JPH10223734A - Notch alignment device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To reduce the friction of a notch stopper, prolong the life of the notch stopper, and reduce the generation of particles. A pair of rollers (12, 13) for supporting and rotating a wafer (1) are provided. These rollers 12, 13
A notch stopper 14, which is guided between the stopper 1 and the wafer 1 by a leaf spring 16 and is pressed against the wafer 1 by a leaf spring 16, is provided. As a result, the wafer load is received by the pair of rollers 12 and 13, and the load is not applied to the notch stopper 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a notch aligning apparatus for a wafer, and more particularly, to an apparatus for reducing a load on a wafer by a notch stopper engaged with the notch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a notch of a wafer in a wafer cassette is adjusted to a rear surface of the wafer cassette before the processing so as to prevent a processing variation from wafer to wafer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a conventional notch aligning apparatus. The notch aligning device 10 includes a long drive roller 2 that is rotatably driven on a rear side of a wafer cassette (not shown) so as to support two points at a lower portion of the outer periphery of the wafer 1 that is stored upright in the cassette. , One long notch stopper 3 fixed to the inelastic member is disposed to face the other. A resin such as Teflon or Diflon is usually used for the notch stopper material. When performing notch alignment, the lifting table 4 to which the drive roller 2 and the notch stopper 3 are attached is raised by the cylinder 5, and the wafer 1 in the cassette is
The drive roller 2 and the notch stopper 3
The drive roller 2 is rotated. The notch 6 of the wafer 1 rotated by the drive roller 2 is stopped by engagement with the notch stopper 3. By this operation, the notches 6 of all the wafers 1 in the cassette become notch stoppers 3
Are aligned at the position.

In the drawings, reference numeral 7 denotes a wafer detection sensor provided for each wafer, and reference numeral 8 denotes a screw for adjusting the position of a drive roller.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional notch aligning apparatus, the load of the wafer 1 is supported by the drive roller 2 and the notch stopper 3. Therefore, a load approximately half that of the wafer 1 is applied to the notch stopper 3, and when the wafer 1 rotates, a large friction occurs between the wafer 1 and the notch stopper 3 due to the load, and the notch stopper 3 is worn. The phenomenon occurs. This wear shortens the life of the notch stopper 3 and causes the generation of particles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a notch aligning apparatus which solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, reduces friction between a wafer and a notch stopper, has a long service life of the notch stopper, and generates few particles. It is in.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a notch aligning apparatus for aligning the position of a notch of a wafer in a cassette by rotating the wafer and engaging a notch stopper with the notch of the wafer. And a plurality of rollers for rotating the notch, and the notch stopper is provided near the rollers.

Since the wafer is supported by a plurality of rollers, the wafer load is applied to the plurality of rollers, and the load on the notch stopper is reduced. Therefore, wear of the notch stopper and generation of particles are reduced.

In this case, if a pair of rollers for supporting and rotating the wafer and a notch stopper is provided between the pair of rollers, the apparatus can be simplified.

Further, when the notch stopper is pressed against the wafer by the elastic member, the wafer load applied to the notch stopper can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where the notch stopper is pressed against the wafer by the inelastic member.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a side view of the notch aligning apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view.

As shown in FIG. 1, a notch aligning device 11 has a pair of rotating drive rollers 12 and guide rollers 13 on both sides of an upper portion of the device in which a wafer cassette 9 containing wafers 1 is arranged. This pair of rollers 1 is provided and rotates the load of the wafer 1 in the standing posture.
The wafer 1 is rotated while being supported by 2 and 13. A notch stopper 14 that engages with the notch 6 of the wafer 1 is provided at the center of the pair of rollers 12 and 13. The notch stopper 14 is inserted into a stopper guide 15 and guided to be able to move forward and backward, and is pressed against the wafer 1 by the elastic force of an elastic member, for example, a leaf spring 16. Although the pressing direction may be oblique, the vertical direction is preferable for evenly receiving the wafer load by the pair of rollers 12 and 13. The pressing force is set small so that the minimum stroke required to engage the notch 6 of the wafer 1 is obtained. If the pressing force is large, the notch stopper 14 receives the wafer load, which is not preferable.

The drive roller 12 is driven by a belt (not shown) by a motor.

Inside the apparatus, there is provided a cylinder 18 for raising and lowering a lift 17 to which a notch stopper 14 and a stopper guide 15 are attached, and the cylinder 18 is operated by air or hydraulic pressure. Although the mounting positions of the drive roller 12 and the guide roller 13 are fixed, the drive roller 12 and the guide roller 13 may be moved up and down independently of the notch stopper 14 so that the vertical position can be adjusted.

[0015] As shown in FIG.
The guide roller 13 and the guide roller 13 are constituted by symmetrical long rollers for supporting two points on the lower part of the outer periphery of the wafer standing in the cassette, and both ends thereof are supported by bearings 19 and 20.
A plurality of grooves 21 into which the outer periphery of each wafer fits are formed at equal intervals on the roller surface. The notch stopper 14 is provided independently for each wafer on a line connecting the opposing grooves 21 of the drive roller 12 and the guide roller 13. The notch stopper 14 has a rod shape with a rectangular cross section. Reference numerals 22 and 23 indicate drive rollers 12.
And the shaft of the guide roller 13.

Next, the operation of the notch aligning device configured as described above will be described. The cassette 9 is arranged at a predetermined position on the apparatus, and a plurality of wafers 1 stored in the cassette 9 are arranged.
Is supported between the drive roller 12 and the guide roller 13. The notch stopper 14 is raised by the cylinder 18 and abuts on the outer periphery of the wafer 1 in the cassette 9. When the drive roller 12 is driven to rotate, the wafer 1 rotates with the load being supported by the drive roller 12 and the guide roller 13. When the notch 6 of the wafer 1 comes on the notch stopper 14, the notch stopper 14 enters the notch 6 by the spring force of the leaf spring 16 and stops the rotation of the wafer 1. This operation is performed independently for all the wafers 1, and the notches 6 of all the wafers 1 in the cassette 9 are aligned with the back surface of the wafer cassette 9.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the notch stopper 14 is pressed against the wafer 1 by the spring force of the leaf spring 16 while supporting the load of the wafer 1 with the pair of rollers 12 and 13. The friction of the notch stopper 14 is smaller than that of a conventional wafer supported by the notch stopper. Therefore, wear of the notch stopper 14 can be prevented, and generation of particles can be reduced.

Even if the notch stopper 14 is worn, since the notch stopper 14 is provided independently for each wafer, only the worn notch stopper 14 needs to be replaced. It is very economical because there is no need to replace the whole, as in the case where the system is provided.

In the above-described embodiment, in order to effectively suppress the swing of the wafer 1 during rotation, the drive roller 1
2. Although a grooved roller is provided in the guide roller 13 to provide a grooved roller, a simple cylindrical roller without a groove may be used because the groove provided in the wafer cassette can also suppress the swinging of the wafer. Further, the plate spring 16 may use another elastic member such as a coil spring.

A notch stopper 14 is provided at the center,
Although the rollers 12 and 13 that contact the wafer 1 are provided on both sides thereof, a notch stopper 14 may be provided outside the rollers 12 and 13. Further, three or more rollers for supporting the wafer load may be provided.

[0021]

According to the present invention, since the wafer load is supported by the plurality of rollers, the friction with the wafer is reduced as compared with the conventional case where the wafer is supported by the notch stopper. Therefore, wear of the notch stopper can be prevented, and generation of particles can be reduced. In particular, when the notch stopper is pressed against the wafer by the elastic member, wear of the notch stopper can be further prevented, and generation of particles can be further reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a notch aligning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the notch aligning device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a conventional notch aligning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 wafer 6 notch 9 wafer cassette 11 notch aligning device 12 drive roller 13 guide roller 14 notch stopper 16 leaf spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A notch aligning apparatus for aligning the position of a notch of a wafer in a cassette by rotating the wafer and engaging a notch stopper with the notch of the wafer, wherein a plurality of rollers for supporting and rotating the wafer are provided. A notch aligning device provided with the notch stopper near the roller. 2. A notch aligning apparatus for aligning the position of a notch of a wafer in a cassette by rotating the wafer and engaging a notch stopper with the notch of the wafer, comprising a pair of rollers for supporting and rotating the wafer. A notch aligning device, wherein the notch stopper is provided between the rollers. 3. The notch aligning device according to claim 1, wherein the notch stopper is pressed against the wafer by an elastic member.