JPH0831508B2 - Material and holder replacement device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Industrial field of application) The present invention is applied to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and a material to be processed such as a mask, a mask blank, and a wafer, and a material to be processed on a processing stage. The present invention relates to an apparatus for exchanging a material to be processed and a holder capable of automatically exchanging a holder for holding.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, an apparatus for exchanging materials to be treated has been adopted so as to automatically convey and exchange materials to be processed from a cassette accommodating a plurality of materials (about 20 to 50 sheets) to a processing stage. ing.

A conventional material replacement device will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a material-to-be-processed exchange apparatus. The material-to-be-processed exchange apparatus 1 includes a holding arm 3 as a holding member for holding a material to be processed 2, a holding stage 3 and a processing stage 4. And a holding arm moving means 6 that reciprocates in the left-right direction (direction of arrow A).

A holder 7 for holding the material 2 to be processed is fixed to the processing stage 4 via four setscrews 8 and can be replaced artificially.

The holder 7 is provided with four chuck grooves 9 communicating with a vacuum source for fixing the workpiece 2 with good flatness.

Further, on the lower surface of the holding arm 3, as shown in FIG. 4, various chuck grooves 10 serving as a holding member capable of adsorbing the material 2 to be processed of various sizes or kinds from the upper surface are provided.

Further, the cassette 5 is configured to be movable in the up-down direction (direction of arrow B) by an elevator mechanism (not shown), and any of the materials to be processed 2 stored in the materials to be processed 2 ...
Can be opposed to a position where the holding arm 3 can adsorb.

On the other hand, the cassette 5 is movable in the front-rear direction (direction of arrow C), and when the holding arm 3 moves in the left-right direction (direction of arrow A), it escapes to the rear position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. And the holding arm 3
Is configured to be movable in the vertical direction (direction of arrow D) in FIG.

Next, the operation of supplying the processing target material 2 onto the processing stage 4 will be described. At this time, it is assumed that there is no material 2 to be processed on the processing stage 4.

The workpiece 2 in the cassette 5 is indexed by an elevator mechanism (not shown). This indexing operation is for cassette 5
Is performed at the position of the chain double-dashed line that has moved backward. Then, when the holding arm 3 faces the cassette 5, the cassette 5 moves forward and moves from the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line to the position indicated by the solid line.

The state at this time is the state shown in FIG. 4, and the holding arm 3 has entered the cassette 5 with a gap that does not come into contact with any of the materials 2 to be processed stored in each stage.
Then, after that, the holding arm 3 descends to come into contact with the upper surface of the material 2 to be processed and to be vacuum-sucked in the chuck grooves 10.

Next, when the holding arm 3 is slightly raised to a position where neither the processing target 2 nor the holding arm 3 comes into contact with the cassette 5, the cassette 5 is retracted to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line.

Then, after this, the holding arm 3 is transported to the position of the processing stage 4 by the holding arm moving means 6. At this time, since the material to be processed 2 held by the holding arm 3 and the holder 7 on the processing stage 4 have a vertical gap, the holding arm 3 descends and the material to be processed 2 is placed on the holder 7. The workpiece 2 is vacuum-sucked on the holder 7 by the chuck grooves 9.

Then, after this, the holding arm 3 returns to the position corresponding to the cassette 5, and the attaching operation of the material 2 to be processed is completed.
Further, when returning the processed material 2 from the processing stage 4 to the cassette 5, the reverse operation is performed.

Further, since the holder 7 on the processing stage 4 needs to change the position and shape of the chuck grooves 9 depending on the size and type of the material 2 to be processed, conventionally, the operator manually replaces it after stopping the device. Was.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, when the holder 7 on the processing stage 4 is artificially replaced as in the conventional case, there are the following problems.

a) Continuous processing with different sizes or different types of wafers, masks, reticles, etc. was impossible.

b) Since it requires manpower, it is the cause of the most undesirable generation of dust in this type of device, which causes a decrease in yield (It is said that about 50% of dust in a clean room is generated by workers. Exist).

c) The flatness of the chuck grooves 9 provided on the holder 7 is 1 μm.
Since some devices are required to have a length of m or less, it requires skill and time to attach and detach with good reproducibility.

d) Some devices of this type are housed in a thermal chamber whose room temperature is controlled at about 23 to 25 ° C ± 0.1 ° C. In some cases, the material to be processed 2 cannot be processed.

Therefore, recently, in order to prevent these defects, the holder 7
However, when an independent holder exchanging device is simply incorporated, the entire device becomes complicated and problems such as cost increase occur. Further, it is inevitable that the number of interlocking means for determining the order of movement of the respective operating members is increased and a large number of actuators, sensors, etc. need to be used, which may increase the failure rate. Need to be simplified.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to share a mechanism portion used for replacing a material to be processed in a holder replacement work which is conventionally performed manually. Provided is a device for exchanging a material to be processed and a holder, which can be automatically performed, has a simple structure, can improve the processability and can save labor, and can reduce defects caused by dust. Is what you are trying to do.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is mounted on a processing stage and a cassette capable of storing a plurality of materials to be processed having different sizes or types. An apparatus for exchanging a material to be processed and a holder for a processing stage, comprising: a holder magazine capable of accommodating a plurality of types of holders according to the size or type of the material to be processed. And a holder that is movable along the arrangement direction and has a holding member for holding the holder, and the exchanging device is used to perform the material replacement and the holder replacement. It is configured in.

(Operation) That is, according to the present invention, a holder magazine accommodating a plurality of holders according to the size or type of a material to be processed is arranged linearly with a conventional processing stage and a cassette, and a holding member is arranged along these arrangement directions. Since the processing material and the holder are exchanged by one exchanging device which is movable, the moving stroke of the holding member moving means is increased by the addition of the holder magazine and the holder is stopped at the holder magazine position. Although it is a configuration that is extremely simple to add functions and does not increase the cost, it enables continuous processing operation of workpieces of different sizes or different types, compared to the conventional one that requires manpower. The processing capacity can be improved and the processing can be omitted, and the defects caused by dust can be reduced.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The same components as those in the conventional example described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, the reference numeral 1'in the figure is an exchange device capable of exchanging both the workpiece 2 and the holder 7. According to the present invention,
An elevator type holder magazine 15 accommodating a plurality of holders 7 corresponding to a plurality of types of materials 2 of different sizes or types is provided between the processing stage 4 and the cassette 5, and the processing stage 4, cassette Arrange 5, and holder magazine 15 in a straight line.

Like the cassette 5, the holder magazine 15 is of an elevator type, that is, movable in the vertical direction, so that any holder 7 can be opposed to the holding arm 3.

Further, the holding arm moving means 6 which moves the holding arm 3 in the left-right direction has the basic structure of the conventional processed object only by increasing the movement stroke by the holder magazine 15 and increasing the stopping operation at the position of the holder magazine 15. It is the same as the material exchanging device 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a positioning taper pin 17 for fitting with a taper hole 16 formed in the holder 7 is projected on the lower surface of the holding arm 3 so that the holder 7 can be held accurately. Has become.

Further, chuck grooves 18 for vacuum-holding the holder 7 are formed on the processing stage 4, and a laser mirror 19 used for position measurement is mounted on the processing stage 4. In addition, 20 is a left-right guide and 21 is an up-down guide.

Next, the replacement operation of the holder 7 will be described. The operation of exchanging the material 2 to be processed between the cassette 5 and the processing stage 4 is the same as that of the conventional example except that the holder magazine 15 is lowered, and the description thereof is omitted.

First, the holder magazine 15 is moved in the vertical direction in response to the designation signal of the holder 7 according to the size or type of the object 2 to be processed, and the holder 7 is selected. Then, when the selection of the holder 7 is completed, the holding arm 3 moves to the left from the position facing the cassette 5.

At this time, it goes without saying that the workpiece 4 is not held by the holding arm 3.

The cassette 5 is moved to the rear position shown in FIG. 2 before the holding arm 3 is moved.

The holding arm 3 stops when it reaches the position of the holder magazine elevator 15, and then descends. Then, the taper pin 17 protruding from the lower surface of the holding arm 3 is held in a state of being fitted into the taper hole 16 formed in the holder 7. Next, the holding arm 3 moves to the left and comes onto the processing stage 4.

Then, the holder 7 is fixed on the processing stage 4 by vacuuming the chuck grooves 18.

Next, the suction operation by the holding arm 3 is stopped and the holder 7 is opened and the holder 7 is moved upward to move the taper hole 16 and the taper pin.
Remove the engagement of 17 and return to the original position of the cassette 5.

Here, the taper hole 16 and the taper pin 17 are used so that the holding arm 3 can be engaged even if the positioning is slightly deviated.

After the holder 7 is replaced in this manner, the material 2 to be processed is replaced as in the conventional example. Further, when the material 2 to be processed is conveyed from the cassette 5 to the processing stage 4, the holder magazine 15 descends to the lowest limit as described above, and the holding arm 3 passes above the holder magazine 15 without interfering. Has become.

With the structure as described above, the structure of the holding arm moving means 6 is similar to the conventional structure in that the stroke is increased and the stopping operation at the position of the holder magazine 15 is increased. Also, it suffices to add the taper pin 17, and the transport system can be manufactured at substantially the same cost as the conventional one.

Further, as for the floor space, the space for the holder magazine 15 is increased, and the floor space becomes much more compact than the case where an independent and separate holder exchanging device is provided.

In this way, by adding the holder magazine 15, increasing the moving stroke of the conventional holding arm moving means 6 and adding the taper pin 17 to the holding arm 3, the holder 7 can be automatically exchanged by sharing the transfer system. All of the above problems (a) to (d) due to the conventional manual operation can be solved, and there is no significant increase in cost. Also, the floor space is only slightly increased.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a holder magazine accommodating a plurality of holders according to the size or type of the material to be processed is arranged linearly with the conventional processing stage and cassette, and Since the above-mentioned material exchange and holder exchange are performed by one exchanging device in which the holding member is movable along the arrangement direction, the movement stroke of the holding arm moving means is increased by the addition of the holder magazine. Although it has a configuration that is extremely simple and requires only a function to stop at the holder magazine position at the same time as increasing the cost, it is possible to perform continuous processing operation of workpieces of different sizes or types, which is the same as the conventional method. The processability and labor saving can be achieved as compared with those requiring the above, and the defects caused by dust can be reduced. It is possible to provide an exchange device for the processing material and the holder.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 show one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the apparatus, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view, FIGS. 3 and 4 show a conventional example, FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 1 ... Processing material exchange device, 1 '... Processing material and holder exchange device, 2 ... Processing material, 3 ... Holding arm (holding member), 4 ... Processing stage, 5 ... Cassette, 6 ...
... Holding arm moving means, 7 ... Holder, 10 ... Suction holding part (chuck groove), 15 ... Holder magazine.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location H01L 21/027

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cassette capable of accommodating a plurality of materials to be processed having different sizes or types, and a holder magazine capable of accommodating a plurality of types of holders corresponding to the sizes or types of the materials to be processed mounted on a processing stage. An apparatus for exchanging a material to be processed and a holder with respect to a processing stage provided, wherein the processing stage, the holder magazine and the cassette are linearly arranged and the material to be processed and the holder are movable along the arrangement direction. An apparatus for exchanging a material to be treated and a holder, comprising one exchanging apparatus provided with a member, and the exchanging apparatus for exchanging the material to be treated and the holder. 2. An apparatus for exchanging a material to be processed and a holder according to claim 1, wherein the holder magazine is arranged between the processing stage and the cassette so as to be vertically movable. 3. An apparatus for exchanging a material to be processed and a holder according to claim 1, wherein the material to be processed is exchanged between a holder attached to a processing stage and a cassette. 4. The replacement of the material to be processed and the holder according to claim 1, wherein the holding member of the replacement device has a suction holding portion for holding the material to be processed and the holder by suction. apparatus.