JPH02142155A - Semiconductor-wafer transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the formation of dust in wafer transfer and to prevent the occurrence of defects due to deterioration in characteristics as a device by linking a semiconductor-wafer transfer jig to a means for inverting the jig upside-down. CONSTITUTION:A wafer-transfer jig 4 is fixed on a stage plate 13 which is formed as a unitary body with a rotary shaft 12. The rotary shaft 12 is rotatably mounted so as to keep a tightly closed structure through, e.g., a packing 12a so as to penetrate the partitioning wall of a treating container 11 filled with Iiquid 10 such as pure water and chemical. Treatments such as cleaning of semiconductor wafers 1 and film formation are performed with the liquid 10. Then the liquid 10 is drained through a liquid draining port 14 as shown by an arrow. For example, cleaning water 10' is injected so that the jig 4 is sufficiently immersed from the upper part. The rotary shaft 12 is rotated by 180 degrees and inverted upside-down. The wafers 1 are dropped into a boat 3 which is brought to the lower side. The liquid 10' is drained through the port 14. Film forming liquid and the like are injected, and a required treating step is performed. Since buoyancy due into the liquid 10' acts on the dropping wafers 1, the dropping speed becomes slow. As the liquid 10' is present between the contact points of the boat 3 and the wafer, dust is not caused by collision.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Summary) Regarding a semiconductor wafer transfer device in a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process, dust caused by contact between the wafer and a holder such as a boat, and Ig friction during transfer of the semiconductor wafer In order to prevent the characteristics of semiconductor devices from deteriorating, two boats, each of which has equally spaced parallel grooves for inserting and holding a semiconductor wafer in an upright position, are placed together with the grooves aligned. A semiconductor wafer transfer jig is connected to a means for inverting the jig downwardly in a liquid.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer transfer device in a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process, and in particular, deterioration of characteristics of semiconductor devices due to dust caused by contact and friction between the wafer and a holder such as a boat or basket when transferring the semiconductor wafer. The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer transfer device that aims to prevent such problems.

Generally, the manufacturing process of semiconductor wafers requires multiple cleaning and film forming steps, and when moving the wafers according to the process, it is necessary to change holders such as boats and baskets.

This transfer work is usually performed in a good atmosphere, but dust such as abrasion powder generated from the wafer and holders such as boats and baskets that come into direct contact with the wafer poses a problem.

Dust generation in this case is caused by the wafer and the holder rubbing against each other, damaging at least one of them, but when the wafer and holder are immersed in cleaning water or various chemical solutions, these dust particles adhere to the wafer surface. In subsequent steps, defects will occur as a semiconductor device and the characteristics will become t-membered.

In particular, as the diameter of wafers increases and the patterns become finer as in recent years, the generation of dust particles increases and the influence on the patterns increases. Therefore, the generation of these dust particles and their adhesion to the wafer surface are suppressed as much as possible. There is a need to.

[Prior Art] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional semiconductor wafer transfer jig, in which (A) shows an example of the structure of the jig, and (B) illustrates a transfer operation.

In Figure 4 (Δ), 1 is, for example, 6J: diameter and thickness 0.5m
Indicates a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) of approximately 2 m.
and 3 are for holding a plurality of wafers 1 standing in parallel alignment at predetermined intervals, for example, several mm intervals. and 3a are equally sized boats formed to correspond to each other.

The grooves 2a and 3a of the boats 2 and 3 for positioning the wafers 1 are usually designed so that the width W thereof is equal to the thickness of the wafer 1 so as to correspond to the warping or bending of the wafer 1 during the processing process. It is set to 3 to 4 times, for example, 1.5 to 2.01, and is formed into a U-shape in which the zero dimension along the outer diameter of the wafer is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the wafer.

Furthermore, the grooves 2 provided on both sides and bottom of the boats 2 and 3
The grooves b and 3b are formed deep enough to penetrate the wall of the boat 2 or 3 only at the grooves 2a and 3a, and are used to transfer liquids such as pure water and chemicals to the transfer jig. 4
It is intended for circulation within the .

Here, for example, insert the wafer 1 into the groove 2a of the boat 2,
The boats 3 are mounted facing each other so that the grooves 3a of the boats 3 correspond to the valley grooves 2a of the boat 2, and the semiconductor wafer transfer jig 4 is completed.

In the diagram (B) showing the operation when transferring the wafer, (A)
For example, indicates that a plurality of wafers I, which have been cleaned and dried and are in a good atmosphere, are inserted into the groove 2a of the boat 2.

Here, the wafer 1 is transferred to another boat (boat 3 in the case of the figure) in order to proceed to the next process, but at this time, the semiconductor wafer transfer jig 4 is moved as it is, for example in the direction of the arrow R shown in the figure. Then, the wafer is turned upside down and dropped into the corresponding groove 3a of the boat 3 as shown in FIG.

Since the wafers are moved by their own weight when being transferred, the wafers and the boat collide with each other, generating fine dust and contaminating the wafers.

In particular, this tendency becomes more serious as the diameter of the wafer increases, making it a serious problem.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

With conventional semiconductor wafer transfer jigs, a large amount of dust generated during wafer transfer adheres to the surface of the wafer during cleaning and film formation processes, making cleaning and film formation difficult and even worse. There is a problem in that the number of defects increases due to deterioration in device characteristics.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above problem is solved by a semiconductor wafer transfer jig that consists of two ports in which grooves for inserting and holding a semiconductor wafer in an upright position are formed in parallel and equally spaced, facing each other with the grooves aligned. This problem is solved by a semiconductor wafer transfer device connected to means for turning the jig upside down in a liquid.

[Function] When wafers are transferred in a liquid, the wafers slowly descend due to the buoyant force of the liquid, and the liquid present at each contact point between the wafers and the boat acts as a damper, which prevents the wafers from colliding with each other. No dust.

In the present invention, the semiconductor wafer transfer jig is provided with means that can be turned upside down in the wafer processing liquid, thereby allowing the wafer to be transferred in the liquid.

Therefore, dust is not generated during wafer transfer, and defects due to deterioration of device characteristics can be prevented.

(Example) FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus according to the present invention, in which (8) shows the state before the wafer is transferred, and (B) shows the state after the wafer is transferred. FIG.

Further, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the wafer transfer jig, (8) is a diagram for explaining an example of the main part configuration, and (B) is a diagram for explaining the function. Further, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wafer transfer process.

FIG. 1 shows the semiconductor wafer transfer jig shown in FIG. 4 installed in a processing container and viewed from the side.

In the figure (^), 4 indicates the wafer transfer jig in FIG. 4 in which the wafer 1 is held in the holder 2, and the jig 4 is a processing container 11 filled with a liquid 10 such as pure water or a chemical solution. It is fixed on a base plate 13 integrated with a rotary shaft 12 which is rotatably mounted so as to penetrate through a partition wall of, for example, a banking 12a to maintain a hermetic seal. Note that the other end of the rotation shaft I2 is connected to a rotation mechanism (not shown) located outside the processing container 11.

Further, 14 is a drain boat for the processing container 11.

After cleaning the wafer 1 with the liquid 10 or performing a treatment such as forming a film, the liquid is discharged from the liquid drain boat 14 as shown by the arrow, and then, for example, cleaning water 10' is supplied from the upper part to the wafer transfer treatment. Pour until the ingredient 4 is fully immersed.

Then, in this state, a rotation mechanism (not shown) is operated to rotate the rotation shaft 12 by 180 degrees to turn it upside down, and the wafer 1 is dropped into the boat 3 located below, resulting in the state shown in Figure (B).

Furthermore, after the liquid 10' is removed from the drain boat 14, a film-forming liquid, a cleaning liquid, etc. are injected, and the necessary treatment steps are continued.

In the semiconductor wafer transfer apparatus having such a configuration, the buoyancy of the liquid 10' acts on the falling wafer l, which, together with the flow resistance of the liquid 10', slows down the falling wafer l.
Furthermore, even when the liquid reaches the boat 3, 10 degrees of liquid is present between the contact point with the boat 3, so that no dust is generated due to collision.

(A) shows an example of the configuration of the wafer transfer jig 22 in FIG.
I indicates the semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as wafer) shown in FIG. 4, and 2 is also equivalent to the boat 2 provided with grooves 2a and 2b explained in FIG.

20 has the same external shape as the boat 3 in FIG. '420
A groove 20b, which is equal to the groove 3b of the boat 3, is formed on the bottom (top surface in the drawing).

Further, the wafers l provided on both sides of the boat 20
A rectangular stopper 21 made of a shape-memory resin plate whose cross section is bent into a dogleg shape is attached to the window 20C, which is long enough to cover the area where the window exists, from the outside. When the wafer 1 is mounted in the groove 20a of the boat 20, the tip 21a of the stopper 21 contacts the wafer 1 at two points on the outer periphery, and the wafer 1 is held in the boat 20. It is configured to be held in a predetermined position.

On the other hand, when cleaning the evaporator or forming a film, it is often done by heating the cleaning liquid or processing chemical to a predetermined temperature, for example, about 90°C.

Therefore, at room temperature, the stopper 21 has a bent shape in cross section as shown in the figure, but when it reaches a predetermined temperature, for example, about 90°C, it changes to a pre-memorized shape, for example, a substantially flat plate shape. I am using one whose shape is memorized so that it can return.

Here, the boat 2 and the boat 20 provided with the stopper 21 are integrated with the valley grooves 2a and 20a of the boat 20 facing each other in correspondence to form a wafer transfer jig 22.

■ in Figure (B) indicates wafer transfer jig 2 with such a configuration.
The figure shows a state in which a plurality of wafers 1 are held in the boat 20 of No. 2 and located in the processing container 23, but in this state, the wafers 1 are held by the stopper 21 and cannot fall. do not have.

Here, when a liquid 24 such as pure water or a processing chemical is injected into the processing container 23 and the liquid is heated to about 90°C,
Since the stopper 21 assumes the pre-memorized flat plate shape, it deforms in the direction of the arrow in the figure and the tip 21a opens. As a result, the wafer 1 falls along the groove 20a, resulting in the state shown in (3).

At this time, the buoyant force of the liquid 24 acts on the wafer 1, which together with the flow resistance of the liquid slows down the falling speed, and even when the wafer reaches the boat 2, the liquid 24 is present between the contact points with the boat 2. Therefore, no dust is generated due to collision.

Figure 3, which explains an example of the wafer transfer process, is
This figure shows the case where the semiconductor wafer transfer jig explained in FIG. 2 is mounted and fixed on the plywood in the processing container explained in the figure. In the figure, the boat 20 of the jig 22 in FIG. It shows a state where it is attached and fixed to the base plate 13 of.

In order to make it easier to understand in Fig. 3, for example, (a) represents the cleaning process, (2) represents the wafer moving process, and (
B) 3 and (C) are each considered to be an intermediate stage.

In (a), a plurality of wafers l are held in the boat 20 of the semiconductor wafer transfer jig 22 installed and fixed on the base plate 13 in the processing container l), and the wafers l are held in the processing container lI. It is filled with pure water 10 for cleaning the wafer 1 while maintaining a temperature of about 90°C.

In this case, the tip 21a of the stopper 21 of the boat 20 is in an open state as explained in FIG. 2.

When the cleaning is completed and the pure water 10 is removed from the drain boat (not shown), the temperature of the stopper 21 decreases and returns to room temperature, so the tip 21a closes and the wafer 1 is removed as shown in FIG.
It will be in a state where it will hold.

Therefore, as explained in FIG. Since it is held by the stopper 21, it will not fall.

Then, when a liquid lO° such as pure water is injected and heated to about 90°C, the tip 21a of the stopper 21 gradually opens again and the wafer 1 is dropped, but the falling speed of the wafer 1 at this time is extremely high as described above. slow.

Therefore, the wafers 1 can be transferred from the boat 20 to the boat 2 without causing dust generation due to collision.

Here, after the liquid 10'' is removed from the drain boat, processing chemicals and the like for the next step are injected into the processing container 11 to proceed to the next step.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a semiconductor wafer transfer device that can transfer wafers to another boat without generating dust even during the processing process.

The present invention will be described with reference to a case in which a stopper is installed only on one boat of the semiconductor wafer transfer jig, but if the stopper is attached to both boats, the transfer operation will be more efficient. be able to.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a diagram showing a semiconductor wafer transfer device according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a wafer transfer jig; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wafer transfer process; The figure shows an example of a conventional semiconductor wafer transfer jig. In the figure, l is a semiconductor wafer, 2, 3.20 is a boat, 2a,
2b; 20a, 20b is a groove, 20c is a window, 4 is a wafer transfer jig, IQ, 10. ', 24 is a liquid, 11.23 is a processing container, 12 is a rotating shaft, 12a is a backing, 13
14 is a plywood, 14 is a drain port, 21 is a stopper, 21a is a tip, and 22 is a semiconductor wafer transfer jig. 15 Ki Tatomi, moon c21 royo ni υvert 1' year old〈・shie I\necessary〉shi 1, short life 5 place short fortune telling Taisairoin (a) (b) (c) (D) An example of a wafer, a uniform C, Kyuji's niece, will be explained. En 1 3 (B') (A) 4 mouths) A 15-hour guide to the night sickness. 8.
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Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A semiconductor wafer transfer jig consisting of two boats, each of which has grooves formed in parallel at equal intervals on the inside for inserting and holding multiple semiconductor wafers in an upright state, facing each other with the grooves aligned. A semiconductor wafer transfer device, characterized in that the device is connected to means for vertically inverting the jig in a liquid. (2) The semiconductor wafer transfer jig is capable of attaching and detaching the held wafer to a predetermined position in a wafer presence area on both opposing sides of at least one of the two boats by changing temperature. Claim 1 further comprising a stopper made of a shape memory material.
The semiconductor wafer transfer device described above.