JP2005268488A - Substrate supporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate processing and assembling, while preventing contamination of a substrate, by devising the falling prevention of a substrate. <P>SOLUTION: Since gas is injected towards both sides of a substrate W from a gas injector 29 at the time when the substrate W is transferred to a substrate supporting device 1, the substrate W will be supported by the member like a gaseous cushion. Therefore, it will be supported without contacting the gas injector 29. As a result, falling of the substrate W can be prevented by non-contact. Accordingly, particle generation can be prevented so that the contamination of the substrate W can be prevented. Since falling of the substrate W is controlled by the gas injector 29 without using a guide groove in a conventional example, there is no restrictions derived from a guide groove in processing and assembling operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate holding device that holds a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) for a liquid crystal display device, and in particular, a holding portion that holds a lower edge of a substrate, and the holding portion. The present invention relates to a substrate holding device provided with a fall prevention portion provided at a position sandwiching the substrate.

Conventionally, as this type of apparatus, a holding unit that abuts the lower edge of the substrate and holds the substrate, and a fall prevention unit at two positions on the side edge of the substrate that sandwich the holding unit are provided. There is a substrate holding device that supports the standing posture and prevents the substrate from falling by two falling prevention portions (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this apparatus, the holding portion includes a roller, the fall prevention portion includes a guide groove wider than the thickness of the substrate, and even if the substrate loses its standing posture due to rotation of the roller, the substrate does not fall over the guide groove of the fall prevention portion. So that the standing posture of the substrate is maintained.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-4133 (FIGS. 1 and 3)

  However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.

  That is, the conventional apparatus has a problem that both the front and back surfaces and the edge of the substrate come into contact with the guide groove of the fall prevention portion, so that particles are generated from this portion and the substrate is contaminated. In addition, since the accuracy of the groove in the fall prevention part is directly linked to the fall amount of the substrate, there is a problem that restrictions in processing and assembly increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a substrate holding device that can be easily processed and assembled while preventing contamination of the substrate by devising prevention of the substrate from falling. With the goal.

  In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.

  That is, the invention according to claim 1 includes the holding unit that holds the lower edge of the substrate, and the fall prevention unit at a position sandwiching the holding unit, and the substrate holding device that holds the substrate in an upright position. The prevention unit includes a gas injection unit that injects gas toward both the front and back surfaces of the substrate.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 1, by injecting the gas from the gas injection unit, the gas is injected to both the front and back surfaces of the substrate, so that it is possible to prevent the substrate from collapsing without contact. it can. Therefore, generation of particles can be prevented, so that contamination of the substrate can be prevented. In addition, since the substrate is not tilted by the gas injection portion rather than the guide groove, restrictions on processing and assembly due to the guide groove can be eliminated.

  In addition, the fall prevention part is provided in the position which pinches | interposes a holding | maintenance part in the surface direction of a board | substrate, Preferably it is provided in at least two places.

  In this invention, it is preferable that the gas injection part is provided with the some nozzle which injects gas (Claim 2). The plurality of nozzles can reliably prevent the substrate from falling.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of nozzles be disposed along the outer shape of the substrate and disposed over a position that enters the center side of the substrate from the outer edge of the substrate. By arranging a plurality of nozzles in a strip shape along the outer shape of the substrate from the outer edge of the substrate to a position slightly entering the center side, the substrate can be tilted over a wide area, so that the substrate can be stably The fall can be prevented.

  In the present invention, the holding unit includes a rotation roller that contacts the edge of the substrate and rotates the substrate in a certain direction, and the rotation roller stops at a predetermined position on the edge of the substrate. (Claim 4). The substrate is rotated by the rotating roller, and the rotation stops at a predetermined position on the edge of the substrate, for example, a notch or an orientation flat of the substrate. Therefore, the substrate can be aligned while keeping the cleanness high.

  Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable that the holding | maintenance part is equipped with the edge gas injection part which injects gas toward the edge of a board | substrate (Claim 5). Since the degree of contact of the edge (side surface) of the substrate with the holding portion can be reduced, the generation of particles in this portion can also be reduced.

  According to the substrate holding device according to the present invention, since the gas is ejected from the gas ejection unit to the front and back surfaces of the substrate, the substrate can be prevented from falling down in a non-contact manner. Therefore, generation of particles can be prevented, so that contamination of the substrate can be prevented. In addition, since the substrate is not tilted by the gas injection portion instead of the guide groove, the restrictions in processing and assembly caused by the guide groove can be eliminated.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a substrate alignment apparatus including a substrate holding device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

  This substrate alignment apparatus has a function of detecting notches and orientation flats formed at a part of the periphery of the substrate W and aligning the periphery of the substrate W in a certain direction. The plurality of substrates W are all held in a standing posture with respect to the substrate holding device 1 provided in the substrate alignment device.

  The substrate holding device 1 includes a holding unit 3 that holds the lower edge of the substrate W, and a fall prevention unit 5 at the left and right positions sandwiching the holding unit 3. Of these, the holding unit 3 holds the substrate W in contact with the lower edge of the substrate W. On the other hand, the two fall prevention units 5 prevent the fall of the substrate W in the paper direction in a non-contact manner, and abut against the fall in the plane direction of the substrate W (left and right direction in FIG. 1).

  The two fall prevention units 5 are arranged side by side in the paper surface direction of FIG. 1 for each substrate W, and are erected on the base 7 of the substrate alignment apparatus. In the base 7, a control unit 9, a motor 11, a pipe 13, and a flow rate adjustment valve 15 are provided.

  The motor 11 rotationally drives the rotating roller 17 constituting the holding unit 3 in a certain direction via a pulley 19. The rotational drive is controlled by the control unit 9. The pipe 13 communicates the gas supply source 21 arranged outside the apparatus or prepared as a clean room utility and the two fall-preventing units 5. A flow rate adjusting valve 15 is attached to each portion of the pipe 13 branched to the two falling prevention portions 5. The two flow rate control valves 15 adjust the flow rates of gases (for example, nitrogen and air) supplied to the two fall prevention units 5 under the control of the control unit 9.

  The rotating roller 17 is provided for each substrate W and is loosely inserted into a rotating shaft 23 connected to the pulley 19. When a certain load or more is applied, the rotation is stopped regardless of the driving by the rotating shaft 23 and the rotation is stopped. The load above a certain level is generated when the notch or orientation flat of the substrate W is locked to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating roller 17.

  A spacer 27 that forms an interval for holding the substrate W is disposed between the two extending members 25 erected on the base 7. The spacer 27 is formed to be slightly thicker than the substrate W. A gas injection unit 29 is attached to the upper part of the extending member 25 and on the side on which the substrate W is placed.

  The gas injection unit 29 is formed by forming a notch 33 in which the extending member 25 is attached to a plate-like injection unit main body 31. The ejection unit main body 31 includes a total of ten nozzles 35 on one surface side (spacer 27 side). These nozzles 35 are arranged along the outer shape of the substrate W, and are provided over a position entering the inside from the outer edge of the substrate W. As described above, since the nozzles 35 are disposed, the substrate W can be tilted over a wide area, so that the substrate W can be stably prevented from falling.

  Each nozzle 35 includes a nozzle body 37 that opens in a circular shape when viewed from the substrate W side, and a communication hole 39 that communicates with the central portion of the nozzle body 37. Each communication hole 39 includes a supply passage 41 formed in the injection unit main body 31 in the lateral direction toward the notch 33, and is connected to the pipe 13 through a relay passage 43 formed in the extending member 25. Has been. Therefore, the gas supplied from the gas supply source 21 through the pipe 13 is ejected from each nozzle 35.

  The operation of the substrate aligning apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

  First, a plurality of substrates W are transported by a transport device (not shown) and transferred to the substrate holding device 1 of the substrate alignment device. While the plurality of substrates W are placed on the substrate holding device 1, the control unit 9 starts to circulate gas through the pipe 13 at a predetermined flow rate. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 which is a BB arrow view in FIG. 2, the gas is jetted from the gas jetting part 29 toward both surfaces of the substrate W. In this state, the motor 11 is driven, and the rotating roller 17 is rotated in a predetermined direction (for example, clockwise as shown in FIG. 1). Then, the substrate W rotates, but when the notch or the orientation flat formed on the substrate W is positioned at the portion of the rotating roller 17, a load is applied to the rotating roller 17, and the rotating roller 17 idles with respect to the rotating shaft 23. Therefore, the rotation of the substrate W is stopped and the positioning of the substrate W is completed. Such a process is performed on all the substrates W, and when all the substrates W stop rotating, the alignment process is completed.

  As described above, when all the substrates W are transferred to the substrate holding device 1, the gas is ejected from the gas ejection unit 29 toward both surfaces of the substrate W, so that the substrate W is like a gas cushion. Will be held at. Therefore, both surfaces of the substrate W are held in a state where they do not come into contact with any of the two gas injection units 29 as shown in FIG. As a result, the fall of the substrate W can be prevented without contact. Therefore, even if the substrate W is rotated to align it, the front and back surfaces of the substrate W do not come into contact with the fall prevention unit 5 and the generation of particles can be prevented, so that contamination of the substrate W can be prevented. it can. In addition, since the substrate W is not tilted by the gas injection portion 29 instead of the guide groove as in the conventional example, restrictions on processing and assembly due to the guide groove can be eliminated.

  In addition, it is preferable to comprise the rotation roller 17 of the holding | maintenance part 3 mentioned above as shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rotating roller.

  The rotating roller 17 </ b> A of the holding unit 3 </ b> A employs a configuration in which gas is also ejected to the lower edge of the substrate W.

  That is, the rotating roller 17A includes a concave groove 45 formed over the entire circumference thereof and a jet outlet 47 that communicates with the concave groove 45, and a communication passage 49 that communicates with the jet outlet 47 is formed in the lateral direction. The communication passage 49 is connected to the gas supply source 21 through a flow rate adjusting valve (not shown). In addition, the flow rate adjusting valve can adjust the gas flow rate by the control unit 9. The gas flow rate is adjusted such that the substrate W comes into light contact with the concave groove 45 of the rotating roller 17A and the substrate W rotates with the rotation of the rotating roller 17A.

  By configuring the rotation roller 17A in this manner, dust generation due to contact and rotation between the holding portion 3A and the peripheral edge of the substrate W can be suppressed, and contamination of the substrate W can be further prevented.

  Moreover, you may comprise the fall prevention part 5 mentioned above as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the fall prevention portion.

  This fall prevention part 5 is different in the structure of the spacer 27A.

  That is, the spacer 27 </ b> A further includes a nozzle 51 (edge gas injection unit) that injects gas toward the outer peripheral edge (side surface) of the substrate W toward the two gas injection units 29. . The nozzle 51 includes an opening 53 that communicates with the side surface of the spacer 27A, and a communication passage 55 that communicates with the opening 53 and communicates with the gas supply source 21 via a flow rate adjusting valve (not shown).

  Thus, by supplying gas also to the periphery of the substrate W, it is possible to prevent both side surfaces of the substrate W from contacting the spacer 27A. Therefore, dust generation from this portion can be prevented, and contamination of the substrate W can be further prevented.

  In the embodiment described above, the substrate holding device 1 is adopted as the substrate alignment device, but the present invention may be applied only to the substrate holding device 1A as shown in FIG.

  That is, the substrate holding apparatus 1A does not have a function of rotating and aligning the substrates W, but has a function of simply holding the substrates W in an upright posture. Specifically, the motor 11, the rotating roller 17, the pulley 19, and the rotating shaft 23 in the above-described embodiment are not provided. Further, a holding unit 3B is provided instead of the holding unit 3. The holding unit 3 </ b> B includes a guide surface 57 that guides the edge of the substrate W and a contact surface 59 that holds the substrate W by contacting the lower edge of the substrate W.

  Thus, the present invention can be applied even to the substrate holding apparatus 1A that holds the lower edge of the substrate W in contact with each other.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) The substrate holding device according to the present invention is not limited to the circular substrate W, and can hold even a rectangular substrate.

  (2) Not only a substrate holding device that holds a plurality of substrates W, but also a device that holds a single substrate.

  (3) The number of nozzles 35 formed in the fall prevention unit 5 is not limited to 10 as in the above-described embodiment, and the number of nozzles 35 or less may be provided. Further, the nozzle 35 may adopt an arrangement that does not follow the outer shape of the substrate W.

  (4) Instead of providing the two fall prevention portions 5 as in the above embodiment, for example, the fall prevention portions 5 may be provided at three or four or more locations.

  (5) The present invention can also be applied to the substrate transfer apparatus shown in FIG.

  This substrate transfer device is configured to be movable and has a function of holding the substrate W by sandwiching it from both sides. In this case, two lower edge portions of the substrate W are abutted and supported by the holding portion 3C, and two side portions of the substrate W are held in a non-contact manner by the fall prevention portion 5A. With such a configuration, the substrate W can be transferred while preventing contamination.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the board | substrate alignment apparatus provided with the board | substrate holding apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is AA arrow sectional drawing in FIG. It is a BB arrow line view in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a rotating roller. It is sectional drawing to which a part of fall prevention part was expanded. It is a schematic block diagram of a substrate holding device. It is a schematic block diagram of a board | substrate conveyance apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

W ... Substrate 1 ... Substrate holding device 3 ... Holding part 5 ... Falling prevention part 7 ... Base 13 ... Pipe 15 ... Flow rate adjusting valve 17 ... Rotating roller 19 ... Pulley 23 ... Rotating shaft 25 ... Extending member 27 ... Spacer 29 ... Gas Injecting portion 31 ... Injecting portion main body 35 ... Nozzle 37 ... Nozzle main body 43 ... Relay passage

Claims (5)

In a substrate holding apparatus that includes a holding unit that holds the lower edge of the substrate, and a fall prevention unit at a position sandwiching the holding unit, and holds the substrate in an upright posture.
The said board | substrate fall prevention part is equipped with the gas injection part which injects gas toward the front and back both surfaces of a board | substrate, The board | substrate holding apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The substrate holding apparatus according to claim 1,
The said gas injection part is equipped with the some nozzle which injects gas, The board | substrate holding apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The substrate holding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the plurality of nozzles are arranged along an outer shape of the substrate, and are arranged over a position entering the center side of the substrate from an outer edge of the substrate. The substrate holding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The holding unit includes a rotating roller that contacts the edge of the substrate and rotates the substrate in a certain direction.
The substrate holding apparatus, wherein the rotation roller stops rotating at a predetermined position on an edge of the substrate. The substrate holding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The said holding | maintenance part is equipped with the edge gas injection part which injects gas toward the edge of a board | substrate, The board | substrate holding apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

Images