JPH11154700A - Substrate carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a substrate carrying tool which does not cause the substrate to jump out during carrying and suppresses dust generation due to friction between the substrate and a carrier. SOLUTION: A plurality of semiconductor wafers 38 are accommodated in a carrier 27 so that main surfaces thereof are parallel at predetermined intervals, and the carrier 27 is placed on a carrier table 23, covered with a cover 28, and transported. The carrier 27 mounted on the carrier tilt plate 25 of the tilt mechanism 24 is provided with an operating projection 3 provided on the cover 28 by covering the cover 28.
3, the crank member 31 rotates, and the carrier inclined plate 2
5 is tilted and supported on the carrier table 23 so that the semiconductor wafer 38 accommodated in the carrier 27 is 5 ° to 10 °.
The semiconductor wafer 38 is always held in a tilted state at an inclined angle and is conveyed. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer 38 is always subjected to a downward force due to its own weight, so that the semiconductor wafer 38 does not easily move due to vibration during the conveyance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate carrier for carrying substrates such as semiconductor wafers, exposure mask substrates, and liquid crystal substrates. For example, semiconductor wafers are transported in a clean room in a semiconductor manufacturing process and between processes. The present invention relates to a substrate carrier used for the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional example used when carrying a semiconductor wafer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a semiconductor wafer carrier temporarily placed on a temporary placing table 2, and a carrier table 3 and a carrier table 3.
It comprises a carrier 4 mounted thereon and a cover 5 provided to cover the carrier 4. The carrier 4 is fixed from above by a carrier retainer 6 protruding from the inner surface of the ceiling of the cover 5. The carrier 4 has a plurality of laterally extending support grooves 7 formed in the inner wall thereof, and a plurality of semiconductor wafers 8 are fitted between the main surfaces so that the outer peripheral portions are fitted into the respective support grooves 7. They are stored in parallel with a gap.

Further, the semiconductor wafer 8 accommodated in the carrier 4 is pressed at the opening side of the carrier 4 by the wafer holding portion 10 of the wafer fixing mechanism 9 provided on the cover 5 and does not come off in the opening direction. It has become.
The cover 5 is configured such that a lower end portion is fitted to a side portion of the carrier base 3, and an engagement end 12 of a cover fixing mechanism 11 that protrudes and retreats laterally from the side of the carrier base 3.
Are prevented from being detached from the carrier base 3 by engaging with the engagement holes 13 provided at the lower end of the cover 5. Reference numeral 14 denotes a convex portion provided on the upper surface of the carrier table 3, and reference numeral 15 denotes a concave portion formed on the bottom surface of the carrier 4 so as to engage with the convex portion 14.

In such a configuration, the carrier 4 accommodating the semiconductor wafer 8 is placed on the carrier table 3 placed on the temporary placing table 2, and the concave portion 15 is provided with the convex portion 14 of the carrier table 3.
Are placed so as to engage with each other. And put the cover 5,
The carrier table 3 and the carrier 4 are covered. Further, by operating the cover fixing mechanism 11, the engagement end 12 is moved to the engagement hole 1.
3 and the cover 5 is fixed. At the same time as the cover 5 is put on, the wafer fixing mechanism 9 is activated, and the semiconductor wafer 8 is pressed by the wafer holding portion 10 so as not to come off in the direction of the opening of the carrier 4. Thereafter, the carrier table 3 is lifted from the temporary table 2 and transported, and the carrier 4 containing the semiconductor wafer 8 is moved to a predetermined position.

[0005] However, in the above prior art,
The size of the carrier 4 depends on the size of the semiconductor wafer 8 to be stored and transported.
Are used in common even if the sizes of the semiconductor wafers 8 are different from each other, so that the complexity of preparing the carriers 4 for each size of the semiconductor wafer 8 is avoided. Depending on the dimensional accuracy of the orientation flat of the wafer 8 and the groove dimensional accuracy of the support groove 7 cut out in the carrier 4, even if the wafer fixing mechanism 9 is operated, the semiconductor wafer 8 can be fixed one by one by the wafer holding unit 10. This is not always the case. For this reason,
The semiconductor wafer 8 easily moves in the supporting groove 7 in the groove direction due to the collision between the semiconductor wafer 8 and the wafer holding portion 10 during the transportation and the vibration during the transportation. There is a possibility that dust may be generated by rubbing at the portion, or dust may be generated from the contact portion between the wafer holding portion 10 and the semiconductor wafer 8 that comes into contact therewith.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is possible to store and transport substrates of different sizes, and there is a possibility that the substrates may jump out during transportation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate carrier in which generation of dust due to friction between a substrate and a carrier or the like is suppressed.

[0007]

The substrate carrier of the present invention comprises:
A plurality of substrates are accommodated in a carrier such that the main surfaces of the substrates are parallel at predetermined intervals, and the carrier is placed on a carrier table, covered with a cover, and transported. The carrier is tilted and supported on a carrier table by a tilt mechanism, and the substrate is housed in an inclined state.
The tilt mechanism is tilted to tilt the carrier by covering the cover, and the carrier is fixed by fixing the cover to the carrier table. The tilting state is maintained, and the tilting mechanism performs a tilting operation in conjunction with a fixing operation of a fixing mechanism for fixing a cover covering the carrier to the carrier table. And the carrier is maintained in an inclined state.

[0008]

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

First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a main part, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part before the tilting mechanism operates.

1 to 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a temporary placing table 2.
A semiconductor wafer carrier temporarily placed on a carrier carrier 23 having a square plate shape and a carrier inclined plate 25 constituting an inclination mechanism 24 provided on the carrier stage 23;
And a rectangular box-shaped carrier 27 mounted on the carrier inclined plate 26, and a cover 28 provided to cover the carrier 27. Also, the carrier inclined plate 25
Has a rotating shaft 29 protruding from both end surfaces on one side,
Further, the rotating shaft 29 is rotatably supported by a shaft supporting member 30 erected on the upper surface on one side of the carrier base 23, so that the rotating shaft 29 is inclined to a predetermined inclination angle θ, for example, an inclination angle of 5 ° to 10 °. It is supposed to.

The tilting mechanism 24 includes the carrier tilting plate 2
5 is provided with a substantially L-shaped crank member 31 for inclining the crank 5 at a predetermined inclination angle θ. Crank member 3
1 has a middle portion rotatably supported by a crank supporting member 32 erected on the upper surface on the other side of the carrier base 23,
Further, one end 31a is rotatably supported on both end surfaces on the other side of the carrier inclined plate 25. Meanwhile, the cover 28
An operating projection 33 corresponding to the other end of the crank member 31 protrudes from a lower portion of the inner surface thereof. When the cover 28 is put on the carrier table 23, the operating projection 33 is connected to the other end of the crank member 32. The other end 31b of the crank member 31 is further pressed down. Thereby, the carrier inclined plate 25 is inclined with the other side lifted.

Further, the carrier table 23 is attached to the cover 2
The lower end portion 8 is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the carrier table 23. Further, the carrier base 23 is provided such that the engagement end 35 of the cover fixing mechanism 34 moves in and out of the side by operating an operation unit (not shown) from the side surface thereof. Then, the engagement end 35 of the cover fixing mechanism 34 is engaged with the engagement hole 3 formed in the lower end portion of the cover 28.
6, the cover 28 is attached to the carrier base 2.
3, and at the same time, the carrier inclined plate 25 is maintained in a state of being inclined at the predetermined inclination angle θ.

The carrier 27 placed on the carrier inclined plate 26 and covered with the cover 28 is provided with a plurality of laterally extending support grooves 37 on its inner wall.
A plurality of semiconductor wafers 38 are accommodated in 7 so that their outer peripheral portions are fitted in parallel with a predetermined interval between the main surfaces. When the other side of the carrier inclined plate 25 is lifted and inclined, the carrier 27 has an opening 39 opened in the lateral direction on the inclined upper side, so that the semiconductor wafer 38 does not fall out in the opening direction. . Reference numeral 40 denotes a convex portion provided on the upper surface of the carrier inclined plate 26, and 41 denotes a concave portion formed on the outer bottom surface of the carrier 27 so as to engage with the convex portion 40. By doing so, the carrier 27 placed on the carrier inclined plate 26 is positioned, so that the carrier 27 does not move downward incline.

In the configuration described above, the carrier 27 in which the semiconductor wafer 38 is stored is placed on the carrier inclined plate 25 whose upper surface is substantially horizontal. Next, a cover 28 is placed so as to cover the carrier 27. By placing the cover 28 in the direction of arrow A, the operating projection 33 at the lower portion of the inner surface of the cover 28
Abut. When the cover 28 is further covered in the direction of arrow A, the other end 31b of the crank member 31 is pushed down, and the cover 28 rotates in the direction of arrow B. Accordingly, one end 31a of the crank member 31 rotates in the direction of arrow C, and at the same time, the other side of the carrier inclined plate 25 is lifted in the direction of arrow D, and the carrier inclined plate 25 rotates and inclines.

Then, the lower end portion of the cover 28 is fitted so as to be fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the carrier base 23, and the cover fixing mechanism 34 is operated by operating the operation section with the cover 28 further covered down.
The cover 28 is fixed to the carrier base 23 by engaging the engagement end 35 of the cover 28 with the engagement hole 36 at the lower end of the cover 28. When the cover 28 is fixed, the crank member 31 stops moving the operation protrusion 33 in the direction opposite to the arrow B,
The state where the carrier inclined plate 25 is inclined at the predetermined inclination angle θ is maintained. As a result, the semiconductor wafer 38 accommodated in the carrier 27 is held in a state of being inclined at the predetermined inclination angle θ.

Thereafter, the carrier 27 holding the semiconductor wafer 38 at an angle is placed on the carrier table 23 and the cover 2
8 is transported to a predetermined place by a transfer device or a person (not shown) while being covered. Then, the carrier 27 vibrates during this transportation or the like, but the semiconductor wafer 38 accommodated in the carrier 27 is inclinedly held in each support groove 37, and the weight of the semiconductor wafer 38 acts vertically downward. In addition, since the semiconductor wafer 38 also acts on the inclined downward direction, there is no danger that the semiconductor wafer 38 is easily displaced and moved or jumps out in the direction of the opening of the carrier 27 even if the wafer fixing mechanism is not provided. In addition, since the weight of the semiconductor wafer 38 always acts below the inclination, the movement of the semiconductor wafer 38 in the inclination direction is suppressed, and dust is generated due to friction with the carrier 27, and the wafer fixing mechanism is not required. The generation of dust caused by contact with the substrate is suppressed. Furthermore, regardless of the size of the semiconductor wafer 38 to be stored and transported, regardless of the dimensional accuracy of the orientation flat of the semiconductor wafer 38 and the groove dimensional accuracy of the support groove 37 cut into the carrier 27, the semiconductor wafer 38 is similarly sized. Since the wafer 38 is stored and transported in a state inclined to one side, the carrier 2
The generation of dust and the protrusion from the carrier 27 due to the friction with the carrier 7 can be suppressed and prevented by using the same carrier 27.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view as viewed in the direction of arrows XX in FIG. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.
A configuration of the present embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be described.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 51 denotes a temporary placing table 2.
A carrier carrier 52 having a square plate shape and a carrier inclined plate 54 constituting an inclining mechanism 53 provided on the carrier stage 52 with a semiconductor wafer carrier temporarily placed on the carrier 2
And a rectangular box-shaped carrier 27 mounted on the carrier inclined plate 54, and a cover 28 provided so as to cover the carrier 27. Also, the carrier inclined plate 54
Has a rotating shaft 29 protruding from both end surfaces on one side,
Further, the rotation shaft 29 is rotatably supported by a shaft support member 30 erected on the upper surface on one side of the carrier table 52, so that the rotation shaft 29 is tilted to a predetermined tilt angle θ, for example, a tilt angle of 5 ° to 10 °. It is supposed to.

The tilt mechanism 53 includes a carrier tilt plate 5
The carrier table 52 is provided with an elevating member 55 for inclining the carrier 4 at a predetermined inclination angle θ. The elevating member 55 has a lower end 56 which rotates in a substantially disk-shaped space 57 formed in the carrier table 52 and extending in the direction of the plate surface. An elevating screw 60 is formed at an intermediate portion, and the elevating screw 60 is screwed to a screw portion 61 formed at an upper portion of the carrier table 52. Further, the elevating member 5 penetrating the upper part of the carrier table 52 from the inside of the space 57 to the outside
The upper end portion 62 of the fifth member 5 is formed in a spherical shape so as to slide with a low frictional force in a curved concave portion 63 formed in the center of the lower surface of the carrier inclined plate 54.

The cover fixing mechanism 58 is provided for the carrier 2.
7 is covered with the carrier table 52.
And the space 5 of the carrier table 52 is fixed.
The movable plate 59 that rotates in the direction of the double arrow E in 7 has an engagement end 35 that enters and exits laterally with the rotation from the long hole 64 formed in the side surface of the carrier table 52. on the other hand,
The cover 28 that covers the carrier 27 and has a lower end portion fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the carrier base 23 has an engagement hole 36 formed on the inner surface of the lower end portion.
The cover 28 is fixed to the carrier base 52 by the engagement of the engagement ends 35 of the 9.

The cover fixing operation performed by rotating the movable plate 59 is performed by operating an operation unit (not shown). By rotating the movable plate 59 in the cover fixing direction, the elevating member 55 is raised by the elevating screw 60 screwed to the screw portion 61, and the carrier inclined plate 54 is moved to the concave portion 63 formed at the center of the lower surface. The carrier inclined plate 54 is pushed up by the upper end 62 of the elevating member 55, and is inclined at a predetermined inclination angle θ. Further, when the engaging end 35 is engaged with the engaging hole 36 and the cover 28 is fixed to the carrier table 52, the state where the carrier inclined plate 54 is inclined at the predetermined inclined angle θ is maintained at the same time. ing.

In the above configuration, the carrier 27 in which the semiconductor wafer 38 is stored is placed on the carrier inclined plate 54 whose upper surface is substantially horizontal. Next, a cover 28 is placed so as to cover the carrier 27. And cover 2
The operation unit is operated in a state where the lower end 8 is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the carrier base 52 so that the movable plate 59 is rotated in the cover fixing direction. Thereby, the elevating member 55
Is raised, the carrier inclined plate 54 is inclined at a predetermined inclination angle θ, the engaging end 35 is engaged with the engaging hole 36, and the cover 28 is fixed to the carrier base 52. Then, the state where the carrier inclined plate 54 is inclined at the predetermined inclination angle θ is maintained. As a result, the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained in this embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view. The same parts as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The configuration of the present embodiment that is different from the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be described. .

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 71 denotes a semiconductor wafer carrier temporarily placed on the temporary placing table 22, which is a square flat carrier table 72 and a predetermined inclination angle θ provided on the carrier table 72. For example, a carrier inclined plate 54 constituting an inclination mechanism 73 that is inclined at an inclination angle of 5 ° to 10 °, a rectangular box-shaped carrier 27 placed on the carrier inclined plate 54, and a cover for covering the carrier 27. Is provided.

The tilting mechanism 73 includes the carrier tilting plate 5
Lifting member 74 for inclining the cylinder 4 at a predetermined inclination angle θ
With a sliding hole 75 formed in the center of the carrier table 72.
It can be moved up and down inside. The elevating member 74 has a lower end surface 76 formed by a spiral inclined surface, and an upper end portion 77 protruding from the central portion of the carrier table 72 is formed with low frictional force on the concave portion 63 at the lower central portion of the carrier inclined plate 54. It is formed in a spherical shape so as to slide. The lifting member 7
4 is supported such that its lower end surface 76 is in sliding contact with the upper end of a sliding projection 79 of a rotating member 78 rotatably provided below the sliding hole 75. The sliding protrusion 79 slides on the helical inclined surface of the elevating member 74 when the rotating member 78 rotates, whereby the eccentric position is eccentric to the center of rotation of the rotating member 78 so that the elevating member 74 moves up and down. It is provided in. The rotation of the rotation member 78 is controlled by the cover fixing mechanism 3.
The cover fixing operation 4 is performed in conjunction with the operation of an operation unit (not shown).

And, with such a configuration,
The carrier 27 containing the semiconductor wafer 38 is placed on the carrier inclined plate 54 whose upper surface is substantially horizontal. next,
The cover 28 is covered so as to cover the carrier 27. Then, the operation section is operated in a state where the cover 28 is covered so that the lower end portion is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the carrier table 52. In conjunction with this operation, the rotating member 78 rotates, and the upper end of the eccentrically-moving sliding protrusion 79 slides on the spiral inclined surface, whereby the elevating member 74 rises. As a result, the carrier tilt plate 54 is tilted at the predetermined tilt angle θ, and
The cover 28 is fixed to the carrier base 72 by engaging the engagement end 35 with the engagement hole 36. Then, the carrier inclined plate 54 is maintained in a state of being inclined at the predetermined inclination angle θ. As a result,
In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In each of the above embodiments, the angle at which the carrier tilt plates 25, 54 are tilted by the tilt mechanisms 24, 53, 73 is set to an angle of 5 ° to 10 °, and this is set to the predetermined tilt angle θ. If the angle is less than 5 °, the force acting in the downward direction due to the weight of the semiconductor wafer 38 due to its own weight is small, and the movement of the support groove 37 of the semiconductor wafer 38 in the groove direction due to vibration during transportation or the like cannot be sufficiently suppressed. If the tilt angle is large, the force acting in the downward tilt direction due to the weight of the semiconductor wafer 38 becomes too large, and the semiconductor wafer 38
Since there is a possibility that a loss or the like may occur at the outer peripheral end of the laser beam, a sufficient allowance is provided for the occurrence of the loss or the like, and the upper limit of the predetermined inclination angle θ is set to 10 °.

In each of the above embodiments, the semiconductor wafer 38
Although the substrate carrier for transporting the substrate has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied by appropriately changing when transporting other substrates such as an exposure mask substrate and a liquid crystal substrate. is there.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, by supporting the carrier on the inclined plate, there is no danger of collision between the substrate and the holding portion of the substrate during transportation. This produces effects such as suppressing generation of dust due to rubbing with a carrier or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a main part according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a main part of the first embodiment of the present invention before operation of the tilting mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view as viewed in the direction of arrows XX in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 23, 52, 72 Carrier base 24, 53, 73 Inclination mechanism 25, 54 Carrier inclined plate 27 Carrier 28 Cover 31 Crank member 33 Operating projection 34, 58 Cover fixing mechanism 38 Semiconductor wafer 55 74: elevating member 78: rotating member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate carrier for accommodating a plurality of substrates in a carrier such that the main surfaces of the substrates are parallel at a predetermined interval, and mounting the carrier on a carrier table, covering the carrier with a cover, and carrying the substrate. The substrate carrier is characterized in that the carrier is inclinedly supported on the carrier table by an inclination mechanism, and the substrate is stored in an inclined state. 2. The semiconductor wafer carrier according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is tilted and stored at an inclination angle of 5 ° to 10 °. 3. The tilting mechanism is characterized in that the tilting mechanism performs a tilting operation to tilt the carrier by covering the cover, and the tilting state of the carrier is maintained by fixing the cover to a carrier table. The substrate carrier according to claim 1. 4. The tilting mechanism performs a tilting operation in conjunction with a fixing operation of a fixing mechanism for fixing a cover that covers the carrier to the carrier table, and the tilting state of the carrier is maintained. The substrate carrier according to claim 1, wherein: