JPH0249722Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" This invention relates to a mechanism for loading semiconductor wafer cassettes into semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which is suitable for use in an automatic semiconductor wafer transfer system between semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

"Prior Art" Dust is the enemy in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, especially in the pre-process of forming circuit elements on semiconductor wafers, and during the transfer of semiconductor wafers between manufacturing equipment, and the cleanliness of the working atmosphere directly affects the products. It is linked to yield.

Conventionally, an automatic semiconductor wafer transfer system between semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes a tube that connects each semiconductor manufacturing equipment and into which ultra-highly clean air is constantly circulated, and a cassette for semiconductor wafers stored inside. The following is an overview of a vehicle that supplies cassettes to each semiconductor manufacturing device by moving between tubes, and a semiconductor wafer cassette loading mechanism that automatically transfers semiconductor wafer cassettes between the vehicle and each semiconductor manufacturing device. Systems configured are known. According to this system, when transferring semiconductor wafers between semiconductor manufacturing equipment, it is possible to transfer the semiconductor wafers without touching the semiconductor wafers, and dust generation inside the tubes can be eliminated. The ultra-high cleanliness of the air is quickly discharged from the system by the circulation of the air, and therefore the inside of the tube is maintained at an ultra-high cleanliness level at all times.

In recent years, SMIF technology has been introduced, which improves product yield by processing and transporting semiconductor wafer cassettes while always shielding them from the outside air, and which also simplifies the ancillary equipment of clean rooms where semiconductor manufacturing equipment is installed. A system called system is known.

As shown in FIG. 8, the main parts of this SMIF system include a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1, a clean air supply apparatus 3 provided above the manufacturing apparatus 1 and having a high-performance filter and a blower, and a The SMIF arm 4 is provided on the side of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 in order to set a semiconductor wafer cassette at a predetermined position within the apparatus 1. The upper part of the manufacturing device 1 is covered with a cover 5 made of a transparent material.
It is becoming. When setting a semiconductor wafer cassette in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1, the steps shown in FIG.
A predetermined number of semiconductor wafers 7 housed in the semiconductor wafer cassette 6 are placed on the upper part of the SMIF arm 4 in a SMIF pot 8 which is a closed container for shielding from the outside air. This SMIF
The pot 8 includes a box-shaped case body 9, a removable bottom plate 10 that seals the case body 9, and a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers 7 stored on the bottom plate 10.
It consists of a cassette 6 for storing semiconductor wafers. The bottom plate 10 of the SMIF pot 8 is configured to be detachable from the case body 9 using a latch mechanism (not shown) provided on the case body 9.
The case body 9 and bottom plate 10 of SMIF pot 8 are as follows:
During transportation, they are fixed to each other by this latch mechanism, but when placed on the SMIF arm 4,
The bottom plate 10 of the SMIF pod 8 and the cassette 6 stored thereon are taken into the SMIF arm 4, and then only the cassette 6 is set into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1. Furthermore, the semiconductor wafers 7 that have undergone the processing steps in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 are placed in another cassette 6.
After being stored in the SMIF arm 4, it is taken into the other SMIF arm 4, and then stored in another SMIF pod 8 placed above it without being exposed to the outside air. After this SMIF pot 8 is carried by the worker 2 to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment (not shown) for the next manufacturing process, it is placed again on the SMIF arm (not shown) attached to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. is,
A wafer is processed within a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in the same manner as the process described above.

Therefore, in this SMIF system,
Regardless of whether the semiconductor wafer 7 is being processed in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment or being transferred by a worker, the semiconductor wafer 7 is isolated from the outside air.
Since the surface is covered with clean air, a high product yield can be maintained even if the cleanliness level in the clean room is between class 1000 and 100000.

As a result, clean rooms no longer require ultra-high cleanliness levels such as class 10 to 100, which employ a laminar air flow system, and are no longer required to have ultra-high cleanliness levels, such as class 1000 to 100,000, which employ non-laminar air flow systems. Since the clean room can use only a few things, the incidental equipment of the clean room can be simplified, and the construction cost, equipment cost, and maintenance cost can be significantly reduced. In addition, workers are
There are fewer restrictions on movement than in a clean room with an ultra-high cleanliness level of 10 to 100, and you can work in conditions similar to a normal room, and you can work while wearing simple clean room dust-proof clothing, compared to a conventional clean room. I can work comfortably.

"Problems that the invention attempts to solve" By the way, in a clean room using the SMIF system, each semiconductor manufacturing device 1, 1,
…Transferring SMIF pot 8 between
Since the worker 2 is responsible for setting the SMIF pod 8 to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1, it is time-consuming to assign the worker 2 to each semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1. Therefore, the above
The realization of an automatic semiconductor wafer transfer system that automatically transfers the SMIF pod 8 between each semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1, 1, . . . while taking advantage of the advantages of the SMIF system has been awaited.

This idea was made in view of the above requirements, and is an automatic semiconductor wafer transfer system that can automatically transfer SMIF pods. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette loading mechanism for semiconductor wafers that can be loaded into an apparatus.

``Means for solving the problem'' This invention consists of a box-shaped case body and a removable bottom plate, and a SMIF pod in which a semiconductor wafer cassette is stored on the bottom plate.
A vehicle that moves between semiconductor manufacturing equipment with a SMIF pod removably housed therein; and an SMIF arm that transfers semiconductor wafer cassettes between the vehicle and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment; a support means for detachably supporting the SMIF pod;
For use with semiconductor wafers in semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as a SMIF arm provided with a mounting section on which the vehicle is placed, and a means for attaching and detaching the SMIF pot from the vehicle in accordance with the placement and removal of the vehicle. The above problem is solved by constructing a cassette loading mechanism.

"Function" In this invention, the support means provided on the vehicle and the attachment/detachment means provided on the SMIF arm,
When a vehicle is placed on the attachment part of the SMIF arm, the SMIF pod is automatically removed from the vehicle, and when the vehicle is removed from the attachment part of the SMIF arm, the SMIF pod is automatically attached to the vehicle.

"Embodiments" Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 5 are diagrams showing a mechanism for loading a semiconductor wafer cassette into a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which is an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the components related to the SMIF system will be denoted by the same reference numerals as those mentioned above, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. This semiconductor wafer cassette loading mechanism loads a SMIF pod 8 in which a semiconductor wafer cassette 6 is housed on the bottom plate 10.
With this SMIF pod 8 removably housed, a vehicle 11 moves between each semiconductor manufacturing device 1, 1, . . . and a cassette 6 is transferred between the vehicle 11 and the semiconductor manufacturing device 1. conduct
It is roughly composed of a SMIF arm 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle 11 is a box-shaped container with an opening 12 in the bottom plate, and rollers 13 are provided on the outer surface of the container to facilitate smooth movement of the vehicle 11 itself. A plurality of hanging metal fittings (not shown) are attached to the upper part of the hanging metal fittings, which engage with hooks of a vehicle elevating device for the SMIF arm 4, which will be described later. A wedge 14 that supports the bottom of the SMIF pod 8 and a support member 15 with a spring that suspends the wedge 14 are attached near the opening 12 of the vehicle 11. In the above configuration, the wedge 14 and the support member 15 constitute a support means 16 that detachably supports the SMIF pod 8.

On the top of the SMIF arm 4, there is a top plate 17 on which the bottom plate 10 of the SMIF pod 8 held in the vehicle 11 is placed, and a case body 9 of the SMIF pod 8.
And on the upper peripheral edge 4a of the SMIF arm on which the vehicle 11 is placed, there is a push-up fitting 18 that pushes up the wedge 14 of the vehicle 11 by the action of a screw as the roller 13 of the vehicle 11 is lowered from above. It is connected with a pin. The push-up metal fitting 18 and the support metal fitting 19 are similarly installed in a recess 20 provided in the upper peripheral edge 4a of the SMIF arm. A convex portion 21 is formed between the concave portion 20 and the top plate 17. In the above configuration, the top plate 17 and the upper peripheral edge 4a of the SMIF arm support the mounting portion on which the vehicle 11 is placed, the push-up metal fitting 18, the support metal fitting 19, and the concave portion 20.
and the convex portion 21 connects the vehicle 1 to the SMIF arm 4.
1 and vehicle 1 from SMIF arm 4.
1 from this vehicle 11.
It constitutes a detaching means 22 for attaching and detaching the SMIF pod 8.

This SMIF pod 8 is transferred between the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1, 1, . . . by an automatic semiconductor wafer transfer system as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the reference numeral 30 is a tube with a square cross section that is installed in a clean room in which the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 1, 1, . . .
Inside this tube 30, the vehicle 11 is
The SMIF pod 8 is housed therein and is transported between the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1, 1, . . . . Between the tube 30 and each semiconductor manufacturing device 1, a loading station 31 and an unloading station 32 for transferring and waiting the vehicle 11 therebetween are provided, branching off from the tube 30 at right angles. .
The tips of the loading side station 31 and the unloading side station 32 are located on the loading side provided in each semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1.
It is located above each of the SMIF arm 4 and the unloading side SMIF arm 4. Further, blowers 33 are attached to both ends of the tube 30 to transfer the vehicle 11 within the tube 30 by creating a negative pressure inside the tube 30, and the blower 33 and the stations 31, 32
A pipe 35 communicates between the two via a solenoid valve 34. Furthermore, tube 30 and station 3
1 and 32, there is a partition plate 36 that can be opened and closed.
is installed.

The tube 30 includes stations 31 and 32.
A detector 40 for detecting passage of the vehicle 11 is installed at a predetermined position corresponding to the station 31, 32, and a pair of stoppers 37, 3 which can be tipped over are installed at the bottom near the branching points between the stations 31, 32.
7 is provided. station 31, 32
At the top of the part located above SMIF arm 4,
Vehicle 11 and stations 31 and 32 and SMIF
A hook-type lifting device 38 is provided for raising and lowering between the arm 4 and a bottom lid 39 that can be opened and closed. Free stoppers 37, 37 are provided. The bottom cover 39 has the function of a turntable, since the direction in which the semiconductor wafer cassette 6 is loaded differs for each type of semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1.

According to the semiconductor wafer automatic transfer system described above, the vehicle 11 in which the SMIF pod 8 is housed is transferred between the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1, 1, . . . through the following steps.

(1) The blower 33 is operated to create a negative pressure inside the tube 30, thereby moving the vehicle 11 inside the tube 30. When the vehicle 11 passes the detector 40 near a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1, the function of the blower 33 is adjusted in accordance with the signal from the detector 40 to decelerate the vehicle 11, and the stoppers 37, 37 By sequentially raising the vehicle 11, the vehicle 11 is stopped in front of the loading station 31.

(2) After switching the solenoid valve 34 and making the inside of the loading side station 31 a negative pressure state by the blower 33, the partition plate 36 is opened and the vehicle 1
1 into the station 31, and then the vehicle 11 is stopped at a predetermined position on the bottom cover 39 by the stopper 37, and then the blower 33 is stopped.

(3) After suspending the vehicle 11 with the hook-type lifting device 38, open the bottom cover 39 and lift the vehicle 11 with the lifting device 3.
8 to gradually lower the vehicle 11,
Place it on the top of SMIF arm 4. As a result, the vehicle 11 with the SMIF pod 8 housed therein has been transferred to the loading side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

(4) The vehicle 11 in which the SMIF pot 8 is stored, which is located on the unloading side, is
By performing the reverse process, it is taken into the tube 30 again. By repeating the above steps, the vehicle 11 is transferred between the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1, 1, . . . .

In this way, the semiconductor wafers have been transferred to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 1 by the automatic transfer system.
The cassette 6 inside the SMIF pod 8 is loaded into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 by a semiconductor wafer cassette loading mechanism which is an embodiment of this invention. This effect will be explained next with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4 and 5.

(i) When the vehicle 11 moves within the tube 30 and the stations 31 and 32 and is suspended by the hook-type lifting device 38, the SMIF
The pot 8 is a wedge 14 provided on the vehicle 11.
By the action of the support member 15, it is supported by the opening 12 of the vehicle 11, as shown in FIG. The vehicle 11 supporting this SMIF pod 8 is first lowered from the loading side station 31 to the loading side SMIF arm 4 by the lowering device 38.
placed on the top plate 17 of the SMIF arm 4, and
The case body 9 of the SMIF pod 8 is placed on the upper peripheral portion 4a of the SMIF arm 4 such that it is placed on the convex portion 21 of the SMIF arm 4. At this time, the roller 13 located at the bottom of the vehicle 11
However, as it is placed on the SMIF arm 4, as shown in FIG. 4, one end of the push-up metal fitting 18 is pressed downward. Then, the other end of the push-up metal fitting 18 is lifted upward using the support metal fitting 19 as a fulcrum, and this other end abuts the lower surface of the wedge 14 of the vehicle 11 and pushes the wedge 14 upward. Therefore, SMIF pot 8 is vehicle 1
The semiconductor wafer cassette 6, which is released from the SMIF pod 8 and housed inside the SMIF pod 8, is ready to be loaded into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1.

(ii) When the bottom plate 10 of the SMIF pod 8 is placed on the top plate 17 of the SMIF arm 4, the SMIF pod 8
The case body 9 is fixed by a fixing mechanism (not shown) on the upper part of the SMIF arm 4. At the same time, the top plate 17 of the SMIF arm 4 descends downward, so that the bottom plate 10 of the SMIF pod 8 and the semiconductor wafer cassette stored on the bottom plate 10 are taken into the SMIF arm 4, and then Only the cassette is set at the loading position of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 by a mounting mechanism (not shown).

(iii) When the cassette is set at the loading position of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1, semiconductor wafers are appropriately taken out from the cassette and processed within the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1. At this time, while the semiconductor wafers are being processed in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 1, the SMIF pod 8 containing empty cassettes and the vehicle 11 are placed on the SMIF arm 4 on the unloading side. An empty cassette is installed at the unloading position of the manufacturing apparatus 1. When a predetermined number of processed semiconductor wafers are stored in this cassette, the SMIF arm 4 on the unloading side performs the process opposite to (ii) above, thereby removing the case body 9 of the SMIF pod 8. A cassette containing processed semiconductor wafers and the bottom plate 10 of the SMIF pod 8 are attached inside.

(iv) By the lifting device 38 on the unloading side,
When the vehicle 11 is suspended and lifted as shown in FIG. The wedge 14 is pressed downward by the action of a spring provided on the member 15. Therefore, the SMIF pod 8 is supported by the wedge 14 in the opening 12 of the vehicle 11 and housed within the vehicle 11.

Through the operations described above, the semiconductor wafer cassette 6 is loaded into the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. Here, the SMIF pod 8 can be installed by simply placing the vehicle 11 on the upper peripheral edge 4a of the SMIF arm 4 using the attachment/detachment means 22 provided on the SMIF arm 4 and the support means 16 provided on the vehicle 11. Freed from 11 and returned to vehicle 11
It is supported by this vehicle 11 by simply removing it onto the upper peripheral edge 4a of the SMIF arm 4. Therefore, according to the cassette loading mechanism which is an embodiment of this invention, in addition to the above-mentioned loading function of the SMIF arm 4, the semiconductor wafer cassette 6 can be easily and automatically loaded.
Load it into the loading position of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 1,
Further, it can be removed from the unloading position of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1.

Further, according to the semiconductor wafer cassette loading mechanism and the semiconductor wafer automatic transfer system according to this invention, it is possible to configure a semiconductor wafer automatic transfer system using the SMIF system. As for the cleanliness, ultra-high cleanliness is not required as in the tube in the conventional system, and the semiconductor wafer 7 is not contaminated by dust generated in the tube 30 and the stations 31 and 32.
Therefore, an automatic wafer transfer system in a clean room with simplified incidental equipment, which is an advantage of the SMIF system, can be configured with significantly reduced construction costs, equipment costs, and maintenance costs.

Note that the semiconductor wafer cassette loading mechanism according to this invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the support means 16 provided on the vehicle 11 is
It is also possible to realize a latch mechanism provided with a return means such as a spring. In this case, the attachment/detachment means 22 provided on the SMIF arm 4 may be an engagement pawl or the like that moves the latch of the latch mechanism as the vehicle 11 is placed or removed. Further, the automatic transfer system for the vehicle 11 is not limited to the above system, and for example, a rail corresponding to the rollers 13 of the vehicle 11 may be used in place of the tube 30. Furthermore, the automatic transfer system may not be used, and the worker 2 may transfer the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1, 1, . . . as usual.

``Effects of the invention'' As explained in detail above, this invention allows semiconductor wafer cassettes to be stored on the bottom plate.
When the SMIF pot is moved between semiconductor manufacturing equipment with the SMIF pot stored inside, semiconductor wafer cassettes are transferred between the vehicle and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
a SMIF arm, and the vehicle is provided with support means for detachably supporting the SMIF pot, and the SMIF arm further includes a mounting portion on which the vehicle is placed, and a mounting portion for mounting and removing the vehicle. Therefore, we have constructed a mechanism for loading semiconductor wafer cassettes into semiconductor manufacturing equipment that is equipped with attachment/detachment means for attaching and detaching the SMIF pot from the vehicle. The SMIF pod is automatically released from the vehicle, and simply by removing the vehicle from the SMIF arm mounting, the SMIF pod is automatically supported on the vehicle. Therefore, according to the cassette loading mechanism which is an embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned SMIF arm mounting function, a cassette for semiconductor wafers can be easily and automatically loaded into semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and also can be used for semiconductor manufacturing. Can be removed from the device. Therefore, it is possible to realize a semiconductor wafer cassette loading mechanism that can easily and automatically load and unload SMIF pods transported by a vehicle into semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing only the main parts of a mechanism for loading semiconductor wafer cassettes into semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which is an embodiment of this invention, and Fig. 2 shows a vehicle and an SMIF pod used in the same embodiment. 3 is a perspective view showing the same vehicle, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the cassette loading mechanism which is an embodiment of this invention, FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, and FIG. Figure 6 is a plan view showing an overview of the semiconductor wafer automatic transfer system used in one embodiment of this invention.
The figure is a perspective view showing only the main parts, Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a clean room to which the SMIF system is applied, and Figure 9 is used in an embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the SMIF pot. 1... Semiconductor manufacturing equipment, 4... SMIF arm,
6... Semiconductor wafer cassette, 8... SMIF pot, 9... Case body, 10... Bottom plate, 11...
...vehicle, 16...support means, 22...detachment means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The SMIF pot consists of a box-shaped case body and a removable bottom plate, and a cassette for semiconductor wafers is stored on the bottom plate, and the SMIF pod is moved between semiconductor manufacturing equipment with the SMIF pod removably stored inside. It comprises a vehicle and an SMIF arm for transferring semiconductor wafer cassettes between the vehicle and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and the vehicle is provided with support means for detachably supporting the SMIF pod, and further The semiconductor device characterized in that the SMIF arm is provided with a mounting portion on which the vehicle is placed, and a detaching means for attaching and detaching the SMIF pot from the vehicle in accordance with the placement and removal of the vehicle. A cassette loading mechanism for semiconductor wafers into manufacturing equipment.