JPH0828343B2 - Automatic heat treatment mechanism for semiconductor wafers - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic heat treatment mechanism for semiconductor wafers that forms a part of a semiconductor wafer manufacturing line, and more specifically, it automatically cleans a wafer supplied from a wafer supply device. The present invention relates to an automatic heat treatment mechanism for a semiconductor wafer that is cleaned by an apparatus and heats a cleaned wafer from the automatic cleaning apparatus by an automatic heat treatment apparatus.

(Prior Art) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional automatic heat treatment mechanism for semiconductor wafers. In the figure, reference numeral 101 is an automatic stocker for storing a cassette (not shown) in which semiconductor wafers are stored, and 102 is A transfer device for transferring the cassette along the transfer path 103, an automatic cleaning heat treatment device 104 in which an automatic cleaning device 105 for cleaning semiconductor wafers and an automatic heat treatment device 106 for heat treatment are integrally formed, and 107 is a data network 108 It is a production management controller that manages the operations of the automatic stocker 101, the transfer device 102, and the automatic cleaning heat treatment device 104 via the.

In the above configuration, the wafers supplied from the automatic stocker 101 to the automatic cleaning heat treatment apparatus 104 by the transfer device 102 in accordance with a command from the production management controller 107 are cleaned and heat treated in order by the automatic cleaning apparatus 105 and the automatic heat treatment apparatus 106. The transport device 102 collects the data in the automatic stocker 101.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another conventional automatic heat treatment mechanism for semiconductor wafers (the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 denote the same elements). In this one, an automatic cleaning apparatus 105 and an automatic heat treatment apparatus are used. 106 are provided separately from each other, and the stocker 109 is provided integrally with the automatic heat treatment device 106.

In the above configuration, in response to a command from the production management controller 107, the cleaned wafer from the automatic cleaning device 105 is stored in the stocker 109 when the stocker 109 is empty.
And then processed by the automatic heat treatment device 106.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the configuration shown in FIG. 3, although the automatic cleaning device 105 is twice as fast as the automatic heat treatment device 106 in processing speed, the automatic cleaning heat treatment device 104 is automatically operated. Since it is provided integrally with the heat treatment apparatus 106, its operating rate is very poor, and there is a problem that the automatic cleaning apparatus 105 is over-invested in the entire automatic heat treatment mechanism. Further, although the automatic cleaning device 105 basically has a plurality of cleaning processing capacities, there is a problem that the processing capacities are fixed because the automatic cleaning device 105 is integrated with the automatic heat processing device 106.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 4, since the automatic cleaning device 105 and the automatic heat treatment device 106 are separated, the problems of the one shown in FIG. 3 are solved, but the stocker 109 of the automatic heat treatment device 106 is eliminated. The cleaned cassette is accumulated in the cassette, and the cleaned semiconductor wafer in the cassette is left in the atmosphere, and a natural oxide film grows on its surface. As a result, the heat treatment is not performed well, the product quality is degraded, and the yield is reduced.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic heat treatment mechanism for a semiconductor wafer in which the automatic cleaning and the automatic heat treatment of the semiconductor wafer are efficiently performed with the minimum necessary equipment. And

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an automatic heat treatment mechanism for a semiconductor wafer as described at the beginning, wherein the automatic cleaning device and the automatic heat treatment device are arranged in a separated state. When the heat treatment is performed by the automatic heat treatment apparatus, when the remaining heat treatment time of the automatic heat treatment apparatus reaches a time corresponding to the standard cleaning time of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the automatic operation is performed for the wafer supply apparatus and the wafer transfer apparatus. Wafer supply command means for giving a wafer supply command signal to supply a wafer to the cleaning device, and a cleaning command for supplying a cleaning command signal to the automatic cleaning device when the wafer is supplied from the wafer supply device to the automatic cleaning device. And a means for carrying out the heat-treated wafer from the automatic heat treatment apparatus when the heat treatment in the automatic heat treatment apparatus is completed. The wafer unloading command means for giving a wafer unloading command signal to the automatic heat treatment apparatus and the wafer transfer apparatus, and the automatic cleaning apparatus for sending the cleaned wafer to the automatic heat treatment apparatus when the cleaning by the automatic cleaning apparatus is completed. And a wafer transfer instruction means for giving a wafer transfer instruction signal to the wafer transfer apparatus, and a heat treatment instruction means for giving a heat treatment instruction signal to the automatic heat treatment apparatus when the cleaned wafer is sent to the automatic heat treatment apparatus. did.

(Operation) In the above configuration, when the remaining heat treatment time when the heat treatment is performed by the automatic heat treatment device reaches the time corresponding to the standard cleaning time of the automatic cleaning device, the wafer cleaning device automatically performs cleaning based on the wafer supply command signal. The wafer is supplied to the apparatus, and further, the wafer supplied by the automatic cleaning apparatus is cleaned based on the cleaning command signal.

When the heat treatment in the automatic heat treatment equipment is completed, the heat-treated wafer is unloaded from the automatic heat treatment equipment based on the wafer unloading command signal, and when the cleaning in the automatic rinsing equipment is finished, it is cleaned based on the wafer transfer instruction signal. The wafer is sent to the automatic heat treatment apparatus which has become empty, and heat treatment is performed based on the heat treatment command signal.

Since the end of cleaning in the above-mentioned automatic cleaning device and the end of heat treatment in the automatic heat processing device are almost synchronized, the wafer sent from the automatic cleaning device to the automatic heat processing device is heat-treated by the automatic heat processing device in good timing. It

(Embodiment of the Invention) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the configuration diagram of FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an automatic stocker as a wafer supply device for accommodating a cassette (not shown) accommodating semiconductor wafers, 2 is a transfer device for transferring the cassette along a transfer path 3, and 4a and 4b are semiconductor wafers. 5a, 5b, 5c each are an automatic heat treatment device having a diffusion furnace structure for heat treating cleaned wafers, and 6 is an automatic stocker 1, a transfer device 2, an automatic cleaning device 4a, via a data network 7. 4b, a production control controller (wafer supply instruction means, cleaning instruction means, wafer transfer instruction means, wafer unloading instruction means, heat treatment instruction means) for controlling the operation of the automatic heat treatment apparatuses 5a, 5b, 5c, and the production control controller 6
Is configured to include a CPU, ROM, and RAM.

Below, the CPs that make up the production control controller 6 of FIG.
The operation corresponding to the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a of the automatic heat treatment mechanism will be described with reference to the flowchart showing the operation of U.

First, the CPU determines whether or not the heat treatment remaining time X of the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a has reached the standard cleaning time Y (step 1), and if it has been reached, the automatic stocker 1 and the wafer transfer apparatus 2 are automatically operated. A wafer supply command signal is supplied to the cleaning device 4a so as to supply the wafer (step 2). The judgment in the above step 1 is made by comparing the time of the heat treatment remaining time sequentially received from the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a with the standard cleaning time.

In response to the wafer supply command signal, the wafer is delivered from the automatic stocker 1 and the delivered wafer is delivered and delivered to the automatic cleaning device 4a by the wafer delivery device 2 (step 3). Next, when a supply completion signal is received from the automatic cleaning device 4a (step 4), a cleaning command signal is given to the automatic cleaning device 4a (step 5) to perform cleaning (step 6).

Then, it is judged whether or not the heat treatment of the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a is completed (step 7), and if it is completed, the heat treated wafer is unloaded from the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a and collected in the automatic stocker 1 by the automatic heat treatment apparatus. A wafer unloading command signal is given to 5a and wafer transfer device 2 (step 8). The judgment in the above step 7 is made by judging the presence or absence of the processing end signal from the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a.
In response to the carry-out command signal, the wafer is taken out from the automatic heat treatment device 5a, and the taken-out wafer is carried by the wafer carrying device 2 to the automatic stocker 1 and collected there (step 9).

Next, it is judged whether or not the processing of the automatic cleaning processing apparatus 4a has been completed (step 10), and if it has been completed, the automatic cleaning apparatus 4a and the wafer transfer so as to send the cleaned wafer to the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a. A wafer transfer command signal is output to the apparatus 2 (step 11). The judgment in the above step 10 is made by judging the presence or absence of the processing end signal from the automatic cleaning device 4a.

In response to the wafer transfer command signal, the cleaned wafer is taken out from the automatic cleaning device 4a, and the taken-out wafer is transferred by the transfer device 2 to the unprocessed automatic heat processing device 5a in which the heat-treated wafer is unloaded. Sent (step 12). When the transfer completion signal is received from the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a (step 13), a heat treatment command signal is output (step 14), whereby heat treatment is performed (step 15), and the process returns to step 1 again.

In the above description of the operation, only the operation related to the automatic heat treatment apparatus 5a is shown, but in the entire mechanism,
The related operations of the automatic heat treatment apparatuses 5b and 5c are also coordinated with each other based on the command from the production control controller 6 (the flowchart showing the overall operation is omitted). And automatic heat treatment equipment
The automatic cleaning device 4b is correspondingly used for 5b, and one of the automatic cleaning devices 4a and 4b which is in an empty state is selectively used for the automatic thermal processing device 5c. Corresponding operation of 5a, 5b, 5c and automatic cleaning device 4a, 4b,
It is controlled by the production management controller 6.

As described above, the automatic cleaning devices 4a and 4b and the automatic heat treatment device 5
Since a, 5b, 5c are arranged in a separated state, it is possible to use an appropriate automatic cleaning device 4a, 4b for the automatic heat treatment device 5a, 5b, 5c, therefore the processing speed as shown in the embodiment. Fast automatic cleaning equipment 4a, 4b, automatic heat treatment equipment number 5a, 5b, 5
In addition to being able to configure one less than c, automatic heat treatment equipment 5
When the residual heat treatment time X of a, 5b, 5c reaches the standard cleaning time Y, the wafers are supplied from the automatic stocker 1 to the automatic cleaning devices 4a, 4b. The wafers that are almost identical to each other and therefore sent from the automatic cleaning devices 4a and 4b to the automatic heat treatment devices 5a, 5b, and 5c are immediately subjected to automatic heat treatment, and as a result, oxidation generated by being left in the air before the heat treatment is performed. Film formation is prevented.

In the above embodiment, the starting point and the ending point of the wafer movement of the automatic heat treatment mechanism for the semiconductor wafer are the automatic stocker, but they may be part of another processing mechanism of the semiconductor wafer manufacturing line.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the present invention is configured as described above, the wafer sent from the automatic cleaning device to the automatic heat treatment device is heat-treated by the automatic heat treatment device in a timely manner. The formation of an oxide film caused by being left at room temperature is prevented, and the quality and yield of products can be improved.

Further, since the automatic cleaning device and the automatic heat treatment device are arranged in a separated state, it becomes possible to use an appropriate automatic cleaning device for the automatic heat treatment device, which requires the number of automatic cleaning devices to be installed. It is possible to minimize the number and avoid excessive investment in equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic heat treatment mechanism for a semiconductor wafer, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation. 3 and 4 are configuration diagrams showing conventional examples of different automatic heat treatment mechanisms. 1 is an automatic stocker (wafer supply device), 2 is a transfer device, 4 is an automatic cleaning device, 5 is an automatic heat treatment device, and 6 is a production management controller.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A 63-169738 (JP, A) JP-A 61-174722 (JP, A) JP-A 52-139378 (JP, A) JP-A 62- 8527 (JP, A) JP 61-6912 (JP, A) JP 62-32619 (JP, A) JP 62-259442 (JP, A) JP 62-299021 (JP, A) JP-A-63-255912 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A wafer supply device, an automatic cleaning device, an automatic heat treatment device, and a wafer transfer device provided between the respective devices, wherein the wafer supplied from the wafer supply device is cleaned by the automatic cleaning device, An automatic heat treatment mechanism for a semiconductor wafer that heats a cleaned wafer from an automatic cleaning device with the automatic heat treatment device, wherein the automatic cleaning device and the automatic heat treatment device are arranged in a separated state, and heat treatment is performed by the automatic heat treatment device. When the remaining heat treatment time of the automatic heat treatment apparatus reaches a time corresponding to the standard cleaning time of the automatic cleaning apparatus, the wafer is supplied to the wafer supply apparatus and the wafer transfer apparatus to the automatic cleaning apparatus. A wafer supply command means for giving a wafer supply command signal to the automatic cleaning device, and a wafer from the wafer supply device is supplied to the automatic cleaning device. And a cleaning command means for giving a cleaning command signal to the automatic cleaning device, and to the automatic heat processing device and the wafer transfer device so that the heat-treated wafer is carried out from the automatic heat processing device when the heat processing in the automatic heat processing device is completed. A wafer unloading command means for giving a wafer unloading command signal, and a wafer transfer command to the automatic cleaning device and the wafer transfer device so as to send the cleaned wafer to the automatic heat treatment device when cleaning in the automatic cleaning device is completed. An automatic heat treatment mechanism for a semiconductor wafer, comprising: a wafer transfer instruction means for giving a signal; and a heat treatment instruction means for giving a heat treatment instruction signal to the automatic heat treatment apparatus when the cleaned wafer is sent to the automatic heat treatment apparatus. . 2. The number of automatic cleaning devices is less than the number of automatic heat treatment devices.
An automatic heat treatment mechanism for a semiconductor wafer according to the item.