JPH0447954Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a wafer holder used in a vapor phase growth apparatus or the like.

Conventionally, continuous vapor phase growth requires the following steps. That is, first, a wafer cassette is installed in the loading section, a wafer holder loads unreacted wafers stored in this wafer cassette, carries the loaded wafers into a reaction container, and after the reaction is completed, the unloading section The wafers that have undergone reaction are unloaded into another wafer cassette installed in the wafer cassette. Then, repeat these actions.

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the wafer is loaded horizontally, and therefore there are many opportunities for dust to adhere to the wafer, resulting in problems such as deterioration of characteristics.

Further, in order to load the wafer, the structure of the wafer holder becomes complicated, and furthermore, there is a problem that a large space is required to install the loader. That is, the purpose of loading a wafer is to put it into a reaction container, and this reaction container is maintained in a vacuum state. In a vacuum, the oil film adhering to the metal surfaces of the wafer holder disappears, and the metals come into direct contact with each other, resulting in a very large coefficient of friction. Therefore, when loading or unloading a wafer, it is necessary to increase the force for opening and closing the wafer holder. Therefore, there are problems in that the structure of the wafer holder becomes complicated and a large space is required.

The present invention has been developed focusing on the above-mentioned problems, and can reduce the chances of dust adhering to the wafer holder in a vapor phase growth apparatus as much as possible.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer holder in a vapor phase growth apparatus that can simplify the structure of the wafer holder and reduce the space that needs to be evacuated.

Another purpose is to prevent the wafer from wobbling while being transported.

The present invention has an arcuate base gripping piece and an arcuate movable gripping piece, the movable gripping piece is pivotally supported at one point with respect to the base gripping piece, and the movable gripping piece is pivoted with respect to the base gripping piece. A wafer holder for a vapor phase growth apparatus having a structure in which the gripping pieces can approach each other under their own weight, each of which has a wafer groove located on the same circle on the inner surface of both gripping pieces over the entire circumferential length of the wafer holder. A wafer holder in a vapor phase growth apparatus, characterized in that the opposite end surfaces of the two gripping pieces serve as stopper portions of the movable gripping piece, and a connecting rod is connected to the opposite end surface side of the movable gripping piece. This aims to achieve the above objective.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vapor phase growth apparatus using the wafer holder of the present invention. This vapor phase growth apparatus consists of a loading section A for loading wafers W, a reaction container B, an unloading section C for unloading wafers W, and a transport section D for transporting wafers W.

The loading section A is provided with a wafer cassette A1 that stores unreacted wafers W, and a reaction vessel B.
A gas supply section B1 is connected to the wafer cassette C1, and the unload section is provided with a wafer cassette C1 for storing wafers W after reaction.

The transport unit D includes a wafer holder 10, a base 20 for directing the wafer holder 10, and a base 20.
a transfer means 21 for transferring the wafer holder 10;
It is composed of a connecting rod 23 that opens and closes a link 22 for opening and closing the holder provided in the holder.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the wafer holder 10,
3 is a plan view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. 2. This wafer holder 10 is
It mainly consists of the following two parts.

That is, it consists of an arcuate base gripping piece 11 and an arcuate movable gripping piece 12. The movable grip piece 12 is pivotally supported at one point relative to the base grip piece 11, so that the movable grip piece 12 can approach the base grip piece 11 under its own weight.

The base gripping piece 11 is connected to the base 20, and has a wafer W on its arcuate inner surface over its entire circumferential length, as is clear from FIGS. 1 and 2.
A wafer groove 11a is provided for accommodating the wafer. In addition, the base gripping piece 11 has a groove 1 in the horizontal direction in the figure.
1b is provided.

A substantially L-shaped protrusion 13 is fixed to the upper part of the movable gripping piece 12 in the figure, and holes 13a and 13b are provided in the upper part of the protrusion 13. Also, protrusion 1
At the lower left 13c in the figure of 3, the base gripping piece 11
The upper end portion 11c of the upper end portion 11c is pivotally supported. In addition, as is clear from FIGS. 1 and 2, the arc-shaped inner surface of the movable gripping piece 12 has, over its entire length in the circumferential direction,
A wafer groove 12a is provided in which the wafer W is accommodated. This wafer groove 12a and the wafer groove 11
A is formed so that when the opposing end surfaces S1 and S2 of both gripping pieces 11 and 12 forming the stopper portion come into contact with each other, they are located on the same circle C. And the movable gripping piece 12
A groove 12b is provided in the horizontal direction in the figure.

That is, the movable gripping piece 12 is pivotally supported by the base gripping piece 11 via the protrusion 13 . and,
This pivot has a structure in which it is supported at one point by a pivot bearing. Of course, in this case, it may be supported at one point by a bearing other than the pivot bearing.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

First, in the loader section A, the wafer holder 1
0 has not loaded the wafer W. To load the wafer W, the wafer handler 24 vertically ascends holding the wafer W. If the base gripping piece 11 is located at the center of the wafer W, the wafer W will collide with the edge portion 11c. , the base 20 pulls the relief rod 23 to the left in FIG. 1 on the side opposite to the reaction vessel so that the wafer W does not hit the edge 11c. As a result, the base gripping piece 11 remains stationary while the movable gripping piece 1
2 rotates counterclockwise around its axis, and the wafer holder 10 becomes open. In this state, the wafer handler 24 rises holding the wafer W, and when the wafer holder 10 reaches a position where the wafer W can be loaded, the wafer handler 24 is stopped and the base 20 is moved toward the reaction vessel to the center of the wafer W. Release the tension on the rod 23, lower the wafer handler 24, and remove the wafer holder 1.
Loading to 0 ends. At that time, movable gripping piece 1
2 is the opposite end surface S2 of the base gripping piece 11.
1, the wafer grooves 11a and 12a are no longer able to rotate due to their own weight, and the wafer grooves 11a and 12a are
It is located on the same circle C and holds the wafer W while wrapping it there. Therefore, the wafer W is held without receiving the weight of the movable gripping piece 12, and its movement in the horizontal direction is restricted by the walls of the wafer grooves 11a and 12a, so that it does not wobble during transportation. The wafer W is carried into the reaction container B, and after the reaction is completed, the same thing as the loading part A is in the unloading part C, and the wafer W is unloaded by moving in the opposite direction to that during loading.

As mentioned above, while the wafer W is being loaded, the movable gripping piece 12 approaches the base gripping piece 11 under its own weight, and both pieces 11 and 12 close with that force.
The wafer W can maintain a loaded state. In other words,
Since the wafer W can be loaded without requiring any other force other than the own weight of the movable gripping piece 12, the wafer W can be loaded.
There is no need for a complicated mechanism to load the data, and there is no need for space for the mechanism.

In this way, the base gripping piece 1 can load the wafer W only by the weight of the movable gripping piece 12.
This is because the movable gripping piece 1 and the movable gripping piece 12 are pivotally supported at one point. That is, if both pieces 11 and 12 use other bearings, the frictional resistance between the metals that make up both pieces 11 and 12 will be very large in a vacuum, so that the movable gripping piece 12 The weight alone will not generate enough force to load the wafer W.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wafer W
Since the wafer W is loaded vertically, there is very little chance of dust adhering to the wafer W while it is being loaded and while it is being moved after being loaded. It has the advantage that defects are unlikely to occur.

As described above, the present invention can minimize the chance of dust adhering to the wafer holder in a vapor phase growth apparatus, simplify the structure of the wafer holder, and reduce the space that needs to be evacuated. It has the effect of being able to. Wafer grooves located on the same circle are provided on the inner surfaces of both gripping pieces, extending the entire circumferential length of the wafer grooves, so that the wafers stored in the wafer grooves are held horizontally by the wall from the upper side to the lower side. Since directional movement is restricted, shipping caused by rattling during transportation does not occur.

Therefore, the yield of wafers can be improved.

Furthermore, since the opposing end surfaces of both gripping pieces serve as stopper portions of the movable gripping piece, when the wafer grooves of both gripping pieces are positioned on the same circumference, rotation of the movable gripping piece is prevented. Therefore, the wafer in the wafer groove is held while being wrapped around it, so that it does not bear the weight of the movable gripping piece.

Further, since the connecting rod is connected to the opposite end surface of the movable gripping piece, the movable gripping piece can be easily rotated by sliding the connecting rod, and the operation thereof is also facilitated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a vapor phase growth apparatus using the wafer holder of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the wafer holder of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. 2. A...Loading section, B...Reaction container, C...Unloading section, D...Transporting section, 10...Wafer holder, 20...Base, 11...Base gripping piece, 12...
...Movable grip piece.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It has an arcuate base gripping piece and an arcuate movable gripping piece, the movable gripping piece is pivotally supported at one point with respect to the base gripping piece, and the movable gripping piece has its own weight with respect to the base gripping piece. A wafer holder for a vapor phase growth apparatus having a structure in which the wafer holder can be approached with a 1. A wafer holder for a vapor phase growth apparatus, characterized in that an opposing end surface of the gripping piece serves as a stopper portion of the movable gripping piece, and a connecting rod is connected to the opposite end surface side of the movable gripping piece.