JP2002151563A - Semiconductor treating equipment provided with clean box stop mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem where a clean box is manufactured generally by molding reinforced plastics based on specification, dimensional difference due to manufacturing error by molding is present, and troubles like collision is generated in the course of transfer of the clean box on equipment. SOLUTION: This semiconductor wafer treating equipment is provided with a clean box having an aperture, a lid for closing the aperture tightly, a door which comes into contact with the lid and isolates the lid from the clean box, a first stopper which moves together with movement of the clean box without changing the relative position relation to the clean box, and a second stopper which does not move.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer processing for receiving and processing wafers from a clean box for storing semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as "wafers") in a process of manufacturing semiconductors, electronic component-related products, optical disks, and the like. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus having a cushion function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Wafers used for semiconductor devices and the like must be manufactured in an environment where high cleanliness is guaranteed, and are often manufactured in a so-called clean room in which the entire room is maintained at high cleanliness. Was common. However, to maintain the entire room occupying a large volume with high cleanliness, large capital investment and maintenance costs are required, and once capital investment is made, large equipment must be re-installed when the room layout changes due to a change in the manufacturing process. It required investment and was uneconomical. Therefore, in recent years, the entire room has been maintained at a high level of cleanliness by maintaining a small environment space (hereinafter referred to as a mini environment section) inside the processing apparatus without maintaining the entire room at a high level of cleanliness. Techniques for obtaining the same effects as those at the time have become popular (hereinafter, such a processing apparatus is referred to as a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus). That is, the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 is laid out in a room where manufacturing is performed. When the door 4 is closed in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10, the mini-environment section 5 which is a processing section of the wafer
Is kept in high cleanliness. Here, the wafer 7 is transported between one semiconductor wafer processing apparatus and another semiconductor wafer processing apparatus in a wafer storage container whose inside is maintained at a high degree of cleanliness and is sealed by the lid 4. This wafer storage container includes a main body housing part and a lid 4, and is hereinafter referred to as a clean box 6. The wafer 7 transported by the clean box 6 to one semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is subsequently transported in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. The mini-environment unit 5 is provided with an opening 2 which is an access opening for taking the wafer 7 into the mini-environment unit 5. The opening 2 is closed by a door 3 provided inside the mini-environment section 5. Further, the door 3 has a lid 4
Is provided, for example, a suction means or a latch mechanism. The transported clean box 6 has a cover 4 with an opening 2 of the mini-environment section 5.
Is placed on the docking plate 12 in such a direction. By moving the docking plate 12 (moving rightward in FIG. 1), the clean box 6 is moved.
Is stopped in the vicinity of the opening 2 provided in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 (hereinafter, this position is referred to as a predetermined position). After the clean box 6 stops at a predetermined position, when the door 3 grips the lid 4 and pulls it into the mini-environment section 5, the lid 4 is separated from the clean box 6 and the opening 2 is opened. If the wafers 7 stored in the clean box 6 are transferred through the open openings 2, the environment where the wafers are exposed can be changed to a high degree of cleanliness without increasing the cleanliness of the room where the manufacturing is performed. Can be kept. This makes it possible to obtain the same effect as in a case where the entire room is made a clean room, thereby reducing capital investment and maintenance costs and realizing an efficient production process.

In the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10, the clean box 6 is generally manufactured according to a standard. That is, by standardizing the shape, size, and weight of the clean box 6, the plurality of semiconductor wafer processing apparatuses 10 can be used without changing the clean box 6 for each apparatus. Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-262 filed by the same applicant as the present invention.
In the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 having a dustproof function as disclosed in US Pat. No. 472, the clean box does not come into contact with the wall surface of the mini-environment section 5 and a small space is provided between the mini-environment section 5 and the clean box 6. It is disclosed that a simple gap is formed.

[0004]

Generally, the clean box 6 is manufactured by molding with reinforced plastic based on the above standard. In this standard,
The end of the opening of the clean box 6 is denoted by reference numeral 11 in FIG.
(For example, standard E62Y33, hereinafter referred to as reference length)
As shown by, the reference length 11 is determined based on the center of the clean box. However, even if the clean box is molded according to standard specifications, manufacturing errors may occur due to molding. Further, the reference length 11 is defined as the length from the central portion of the clean box 6 to the opening end of the clean box 6, but the manufacturer may determine whether the thickness of the flange at the end is taken into consideration. There are differences in the interpretation of the standard on points. Therefore, there is a difference in the size of the clean box 6 actually manufactured, and the following various problems occur.

Hereinafter, the various problems will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c). 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams in which the vicinity of the clean box 6 in FIG. 1 is enlarged. These figures are exaggerated to specifically illustrate the various problems. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 4A, if the reference length 11 of the manufactured clean box 6 is short, the lid 4 does not contact the door 3 when the docking plate 12 is stopped at a predetermined position. State. In the case shown in FIG. 4 (a), there is a problem that the holding means 8 does not operate normally because the lid 3 and the door 4 cannot contact each other, and the door 4 cannot hold the lid 3. The case shown in FIG. 4B is the opposite of FIG. 4A, that is, the case where the reference length 11 is long. In this case, the wall of the clean box 6 collides with the wall of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 before the docking plate 12 moves to a predetermined position. The collision may damage the clean box 6 or the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10, or the docking plate 12
There is a problem that causes the failure of the. FIG. 4C shows a case where the thickness of the lid 4 is large. In this case, since the cover 4 contacts the door 3 first before the movement is completed, the door 3
As a result, the docking plate 12 attempts to continue moving. In a conventional driving device for moving the docking plate 12, a motor is used. However, if the motor attempts to move the docking plate 12 further even though the movement of the clean box 6 is suppressed by the door 3, an excessive load is applied to the motor, which causes a problem.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus for receiving and processing wafers from a clean box having a box body opened on one side and a lid closing the opening. A main body housing having an opening on a side surface, an openable / closable door for closing the opening, and a movable member provided below the opening and movably provided in a horizontal direction so as to approach / separate from / to the main body housing; A member, on which the clean box is mounted, and after the clean box is mounted, moves to approach the main body housing and removes the wafer from the clean box. A movable member for moving the movable member to a predetermined position, and when the movable member moves in a direction approaching the main body housing. And a stopper for stopping the movable member at a predetermined position, wherein the door moves when the movable member on which the clean box is mounted moves in a direction approaching the housing, before the movable member is stopped by the stopper. The door comes into contact with the lid, and after the door comes into contact with the lid, the door is held and moved together with the clean box so that the movable member opens toward the inside of the main body housing until the movable member is stopped by the stopper. A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus characterized in that, even after being stopped by a stopper, the cover is separated from the box body by moving itself while holding the lid, and the clean box is opened. Thus, even if the size of the clean box 6 varies, the clean box 6 can be moved to a distance necessary for opening and closing the lid 4, while collision of the clean box 6 can be avoided.

[0007]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 includes a mini-environment unit 5, and a robot arm 14 for processing the wafer 7 inside the mini-environment unit 5.
Is provided. The inside of the mini-environment unit 5 is pressurized to a pressure higher than the external pressure (normally, atmospheric pressure) of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10. The mini-environment unit 5 is provided with an opening 2 for the robot arm 11 to receive the wafer 7. Door 3 for closing opening 2 inside mini-environment section 5
Is provided. The door 3 includes a main body 25 that closes the opening.
And a support portion 26. The support section 26 is supported by the drive section. The drive unit can be moved up and down by, for example, an air cylinder (not shown), and rotates the support unit 26 about the drive unit.

A clean box 6 is used to move the wafer 7 between the semiconductor wafer processing apparatuses 10. The wafer 7 is housed in a clean box 6 and closed with a highly airtight lid 4. High cleanliness is maintained inside the clean box 6 in which the wafer 7 is stored. For example, the inside is filled with high purity nitrogen or the like. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 is provided with a docking plate 12 on which the clean box 6 is placed. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the clean box 6 shown in FIG. The docking plate 12 has an air cylinder 15 and is installed on a rail. The air cylinder 15 allows the clean box 6 together with the docking plate 12 to approach the mini-environment section 5 (moving to the right in FIG. 2) or separate from the mini-environment section 5 (to the right in FIG. 2). Move). Here, when the clean box 6 is brought closer to the mini-environment section 5 by the docking plate 12, the lid 4 is placed in the area of the opening 2 and aligned so that the lid 4 is aligned in the vertical direction (vertical direction of the opening). The position and the position in the horizontal direction (lateral direction of the opening) are adjusted. Therefore, when the wafer 7 is transferred from the clean box 6 to the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10, an operation of bringing the docking plate 12 closer to the mini-environment unit 5 (hereinafter, referred to as “docking operation”) is performed. When the processing is completed, the clean box 6 is removed from the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10, and when the next way is transported to the processing apparatus, the docking plate 12 is moved away from the mini-environment section 5. The docking plate 12 is provided on an access table 19 provided in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10. The access table 19 has a substantially rectangular hole 24 formed therein. The hole 24 is provided so that the air cylinder 15 and other components provided on the docking plate 12 for moving the docking plate 12 do not interfere with the access table 19. A first stopper 20 is provided on the movable docking plate 12 side, and a second stopper 21 is provided on the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10. The first stopper 20 has a contact member 22 for making surface contact with the second stopper 21, and the joint member 22 is attached to a support member 23 extending downward from the lower surface of the docking plate 12 through the hole 24. On the other hand, the second stopper 21 is a thick portion of the access plate 19 that forms an edge of the hole 24. The contact member 22 is provided so as to face the edge of the hole 24 so that the docking plate 12 faces the opening 2 (FIG. 2).
(To the right) of the hole 24. The second stopper 21 is not used as the edge of the hole 24, and the contact member 2 is formed in the same manner as the first stopper 20.
It can be attached below the access plate 19 as a separate component including the support member 2 and the support member 23. in this case,
The same effect as that of the present application can be obtained by adjusting the height so that the contact surfaces of the first stopper 20 and the second stopper 21 can be brought into contact with each other and disposing them so as to face each other.

Next, how the above configuration operates will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the movement of the docking plate 12 in the docking operation. In FIG. 3, each part is also schematically represented. The opening 2 is closed by a door 3 provided inside the mini-environment unit 5 when the transfer of the wafer 7 is not performed. The clean box 6 is closed by the lid 4. The clean box 6 for which the pre-process has been completed is fixed at a predetermined position on the docking plate 12, and after the fixing is completed, the docking plate 12 starts docking operation (not shown). After the docking operation is started and a predetermined movement is performed, the lid 4 of the clean box 6 comes into contact with the door 3 as shown in FIG. In this state, the first stopper 20 and the second stopper 21
Not in contact with At this stage, the lid 4, which is a part of the clean box 6, is attached to the door 3.
It is in a state where it is not possible to continue movement because it is blocked by. Here, the door 3 holds the lid 4 by the holding mechanism 8. In this state, the docking plate 1
2 is urged toward the opening 2 by the air cylinder 15. After the contact between the lid 4 and the door 3 is confirmed, when the support portion 26 of the door 3 is subsequently rotated about the door driving portion, the door 3 is moved from the wall of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 to the inside of the apparatus (mini (Toward environment 5). Then, the clean box 6 further starts to move together with the docking plate 12 and restarts the docking operation. In this state, although the door 3 starts rotating by the support portion 26, the clean box 6 itself moves along with the door 3, so that the lid 4 does not separate from the clean box 6. When the rotation operation and the docking operation of the door 3 are further continued, the first stopper 20 and the second stopper 21 come into contact with each other, and the docking plate 12 stops. After that, the docking plate 12 cannot be moved, so that the clean box 6 cannot be moved. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the door 3 continues to rotate, the clean box 6
Is fixed, the door 3 holding the lid 4 starts separating the lid 4 from the clean box 6. After the separation of the lid 4 is completed, the door 3 is lowered while holding the lid 4 by the driving unit. Thus, the inside of the mini-environment 5 and the inside of the clean box 6 can be accessed through the opening 2. In this state, the wafer 7 placed inside the clean box 6 is transferred into the mini-environment 5 through the opening 2. When the door 3 closes the opening 2 for processing the wafer 7, the door 3 is raised by the reverse process, and the supporting portion 26 is positioned at the center of the driving portion.
The main body 25 closes the opening 2 and the lid 4 is housed in the main housing of the clean box 6 and hermetically closed.

In the case of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus having a dustproof function as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-262472, between the clean box 6 and the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. A gap 16 of about 2 mm is formed. Since the tolerance of the size of the clean box 6 is ± 0.5 mm to 1 mm, it is necessary to secure the gap having the width of 2 mm and stop the clean box 6 accurately, including the tolerance. . This is because when the first stopper 20 and the second stopper 21 come into contact with each other, the clean box 6 and the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 1
This can be realized by setting the positions of the first stopper 20 and the second stopper 21 in advance so that a gap 16 of at least 2 mm is formed between the first stopper 20 and the second stopper 21. This makes it possible to stop the clean box 6 at a predetermined position even if the size of the clean box 6 has the above-described difference, and to further open and close the lid 4 without colliding with the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10. A sufficient distance can be secured.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be realized. (1) Even if the thickness of the clean box or the lid varies due to manufacturing tolerances or the like, a sufficient distance for opening and closing the lid can be secured without colliding with the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. (2) The position for stopping in advance can be adjusted only by adjusting the contact position between the first stopper and the second stopper.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a clean box section of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 opening 3 door (mini-environment section) 4 lid 5 mini-environment section 6 clean box 7 wafer 8 holding means 10 semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 12 docking plate 14 robot arm 15 air cylinder 16 gap 20 first stopper 21 second stopper 22 Contact member 25 Body 26 Support

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Toshihiko Miyajima 1-13-1 Nihombashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo FDC term in TDK Corporation (reference) 5F031 CA02 DA09 DA17 EA12 EA14 FA01 FA11 FA15 GA43 NA10

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus for receiving and processing wafers from a clean box having a box body opened on one side and a lid closing the opening, comprising: a body housing having an opening on one side; An openable / closable door for closing the opening; and a movable member provided below the opening and movable in a horizontal direction so as to approach / separate from / to the main body housing. The clean box is adapted to be mounted, and after the clean box is mounted, moves to approach the main body housing and moves the clean box to a predetermined position for taking out a wafer from the clean box. A movable member, and when the movable member moves in a direction approaching the main body housing, the movable member is moved to a predetermined position. A stopper for stopping, when the movable member on which the clean box is placed moves in a direction approaching the housing, the door comes into contact with a lid of the clean box before the movable member is stopped by the stopper; After the abutment with the lid, the lid is held and moved together with the clean box so as to open toward the inside of the main body housing until the movable member is stopped by the stopper. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, wherein the clean box is opened by separating the lid from the box body by moving itself while holding the lid. 2. A clean box comprising a main body housing having an opening and a lid for sealing the opening, a door abutting on the lid to separate the lid from the clean box, and a first surface comprising a contact surface. A stopper and a second stopper, wherein the first stopper and the second stopper are separated from each other when the clean box is not mounted on the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and the clean box is mounted on the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. The first stopper moves together with the clean box so as to approach the second stopper, and the lid and the door come into contact with the first stopper and the second stopper being separated from each other. When one stopper comes into contact with the second stopper, the clean box stops and the door separates the lid from the clean box. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus characterized by initiating. 3. The door according to claim 2, wherein the door starts moving after the lid comes into contact with the door, whereby the first stopper moves together with the clean box until it comes into contact with the second stopper. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, wherein the lid and the main body housing are not separated until one stopper and the second stopper come into contact with each other. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first stopper moves with the movement of the clean box without changing the relative positional relationship with the clean box, and the second stopper does not move. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 5. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a docking plate having a driving device, wherein the first stopper is fixed to the docking plate, and movement of the clean box is performed by the docking plate. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, characterized in that: 6. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the driving device includes an air cylinder.