behind the table 46.
On the 68, a pair of parallel stays 70 are arranged so as to form a right angle with the conveying path of the conveying means 35, and a guide member 72 is fitted to each stay. A ball screw 74 is arranged between the stays 70 in parallel with the stays 70, and is rotated by a motor 76. The ball screw 74 has a ball nut.
78 is screwed, and both stays 70 and ball nuts 78 are connected.
80 are connected to each other. A pair of parallel rods 82 extend from the ball nut 78 in the same direction as the ball screw 74, and a fork-shaped fork member 86 is fixed to the tip of the rod 82 via a connecting member 84. Motor 76, ball screw 74,
The shock absorber 75 is configured by the fork member 86 and the like. Wafers of the same size are all housed in the individual wafer carriers 44, and a means for determining the type is provided in front of the table 46. Examples of this determining means include a device for reading a magnetic code or a bar code provided on the surface of the carrier, a device for photoelectrically detecting the outer dimensions of the carrier, and the like.

 The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

It is assumed that each wafer carrier 44 accommodates a 4-inch wafer or a 5-inch wafer, and in FIG. 6, a wafer carrier accommodating a 4-inch wafer is indicated by 44a and a wafer carrier accommodating a 5-inch wafer is indicated by 44b. Sixth
As shown in the figure, when the two types of wafer carriers 44a and 44b are conveyed in the right direction in FIG. 1 by the tray 12 in a random order, the size of the wafer is judged by the judging means.
In this case, in order to supply a wafer corresponding to the inspection device 80 for a 4-inch wafer arranged near the buffer device 75, the wafer carrier 44a accommodating the 4-inch wafer must be continuously conveyed. That is, in the case shown in FIG. 6, the order of the second wafer carrier 44b and the third wafer carrier 44a must be changed.

For that purpose, when the second wafer carrier 44b comes on the table 46, the motor 58 is driven to raise the piece 62 via the rods 54 and 60, and the protrusion 40 at the center of the pallet 36 is tapered.
Insert into 64. As a result, the pallet 36 is positioned in a predetermined state. With the pallet 36 slightly lifted by the piece 62, the motor 76 is driven to rotate the ball screw 74, and the fork member 86 is advanced through the ball nut 78 and the rod 82. The fork member 86 is a lifted pallet.
The pallet 36 is supported by the fork member 86 when the pallet 36 is slightly lowered after entering the underside of the pallet 36. Thereafter, the motor 76 is rotated in the reverse direction so that the fork member 86 is retracted, and the pallet 36, that is, the wafer carrier 44b is held at the retracted position (shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6).

In this state, the motor 28 is driven to convey the third pallet 36 in the right direction in FIG. The wafers contained in the wafer carrier 44a are taken out one by one and inspected by the wafer inspection device 80. The wafers stored in the wafer carrier 44b may be inspected by the same wafer inspection device 80 after the inspection of all the wafers in the wafer carrier 44a is completed, or by a separately provided dedicated wafer inspection device. You may inspect.

It should be noted that the above description has been made in the case where the size of the wafer is two, but of course, this may be set in three or more. In that case, it is desirable to provide two shock absorbers 75 (first
(Indicated by number 85 in the figure). Further, the shock absorber 75 may be configured to be able to maintain two or more wafers in the retracted position, or the shock absorber may be arranged above the transfer means 35 to operate in the vertical direction. . The conveying means is not limited to being driven to only one side, and may be a driving system of forward rotation and reverse rotation.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the order of the wafers or wafer carriers on the transfer means can be changed by the buffer device provided in the transfer means of the wafers or wafer carriers. Therefore, the wafers or wafer carriers are supplied to the wafer processing apparatus in a desired order, the operator does not need to change the order of the wafers or wafer carriers, and the efficiency of wafer processing is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view (partially omitted) showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an essential part of the embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another main portion of the above embodiment, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another main portion of the above embodiment, and FIG. [Explanation of the symbols of the main parts] 35 …… Transfer means 44 …… Wafer carrier 75 …… Cushioning device 80 …… Wafer processing device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transfer unit that sequentially transfers a plurality of types of wafers or wafer carriers along a transfer path; a determination unit that determines the types of the plurality of types of wafers or wafer carriers; A buffer device that retracts a specific type of wafer or wafer carrier from the plurality of types of wafers or wafer carriers to the outside of the transfer path and maintains it at a predetermined position, and returns it to the inside of the transfer path at a desired time; A transfer device for a wafer or a wafer carrier, which is provided. 2. The buffer device has a transfer means for holding the wafer of a specific type or a wafer carrier and movable between the transfer path and the predetermined position. The transfer device according to item 1. 3. The transfer device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of said buffer devices are provided corresponding to the type of said wafer or wafer carrier to be transferred.