JP2005311169A - Equipment and method for substrate transfer processing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the reliability of equipment, while shortening the processing time. <P>SOLUTION: A wafer-retrieving mechanism 20 which retrieves a wafer W from the inside of a carrier C which stores the semiconductor wafer W, and a wafer-holding mechanism 30 which receives the wafers W from the wafer-retrieving mechanism 20 and holds a plurality of the wafers W, are installed. The wafer-holding mechanism 30 is provided with a pair of holding members 31a, 31b which hold the wafer W, when the respective members approach each other and detach the wafer W, when the respective members separate from each other, and the mechanism 30 is formed so as to be able to hold the other wafer W in a state of holding the wafer W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer processing apparatus and a substrate transfer processing method for transferring a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for LCD.

  In general, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a substrate to be processed (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for LCD is processed into a processing tank in which a processing solution such as a chemical solution or a rinsing solution (cleaning solution) is stored. Substrate transport processing apparatuses that perform processing by sequentially transporting to a section are widely used.

  In such a substrate transport processing apparatus, in order to efficiently transport the substrate, the substrate taken out from the container (carrier) that accommodates the substrate in a horizontal state is loaded into the processing unit and unloaded from the processing unit. The method is used.

As a conventional substrate transfer processing apparatus of this type, in order to transfer substrates according to the number of sheets, a single-wafer hand that holds one substrate and a batch hand that holds a plurality of substrates collectively are attached and detached. A structure having two hands, that is, an exchange or a single-wafer hand and a batch hand is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-354604 (Claims, FIGS. 2 and 14)

  However, the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-354604 can take out a substrate corresponding to the number of sheets from a container (carrier) by using a single-wafer hand and a batch hand and transfer it to the attitude changing mechanism. In the posture change mechanism, there is a description that the next substrate is received in a state in which one or a plurality of substrates conveyed by a single wafer hand or a batch hand is received and held, and the posture change is performed. If the posture is changed without gripping, the substrate is dropped. Further, if the temporary holding and holding are performed in the same part, there is a risk that particles are generated due to rubbing between the substrate and the holding part, and particles are attached to the substrate due to a large contact area. Therefore, there is a problem that the reliability of the apparatus is lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer processing apparatus and a substrate transfer processing method capable of reducing the processing time and improving the reliability of the apparatus. Is.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1, a substrate take-out means for taking out a substrate to be processed from a container that accommodates the substrate to be processed, a substrate to be processed from the substrate take-out means, A substrate holding means for holding a substrate to be processed, wherein the substrate holding means holds the substrate to be processed when they approach each other and separates the substrate to be processed when they are separated from each other It is characterized in that it is formed so as to be able to hold another substrate to be processed in a state where the member is provided and the substrate to be processed is held.

  In the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention, the substrate take-out means includes a single arm body that takes out the substrate to be processed in the container and delivers the substrate to be processed to the substrate holding means (Claim 2). The single arm body and a plurality of arm bodies for transferring the substrate to be processed between the substrate holding means can be provided.

  Further, the substrate holding means includes a holding groove for holding the substrate to be processed when both holding members approach each other, and a substrate to be processed which is conveyed by the substrate take-out means in a state where the both holding members face each other at a predetermined interval. It can be set as the structure which comprises the temporary holding part which hold | maintains (Claim 4). In this case, the holding groove is provided at each tip of a plurality of protrusions protruding at appropriate intervals on the opposing surfaces of both holding members, and the temporary holding part is provided on the upper surface of the protrusion. (Claim 5).

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the substrate holding means changes the posture between the horizontal state and the vertical state while holding the substrate to be processed in the holding groove. It is possible to form.

  Further, the substrate transport processing method according to claim 7 includes a step of taking out one substrate to be processed from the container for storing the substrate to be processed by the substrate take-out means and temporarily holding it in the temporary holding portion of the substrate holding means; A step of taking out the substrates to be processed temporarily held by the substrate holding means by the substrate removing means; and a plurality of substrates to be processed taken out by the substrate removing means at a predetermined interval provided in the substrate holding means. And a step of holding by the holding groove.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer processing method according to the seventh aspect, the posture of the substrate holding means is changed between a horizontal state and a vertical state while the substrate to be processed is held by the holding groove of the substrate holding means. The method further includes a step.

  (1) According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the substrate holding means includes a pair of holding members that hold the substrate to be processed when they approach each other and release the substrate to be processed when they are separated from each other. In addition, since the other substrate to be processed can be held while holding the substrate to be processed, the substrate removal means removes the substrate to be processed from the container that accommodates the substrate to be processed and holds the substrate. When delivering to the means, a plurality of substrates to be processed can be held with the holding member fixed. Therefore, the substrate to be processed in the container can be transferred to the substrate holding means within a short time.

  In addition, since it is possible to process all substrates to be processed in the container and to process an arbitrary number of sheets at an arbitrary position, the processing can be performed safely and efficiently.

  (2) According to the third and seventh aspects of the present invention, one substrate to be processed is taken out from the container by the substrate take-out means and temporarily held in the temporary holding portion of the substrate holding means, so that a predetermined number of substrates to be processed are obtained. Are temporarily held by the substrate processing means, and then the substrate to be processed temporarily held by the substrate holding means is taken out by the substrate take-out means, and a plurality of substrates to be processed taken out by the substrate take-out means are taken as the substrate holding means. By holding the holding substrates at predetermined intervals, the substrates to be processed in the container can be transferred to the substrate holding means within a short time, and a plurality of substrates to be processed are collectively set at a predetermined interval. Therefore, the transfer time of the substrate to be processed can be shortened according to the number of sheets.

  (3) According to the inventions of claims 4 and 5, the substrate holding means is in a state where the holding groove for holding the substrate to be processed when both holding members approach and the both holding members face each other at a predetermined interval. In addition to the above (1), the apparatus can be further reduced in size because it includes a temporary holding unit for holding the substrate to be processed conveyed by the substrate take-out means. In this case, the holding groove is provided at each tip of the plurality of protrusions protruding at appropriate intervals on the opposing surfaces of both holding members, and the temporary holding part is provided on the upper surface of the protrusion. Further, the apparatus can be reduced in size (claim 5).

  In addition, since the holding unit and the temporary holding unit are separately provided, it is possible to suppress the friction due to the contact between the holding unit and the substrate to be processed and the increase in the contact area, thereby preventing the generation of particles.

  (4) According to the inventions of claims 6 and 8, the predetermined interval is set by changing the posture of the substrate holding means between the horizontal state and the vertical state while holding the substrate to be processed by the holding groove of the substrate holding means. The substrate to be processed held in this state can be transferred from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture or from the vertical posture to the horizontal posture and transferred to the next processing unit.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, the case where the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer cleaning processing system will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the cleaning processing system, and FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  The cleaning processing system includes a loading / unloading unit 1 for loading and unloading a container C (hereinafter referred to as a carrier C) containing a plurality of, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers W (hereinafter referred to as wafers W) which are substrates to be processed. The wafer W is disposed between the processing unit 2 that performs liquid processing using a chemical solution, a cleaning solution, and the like, and also performs drying processing, and the transfer / position adjustment and posture of the wafer W. The interface unit 3 that performs conversion or the like is mainly configured, and the substrate transfer processing device 4 according to the present invention is disposed in the interface unit 3.

  The carry-in / carry-out unit 1 is disposed at one end of the cleaning processing system. A carrier carry-in unit 10 and a carrier carry-out unit 11 are provided at the outer end of the carry-in / carry-out unit 1, and a wafer carry-out unit 12 (wafer take-out unit) and a wafer carry-in unit 13 (wafers) are provided on the interface side. Receiving department). The carry-in / carry-out unit 1 is provided with a carrier transport mechanism 14. The carrier C transported by the carrier transport mechanism 14 to the carrier carry-in unit 10 is transported to the wafer carry-out unit 12. The carrier C of the unit 13 is configured to be conveyed to the carrier carry-out unit 11. In addition, a carrier stock unit 15 is provided in the carry-in / carry-out unit 1, and before being carried to the wafer carry-out unit 12 by the carrier carrying mechanism 14 or before being carried from the wafer carry-in unit 13 to the carrier carry-out unit 11. The carrier C can be temporarily stocked in the carrier stock section 15.

  The carrier C includes a container body Ca having an opening on one side and a holding groove (not shown) for holding a plurality of, for example, 25 wafers W on the inner wall in a horizontal state at appropriate intervals. The lid Cb is configured to open and close the opening of the main body Ca, and the lid Cb is opened and closed by operating the engagement / disengagement mechanism incorporated in the lid Cb by the lid opening / closing mechanism 16 described later. It is configured.

  A carrier gas, for example, nitrogen (N2) gas supply hole and exhaust hole (both not shown) are always closed at the bottom of the container body Ca of the carrier C, and the carrier C is provided with the carrier stock part 15. Alternatively, when the wafer is transported and placed on the wafer unloading section 12, N2 gas supply nozzle (not shown) may be engaged with the supply hole to supply N2 gas into the carrier C to replace N2 gas. As a result, the inside of the carrier C containing the processed wafer W waiting in the carrier stock unit 15 can be replaced with N2, and the oxidation of the processed wafer W can be suppressed (oxygen concentration reduction).

  On the other hand, a lid opening / closing mechanism 16 is provided in each of the wafer unloading section 12 (wafer unloading section) and the wafer loading section 13 (wafer receiving section) in the interface section 3. The lid body Cb is opened or closed.

  Further, the interface unit 3 includes a first wafer take-out mechanism 20 which is a substrate take-out means for taking out the wafer W from the carrier C transferred to the wafer carry-out unit 12 (wafer take-out unit), and the wafer take-out mechanism 20 takes out the wafer W. The first wafer holding mechanism 30 that is a substrate holding means for receiving the single wafer W from the wafer take-out mechanism 20 and converting the received wafer W from a horizontal posture to a vertical posture, and the first wafer holding mechanism 30. The notch aligner 40 for detecting a notch (not shown) provided on the wafer W whose posture has been changed by the above and a plurality of wafers W whose posture has been changed by the first wafer holding mechanism 30 in a vertical state at a predetermined interval. The pitch changer 50 held on the wafer and the wafer W from the pitch changer 50 are received in the processing unit 2. A wafer transfer arm 70 for transferring the wafer transfer chuck 60 for unloading the wafer W from the loading or the processing unit 2 is disposed. Further, the interface unit 3 receives the processed wafer W from the wafer transfer chuck 60 side and receives a plurality of wafers W from the pitch changer 50A, which holds the wafers W in a vertical state at a predetermined interval. The second wafer holding mechanism 30A that changes the posture of the wafer W from the vertical posture to the horizontal posture, and the wafer W that has been converted to the horizontal posture by the second wafer holding mechanism 30A is received from the second wafer holding mechanism 30A. A second wafer take-out mechanism 20A for carrying the carrier C in the carry-in part 13 (wafer receiving part) is disposed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the first wafer take-out mechanism 20 includes an elevating table 23 that is placed on a fixed base 21 so as to be movable up and down by a first elevating drive means 22; The rotary table 24 is rotatably mounted on the elevator 23, and the rotary mechanism 25 includes a motor 25a that rotates (θ) the rotary table 24 on a horizontal plane and a timing belt 25b. . Further, a first arm driving unit 26 that drives one arm body 26a holding one wafer W in the horizontal Y direction and the vertical Z direction at a portion symmetrical with respect to the rotation center on the turntable 24. And a second arm driving unit 27 that drives a plurality of arm bodies 27a that collectively hold a plurality of, for example, 25 wafers W, in the horizontal Y direction. In this case, the first and second arm driving units 26 and 27 are configured to be able to move back and forth in the horizontal Y direction by a horizontal movement mechanism having a horizontal movement motor 28a, for example, a horizontal movement ball screw mechanism 28b. Has been. The first arm drive unit 26 is configured to be moved up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction) by a vertical movement mechanism including a vertical movement motor 28c, for example, a vertical movement ball screw mechanism 28d.

  The first arm driving unit 26 is configured to face the wafer unloading unit 12 (wafer unloading unit) and the first wafer holding mechanism 30 when the turntable 24 is rotated 180 degrees by driving the motor 25a. ing. Similarly to the first arm driving unit 26, the second arm driving unit 27 also rotates the rotary table 24 by 180 degrees by driving the motor 25a, so that the wafer unloading unit 12 (wafer unloading unit) and the first arm driving unit 27 are connected to the first arm driving unit 27. It is configured to face the wafer holding mechanism 30.

  According to the first wafer take-out mechanism 20 configured as described above, the horizontal movement ball screw mechanism 28b is driven in a state where the first arm drive unit 26 is placed at a position facing the wafer carry-out unit 12. Thus, one wafer W is taken out from the carrier C disposed in the wafer unloading section 12. Thereafter, with the turntable 24 rotated 180 degrees and facing the first wafer holding mechanism 30, the horizontal movement ball screw mechanism 28 b is driven again to deliver the wafer W to the first wafer holding mechanism 30. be able to. Accordingly, one or a plurality of wafers W accommodated in the carrier C can be taken out from the carrier C and transferred to the first wafer holding mechanism 30 according to processing.

  The second wafer take-out mechanism 20A is also configured in the same manner as the first wafer take-out mechanism 20, and therefore the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 and 8, the first and second wafer holding mechanisms 30A include a pair of substantially rectangular holding members 31a and 31b facing each other to hold the wafer W. When the holding members 31a and 31b approach each other, the holding groove 32 that holds the wafer W and the holding members 31a and 31b face each other at a predetermined interval. Temporary holding portions 33 for holding the wafers W are provided alternately in a multi-stage shape. In this case, the holding groove 32 is formed by a substantially V-shaped groove provided at the tip of a plurality of protrusions 34 that are provided at appropriate intervals on one side of the opposing surfaces of the holding members 31a and 31b. Is formed. In addition, the temporary holding portion 33 is provided on the upper surface of the protrusion 34. As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 (b) and 6, the protrusion 34 is formed so that the inner side width is narrower than the one end side of the holding members 31 a and 31 b, and the holding groove 32 is formed in an arc shape from the inner side toward the end side. The temporary holding portion 33 formed on the upper surface of the ridge 34 is formed by a step portion 34 a provided on the upper surface of the ridge 34. Thus, by forming the temporary holding part 33 by the step part 34a, the position shift of the wafer W temporarily held by the temporary holding part 33 can be prevented. Instead of providing the step 34a, a pin that engages with the peripheral edge of the wafer W may be raised on the upper surface of the protrusion 34.

  Further, both holding members 31a and 31b are attached to a rotating arm 36 that is detachably connected to a rotating means, for example, a servo motor 35, and both holding members 31a and 31b can simultaneously rotate in the vertical direction by driving the servo motor 35. It is configured as follows. Further, one of the holding members 31a and 31b, for example, the holding member 31a on the servo motor side is formed so as to be movable forward and backward toward the other holding member 31b, and is configured to be moved forward and backward by a moving means such as an air cylinder 37. ing. Note that the rotation support portions 38 of the holding members 31 a and 31 b, the servo motor 35, and the air cylinder 37 are disposed on the mount 39.

  Note that the second wafer holding mechanism 30A is also configured in the same manner as the first wafer holding mechanism 30, and therefore the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the notch aligner 40 moves from the lower side of the first wafer holding mechanism 30 to the lower side of the first wafer holding mechanism 30 and from the lower position of the first wafer holding mechanism 30. A pair of guide rollers 41, 42, a drive roller 43 positioned between the guide rollers 41, 42, and one guide roller, for example, in the vicinity of the guide roller 41, are shown on the upper surface of the support 44 that can be raised and lowered. The notch sensor is provided, and while the wafer W is held vertically by the guide rollers 41 and 42 and the drive roller 43, the drive roller 43 is driven to rotate the wafer W in the vertical direction, and the notch The notches of the respective wafers W are aligned at the same position by the detection by the sensor, that is, positioning is performed. The wafer W thus positioned is transferred again to the first wafer holding mechanism 30 and held (held) in a vertical state.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the pitch changer 50 includes a plurality of, for example, 50 holding grooves 51a for holding both sides of the wafer W, a pair of side holding parts 52 and 53 parallel to each other, A holding part 56 having a plurality of, for example, a pair of lower holding parts 54 and 55 having a plurality of, for example, 50 holding grooves 51b for holding the lower part, and a holding table (not shown) for holding the holding part 56 are provided. The direction of the horizontal direction is changed by a direction changing motor (not shown), and it can be moved in the vertical direction (Z direction) and the horizontal direction (Y direction) by a vertical movement mechanism and a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown). ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer transfer arm 70 has a structure in which a pair of holding rods 72 project from an arm support 71 that is movable in the horizontal Y direction by a moving mechanism (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wafer transfer chuck 60 includes a drive base 62 that moves along a guide rail (not shown) provided in the transfer path 61 and a liftable drive base 62. The lower holding arm 63 and the pair of side holding arms 64 that can move in an arc shape with respect to the lower holding arm 63 are configured.

  Next, an operation mode of the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. First, when the carrier C storing the unprocessed wafer W is placed on the carrier carry-in unit 10 by the operator or the transfer robot, the carrier transfer mechanism 14 moves and the carrier C is loaded into the wafer carry-out unit 12. The carrier C carried into the wafer carry-out unit 12 stands by toward the interface unit 3 with the lid Cb being opened by the lid opening / closing mechanism 16. At this time, a mapping sensor (not shown) is activated to detect the number of wafers W stored in the carrier C.

  After the number of wafers W in the carrier C is detected by the mapping sensor, the first arm drive unit 26 of the first wafer extraction mechanism 20 (hereinafter referred to as the wafer extraction mechanism 20) disposed in the interface unit 3 is used. Is placed at a position facing the wafer unloading portion 12, and the arm body 26 is moved from the inside of the carrier C disposed on the wafer unloading portion 12 by driving the ball screw mechanism 28 b for horizontal movement and the first lifting means 22. One wafer W is taken out. Thereafter, with the turntable 24 rotated 180 degrees and facing the first wafer holding mechanism 30 (hereinafter referred to as the wafer holding mechanism 30), the horizontal movement ball screw mechanism 28b is driven again, and the wafer W is moved to the wafer. Transfer to the desired temporary holding portion 33 of the holding mechanism 30. After delivering the wafer W to the wafer holding mechanism 30, the arm body 26 a moves backward and rotates 180 degrees again to take out one wafer W from the carrier C of the wafer carry-out section 12, and similarly accommodates in the carrier C. The number of wafers W necessary for the processed processing is transferred to a desired temporary holding unit 33 of the wafer holding mechanism 30 (see FIG. 9A). At this time, the wafer holding mechanism 30 can hold another wafer W while holding the wafer W.

  As described above, in a state where a predetermined number of wafers W are transferred to the desired temporary holding unit 33 of the first wafer holding mechanism 30, the wafer take-out mechanism 20 is rotated and the second arm driving unit 27 is rotated. The plurality of arm bodies 27 a are moved to a position facing the wafer holding mechanism 30. Then, the plurality of arm bodies 27 a are moved into the wafer holding mechanism 30, and the arm bodies 27 a are inserted below the respective wafers W. Thereafter, the second arm driving unit 27 is lifted so that the plurality of wafers W are moved. The wafers W are held together and the wafer W is taken out from the first wafer holding mechanism 30.

  Next, both the holding members 31a and 31b of the wafer holding mechanism 30 are opened relatively apart by driving the air cylinder 37, while the second arm driving unit 27 is moved up and down so that the positions of the holding groove 32 and the wafer W are changed. Adjusted. Then, the second arm driving unit 27 is driven and a plurality of arm bodies 27 a are inserted between the holding members 31 a and 31 b of the wafer holding mechanism 30, and the holding members 31 a and 31 b are driven by the air cylinder 37. Hold the wafer W in the holding groove 32 relatively close to each other. When the wafer W is held (gripped), the arm body 27 a moves backward from the wafer holding mechanism 30.

  Next, after holding the wafer W in a horizontal state, the servo motor 35 is driven to rotate both the holding members 31a and 31b by 90 degrees, so that the posture of the wafer W is converted into a vertical state. Thus, since the wafer W is held (gripped) in a lump and the posture is changed as it is, it can be performed without fear of dropping the wafer W.

  After changing the posture of the wafer W to the vertical state by the wafer holding mechanism 30, the notch aligner 40 moves below the wafer holding mechanism 30, and ascends to hold the wafer W on the guide rollers 41 and 42 and the driving roller 43. In this state, both holding members 31 a and 31 b are opened to transfer the wafer W to the notch aligner 40. The plurality of wafers W held by the notch aligner 40 are positioned by aligning the positions of the notches of each wafer W by the notch aligner 40. The positioned wafer W is received again by the holding members 31 a and 31 b of the wafer holding mechanism 30. The notch aligner 40 that has transferred the wafer W to the wafer holding mechanism 30 moves back to the original standby position.

  Next, after the pitch changer 50 is moved below the wafer holding mechanism 30, the pitch changer 50 is lifted and the plurality of wafers W are vertically moved by the side holding parts 52 and 53 and the lower holding parts 54 and 55 provided in the pitch changer 50. After being held in the state, the pitch changer 50 moves up to the standby side, and delivers the wafer W to the wafer transfer arm 70 that waits upward. The wafer transfer arm 70 that has received the wafer W moves to the wafer transfer chuck 60 side and transfers the wafer W to the wafer transfer chuck 60.

  After the wafer W is transferred to the pitch changer 50, the servo motor 35 is driven, and the holding members 31a and 31b are rotated 90 degrees to stand by in the initial state.

  The wafer transfer chuck 60 that has received the wafer W transfers the received wafer W to the processing unit 2. The wafer W transferred to the processing unit 2 is appropriately subjected to processing, that is, cleaning processing and drying processing in the processing unit 2.

  The processed wafer W is again received by the wafer transfer chuck 60 and then transferred to the pitch changer 50 </ b> A via the wafer transfer arm 70.

  The pitch changer 50A that has received the wafer W from the wafer transfer chuck 60 is lowered and then moved downward of the second wafer holding mechanism 30A, and then is lifted to raise the second wafer holding mechanism 30A in a state where the wafer W is opened. The second wafer holding mechanism 30A holds the wafer W while moving between the holding members 31a and 31b. After the wafer W is held by the second wafer holding mechanism 30A, the pitch changer 50A moves backward from the second wafer holding mechanism 30A.

  After receiving the wafer W from the pitch changer 50, the holding members 31a and 31b of the second wafer holding mechanism 30A are rotated 90 degrees to change the posture of the wafer W from the vertical state to the horizontal state. In this state, the plurality of arm bodies 27a of the second wafer take-out mechanism 20A move to the second wafer holding mechanism 30A side and enter between the plurality of wafers W held in the horizontal state to enter the wafer W. Hold. After confirming that the wafer W is held by the arm body 27a, the air cylinder 37 is driven and both holding members 31a and 31b are opened to transfer the wafer W to the arm body 27a of the second wafer take-out mechanism 20A.

  After receiving the wafer W, the second wafer take-out mechanism 20A holds the wafer W on the temporary holding portion 33 of the second wafer holding mechanism 30A, and the first arm driving portion 26 one by one at the wafer carry-in portion 13. Is stored in a desired position in the empty carrier C waiting. Thereafter, the lid Cb of the carrier C is closed by the lid opening / closing mechanism 16, and the wafer carrier C is transferred from the wafer carry-in portion 13 to the carrier carry-out portion 11.

  In the above embodiment, the case where one piece is taken out from the carrier C has been described. However, a plurality of pieces can be taken out simultaneously by using a plurality of arm bodies 27a of the second arm driving unit 27. Thus, the processing time can be shortened.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer cleaning processing system has been described. However, it is needless to say that the present invention can also be applied to processing systems other than cleaning processing. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to other glass substrates for LCD.

1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a semiconductor wafer cleaning processing system to which a substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the principal part of the said board | substrate conveyance processing apparatus. It is a schematic side view of the board | substrate taking-out means in this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows the principal part of the board | substrate taking-out means and board | substrate holding means in this invention. It is sectional drawing (a) which follows the II line of FIG. 4, sectional drawing (b) which follows the II-II line of (a), and the expanded sectional view (c) which follows the III-III line of (b). It is a schematic plan view which shows the principal part of another board | substrate taking-out means and board | substrate holding means in this invention. FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 6. It is a schematic perspective view which shows an example of the board | substrate holding mechanism in this invention. It is the schematic side view (a) which shows the state which temporarily hold | maintained the wafer with the said board | substrate holding mechanism, and the schematic side view (b) which shows the state which hold | maintained the wafer in the holding groove.

Explanation of symbols

W Semiconductor wafer (substrate to be processed)
C carrier (container)
20 First wafer take-out mechanism (substrate take-out means)
26 1st arm drive part 26a 1 arm body 27 2nd arm drive part 27a Multiple arm bodies 30 1st wafer holding mechanism (substrate holding means)
31a, 31b Holding member 32 Holding groove 33 Temporary holding part 34 Projection 34a Step part

Claims (8)

A substrate take-out means for taking out the substrate to be processed from the container for storing the substrate to be processed;
A substrate holding means for receiving a substrate to be processed from the substrate take-out means and holding a plurality of substrates to be processed;
The substrate holding means includes a pair of holding members that hold the substrate to be processed when they approach each other, and separate the substrate to be processed when they are separated from each other. A substrate transfer processing apparatus, characterized in that the substrate transfer processing apparatus is configured to be capable of holding the substrate to be processed. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The substrate transport processing apparatus, wherein the substrate take-out means includes a single arm body that takes out a substrate to be processed in a container and delivers the substrate to be processed to the substrate holding means. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The substrate take-out means takes out the substrate to be processed from the container, and delivers a substrate to be processed to the substrate holding means, and a plurality of arms for transferring the substrate to be processed between the substrate holding means. A substrate transfer processing apparatus comprising: a body. In the board | substrate conveyance processing apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3,
The substrate holding means holds the substrate to be processed conveyed by the substrate take-out means in a state where the holding members hold the substrate to be processed when both holding members approach each other and the both holding members face each other at a predetermined interval. And a temporary holding unit that performs the substrate transport processing apparatus. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The holding groove is provided at each tip of a plurality of protrusions protruding at appropriate intervals on the opposing surfaces of both holding members,
A substrate transfer processing apparatus, wherein the temporary holding portion is provided on an upper surface of the protrusion. In the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5,
The substrate transfer processing apparatus, wherein the substrate holding means is formed so as to be able to change its posture between a horizontal state and a vertical state while holding a substrate to be processed in a holding groove. A step of taking out one substrate to be processed from the container for storing the substrate to be processed by the substrate removing means and temporarily holding it in the temporary holding portion of the substrate holding means;
A step of collectively removing the target substrates temporarily held by the substrate holding means by the substrate take-out means;
Holding a plurality of substrates to be processed taken out by the substrate take-out means by holding grooves provided at predetermined intervals in the substrate holding means;
A substrate transfer processing method characterized by comprising: The substrate transfer processing method according to claim 7, wherein
A substrate transfer processing method, further comprising a step of changing the posture of the substrate holding means between a horizontal state and a vertical state while holding the substrate to be processed by the holding groove of the substrate holding means.

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