JP2002110768A - Wafer transfer robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a suction pipe laid in a wafer transfer robot for sucking in of a wafer from clogging, due to particles inhaled from a wafer suction hole of a wafer-holding tool. SOLUTION: An air cleaner 20 is fitted on a drip-proof cover 15 covering an upper part of a robot body 1. A wafer suction hole 8c at an end of a wafer- holding tool 8 is connected the air inlet hole of the air cleaner 20 through a bendable pipe 11. The air outlet hole of the air cleaner 20 is connected to a vacuum pump through a pipe 12 which is laid inside the body 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer transfer robot suitable for use in an atmosphere where dust is present, and more particularly to a robot for unloading a wafer in a step of polishing a semiconductor wafer. Related to a simple wafer transfer robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In each step performed when manufacturing a semiconductor device, a semiconductor wafer is loaded into a processing apparatus,
In order to unload from a processing apparatus, a wafer transfer robot is used.

A robot used for transferring a semiconductor wafer has a transfer mechanism having a wafer holder.
It is configured such that the wafer is conveyed while being placed on a wafer holding surface provided on the wafer holder.

[0004] In this type of robot, a wafer suction hole connected to a vacuum suction means is provided in a wafer holder.
By applying a suction force to the wafer through the wafer suction port, the wafer being transported is prevented from dropping from the wafer holder.

The wafer suction hole is deformed in accordance with the displacement of the wafer holding portion and is provided in a flexible tube for allowing the displacement of the wafer holding portion, and in a housing (a case also serving as a frame) for accommodating a robot mechanism and the like. Is connected to a vacuum suction means such as a vacuum pump through a pipe provided in the apparatus.

In a process where water is used, a drip-proof type wafer transport robot is used. For example, in the step of polishing a semiconductor wafer, the wafer is transported by a robot, loaded into a polishing apparatus, polished, and the polished wafer is washed with pure water. After the cleaning is completed, the wafer is unloaded from the polishing apparatus by the wafer transfer robot. At this time, the robot may be exposed to water.

For this reason, drip-proof measures such as providing a cover for covering a housing are taken for a robot used when unloading a wafer in a polishing process of a semiconductor wafer, so that there is no problem even if a little water is applied to the robot. I try not to.

[0008]

In a wafer transfer robot used in an environment where dust and water exist, such as a robot used in a wafer polishing process, when a wafer is vacuum-adsorbed, dust (wafer) is removed. Water containing abrasive dust and polishing powder) may be sucked through the wafer suction holes. If water containing dust is sucked from the wafer suction holes, the dust is accumulated and hardened in the pipes provided in the robot housing, so that the pipes are eventually clogged and the function of vacuum-sucking the wafer is lost. .

Therefore, in this type of wafer transfer robot, it is necessary to perform maintenance and inspection relatively frequently to clean the piping in the housing. However, in this type of conventional robot,
When cleaning, it was necessary to disassemble the robot and remove the piping, which made the operation extremely laborious.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot for transporting wafers in which water containing dust is prevented from entering a pipe in a housing of the robot.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a wafer holder having a wafer holding surface on which a wafer is placed and held, a wafer suction hole having an open end at the wafer holding surface, and a wafer holder. The present invention is directed to a wafer transfer robot having a transfer mechanism for moving a wafer holder in a transfer direction of a wafer above a housing. In this type of robot, the wafer suction hole is formed through a suction pipe having a flexible tube having one end connected to the other end of the wafer suction hole provided in the wafer holder and a housing-side pipe provided on the housing side. Connected to vacuum suction means.

In the present invention, a disassemblable air cleaner is disposed outside the housing supporting the transport mechanism, the air cleaner is supported on the housing, and the other end of the flexible tube is connected to the housing-side piping through the air cleaner. To one end. The vacuum suction means is connected to the other end of the casing side pipe through an appropriate external pipe.

If an air cleaner is provided between the flexible tube and the casing side pipe as described above, dust sucked from the wafer suction hole is removed by the air cleaner, and the dust flows into the casing side pipe. Can be prevented. Therefore, there is almost no need to clean the casing-side piping.

Further, since the air cleaner is configured to be disassembled and is disposed outside the housing, the air cleaner can be easily cleaned.

The air cleaner has an air inlet and an air outlet which are open to the outside at one end and the other end, respectively, and extends in a zigzag manner from the air inlet to the air outlet. It is preferable to use one having a chamber having an air flow path therein and a filter formed so as to allow substantially only air to pass therethrough and arranged on the air outlet side of the air flow path.

In this case, the other end of the flexible tube is connected to the air inlet of the air cleaner, and one end of the casing side pipe is connected to the air outlet of the air cleaner.

When the air cleaner is configured as described above, the air flowing into the cleaner from the air inlet flows while colliding with the inner surface of the bent air flow path, and is included in the air in the process of flowing through the air flow path. Most of the dust is dropped and removed. Dust not removed in the process of passing through the air flow path is removed by a filter provided on the air outlet side.

To facilitate disassembly of the air cleaner, the chamber is constructed so that it can be divided into a first chamber component and a second chamber component having mating surfaces that are aligned with each other. Thus, it is preferable that the mating surfaces of the first chamber constituent member and the second chamber constituent member are air-tightly connected via a seal member.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chamber of the air cleaner is divided into the first chamber constituent member and the second chamber constituent member as described above, and each part is configured as follows.

That is, a first space forming a part of the air flow path is provided inside a substantially half portion on one end side of the first chamber constituting member. The first space is provided so as to be open on the surface side, and the first space is partitioned into a plurality of regions arranged in the air flow direction by the first partition wall.

A hollow protrusion protruding toward the second chamber constituent member is provided in substantially the half on the other end side of the first chamber constituent member. 2
And the other end of the hollow portion communicates with the other end of the hollow portion, and the other end of the mating surface is adjacent to the downstreammost end region of the first space in the air flow direction. An air circulation hole opened on the side is provided.

A second chamber constituting an air flow path together with the first space is provided in a substantially half portion on one end side of the second chamber constituting member.
The second partition wall is provided in a state where the space is opened to the mating surface side, and the second partition wall is provided at a position shifted to the downstream side in the air flow direction with respect to the first partition wall. Are partitioned into a plurality of regions arranged in the direction of air flow.

A convex fitting hole is formed in substantially the other half of the second chamber constituent member, and the convex part of the first chamber constituent member is fitted into the fitting hole. .

The air inlet is provided so as to penetrate a portion of the wall on one end side of the first chamber member facing the first partition wall, and the air outlet is provided in the second chamber member. It is provided at the lower part near the other end and communicates with one end of the hollow part of the convex part of the first chamber constituent member.

The filter is held in a state of being sandwiched between the projection of the first chamber component and the bottom of the projection fitting hole of the second chamber component.

The first chamber component is provided with the first and second chamber components connected together with the mating surface of the first chamber component and the mating surface of the second chamber component. And the plurality of regions of the second space provided in the second chamber constituting member form the air flow path bent in a zigzag manner, The downstream end is connected to an air outlet provided in the second chamber component through an air flow hole provided in the first chamber component and the hollow portion of the projection of the first chamber component. You.

In the robot according to the present invention, in order not to hinder the displacement of the wafer holder, a flexible tube is used as a tube connecting between the wafer suction hole of the wafer holder and the air cleaner. By deforming the flexible tube with the displacement of the wafer holder, the displacement of the wafer holder is allowed. In this case, if the flexible tube is freely deformed, the flexible tube may interfere with the transport mechanism and hinder the movement of the transport mechanism, or the flexible tube may be damaged. To prevent this from happening,
It is preferable that a flexible tube guide that guides the flexible tube displaced in accordance with the displacement of the wafer holding unit so as not to interfere with the transfer mechanism is attached to an upper portion of the housing.

[0028]

FIG. 1 to FIG. 8 show an example of the configuration of a wafer transfer robot according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which the revolving member supporting the drive shaft is lowered, FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state in which the revolving member is raised, and FIGS. (C) is a top view which showed a different process of the operation | movement of the same robot, respectively. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of the wafer transfer robot of FIG. 1, FIG. 6A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the wafer transfer robot of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6B is FIG. It is a top view of the principal part of FIG. FIG. 7 is a top view of a main part showing an example of a connection structure between the air cleaner and the housing, and FIG. 8 is a top view of a main part showing another connection structure of the air cleaner and the housing.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a casing (casing also serving as a frame) which is formed in a cylindrical shape and is arranged with its axis oriented in a vertical direction. A pivoting member 2 is rotatably and vertically movable in the housing 1 with its axis oriented in the vertical direction. The pivot of the pivoting member 2 shares the axis with the pivoting member. The first drive shaft 3 is rotatably supported. A rotating member driving mechanism for rotating the rotating member 2, a rotating shaft vertical moving mechanism for vertically moving the rotating member 2 together with the first driving shaft 3, and rotating the first driving shaft 3 are provided in the housing 1. The drive shaft rotation drive mechanism is housed.

A rear end of a hollow first arm 4 is fixed to an upper end of the first drive shaft 3, and the first arm 4 is rotated with the rotation of the drive shaft 3. ing. A second drive shaft 5 is rotatably supported at the tip of the first arm 4, and the rear end of a hollow second arm 6 is fixed to the second drive shaft 5. A third drive shaft 7 is rotatably supported at the tip of the second arm 6, and the rear end of the wafer holder 8 is fixed to the third drive shaft 7.

In the first arm 4, the rotation of the first drive shaft 3 is transmitted to the second drive shaft 5 to rotate the second drive shaft 5 in the opposite direction to the first drive shaft 3. When the first drive shaft 3 is rotated in one direction and the first arm 4 is rotated in one direction,
The second arm 6 is configured to be turned in a direction opposite to the first arm 4.

In the second arm 6, the rotation of the second drive shaft 5 is transmitted to the third drive shaft 7 and the third drive shaft 7
A second rotary motion transmitting mechanism for rotating the second drive shaft 5 in a direction opposite to the second drive shaft 5 is housed, and the second drive shaft 5 is driven to rotate in one direction to rotate the second arm 6 in one direction. Then, the wafer holder 8 is rotated in a direction opposite to the second arm 6 when the operation is performed.

Accordingly, in the illustrated wafer transfer robot, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A, the first arm 4, the second arm 6, and the wafer holder 8 are aligned in a straight line. When the first arm 4 is turned counterclockwise as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the second arm 6 is turned clockwise with respect to the first arm 4. Then, the wafer holder 8 is rotated counterclockwise with respect to the second arm 6, and the wafer holder 8 is linearly moved in the radial direction of the turning member 2. By turning the turning member 2 and changing its direction, the moving direction of the wafer holder 8 can be appropriately changed. Also the first
The wafer holder 8 can be displaced up and down by vertically moving the turning member 2 supporting the drive shaft 3 together with the drive shaft 3.

The above-mentioned turning member 2, a turning member driving mechanism for rotating the turning member 2, a first drive shaft 3, and a turning shaft vertical movement mechanism for moving the turning member 2 up and down together with the first drive shaft 3. A drive shaft rotation drive mechanism for rotating and driving the first drive shaft 3, a first arm 4, a second drive shaft 5, a first rotation motion transmission mechanism arranged in the first arm, , Second
The arm 6, the third drive shaft 7, and the second rotary motion transmitting mechanism arranged in the second arm move the wafer holder 8 in the wafer transfer direction above the housing 1. The transport mechanism 10 is configured.

The wafer holder 8 is, as shown in FIG.
A plate-like member having a rear end portion 8A fixed to the third drive shaft 7 and a fork-shaped front end portion 8B, and a top surface of the front end portion 8B for mounting and holding the semiconductor wafer S It is a holding surface 8b. The wafer holder 8 is provided with a wafer suction hole 8C having one end opened on the wafer holding surface 8b, and one end of the flexible tube 11 is connected to the other end of the wafer suction hole 8C. The wafer suction hole 8C is provided with the flexible tube 11 and
It is connected to vacuum suction means (not shown) such as a vacuum pump through a suction pipe formed by a housing side pipe 12 provided in the housing 1, and is placed on the wafer holding surface 8 b of the wafer holder 8. The semiconductor wafer thus held is held by the suction force acting through the wafer suction hole so as not to drop off from the wafer holder 8.

The casing side pipe 12 is provided so as to extend up and down in the casing 1, and one end (the upper end in the illustrated example) of the pipe 12 is located above the revolving member 2 protruding from the upper end of the casing 1. It is opened on the side. The other end (lower end) of the in-housing pipe 12 is introduced into a control box 13 attached to a lower side surface of the housing 1 and connected to a pipe joint 14 attached to the control box 13. In order to enable the rotation and vertical movement of the turning member 2, the casing-side piping 12 is made of a material having flexibility and a sufficient length.

In order to make the robot drip-proof (to prevent water from entering the housing), a drip-proof cover 15 having a cup-down shape is attached to the upper end of the turning member 2. 15 covers the upper part of the housing 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the present invention,
An air cleaner 20 is arranged above the housing 1. The air cleaner 20 is disposed at a position where it does not interfere with the transport mechanism 10, is fixed on the drip-proof cover 15, and the wafer suction hole 8 </ b> C of the wafer holder 8 passes through the flexible pipe 11 and the air cleaner 20 through the pipe 12 inside the casing. Is connected to one end.

The air cleaner 20 is, as shown in FIG.
An air flow passage 23 having an air inlet 21 and an air outlet 22 that are open to the outside at one end and the other end, respectively, and extending in a state of being bent from the air inlet 21 to the air outlet 22 in a zigzag manner. And a filter 25 formed to pass substantially only air and arranged in front of the air outlet 22.

To facilitate disassembly of the air cleaner, the chamber 24 is provided with mating surfaces 31a, 32a which are aligned with each other.
The first chamber component 31 and the second chamber component 32 are configured so that they can be divided into two, and the mating surface 31a of the first chamber component 31 and the second chamber component 32 The mating surface 32a is abutted through an O-ring 33 serving as a seal member, and the chamber forming members 31 and 32 are fastened by bolts 34, so that the mating surfaces of both are airtightly connected.

In FIG. 6, the mating surface 31a of the first chamber component 31 and the second chamber component 3
Although an O-ring was used as a seal member to hermetically connect the two mating surfaces 32a, the seal member is not limited to the O-ring.
Packing or W packing may be used. In short, the sealing member may be any member that can hermetically connect the mating surface 31a of the first chamber component 31 and the mating surface 32a of the second chamber component 32.

More specifically, the first chamber constituent member 31 and the second chamber constituent member 32 are formed of substantially rectangular parallelepiped blocks, and are provided at one end of the first chamber constituent member 31 in the longitudinal direction. Inside a substantially half portion, a first space 31 forming a part of the air flow path 23 is provided.
A is provided in a state of opening to the mating surface 31a side, and the first
A plurality of regions (two regions in the illustrated example) 31A1 in which the empty space 31A is arranged in the air flow direction by the first partition wall 31b.
And 31A2.

The second chamber component 3 is provided substantially in the half of the other end of the first chamber component 31 in the longitudinal direction.
A hollow protrusion 31B protruding toward the second side is provided.
One end of the hollow portion 31B1 of 1B is opened to the second chamber constituting member 32 side. The other end of the first chamber constituent member 31 is also substantially half, and one end 31C1 communicates with the other end of the hollow portion 31B1 of the projection 31B.
Region 3 on the downstream side in the air flow direction of the empty space 31A
An air circulation hole 31C is provided at a position adjacent to 1A2 and is open to the mating surface 31a.

In a substantially half portion on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the second chamber constituting member 32, a second space 32A constituting the air flow path 23 together with the first space 31A is provided with a mating surface 32a.
The second space 32 is provided by a second partition wall 32b which is provided in a state of being opened to the side and which is provided at a position shifted to the downstream side in the air flow direction with respect to the first partition wall 31b.
A plurality of areas 32A1 and 32A2 in which A is arranged in the air flow direction
It is divided into.

The first chamber component 3 is provided substantially in the other half of the second chamber component 32 in the longitudinal direction.
A protrusion fitting hole 32B for fitting the first protrusion 31B is formed, and the filter 25 is held between the protrusion 31B and the bottom of the protrusion fitting hole 32B.

The air inlet 21 penetrates a portion of the wall on one end side of the first chamber constituting member 31 which faces the first partition wall 31b (in a state where it faces the first partition wall 31b). ) Is provided, and the air flowing into the chamber from the air inlet 21 collides with the partition wall 31b.

The air outlet 22 is provided at a lower portion near the other end of the second chamber constituent member 32 and passes through the filter 25 to form the convex portion 31 of the first chamber constituent member 31.
B is communicated with one end of the hollow portion 31B1.

The plurality of regions 31A1, 31A2 of the first space 31A provided in the first chamber component 31 and the second space 3 provided in the second chamber component 32.
The plurality of regions 32A1 and 32A2 of 2A form an air flow path 23 which is bent in a zigzag manner.
3 has an air flow hole 31C provided in the first chamber constituting member 31 and a hollow portion 31B1 of the convex portion 31B.
And is connected to an air outlet 22 provided in the second chamber component.

At the air inlet 21 of the air cleaner 20,
The other end of the flexible tube 11 whose one end is connected to the wafer suction hole 8C of the wafer holder 8 is connected via a pipe joint 35, and the air outlet 22 penetrates through the cover 15 and the air outlet 22
Through a joint 36 inserted therein, it is connected to one end of a connection pipe 37 attached to the lower surface of the cover 15. Connection pipe 3
Reference numeral 7 denotes a rectangular pipe having a rectangular cross section. The other end of the connection pipe 37 is connected to one end of the housing-side pipe 12 which is open inside the cover 15 and on the side near the upper end of the turning member 2. ing.

In the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 7, a V-shaped notch 2A is formed on the side surface near the upper end of the turning member 2, and one end of the casing side pipe 12 is opened in the notch 2A. Have been. The connection pipe 37 is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction (air flow direction) of the air cleaner 20, the other end is fitted into the notch 2 </ b> A, and the opening at the other end of the connection pipe 37 is connected to an appropriate joint. Is connected to one end of the housing-side pipe 12.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the connecting pipe 37 is provided so as to be inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the air cleaner. However, the way of providing the connecting pipe 37 is not limited to this example. As shown in FIG. 8, the connection pipe 37 may be connected to one end of the casing-side pipe 12 with the connection pipe 37 oriented in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the air cleaner.

In the illustrated robot, the flexible tube 11
It is deformed with the displacement of the wafer holder 8. In this case, if the flexible tube 11 is allowed to freely deform, the flexible tube 11 may interfere with the arm 4 or 5 and be damaged. Therefore, in the illustrated example, a flexible tube guide 38 formed of a channel-shaped member extending parallel to the displacement direction of the wafer holder 8 is attached to the cover 15, and a part of the flexible tube 11 is attached to the flexible tube guide 38. By deforming along the groove of the
The flexible tube 11 is prevented from interfering with the arm 4 or 5.

When the air cleaner 20 is configured as described above, the air that has flowed into the chamber 24 from the air inlet 21 flows through the air flow path 23 that is bent in a zigzag manner while colliding with the partition walls 31b and 32b. Every time it collides with the partition wall, dust contained in the air is dropped downward and removed from the air. Dust that is not removed when the air collides with the partition wall is finally removed by the filter 25.
Therefore, only clean air containing no dust flows into the casing-side pipe 12.

Providing such an air cleaner 20 can prevent dust from entering the casing side pipe together with moisture and solidifying in the pipe, so that the polishing is completed in the wafer polishing step. Even when dust such as polishing powder or polishing dust may be sucked through the wafer suction hole, such as when unloading a wafer, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the casing side piping, The troublesome maintenance work of disassembling the housing and cleaning the housing-side piping 12 can be eliminated.

Since the air cleaner 20 is arranged outside the housing and is configured to be disassembled, the cleaning operation of the air cleaner can be easily performed.

The cleaning of the air cleaner 20 is performed in the chamber 2
After uncoupling the chamber constituent members 31 and 32 forming the chamber 4, the inside of each of the chamber constituent members 31 and 32 can be suctioned by a vacuum cleaner to remove dust accumulated inside.

In the above example, a robot using a transfer mechanism having first and second arms has been described as an example. However, the present invention relates to a wafer transfer robot provided with a wafer holder having a wafer suction hole. The present invention is applicable to a wide variety of wafer transfer robots, and the transfer mechanism for moving the wafer holder in the transfer direction is arbitrary in the wafer transfer robot.

The configuration of the air cleaner 20 is not limited to the above-described example. Instead of the air cleaner used in the above-described example, an air cleaner having a function of removing dust from the air can be used. .

For example, a partition wall 31 provided in the air passage 23
By increasing the number of b and 32b than in the above example, the length of the serpentine air flow path is increased, or the portion where the first and second partition walls 31b and 32b face in the air flow direction is removed. By increasing the length of at least one of the first and second partition walls, the chance of dust colliding with the inner surface of the air flow path can be increased.

As described above, if the air flow path is formed in a zigzag shape, dust in the air is dropped and removed each time the air collides with the partition wall. The amount can be reduced. Therefore, the load on the filter can be reduced, the cycle for cleaning the filter can be lengthened, and the life of the filter can be lengthened.

However, the air cleaner is not limited to the air cleaner having the serpentine air flow path as described above, and an air cleaner configured to remove dust only by a filter can be used.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the air cleaner is disposed outside the housing of the robot and the flexible pipe is connected to one end of the pipe on the housing side through the air cleaner, the wafer suction hole is provided. The dust sucked from the inside can be removed by the air cleaner to prevent the dust from flowing into the casing-side piping. In addition, since the air cleaner is configured to be disassembled, the cleaning operation of the air cleaner can be easily performed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a troublesome cleaning operation of the casing side piping can be almost eliminated, and a large amount of dust is removed as in a robot for unloading a wafer from a polishing apparatus in a polishing process of a semiconductor wafer. Can simplify the maintenance and inspection work of the robot used in the environment where the robot exists.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a revolving member supporting a drive shaft is lowered in a wafer transfer robot according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state where a turning member is raised in the robot shown in FIG. 1;

4A to 4C are FIGS. 1 to 3 respectively.
FIG. 8 is a top view showing a different process of the operation of the wafer transfer robot shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of the wafer transfer robot of FIG. 1;

6A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the wafer transfer robot of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6B is a top view of the main part of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a main part showing an example of a connection structure between an air cleaner and a housing.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a main part showing another connection structure between the air cleaner and the housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing | casing, 2 ... Revolving member, 3 ... 1st drive shaft, 4 ... 1st
5 ... second drive shaft, 6 ... second arm, 7 ...
Third drive shaft, 8: wafer holder, 11: flexible tube, 12
... casing side piping, 20 ... air cleaner, 23 ... air flow path,
24: chamber, 25: filter, 31: first chamber component, 32: second chamber component.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A wafer holder having a wafer holding surface on which a wafer is mounted and held, a wafer suction hole having one end opened in the wafer holding surface, and a wafer supported by a housing, wherein the wafer holder is mounted on the housing. A transfer mechanism that moves the wafer in the transfer direction of the wafer above, the wafer suction hole includes a flexible tube having one end connected to the other end of the wafer suction hole, and a housing-side pipe provided on the housing side. A wafer transfer robot connected to vacuum suction means through a suction pipe having: a decomposable air cleaner disposed outside the housing, the air cleaner supported by the housing, A wafer transfer robot, wherein the other end of the pipe is connected to one end of the casing-side pipe through the air cleaner. 2. The air cleaner has an air inlet and an air outlet which are open to the outside at one end and the other end, respectively, and is bent in a zigzag from the air inlet to the air outlet. A chamber having an air flow path therein extending therein, and a filter formed so as to allow substantially only air to pass therethrough and disposed on the air outlet side of the air flow path; 2. The wafer transfer robot according to claim 1, wherein an end and one end of the casing-side pipe are connected to an air inlet and an air outlet of the air cleaner, respectively. 3. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a chamber of the air cleaner is configured to be divided into a first chamber component and a second chamber component having mating surfaces that are aligned with each other. 3. The wafer transfer robot according to claim 2, wherein the mating surfaces of the member and the second chamber constituent member are air-tightly connected via a seal member. 4. A first space constituting a part of the air flow path is provided inside a substantially half portion on one end side of the first chamber constituent member so as to open to the mating surface side. The first space is partitioned into a plurality of regions arranged in the direction of air flow by a first partition wall, and the second chamber is substantially half of the other end of the first chamber constituent member. A hollow protrusion protruding toward the chamber member is provided, one end of the hollow of the protrusion is opened to the second chamber member, and one end communicates with the other end of the hollow. The other end is provided with an air flow hole which is open to the mating surface side at a position adjacent to a region of a downstreammost end portion in the air flow direction of the first space. In a substantially half part on one end side, a second part forming the air flow path together with the first space is provided. Provided in a state of cavity is open to the mating surface side,
The second partition wall is provided at a position shifted to the downstream side in the air flow direction with respect to the first partition wall, so that the second voids are formed in a plurality of regions arranged in the air flow direction. A partition fitting hole for fitting a convex portion of the first chamber component is formed in substantially a half portion on the other end side of the second chamber component, and the air inflow port is The first chamber constituent member is provided so as to penetrate a portion of the wall portion on one end side facing the first partition wall, and the air outlet is provided near the other end of the second chamber constituent member. The filter is provided at a lower portion and communicates with one end of a hollow portion of the convex portion of the first chamber component. The filter is configured such that the convex portion of the first chamber component and the filter of the second chamber component Keep it between the convex fitting hole and the bottom. And the plurality of regions of the first space provided in the first chamber component and the plurality of regions of the second space provided in the second chamber component. The downstream end of the air flow path is formed through the air flow hole provided in the first chamber constituent member and the hollow part of the projection, and the second air path is formed. 4. The wafer transfer robot according to claim 3, wherein the robot is connected to an air outlet provided in a chamber constituent member. 5. A flexible tube guide that guides the flexible tube displaced in accordance with the displacement of the wafer holding unit so as not to interfere with the transfer mechanism is supported on an upper portion of the housing. 5. The wafer transfer robot according to any one of 4.