CN101944497B

CN101944497B - Position deviation preventing device, substrate holding member including the same, substrate transfer apparatus and substrate transfer method

Info

Publication number: CN101944497B
Application number: CN2010102229394A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 驹田秀树
Original assignee: Tokyo Electron Ltd
Current assignee: Tokyo Electron Ltd
Priority date: 2009-07-03
Filing date: 2010-07-02
Publication date: 2012-06-06
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-02
Also published as: CN101944497A; KR20110003257A; KR101208644B1

Abstract

The invention provides a position deviation preventing device, a substrate holding member including the same, a substrate transfer apparatus and a substrate transfer method. The position deviation preventing device can prevent the substrate on the substrate holding member from being deviated even at vacuum state. The position deviation preventing device (201) capable of being assembled on a fork (101) freely comprises a main body (203), a plurality of movable pins (205) projected and installed on the upper surface (203a) of the main body (203), and a spiral spring (207) respectively and dependently applying forward force (in projected direction) for the movable pins (205).

Description

Position deviation preventing device, substrate holder having the same, substrate conveying device and substrate conveying method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a misalignment preventing device, a substrate holder provided with the misalignment preventing device, a substrate conveying device, and a substrate conveying method.

Background

In a process of manufacturing an FPD (flat panel display), which is a typical example of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), various processes such as etching and film formation are performed on a substrate such as a glass substrate under vacuum conditions. An FPD is manufactured using a so-called multi-chamber type substrate processing system having a plurality of substrate processing chambers. The substrate processing system includes a transfer chamber provided with a substrate transfer device for transferring a substrate, and a plurality of process chambers provided around the transfer chamber. The substrate is carried into each process chamber or the processed substrate is carried out from each process chamber by a substrate transfer device in the transfer chamber. A substrate holder called fork (folk) is generally used to convey the substrate. The fork has a structure in which a plurality of supporting and gripping members (picks) are formed in a comb-tooth shape on a common base portion attached to a transport arm capable of moving in and out, retracting, rotating, and the like.

In an atmospheric pressure state, the substrate is generally fixed by a vacuum chuck (vacuum chuck) provided on a fork and conveyed. On the other hand, the vacuum chuck cannot be used in a vacuum state. Therefore, a method has been devised in which a small elastic member made of a material such as rubber having a large friction coefficient with the substrate is attached to the fork and the elastic member is brought into contact with the substrate, thereby preventing the substrate from being displaced due to, for example, sideslip. However, when the substrate is transported in a vacuum state, there are the following problems.

As described above, the holding operation of the substrate in the vacuum state depends on the frictional force between the elastic member and the substrate, and therefore there is a problem that the speed of the conveyance operation of the substrate cannot be increased. Since the fork attached to the transfer arm of the substrate transfer apparatus performs transfer operations involving acceleration and deceleration, such as moving in and out, retracting, and rotating, while holding the substrate, there is a limit to the degree of stability of the holding operation by the frictional force. Therefore, in order to safely convey the substrate, only the speed of the conveyance operation can be reduced, which is a factor of reducing the throughput of substrate processing in the substrate processing system.

In addition, when the elastic member is brought into contact with the back surface side of the region (device forming region) for forming the electronic component on the substrate, there is a concern that the yield of the electronic component is lowered due to electrostatic breakdown, and therefore, the elastic member must be brought into contact with the back surface of the region other than the device forming region. Therefore, only the elastic members having a very small area as compared with the substrate can be used, and the number of the elastic members and the positions of the elastic members are limited, so that the contact area between the elastic members and the substrate is limited, and sufficient frictional force cannot be obtained. As a result, a sufficient holding force cannot be obtained, and even if the speed of the conveyance operation is reduced, the substrate may move on the fork and fall off the fork, or the substrate holding position may be greatly displaced, which may affect the processing and transfer of the substrate.

In recent years, in order to improve productivity, it has been desired to increase the size of a substrate such as an FPD, and it has become more difficult to obtain sufficient holding force and productivity in a holding method that relies on a frictional force between an elastic member attached to a fork and the substrate. Therefore, the present inventors have attempted to prevent the substrate from slipping or shifting by providing a protrusion for restricting the movement of the substrate in the horizontal direction on the fork and bringing the protrusion into contact with the end of the substrate. However, since the holding position of the substrate is constantly changed when the substrate is transferred, the substrate may get over the protrusion when the substrate is transferred. As a result, the substrate may not be stably held and may be detached. In order to avoid this, the protrusion must be disposed with a sufficient margin (margin), and therefore, the substrate cannot be prevented from being displaced by the margin.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a misalignment preventing device capable of suppressing the occurrence of a misalignment of a substrate held by a substrate holder even in a vacuum state.

The position deviation preventing device of the invention comprises:

a main body fixed to a substrate holder for holding a substrate;

a plurality of movable members provided independently of each other, each of the movable members having a portion protruding from an upper surface of the body by a1 st height, the protruding portion having a height lower than the 1 st height in a state where a load of the substrate is applied to the protruding portion;

a biasing member that biases each of the plurality of movable members in a protruding direction of the protruding portion; wherein,

the side part of more than 1 movable component protruding with the 1 st height is abutted with the end part of the substrate held on the substrate holder, thereby limiting the movement of the substrate and preventing the substrate from generating position deviation.

The substrate holder of the present invention includes a substrate supporting member for supporting a substrate, and the misalignment preventing device fixed to the substrate supporting member.

The substrate transport apparatus of the present invention includes the substrate holder.

In addition, the substrate transfer method of the present invention is a method for transferring a substrate by holding the substrate on the substrate holder by using the substrate transfer apparatus.

The present invention prevents the holding position of the substrate from being shifted due to the substrate slipping or the like, regardless of whether the substrate is transported in a vacuum state or in an atmospheric pressure state, and can reliably hold the substrate on the substrate holder. Therefore, the reliability of the substrate conveying operation can be improved. In addition, the productivity of substrate processing operations in the substrate processing system can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a vacuum processing system.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the vacuum processing system of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of the transport device.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the fork.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a misalignment preventing device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a main portion sectional view of the position deviation preventing device.

Fig. 7 is a main part sectional view of another state of the position deviation preventing device.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a substrate is placed on a fork to which a misalignment preventing device is attached.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating another state in which a substrate is placed on a fork to which a misalignment preventing device is attached.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating another state in which a substrate is mounted on a fork to which a misalignment preventing device is attached.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the positional deviation preventing device.

Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the position deviation preventing device.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a structural example of the movable pin.

Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the posture of the substrate is corrected by the misalignment preventing device.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a displacement prevention device according to a modification.

Fig. 16 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the misalignment preventing device is applied to a circular substrate.

Fig. 17 is an enlarged perspective view showing an external configuration of a misalignment preventing device according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a main part sectional view of the position deviation preventing device 301 in fig. 17.

Fig. 19 is a view showing a state in which the misalignment preventing device is attached to the tip of the support gripping member.

Fig. 20 is a view illustrating a state in which a substrate is supported by the support/chucking member to which the misalignment preventing device is attached.

Fig. 21 is a diagram illustrating a stopper action of the movable pin.

Fig. 22 is a plan view showing a state in which the misalignment preventing device is attached to the tip of the support gripping member.

Detailed Description

Embodiment 1

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Here, a substrate transfer apparatus and a substrate processing system including the substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described as an example. Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a vacuum processing system 100 as a substrate processing system, and fig. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the inside of each chamber. The vacuum processing system 100 has a multi-chamber structure including a plurality of

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1 c. The vacuum processing system 100 is a processing system for performing plasma processing on, for example, a glass substrate for an FPD (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "substrate"). In addition, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an ElectroLuminescence (EL) display, a Plasma Display Panel (PDP), or the like may be used as the FPD.

In the vacuum processing system 100, a plurality of large chambers are connected in a cross shape in a plan view. A transfer chamber 3 is disposed in the center, and 3

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c for performing plasma processing on the substrate S are disposed adjacent to 3 side surfaces of the transfer chamber 3. Further, a load lock chamber 5 is disposed adjacent to the remaining 1 side surface of the transfer chamber 3. The above-mentioned 3

process chambers

1a, 1b, 1c, the transfer chamber 3, and the load-lock vacuum chamber 5 are all vacuum chambers. An opening (not shown) is provided between the transfer chamber 3 and each of the 3

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c, and gate valves (gate valves) 7a having an opening and closing function are disposed in the openings. Further, a gate valve 7b is disposed between the transfer chamber 3 and the load lock chamber 5. The

gate valves

7a and 7b hermetically seal the chambers in a closed state, and communicate the chambers in an open state to enable the substrate S to be conveyed. Further, a gate valve 7c is also disposed between the load lock chamber 5 and the outside air atmosphere, and the gate valve 7c maintains the airtightness of the load lock chamber 5 in the closed state and enables the substrate S to be transported between the inside and the outside of the load lock chamber 5 in the open state.

On the outside of the load lock chamber 5 are 2

cassette indexers

9a, 9 b.

Cassettes

11a and 11b for storing substrates S are placed on the

cassette indexers

9a and 9b, respectively. A plurality of layers of substrates S are disposed in the

cassettes

11a and 11b with a space therebetween. The

cassettes

11a and 11b are configured to be movable up and down by the lifting

mechanisms

13a and 13b, respectively. In the present embodiment, for example, an unprocessed substrate may be stored in the cassette 11a, and a processed substrate may be stored in the other cassette 11 b.

A transport device 15 for transporting the substrate S is provided between the 2

cassettes

11a and 11 b. The transfer device 15 includes a fork 17a and a fork 17b as substrate holders disposed in 2 stages in the upper and lower directions, a drive unit 19 for supporting the fork 17a and the fork 17b so that the fork 17a and the fork 17b can move in and out, retract, and rotate, and a support table 21 for supporting the drive unit 19.

The

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c can maintain their respective internal spaces in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere (vacuum state). As shown in fig. 2, a susceptor (susceptor)2 as a mounting table on which the substrate S is mounted is disposed in each of the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1 c. Accordingly, in each of the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c, the substrate S can be subjected to ion processing such as etching processing under vacuum, ashing processing, and film forming processing, for example, while being placed on the susceptor 2.

In the present embodiment, the same kind of treatment may be performed in the 3

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c, or different kinds of treatment may be performed in the process chambers. The number of process chambers is not limited to 3, and may be 4 or more.

The transfer chamber 3 can maintain the internal atmosphere at a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, as in the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c as vacuum processing chambers. As shown in fig. 2, a conveyance device 23 is disposed in the conveyance chamber 3. Thus, the substrate S can be transported between the 3

process chambers

1a, 1b, 1c and the load-lock vacuum chamber 5 by the transport device 23.

The transport device 23 has a 2-stage transport device provided in the upper and lower stages, and can carry in and out the substrates S independently. Fig. 3 shows a schematic configuration of a transport device 23a having an upper layer of the fork 101 as a substrate holder. The transport device 23a mainly includes a base 113, a slide arm (slide arm)115 slidable with respect to the base 113, and a fork 101 provided slidably on the slide arm 115 and holding the substrate S. The fork 101 includes a grasping base (pick base)117 as a base, and a plurality of (for example, 4) supporting grasping members 119 connected to the grasping base 117. Each of the 2 outermost support/gripping members 119 is provided with 4 displacement prevention devices 201 for preventing the substrate S held by the fork 101 from being displaced. The structure of the displacement preventing device 201 will be described in detail later.

A guide member 121 for sliding the slide arm 115 with respect to the base portion 113 is provided on a side portion of the slide arm 115. The base portion 113 is provided with a sliding support portion 123 for slidably supporting the guide member 121.

Further, a guide member 125 for sliding the fork 101 with respect to the slider arm 115 is provided on a side portion of the slider arm 115 in parallel with the guide member 121. A slider (slider)127 that slides along the guide member 125 is also provided, and the fork 101 is attached to the slider 127.

Fig. 3 illustrates the upper stage conveyor 23a, and the lower stage conveyor (not shown) also has the same configuration as the upper stage conveyor 23 a. The upper and lower transport devices are connected by a connection mechanism, not shown, so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction as a unit. The transport device formed as the upper and lower 2-stage is connected to a drive unit, not shown, for performing a sliding operation of the slide arm 115, a sliding operation of the fork 101, and a rotating operation and a lifting operation of the base 113.

The load lock chamber 5 can maintain the internal atmosphere at a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, similarly to the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c and the transfer chamber 3. The load-lock vacuum chamber 5 is used to transport the substrate S back and forth between the

cassettes

11a, 11b in the atmospheric atmosphere and the transport chamber 3 in the reduced-pressure atmosphere. The internal volume of the load-lock chamber 5 is extremely small in view of the repeated switching of the internal atmosphere of the load-lock chamber 5 to the atmospheric atmosphere and the pressurized atmosphere. In the load lock chamber 5, substrate accommodating portions 27 (only the upper layer is shown in fig. 2) are provided in an upper-lower 2-stage manner, and a plurality of buffer members 28 for supporting the substrates S are provided in each substrate accommodating portion 27. In addition, a positioning member (positioning) 29 for positioning the rectangular substrate S by abutting against the mutually opposing corners of the substrate S is provided in the load-lock chamber 5.

As shown in fig. 2, each component of the vacuum processing system 100 is connected to a control unit 30 having a function as a computer and is controlled by the control unit 30 (the control unit 30 is not shown in fig. 1). The control section 30 includes a user interface (userinterface)32, a storage section 33, and a controller (controller)31 having a CPU (Central processing unit). The controller 31 comprehensively controls the respective components of the vacuum processing system 100, such as the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c, the transfer device 15, and the transfer device 23. The user interface 32 is constituted by a keyboard through which a process manager performs operations such as commands for managing the vacuum processing system 100, a display capable of visually displaying the operating state of the vacuum processing system 100, and the like. The storage unit 33 stores a process program in which a control program (software) for realizing various processes executed in the vacuum processing system 100 by the control of the controller 31, process condition data, and the like are stored. The user interface 32 and the storage unit 33 are connected to the controller 31.

Then, an arbitrary process program is called from the storage unit 33 in accordance with an instruction from the user interface 32 or the like as necessary, and the controller 31 executes the process program, thereby performing a desired process in the vacuum processing system 100 under the control of the controller 31.

As the process program such as the control program and the processing condition data, a process program stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a flexible disk, or a flash memory can be used. Or it may be used online, for example, by transmitting the process program from another device at any time via a dedicated wire.

Next, the operation of the vacuum processing system 100 configured as described above will be described.

First, the 2

forks

17a and 17b of the transfer device 15 are driven to receive the substrate S from the cassette 11a accommodating unprocessed substrates, and then the substrate S is placed on the buffer members 28 of the substrate accommodating portions 27 of the upper and lower 2 stages in the load lock chamber 5.

After the

forks

17a and 17b are retracted, the gate valve 7c on the atmosphere side of the load lock chamber 5 is closed. Thereafter, the interior of the load lock chamber 5 is evacuated to reduce the pressure inside the load lock chamber 5 to a predetermined vacuum level. Then, the gate valve 7b between the transfer chamber 3 and the load lock chamber 5 is opened to receive the substrate S accommodated on the substrate accommodating portion 27 in the load lock chamber 5 by the fork 101 of the transfer device 23.

Thereafter, the substrate S is conveyed by performing the sliding operation of the slide arm 115, the sliding operation of the fork 101, the rotating operation and the raising and lowering operation of the base 113 while the substrate S is held by the fork 101 of the conveying device 23. Since the movement of the substrate S on the fork 101 is restricted by the misalignment preventing device 201, the above-described conveying operation can be performed in a state where the substrate S is reliably held on the fork 101. Then, the substrate S is carried into any one of the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c and transferred onto the susceptor 2. Inside the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1c, a predetermined process such as etching is performed on the substrate S. Thereafter, the processed substrate S is transferred from the susceptor 2 to the fork 101 of the transfer device 23, and is carried out from the

process chambers

1a, 1b, and 1 c.

Then, the substrate S is accommodated in the cassette 11b by passing through the load-lock chamber 5 by the transport device 15 in a path reverse to the above path. The processed substrate S may be returned to the original cassette 11 a.

Next, the positional deviation preventing device 201 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention and the fork 101 including the positional deviation preventing device 201 will be described in further detail with reference to fig. 4 to 12. First, the structure of the fork 101 to which the misalignment preventing device 201 is attached will be described. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the fork 101. As described above, the fork 101 includes the gripper base 117 fixed to the slider 127, and a plurality of (for example, 4) support gripper members 119 connected to the gripper base 117 as substrate support members.

The grip base 117 may have any configuration as long as it can securely fix a plurality of support grip members 119 (4 in the present embodiment) formed in a comb-tooth shape and can be connected to the slide arm 115 (slider 127). Further, the coupling structure of the grasping base 117 and the supporting grasping member 119 is also arbitrary. For example, the gripper base 117 may be a fixed structure formed by using 2 plate materials capable of sandwiching the base end portion of the supporting gripper member 119, or may be a fixed structure formed by using 1 plate material capable of supporting a plurality of supporting gripper members 119. Further, the grasping base 117 and the supporting grasping member 119 may also be integrally formed. In the present embodiment, the gripper base 117 is formed of a plate material bent in a U-shape in cross section, for example. Base end portions of the plurality of support grasping members 119 are inserted into gaps of the bent plate material, and are fixed by a fixing member, not shown, such as a screw.

The support grasping member 119 of the fork 101 is formed in, for example, an elongated plate shape or a hollow square tube shape. In order to reduce the weight and prevent the support/grasping members 119 from being deflected as much as possible by the load of the substrate S when the large substrate S is placed, a material having high rigidity is used as the material of the support/grasping members 119, and for example, CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) or the like can be used.

A plurality of support protrusions 200 (2 on 1 support grasping member 119 in fig. 4) for supporting the substrate S from the back side thereof are detachably provided on the upper surface of each support grasping member 119 of the fork 101. The support projection 200 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, PEEK (polyether ether ketone) resin, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) resin, or the like. The shape of the support protrusion 200 is not limited, and may be, for example, a hemispherical shape or an annular shape such as an O-ring. Further, the support projections 200 abut on the back surface of the substrate S to increase the holding force of the substrate S on the fork 101 by the frictional force, but the substrate S can be reliably held on the fork 101 by attaching the misalignment preventing device 201 to the fork 101, so the support projections 200 may not be provided.

Any number of position deviation prevention devices 201 are attached to any position on the fork 101. Fig. 4 shows a state in which a pair of right and left misalignment preventing devices 201 are attached to the vicinities of the base portions of 2 support/grasping members 119 located at both ends of 4 support/grasping members 119. Fig. 4 also shows another pair of displacement prevention devices 201 before installation. Thus, the misalignment preventing device 201 can be detachably attached to the support and gripping member 119 constituting the fork 101.

Next, the detailed structure of the misalignment preventing device 201 will be described. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing an external configuration of the misalignment preventing device 201. Fig. 6 and 7 are main part sectional views for explaining the mechanism of the misalignment preventing device 201. The main structure of the position deviation preventing device 201 includes a main body 203, a plurality of movable pins 205 as movable members protruding from an upper surface 203a of the main body 203, and coil springs 207 as urging members for independently applying upward (protruding direction) forces to the movable pins 205.

In the misalignment preventing device 201 of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the main body 203 is a frame body made of a material such as aluminum or synthetic resin. It is preferable that the upper surface 203a of the main body 203 is at the same height as the upper surface of the support gripping member 119 in a state where the position deviation preventing device 201 is mounted on the support gripping member 119. In fig. 5, the main body 203 is provided with 7 movable pins 205, but the number of the movable pins 205 is not limited.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the inside of the main body 203 is partitioned into chambers 213 that are independent of each other by partition walls 211. Each chamber 213 includes a bottom wall 213a and a top 213 b. In each chamber 213, 1 set of the movable pins 205 and the coil springs 207 are housed. The movable pin 205 includes a columnar portion 205a that is a portion "protruding from the upper surface 203 a" of the main body 203, and a flange 205b formed in the middle of the columnar portion 205a so as to have a larger diameter than the columnar portion 205 a. The flange 205b functions as a spring support portion. The upper portion of the movable pin 205 is inserted into an opening 213c provided in the ceiling 213b of each chamber 213.

The columnar portion 205a and the flange 205b of the movable pin 205 may be integrally formed using the same material, or the columnar portion 205a and the flange 205b may be formed as separate members. The material of the movable pin 205 is not particularly limited, but since at least the upper portion of the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 is in contact with the back surface and the end portion of the substrate S, it is preferable to form the movable pin 205 using a material such as synthetic resin or rubber. Of course, the entire movable pin 205 may be formed using the same material (synthetic resin, rubber, or the like). Further, the upper portion of the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 preferably has rigidity and toughness to such an extent that it can abut against the end portion of the substrate S. From the above-described points of view, it is preferable to use, for example, a synthetic resin such as PEEK (polyetheretherketone) resin or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) resin as the material of the movable pin 205.

In the present invention, the shape of the movable member is not limited to the shape of the movable pin 205 illustrated in fig. 6 and 7. For example, the columnar portion 205a as the "projected portion" of the movable member is not limited to the columnar shape as shown in the figure, and may be a square columnar shape having a polygonal shape such as a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, or an octagon in cross section. The overall shape of the movable member or the shape of the protruding portion may be a hollow cylindrical shape or a hollow square cylindrical shape having a polygonal shape such as a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, or an octagon in cross section. The overall shape of the movable member or the shape of the protruding portion may be plate-like (for example, square plate-like, circular plate-like, or the like). In addition, from the viewpoint of reducing the contact area with the back surface of the substrate S, the distal end of the movable member (movable pin 205) may be subjected to rounding processing in advance, and this processing is not illustrated.

The coil spring 207 is an urging member that applies an upward force to the movable pin 205 to bring the upper portion of the columnar portion 205a into a state of protruding from the upper surface 203a of the main body 203. The lower portion of the cylindrical portion 205a of the movable pin 205 is inserted in the coil spring 207. The lower end of the coil spring 207 is fixed to the bottom wall 213a of the chamber 213 by any method, for example, using a positioning fitting or the like. The upper end of the coil spring 207 abuts against the flange 205b of the movable pin 205, and the coil spring 207 may be fixed to the flange 205b by any method as needed.

In the prevention of position deviationIn the device 201, the plurality of movable pins 205 are capable of independently displacing in the vertical direction upon receiving the load of the substrate S. That is, the movable pins 205 independently protrude or retract in a direction orthogonal to the surface direction of the substrate S. In a state where the load of the substrate S is not applied, an upward force is applied to the movable pin 205 by the coil spring 207 engaged with the flange 205 b. Therefore, the upper portion of the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 inserted in the opening portion 213c provided on the top portion 213b protrudes upward from the upper surface 203a of the main body 203. At this time, the amount of protrusion of the tip of the movable pin 205 from the upper surface 203a of the body 203 is set to the 1 st height H with respect to the upper surface 203a of the body 203₁. In addition, in a state where the load of the substrate S is not applied, the flange 205b of the movable pin 205 biased by the coil spring 207 is pressed against the ceiling 213b of the chamber 213. The flange 205b can be used as the predetermined height H1₁The stop member of (1). By configuring the movable pin 205 so that the position of the flange 205b on the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 can be variably adjusted, the 1 st height H can be easily set arbitrarily₁. As a structure capable of variably adjusting the position of the flange 205b, for example, a structure formed by forming the column portion 205a into a female screw structure and forming the flange 205b into a male screw structure, which is not illustrated, may be employed.

When the fork 101 receives the substrate S, the load of the substrate S contracts the coil spring 207 and the entire movable pin 205 is pressed down in a state where the load is applied to any movable pin 205. In the state where the displacement has occurred, the amount of protrusion of the tip of the movable pin 205 from the upper surface 203a of the main body 203 is set to the 2 nd height H with respect to the upper surface 203a₂。

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, only the movable pin 205 with the substrate S placed on the upper surface is lowered to form the height H of 2 nd₂The movable pin 205 not having the substrate S mounted thereon can maintain the original 1 st height H₁. Thus, the height H at 1 st can be utilized₁The side portions of the movable pins 205 in the protruding state restrict the movement of the substrate S in the lateral direction. For example, in FIG. 6, to the left and center as viewed toward the sheetThe 2 movable pins 205 are sunk by the gravity of the substrate S to form the 2 nd height H₂And 1 movable pin 205 on the right side as viewed in the sheet is at the 1 st height H₁And (4) protruding. At the 1 st height H₁The projecting right movable pin 205 constitutes a restricting member to restrict the movement of the substrate S. In fig. 7, the 1 movable pin 205 on the left side as viewed from the sheet sinks by the gravity of the substrate S to form the 2 nd height H₂And 2 movable pins 205 at the 1 st height H toward the right and center as viewed in the sheet₁And (4) protruding. In this case, the movable pin 205 protruding at the center constitutes a restricting member to restrict the movement of the substrate S. In addition, fig. 6 and 7 show that the substrate S has not yet contacted the 1 st height H which is responsible for the function of the stopper₁The state where the protruding movable pin 205 is in contact. When the substrate S is intended to slip due to acceleration generated when the substrate S is conveyed by the fork 101, the movement of the substrate S can be restricted by the end of the substrate S coming into contact with the movable pin 205 serving as a stopper member, and therefore the amount of movement of the substrate S on the fork 101 is extremely small.

Thus, the end (edge) of the substrate S is arranged at the 1 st height H₁The side portions of the projecting movable pins 205 abut against each other, and lateral movement of the substrate S on the fork 101 can be restricted to a minimum, so that it is possible to prevent the substrate S from being displaced horizontally on the fork 101 when the substrate S is conveyed, and to prevent the substrate S from falling from the fork 101.

Height H of 2 nd₂Set to be higher than the 1 st height H₁Low. Height H of 2 nd₂Is not less than zero (i.e., the tip of the movable pin 205 is at the same height as the upper surface 203a of the main body 203) and less than the 1 st height H₁. It is particularly preferable to adjust the height H to 2₂Set to be greater than zero and reach the 2 nd height H₂The top end of the movable pin 205 is located at the 1 st height H₁At an intermediate position with respect to the height of the upper surface 203a of the main body 203. Thus, the substrate S can be lowered and displaced by receiving the load of the substrate S to protrude to the 2 nd height H₂The tip of the movable pin 205 in the state of (1) supports the substrate S, and therefore, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the occurrence of a failure in the electronic component formed on the surface of the substrate SHas a good effect. In addition, the height H of 1 st is preferable₁And height H of 2₂Difference (H) of₁-H₂) The thickness of the substrate S is set to be larger than the thickness of the substrate S. In this way, the height of the movable pin 205 as a stopper member for restricting the movement of the substrate S can be sufficiently obtained, and the height H at 2 nd can be utilized₂The base plate S is supported by the tip of the movable pin 205 in the projected state, and the height H of 1 st can be utilized₁The movable pins 205 in the protruding state reliably restrict the movement of the substrate S in the horizontal direction.

The height H2 can be adjusted by the length of the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 and the magnitude of the repulsive force of the coil spring 207 against the load of the base plate S₂。

The urging member for urging the movable pin 205 is not limited to the coil spring 207, and may be a plate spring, for example.

The holding positions of the respective substrates S on the fork 101 may be slightly different from each other due to a positional shift of the substrates S when the substrates S are transferred. For example, as shown in fig. 8, the edge position of the substrate S may be held near the front end of the fork 101 (supporting the grasping member 119). As shown in fig. 9, the edge position of the substrate S may be held closer to the base side of the fork 101 (as indicated by an arrow) than the position shown in fig. 8. As shown in fig. 10, the substrate S may be held at an oblique angle (in a state of being slightly rotated in the horizontal direction as indicated by an arrow) with respect to the longitudinal direction of the fork 101 (supporting the grasping member 119). Since the misalignment preventing device 201 includes the plurality of movable pins 205 that independently advance and retract upon receiving the load of the substrate S, it is possible to flexibly cope with any of the holding positions illustrated in fig. 8 to 10 and reliably restrict the movement of the substrate S. That is, even if the holding position of each substrate S is slightly different, the position deviation preventing device 201 can make the height H at 1 st which is responsible for the function as the stopper member₁The protruding movable pin 205 is replaced to cope with the difference. Therefore, the movement of the substrate S can be restricted regardless of the holding position, and the positional deviation of the substrate S can be minimized. Thereby it canIt is understood that when the arrangement position of the misalignment preventing device 201 is increased or when the movable pins 205 are densely arranged by increasing the number of the movable pins 205 in 1 misalignment preventing device 201, the movement of the substrate S can be more precisely restricted to prevent the holding position from being misaligned.

As described above, the misalignment preventing device 201 is detachably attached to the support and gripping member 119 of the fork 101. The fixing method of the position deviation preventing device 201 is not particularly limited. The main body 203 of the displacement preventing device 201 may be fixed to the support grasping member 119 by a detachable fixing method such as connection or fitting of a bolt and a nut. In this case, an auxiliary fixing tool such as a positioning tool may be used as needed. Further, for example, the displacement preventing device 201 may be fixed to the support and grasping member 119 by a method such as adhesion, instead of detachably fixing the displacement preventing device 201 to the support and grasping member 119.

The number of the misalignment preventing devices 201 attached to 1 fork 101 can be appropriately set according to the size of the substrate S and the fork 101, the direction in which a large acceleration is applied during the transport operation, and the like. For example, 2 to 12, preferably 4 to 8, position deviation prevention devices 201 may be attached to the fork 101.

For example, the position deviation preventing device 201 may be disposed only on the distal end side or the proximal end side of the support/gripping member 119 of the fork 101. However, from the viewpoint of reliably restricting the movement of the substrate S, it is preferable that the movable pin 20 as the stopper member be brought into contact with at least 2 opposite sides of the substrate S so as to sandwich the substrate S held by the fork 101. Further, the displacement preventing devices 201 are preferably arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the substrate S, and more preferably, the displacement preventing devices 201 are arranged near 4 corners of the substrate S.

Fig. 11 and 12 show a preferred arrangement example of the positional deviation preventing device 201. In fig. 11, the misalignment preventing device 201 is mounted so as to overlap 2 short sides SS of the substrate S from below. This can restrict the movement of the substrate S mainly in the longitudinal direction of the support/grasping member 119.

The position of the fork 101 where the displacement preventing means 201 is to be attached is preferably located outside the device forming region while avoiding a portion (device forming region) for forming the electronic component on the substrate S held at the position from directly below the device forming region. In fig. 11, a device formation region R on a substrate S is drawn by a dotted line. The fork 101 is mounted with 8 of the displacement preventing device 201 outside the device forming region R. By disposing the misalignment preventing device 201 outside the device forming region R in this manner, it is possible to prevent electrostatic breakdown, which occurs when the movable pin 205 comes into contact with and separates from the back surface side of the substrate S, from adversely affecting the electronic components formed on the front surface side.

As shown in fig. 12, it is more preferable that the position deviation preventing device 201 is disposed so as to overlap 4 corners of the substrate S. With this arrangement, the substrate S can be restricted from 4 directions, and therefore, not only the movement of the substrate S in the longitudinal direction of the support grasping members 119 but also the movement of the substrate S in the direction crossing the support grasping members 119, the movement of the substrate S to rotate in the horizontal direction, and the like can be restricted, and the substrate S can be more reliably prevented from being positionally displaced. In the example of fig. 12, the number of the movable pins 205 is increased for 4 displacement prevention devices 201 arranged at positions overlapping 4 corners of the substrate S compared to 4 displacement prevention devices 201 arranged at other positions. Specifically, each of the 4 position deviation preventing devices 201 arranged at positions overlapping 4 corners of the substrate S has 11 movable pins 205. On the other hand, the displacement preventing devices 201 arranged on the opposite side (inner side) of the supporting grasping member 119 in pairs with the displacement preventing devices 201 arranged at the 4 corners of the substrate S each have 7 movable pins 205. In this way, the number of the movable pins 205 can be changed depending on the position, the number of the arrangements, and the like where the position deviation preventing device 201 is to be arranged.

As is clear from a comparison between fig. 11 and 12, even if the size of the substrate S changes, the mounting position of the misalignment preventing device 201 on the support/grasp member 119 can be changed in accordance with the size of the substrate S. Therefore, the substrate S can be reliably prevented from being positionally displaced on the fork 101 regardless of the size of the substrate S.

Even when the misalignment preventing device 201 is attached to 1 fork 101, the number, arrangement interval, and 1 st height H of the movable pins 205 can be changed according to the attachment position of the misalignment preventing device 201₁Height H of 2 nd₂And the like.

As shown in fig. 13, the columnar portion 205a of the movable pin 205 can be horizontally rotated about the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) thereof as a rotation axis. By rotating the columnar portion 205a abutting the edge of the substrate S, the abutting portion of the columnar portion 205a with the substrate S is always changed. As a result, the degree of deterioration of the movable pin 205 due to wear or damage caused by contact with the edge of the substrate S can be reduced, the service life of the movable pin 205 before replacement can be extended, and a decrease in the accuracy of the holding position due to the cylindrical portion 205a being worn or damaged can also be suppressed. The column portion 205a of the movable pin 205 can be easily and freely rotatably constructed by a known mechanism such as forming the upper portion of the column portion 205a in a double structure.

As described above, the arrangement of the misalignment preventing device 201 can reliably prevent the substrate S from slipping to cause a holding position misalignment due to acceleration generated when the fork 101 performs each operation such as moving in and out, retracting, and rotating, or from dropping from the fork 101. Thus, the reliability of the substrate conveying operation of the conveying device 23 in the vacuum processing system 100 can be improved. Further, by disposing the misalignment preventing device 201, the substrate S can be reliably held on the fork 101 even if the speed of the conveying operation is increased, and therefore, the productivity of the substrate conveying operation can be improved.

Next, a function of correcting the holding posture of the substrate S by the misalignment preventing device 201 of the present embodiment will be described. The supporting and grasping member 119 constituting the fork 101 is deflected in the longitudinal direction of the supporting and grasping member 119 by its own weight or the weight of the substrate S, and the height position of the tip portion is easily lower than the height position of the base portion side. The posture of the substrate S held by the fork 101 is also likely to be inclined in accordance with the flexing operation. Since the misalignment preventing device 201 also has a function of bringing the movable pins 205 into contact with the back surface of the substrate S to support the substrate S from below, the substrate S can be held nearly horizontally by the misalignment preventing device 201.

Fig. 14 schematically shows a state in which the substrate S is supported by a position deviation preventing device 201A attached to the front end side of the support/gripping member 119 (not shown here) of the fork 101 and a position deviation preventing device 201B attached to the base side. Here, reference numeral 205A denotes a movable pin of the distal-end-side displacement prevention device 201A, and reference numeral 205B denotes a movable pin of the base-side displacement prevention device 201B. And, the height H is higher than the 2 nd height H when the movable pin 205B of the base side displacement prevention device 201B sinks_2BThe 2 nd height H of the movable pin 205A of the front end side displacement prevention device 201A when it sinks is set to be large_2A. For example, by making the biasing force of the coil spring 207 for biasing the movable pin 205A of the position deviation preventing device 201A larger than the biasing force of the coil spring 207 for biasing the movable pin 205B of the position deviation preventing device 201B, or by forming the movable pin 205A longer than the movable pin 205B, the 2 nd height H can be easily set_2AGreater than 2 nd height H_2BIs large.

Thus, the height H of the movable pin 205A at level 2 can be utilized_2AHeight H from movable pin 205B_2BThe height difference of (2) counteracts the deflection amplitude of the support grasping member 119, and moderates the degree of deflection of the substrate S. Therefore, even when the weight of the substrate S and the weight of the support grasping member 119 cause the support grasping member 119 to flex and the position of the front-end-side misalignment preventing device 201A is lowered relative to the position of the base-side misalignment preventing device 201B, the substrate S on the fork 101 can be stably held in a horizontal posture as much as possible and the conveying operation can be performed.

In fig. 14, the height H is larger than the 1 st height H of the base-side displacement prevention device 201B_1BThe 1 st height H of the movable pin 205A of the front end side displacement prevention device 201A is set to be large_1A. Thereby, the position deviation can be prevented on the front end sideThe height H of the 1 st part of the device 201A is sufficiently ensured_1AAnd height H of 2_2ADifference (H) of_1A-H_2A). Thus, even if the load of the substrate S is concentrated on the front end side of the fork 101 by supporting the deflection of the grasping member 119, the height H can be reliably set to the 1 st height H_1AThe protruding movable pin 205A functions as a stopper member. In order to obtain the effect of correcting the holding posture of the substrate S by the misalignment preventing device 201 as described above, the misalignment preventing device 201 is not limited to be disposed on the base side and the tip side of the support/grasp member 119, and may be disposed in the vicinity of the middle in the longitudinal direction of the support/grasp member 119.

In fig. 14, the example in which the misalignment preventing devices 201 are attached to the left and right sides of 1 supporting and grasping member 119 has been described, but the misalignment preventing devices 201 may be attached to only one side of 1 supporting and grasping member 119.

Further, as a modification of the misalignment preventing device 201, a structure in which a pair of bodies 203 each provided with a plurality of movable pins 205 are connected to each other may be adopted. For example, the misalignment preventing device 201C shown in fig. 15 has 2 main bodies 203, and the movable pins 205 can be arranged on both the left and right sides of 1 supporting grasping member 119 by connecting the main bodies 203 by the connecting portions 209. In this case, a recess 203b into which the support grasping member 119 can be inserted is formed between the left and right main bodies 203. The recess 203b is formed with a depth and a width corresponding to the thickness and the width of the support grasping member 119. The coupling portion 209 and the recess 203b are not necessarily provided, but by providing the coupling portion 209 and the recess 203b, a fixing operation and a positioning operation can be easily performed when the misalignment preventing device 201C is attached to the support grasping member 119. That is, when the misalignment preventing device 201C is attached to the support grasping member 119, the coupling portion 209 functions as a fixing portion, and the recess 203b functions as a positioning portion. For example, the connecting portion 209 may be formed by using a plate material made of the same material as the main body, but the form of the connecting portion 209 is not limited as long as 2 main bodies 203 can be connected.

The main body 203 is not necessarily a frame, and the main body 203 may be formed of, for example, 2 sheets.

The misalignment preventing device 201 is not limited to preventing the rectangular substrate from being misaligned, and may be attached to a fork 101A for holding a circular substrate S such as a semiconductor wafer, as shown in fig. 16, for example. In fig. 16, the same components as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

Embodiment 2

Next, a misalignment preventing device 301 according to embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 17 to 22. First, fig. 17 is an enlarged perspective view showing an external configuration of the misalignment preventing device 301. Fig. 18 is a main part sectional view for explaining a mechanism of the position deviation preventing device 301. The main structure of the position deviation preventing device 301 includes a main body 303, a plurality of block-shaped movable pins 305 as movable members provided so as to protrude from an upper surface 303a of the main body 303, and coil springs 307 as urging members for individually applying upward (protruding direction) forces to the movable pins 305. Further, the misalignment preventing device 301 according to the present embodiment is provided with a block 309 for assisting the stopper function of the movable pin 305, adjacent to the movable pin 305. In fig. 17, the position deviation preventing device 301 has 4 movable pins 305 at 3 points of the main body 303, but the arrangement position and the arrangement number of the movable pins 305 are not limited.

In the misalignment preventing device 301 of the present embodiment, the main body 303 is a plate material made of, for example, a synthetic resin as shown in fig. 18. The main body 303 has a through opening 311 to which the movable pin 305 is attached. A part of the main body 303 protrudes inside the through-openings 311, and an engaging portion 303b is formed at an upper portion of each through-opening 311. The engagement portion 303b can reduce the opening area of the through opening 311. In addition, reference numeral 303c denotes a screw hole for mounting the main body 303 on the support grasping member 119.

Inside each through opening 311, 4 sets of movable pins 305 and 4 sets of coil springs 307 are arranged, respectively. The movable pin 305 is formed in a U-shape (a cross-sectional shape such as a disk is raised), and includes a substrate support portion 305a which is a portion abutting against the lower surface or an end portion of the substrate S, and bent portions 305b formed by bending both ends of the substrate support portion 305a outward. The substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 is inserted between the opposing engagement portions 303b in each through opening 311. A recess 305c for spring support is provided at substantially the center of the lower surface of the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305. A base portion 313 is provided at a lower end of each through opening 311. The base portion 313 is detachably fixed to the main body 303 by a fitting mechanism not shown. The base portion 313 is provided with a concave portion 313a for spring support.

The substrate support portion 305a and the bent portion 305b of the movable pin 305 may be formed by separate members, but it is preferable to integrally form them using the same material. The material of the movable pin 305 is not particularly limited, but since at least the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 is in contact with the back surface or the end portion of the substrate S, the movable pin 305 is preferably formed using a material such as synthetic resin or rubber. Further, the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 preferably has rigidity and toughness to such an extent that it can abut against the end portion of the substrate S. From the above-described points of view, it is preferable to use a synthetic resin such as PEEK (polyetheretherketone) resin or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) resin as the material of the movable pin 305.

The shape of the movable pin 305 is not limited to the shape illustrated in fig. 17, 18, and the like.

The coil spring 307 is a biasing member that applies an upward force to the movable pin 305 to form a state in which the upper portion of the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 protrudes from the upper surface 303a of the main body 303. The upper end of the coil spring 307 abuts against the spring support recess 305c on the lower surface of the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305, and the lower end of the coil spring 307 abuts against the spring support recess 313a of the base portion 313. The coil spring 307 may be fixed by any method as required. The urging member for urging the movable pin 305 is not limited to the coil spring 307, and may be a plate spring, for example.

In the misalignment preventing device 301, the plurality of movable pins 305 are capable of independently moving up and down by receiving the load of the substrate S. That is, the movable pins 305 independently protrude or retract in a direction orthogonal to the surface direction of the substrate S. In fig. 18, the left movable pin 305 is in a state of sinking under load when viewed from the paper, and the right movable pin 305 is in a state of not receiving load when an upward force is applied (the substrate S is not shown). That is, in a state where the load of the substrate S is not applied, the movable pin 305 is urged upward by the coil spring 307, so that the upper portion of the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 inserted in the through opening 311 protrudes upward from the upper surface 303a of the main body 303. At this time, the amount of protrusion of the tip of the movable pin 305 is set to the 1 st height H with reference to the upper surface 303a of the main body 303₁. In a state where the load of the substrate S is not applied, the bent portion 305b of the movable pin 305 biased by the coil spring 307 is pressed against the engagement portion 303b of the through opening 311. The bent portion 305b is used for defining the 1 st height H₁The stop member of (1).

When the fork 101 receives the substrate S, the load of the substrate S contracts the coil spring 307 and the entire movable pin 305 is pressed down in a state where the load acts on any of the movable pins 205. In the state where the displacement has occurred, the amount of protrusion of the tip end of the movable pin 305 is set to the 2 nd height H with reference to the upper surface 303a of the main body 303₂. The 1 st height H is set as in embodiment 1₁And height H of 2 nd₂。

In the misalignment preventing device 301 according to the present embodiment, the substrate support portion 305a of the movable pin 305 is formed in a U-shape, and the coil spring 307 is accommodated inside the substrate support portion 305a, so that the entire height of the misalignment preventing device 301 (the thickness of the body 303 and the 1 st height H) can be set to be higher than that of the misalignment preventing device 201 according to embodiment 1₁Or) to a smaller size. Thus, the displacement preventing device 301 can be mounted on, for example, a support gripping member119 on the upper surface thereof. Further, with the above configuration, the movable pins 305 can be provided with slight inclination in the width direction of the movable pins 305 (the arrangement direction of the movable pins 305).

The block 309 is an auxiliary support for assisting the stopper function of the movable pin 305. When the edge of the substrate S abuts against the movable pin 305 and a lateral force is applied, the block 309 assists in supporting the movable pin 305. That is, the block 309 functions as an auxiliary stopper member that indirectly regulates the movement of the substrate in cooperation with the movable pin 305. Therefore, the block 309 is provided adjacent to the movable pin 305 located at the farthest position as viewed from the substrate S side. The block 309 may be formed integrally with the main body 303 of the displacement preventing device 301, or the block 309 may be formed as a member separate from the main body 303. In the present embodiment, the block 309 is a fixed member rather than a movable member. In addition, block 309 is of arbitrary construction and may not be provided.

Next, the operation of the misalignment preventing device 301 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 19 to 21. Fig. 19 to 21 show a state in which the misalignment preventing device 301 is attached to the tip of the support gripping member 119. The displacement preventing device 301 is fixed to the support grasping member 119 by fixing means such as screws. In the misalignment preventing device 301 of the present embodiment, 4 movable pins 305 are provided close to each other. Here, for convenience of explanation, the

movable pins

305A, 305B, 305C, 305D are sequentially referred to as 4 movable pins from the base side to the tip side of the supporting grasping member 119. As shown in fig. 19, in a state where the substrate S is not supported, the movable pins 305A to 305D all have the 1 st height H₁。

Fig. 20 shows a state where the substrate S is supported on the supporting and grasping member 119 of the fork 101. The substrate S is dropped on the

movable pins

305A and 305B, and the

movable pins

305A and 305B are lowered to the 2 nd height H by receiving the load of the substrate S₂. The movable pins 305C, 305D on which the substrate S is not mounted are maintained at the original height H1₁. In this state, when the substrate S attempts to move to the position where the substrate S is located on the front end side of the fork 101 due to the inertial force or the centrifugal force during the conveyance of the substrate S by the fork 101In the case of displacement, as shown in fig. 21 in an enlarged manner, the edge of the front end side of the substrate S abuts against the side portion of the movable pin 305C, thereby preventing the occurrence of positional displacement. At this time, since the distance between the movable pin 305C and the movable pin 305D is small, the movable pin 305D adjacent to the movable pin 305C provided in the width direction so as to be able to tilt can assist the support. That is, when the force applied to the substrate S is large, the

movable pins

305C and 305D cooperatively function as stopper members rather than only the movable pin 305C alone.

Further, since the displacement prevention device 301 according to the present embodiment is provided with the block 309 in proximity to the movable pin 305D, even when the force applied to the substrate S is large, the block 309 functions as a stopper member in cooperation with the

movable pins

305C and 305D, and thus displacement of the substrate S can be more reliably prevented.

As described above, in order to allow the

movable pins

305A, 305B, 305C, and 305D to function as stopper members in cooperation with each other, it is preferable that the interval between the adjacent movable pins 305 is a state in which the adjacent movable pins 305 can be brought into contact or brought close to contact with each other by a lateral force. Therefore, in the misalignment preventing device 301, it is preferable that 4

movable pins

305A, 305B, 305C, 305D are disposed adjacent to each other without a gap in the through opening 311. By arranging the plurality of movable pins 305 in an integrated manner in this way, not only the movable pin 305 directly contacting the substrate S can function as a stopper member, but also other movable pins 305 can indirectly function as stopper members.

From the same viewpoint, it is preferable that the block 309 and the movable pin 305D disposed closest to the distal end side of the support/grasping member 119 are spaced apart from each other so that the block 309 and the movable pin 305D can be brought into contact with each other or can be brought into close proximity to each other by a lateral force.

Next, the arrangement of the movable pins 305 in the misalignment preventing device 301 according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 22 is a plan view showing a state in which the misalignment preventing device 301 is attached to the tip of the support gripping member 119. The main body 303 is provided with 3 through openings 311, and 4 movable pins 305 are arranged in each through opening 311. For convenience of description, the plurality of movable pins 305 on the left side when viewed from the paper of fig. 22 from the base side of the supporting grasping member 119 are referred to as movable pins 305a1, 305B1.. the plurality of movable pins 305 on the center are referred to as movable pins 305a2, 305B2.. the plurality of movable pins 305 on the right side are referred to as movable pins 305A3, 305B 3.

The positions of the through openings 311 are offset from each other by a certain distance in the longitudinal direction of the support/grasping member 119. The 3 blocks 309 are not of the same size, but are formed in different sizes with the boundary positions between the block 309 and the movable pin 305 being shifted little by little in the longitudinal direction of the support grasping member 119. Specifically, for example, the boundary between the movable pin 305C1 and the movable pin 305D1 is located at the middle of the movable pin 305D2 in the width direction of the substrate supporting portion 305a (in the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the supporting grasping member 119). Further, for example, the boundary between the movable pin 305D2 and the movable pin 305C2 is located at the middle of the movable pin 305D3 in the width direction of the substrate supporting portion 305 a.

By arranging the movable pins 305 so as to be sequentially shifted by a small distance (for example, by 1/2 pitches each time) in the longitudinal direction of the support/grasping member 119 in this manner, the amount of positional deviation of the substrate S from the initial support position can be suppressed. That is, if the edge of the substrate S falls on the movable pin 305A3 and only the movable pin 305A3 reaches the 2 nd height H₂In the case of (1), even if the substrate S is displaced during the transportation, the height H is set to be equal to the edge of the substrate S₁The side surfaces of the protruding movable pins 305a2 abut against each other, and therefore the substrate S can be restricted from further movement. Since the difference between the position where the movable pin 305A3 is provided and the position where the movable pin 305a2 is provided is 1/2 the width of the substrate support portion 305a, the amount of positional deviation of the substrate S can be controlled to be within 1/2 the width of the substrate support portion 305 a. Similarly, when the edge of the substrate S is dropped on the movable pin 305a2 and the movement of the substrate S is restricted by the movable pin 305a1, the amount of positional deviation of the substrate S can be controlled to be within 1/2 of the width of the substrate support portion 305 a. Thus, phaseIt is preferable to arrange the movable pins 305 in a row in the lateral direction, and to arrange the movable pins 305 in a row in the longitudinal direction of the support/grasping member 119 at a slight distance in order.

As described above, in the misalignment preventing device 301 according to the present embodiment, since the movement of the substrate S is restricted by the movable pins 305 of 1 to a plurality and the block 309 is added as necessary, the substrate S can be reliably prevented from being misaligned on the fork 101, and the amount of misalignment of the substrate S can be controlled to a very small amount. Further, by disposing the movable pins 305 sequentially shifted by a small distance in the longitudinal direction of the supporting and grasping member 119, the amount of positional displacement of the substrate S can be controlled to an extremely small amount.

Other configurations and effects of the present embodiment are the same as those of embodiment 1. The displacement prevention device 301 is not limited to being provided at the distal end of the support grasping member 119, and may be attached to a side portion of the support grasping member 119 (for example, a side portion on the distal end side or a side portion on the base side of the support grasping member 119).

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications are possible. For example, although the example of the transport device 23 that transports the substrate S in a vacuum state has been described in the above embodiment, the

misalignment preventing devices

201 and 301 may be applied to the transport device 15 that transports the substrate S in an atmospheric state. When the present invention is applied to a member that transports a substrate in an atmospheric state, such as the transport device 15, as the biasing member for biasing the

movable pins

205 and 305 of the position

deviation preventing devices

201 and 301, for example, a mechanism that biases with a fluid such as air or highly viscous oil whose pressure is adjusted may be used.

The substrate transport apparatus that can use the substrate holder of the present invention is not limited to the slide arm type in which 2 layers are arranged in the upper and lower direction, and may be a 1-layer structure or a 3-layer structure, and may be an articulated arm type substrate transport apparatus, for example, without being limited to the slide type structure.

The

misalignment preventing devices

201 and 301 are not limited to substrate holders that are provided for substrates for FPD manufacturing and are to be transported, and may be applied to substrate holders that are to be transported for substrates for various applications such as solar cell substrates.

Claims

1. An anti-positional shift device, comprising:

a main body fixed to a substrate holder for holding a substrate;

2. The anti-positional shift apparatus according to claim 1,

the movable member protrudes or retreats in a direction orthogonal to the surface of the substrate.

3. The position deviation prevention device according to claim 1 or 2,

at least a portion of the movable member contacting the substrate is formed of synthetic resin or rubber.

4. The position deviation prevention device according to claim 1 or 2,

the movable member is displaced to a2 nd height lower than the 1 st height with reference to the upper surface of the body in a state where a load of the substrate is applied to the protruding portion.

5. The position deviation prevention device according to claim 1 or 2,

the plurality of movable members are disposed close to each other, and cooperate with each other to restrict the movement of the substrate.

6. The position deviation prevention device according to claim 1 or 2,

the position deviation preventing device further includes an auxiliary support portion that indirectly restricts the movement of the substrate together with the movable member.

7. A substrate holder, wherein,

the substrate holder includes:

a substrate supporting member for supporting a substrate;

the misalignment preventing device according to claim 1 or 2, which is fixed to the substrate support member.

8. The substrate holder of claim 7,

the displacement prevention device is configured such that the movable member, which has a protruding portion whose height is lower than the 1 st height when the load of the substrate is applied, is brought into contact with the back surface of the region outside the device formation region in which the electronic component is formed on the substrate.

9. The substrate holder of claim 7,

and 2 or more of the displacement preventing means are disposed so that the movable member protruding at the 1 st height abuts at least two opposite sides of the substrate held by the substrate holder.

10. The substrate holder of claim 7,

the position deviation preventing means is disposed on the base side and the tip side of the substrate support member, respectively.

11. The substrate holder of claim 10,

the movable member of the displacement prevention device disposed on the distal end side protrudes from the upper surface of the main body by a larger amount than the movable member of the displacement prevention device disposed on the base side.

12. A substrate transfer apparatus, wherein,

the substrate transport apparatus has the substrate holder according to claim 7.

13. A method for transporting a substrate, wherein,

the method is for holding and transporting a substrate on the substrate holder by using the substrate transport apparatus according to claim 12.