JPS5855646Y2 - Semiconductor substrate transfer equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring semiconductor substrates from a magazine containing them to an empty magazine.

2. Description of the Related Art Magazines (hereinafter referred to as carriers) that store a plurality of semiconductor substrates in parallel at regular intervals are commonly used in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits.

For batch processing such as etching and cleaning, semiconductor substrate processing carriers made of highly chemically resistant materials such as Teflon, which are used in chemical processing, are used to coat semiconductor substrates with photosensitizers, pre-evaluate them, etc. Metal carriers such as aluminum are used in processes that handle organic substances, such as mask alignment, development, and appearance checking.

This carrier requires work to transfer semiconductor substrates from one to another.

For example, when applying a photosensitive agent after cleaning, a pin, which is conventionally attached to the inlet/outlet of a Teflon carrier containing a semiconductor substrate, is inserted into a hole, which is attached to the inlet/outlet of an aluminum carrier. In this state, the aluminum carrier that does not contain the semiconductor substrate is tilted downward, and the semiconductor substrate is lowered and transferred to the aluminum carrier.

However, when transferring using the above-mentioned method, chipping occurs around the semiconductor substrate due to the impact caused by gravity falling onto the semiconductor substrate during transfer, which has an adverse effect on the device.

Furthermore, as semiconductor substrates become larger in the future, carriers for semiconductor substrates will naturally become larger, making it difficult to transfer semiconductors using the above method.

The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the shortcomings of the conventional methods as described above, and to develop a device that can reliably transfer semiconductor substrates between dedicated carriers for each process without adversely affecting the elements within the semiconductor substrate. It is about providing.

According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate having a main surface on which a pair of carriers capable of storing semiconductor substrates can be placed, a member connected to the base body and extending substantially perpendicularly to the main surface, and There is obtained a semiconductor substrate transfer apparatus characterized by having a means for moving in a direction along.

In particular, according to the present invention, a plurality of semiconductor substrates can be stored at regular intervals and parallel to each other, and two magazines facing each other are placed on one surface, and a bar perpendicular to the main surface is placed on the main surface. A semiconductor substrate transfer device is obtained, which has a function of horizontally sliding the bar, and by sliding this bar, pushes out the semiconductor substrate from the rear of the magazine and transfers it to the opposing carrier in the front.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention in a perspective view, and FIG. 2 shows the state before transfer as a side view.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the Teflon carrier has been transferred to an aluminum carrier, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the aluminum carrier has been transferred to a Teflon carrier, as a side view with a partially cutaway portion.

This embodiment has a carrier mounting table 1 with a positioning mechanism and arms 3.4 that move horizontally with respect to the carrier mounting surface in order to push out a semiconductor substrate 2. These arms 3 and 4 can be operated from the outside. It consists of levers 5 and 6.

First, the levers 5 and 6 are slid to the rear of the carrier 7.8 as shown in FIG. 2, and the carrier 7.8 is set on the mounting table 1.

In the case of FIG. 3, when the Teflon carrier 8 containing the semiconductor substrate 2 and the empty aluminum carrier 7 are set on the mounting table 1 and the lever 6 is moved in the direction of the arrow, the push rod 4
The semiconductor substrate 2 is pushed out to an empty aluminum carrier 7 and transferred.

In the case of FIG. 4, the semiconductor substrate is transferred from the aluminum carrier 7 to the Teflon carrier 8 in the same manner as described above.

The semiconductor substrate 2 enters the other carrier from one carrier through grooves formed inside both storage carriers 7 and 8. The lower surface of the semiconductor substrate 2 is supported by the inner wall of the groove and its surface is supported by the carrier 7 or 8. Since it does not come into contact with the inner wall of the groove, the surface will not be scratched.

Furthermore, by attaching pads (not shown) made of fluororesin or the like to the pressing ends of the extruding arms 3 and 4, the semiconductor substrate 2 is prevented from being damaged due to collision with the extruding arms 3 and 4. Since the transfer speed is easily controlled by moving carrier 7 slowly,
．． Even if there is no cushioning material at the end of the groove 8 to receive the semiconductor substrate 2, no impact is applied at the end of the groove, so there are no accidents such as chipping or cracking of the semiconductor substrate. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the adverse effects on the elements within the semiconductor substrate caused by stress generation.

In the above embodiment, the case where two semiconductor substrate pushing arms are provided is shown, but it is also possible to have only two semiconductor substrate pushing arms.

At this time, it goes without saying that the position and orientation of the carrier should be matched to the position of the extrusion arm.

According to the present invention, there is no need to change the attitude of the carrier as in the conventional method when replacing semiconductor substrates, so no impact is applied to the semiconductor substrates, and only the semiconductor substrates can be pushed out from one carrier to the other. , even semiconductor substrates with large diameters can be transferred without any problems, and furthermore, transfer can be performed easily and reliably not only in air, but also in liquids, at high temperatures, and in vacuum. I can do it.

Further, according to the present invention, by setting the lengths of the pushing ends of the pushing arms 3 and 4, only the necessary number of semiconductor substrates 2 housed in one carrier can be transferred in advance, and the others can be transferred in that carrier. It is also possible to easily pay in installments, such as leaving the amount in the account.

The present invention is not limited to the case where the carriers shown in the above embodiments are used, but as long as the vertical distance between the grooves in a pair of carriers is the same, the carriers can be freely combined regardless of the shape and material of the carriers to form a semiconductor substrate. This has the effect of allowing advance payments to be made.

Furthermore, after setting the carriers 7 and 8 on the carrier mounting surface 1 as described above, the levers 5 and 6 can be moved without touching the carriers.
Since the semiconductor substrate transfer work can be reliably performed only by the above operation, it is possible to prevent impurities from coming into contact with manual work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway portion for explaining the function and effect of the embodiment of Fig. 1. FIG. 4 is a side view with a partially cutout portion for explaining the effects of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. In addition, in the figure: 1...Carrier mounting table, 2
... Semiconductor substrates, 3 and 4 ... Left and right semiconductor substrate extrusion arms, 5 and 6, respectively.
Operation lever, 7... Aluminum carrier, 8...
...It is a Teflon carrier.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A substrate having a main surface on which a pair of magazines storing a plurality of semiconductor substrates can be placed; a member extending substantially perpendicularly to the main surface and simultaneously contacting the plurality of semiconductor substrates; 1. A semiconductor substrate transfer device, comprising: means for moving in a direction.