JPH0917845A - Positioning device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Simple alignment of the transfer position when transferring the object to be processed between the gripping means and the holding means, without being affected by changes in environmental temperature and materials of constituent members. Do it quickly and accurately. A jig 50 gripped by the wafer chuck 17, a gripping groove of the wafer chuck 17, and a holding groove of the wafer boat 41 are imaged at the same time, and a gripping groove imaged by the imaging device 60. And a monitor 70 for displaying an image by superimposing the holding groove on the same coordinate system in the same image display unit. The jig 50 is provided with a claw portion 54 that engages with the holding groove of the wafer chuck 17, and the claw portion 54 is formed so as to be engageable with a common portion of the holding groove of the wafer chuck 17 used under different temperature environments. To do. Thereby, the alignment of the transfer position when transferring the wafer W between the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 can be performed simply, quickly and accurately without being influenced by the change of the environmental temperature and the material of the constituent members. It can be carried out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a cleaning process in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device such as an LSI, cleaning has been conventionally performed to remove contaminants such as particles, organic contaminants and metal impurities on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer). A processing apparatus is used, and among them, a wet cleaning apparatus is widely used because it can effectively remove particles and can perform batch processing.

In such a wet cleaning apparatus, a load mechanism for loading a predetermined number of wafers, for example, 25 wafers in a cassette unit, and a wafer transfer device for transporting a predetermined number of wafers, for example, 50 wafers, loaded by the load mechanism. And a plurality of cleaning processing tanks arranged to collectively clean the wafers transferred by the wafer transfer apparatus, and an unload mechanism for unloading the wafers cleaned by the cleaning processing tanks. Has been done.

The wafer transfer device has a gripping device called a wafer chuck as a gripping means for simultaneously gripping a predetermined number of wafers, for example, 50 wafers at a time when the wafers are transferred to the respective cleaning processing tanks. doing. In this gripping device, usually, a plurality of gripping grooves corresponding to the number of wafers to be gripped are formed at a predetermined interval on a pair of facing gripping members protruding in a substantially horizontal direction. A peripheral portion of the wafer is inserted into each of the holding grooves, and when the holding members approach each other, the wafers are held by the holding device in a vertical state.

On the other hand, a holder called a wafer boat is provided in the cleaning tank for cleaning the wafers for holding the wafers which are gripped and conveyed by the gripping device. Since this holder collectively receives and holds the wafers held by the holding device in a batch, a plurality of holding grooves corresponding to the holding grooves in the holding device are formed, and each wafer is held in each holding groove. It is configured to vertically receive the peripheral edge portion of and hold the wafer at a predetermined holding position.

Therefore, when the wafer is transferred between the holding device and the holder, the holding groove in the holding device and the holding groove in the holding device hold the wafer. If the relative positions of the transfer and reception are the same, that is, they are not on the same vertical plane, the wafer cannot be transferred and received smoothly.

Therefore, between the gripping device and the holder,
The gripping position and the holding position must be aligned in advance. Usually, the holder is fixed in the cleaning tank, so that the gripping device is adjusted and moved in the XY directions to perform the alignment.

Regarding such alignment, conventionally, a plurality of dummy wafers are actually gripped by a gripping device and moved to a transfer position, and an operator carefully adjusts the setting position of the gripping device while carefully listening to the ear or ear. While visually confirming, the peripheral edge of each of the held wafers was aligned so that the wafer could be correctly transferred to and from the corresponding holding groove in the holder.

In addition, for example, the transfer position by the gripping device is accurately measured in advance to determine a reference position, an appropriate distance sensor is installed to constantly detect the position of the gripping device, and the difference from the reference position is calculated. For example, it has been proposed to detect a positional deviation by displaying a numerical value and adjust the set position of the gripping device appropriately so that the difference becomes 0 to perform the alignment.

However, the method of performing alignment while confirming with the eyes and ears of the former operator is largely dependent on the skill of each individual operator, and it cannot be said that there is no human error and reliability is lacking. In addition, since it is necessary to directly look into the state of the actual transfer in the cleaning treatment tank, the working environment is bad, and it takes a lot of time and labor before adjustment.

On the other hand, in the latter method of aligning based on the reference position, an error is likely to occur at the stage of actual measurement when determining the reference position of the gripping device, and reliability is low as in the case of the manual operation. Moreover, since the gripping device is not in a simple form, it is necessary to install distance sensors necessary for detecting the position at many places, which complicates the device itself. Further, since it is necessary to install such a sensor also in the cleaning treatment tank, problems with respect to the cleaning liquid property and watertightness newly arise, which is also not preferable.

Therefore, as a result of diligent research, the applicant has developed an alignment device for performing relative alignment between the holding position of the holding device and the holding position of the holder (Japanese Patent Application No. 6-20464).
No. 1). This positioning device can be gripped or held by a gripping device or a holding tool, and the relative position between the gripping position of the gripping device and the holding position of the holding tool, that is, the positioning based on the relative position, with a simple device configuration. Can be done easily, quickly and accurately.

[0013]

However, in the above-mentioned cleaning treatment amount, when the treatment liquids used, for example, the chemical liquids such as ammonia, hydrofluoric acid, hydrofluoric nitric acid and the pure water have different temperatures, and hydrofluoric nitric acid is used. For example, the cleaning process is performed at a high temperature of 160 ° C. In the case of such high temperature processing, the holder in the processing tank is kept at a high temperature, but the holding device on the wafer transfer side is kept at room temperature and high temperature.
Due to the temperature difference, thermal expansion occurs, so that the alignment device cannot be set accurately, and as a result, the alignment between the holding device and the holding groove of the holder cannot be accurately measured.

Further, since the conventional aligning apparatus uses the image pickup apparatus and the image pickup apparatus of the optical system, when the holder arranged in the processing tank made of quartz is formed of, for example, a quartz member, The light transmitted through the holder is reflected on the inner surface of the tank, which makes the image display unclear and makes it impossible to perform accurate alignment. In addition, the holder is, for example, P
Even when it is formed with an opaque synthetic resin member such as EEK (polyether, ether, ketone), there is a problem that the image display becomes unclear due to the reflection of light on the inner surface of the tank and accurate alignment cannot be performed. It was

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the relative position (relative position) between the gripping device of the gripping means and the holding position of the gripping means is irrelevant to changes in environmental temperature, materials of constituent members, and the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning device that can perform positioning of a reference position) simply, quickly and accurately.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a positioning device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a holding means for holding a plurality of objects to be processed which are held at a predetermined holding position in the holding means. In the transport system configured to transfer to and from a predetermined holding position, the gripping means grips the gripping means on the premise of a device for aligning the relative position between the gripping device position and the holding position during the transfer. A jig, an image pickup means provided on the jig for picking up the grip position and the holding position at the same time, and the grip position and the holding position picked up by the image pickup means in the same coordinate system in the same image display unit. Display means for displaying images in an overlapping manner is provided, and the jig is provided with a claw portion that engages with a grip groove that constitutes a grip position of the grip means, and the claw portion is used under different temperature environments. Small And characterized by being engageable formed in a common portion of the gripping groove means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an alignment apparatus configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed held in a predetermined holding position in the holding means to a predetermined holding position in the holding means. In the system, on the premise of a device for aligning the relative position of the gripping device position and the holding position at the time of transfer, the gripping means or the holding means grips or holds the gripping position and the holding position at the same time. An image pickup means for picking up an image, a display means for displaying the grip position and the hold position picked up by the image pick-up means on the same coordinate system in the same image display section, and arranged on the back side of the grip position or the hold position. And an antireflection member for preventing reflection of light emitted from the image pickup means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an alignment apparatus configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed held in a predetermined holding position in the holding means to a predetermined holding position in the holding means. In the system, on the premise of a device for aligning the relative position of the gripping device position and the holding position at the time of transfer, the gripping means or the holding means grips or holds the gripping position and the holding position at the same time. An image pickup means for picking up an image, a display means for displaying the grip position and the hold position picked up by the image pick-up means on the same coordinate system in the same image display unit, and a grip position of the grip means or a hold of the hold means. An opaque positioning member that is detachably mounted at the position.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an alignment device configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed held in a predetermined holding position in the holding means to a predetermined holding position in the holding means. In the system, on the premise of a device for aligning the relative position of the gripping device position and the holding position at the time of transfer, the gripping means or the holding means grips or holds the gripping position and the holding position at the same time. An image pickup means for picking up an image, and a display means for displaying the grip position and the hold position picked up by the image pick-up means on the same coordinate system in the same image display unit as an image are displayed. It is characterized in that a display for positioning is provided at the holding position of the means.

[0020]

According to the aligning device of the first aspect, the jig held by the holding means is provided with the claw portion that engages with the holding groove forming the holding position of the holding means, and the holding portion is provided. By forming the gripping means to be engaged with the common part of the gripping grooves used in different temperature environments, the gripping means having gripping grooves with a predetermined pitch used at room temperature and the gripping means used at high temperature can be used. The jig can be set in any of the gripping means having a small-pitch gripping groove in consideration of thermal expansion in advance, and the gripping position of the object to be processed in the gripping means and the holding position in the jig are imaged in the same manner. When the gripping position and the holding position are misaligned by simultaneously imaging the images by the device and superimposing and displaying the imaged gripping position and holding position on the same coordinate system in the same image display unit,
The image image is also displayed in a shifted manner.

Therefore, the relative positions of the gripping means and the holding means are adjusted so that the gripping position and the holding position coincide with each other on the basis of the above-mentioned image, so that the gripping position and the holding position can be easily aligned. Can be done accurately.

According to the alignment device of the second aspect,
By arranging the antireflection member on the back side of the gripping position or the holding position, it is possible to prevent reflection of light emitted from the image pickup means to the gripping position and the holding position, and display the gripping position and the holding position on the image of the display means. It can be displayed clearly on the display.

According to the alignment device of the third aspect,
By mounting an opaque positioning member at the holding position of the holding means or the holding position of the holding means, the holding position and the holding position can be imaged by the image pickup means through the positioning member. The image can be displayed clearly on the image display section of the display means.

According to the alignment device of claim 4,
By displaying a display for positioning at the gripping position of the gripping means or the holding position of the holding means, the gripping position and the holding position can be imaged through the display by the image pickup means, and the gripping position and the holding position can be displayed. The image can be displayed clearly on the display.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This embodiment is a case where the alignment apparatus of the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as wafer) cleaning processing apparatus.

The cleaning processing apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning processing apparatus 1 as a whole has a carry-in section 2 for accommodating wafers before cleaning processing in cassette units and cleaning for cleaning wafers. The processing unit 3 and the unloading unit 4 for taking out the wafer after the cleaning process in cassette units, 3
The main part is composed of two zones.

Into the carrying-in section 2, a waiting section 6 for waiting a cassette 5 containing a predetermined number of wafers before cleaning, for example, 25 wafers, and taking out the wafers from the cassette 5,
Between the loader unit 7 for aligning the orientation flat and detecting the number of sheets, and the transfer of the cassette 5 loaded from the outside by a transfer robot or the like to the standby unit 6, and between the standby unit 6 and the loader 7, A transfer arm 8 for carrying is provided.

The cleaning processing section 3 has a front surface side (see FIG. 1).
, Three wafer transfer devices 11, 12,
13 is arranged, and above the cleaning processing unit 3, a cassette cleaning / cleaning process for cleaning and drying the empty cassette 5 after the wafers are taken out by the wafer transfer devices 11, 12, and 13. The drying line 14 is the cleaning unit 3 described above.
It is provided along. Supply of the cassette to the cassette cleaning / drying line 14 is performed by the loader unit 7 and the elevating mechanism 15.

On the other hand, the carry-out section 4 is also provided with a lifting mechanism (not shown) similar to the lifting mechanism 15 described above.
The empty cassette 5 that has passed through the cleaning / drying line 14 is configured to be set at a predetermined receiving position in the carry-out section 4 by this elevating mechanism.

In the cleaning processing section 3, the wafer chuck 1 of the wafer transfer apparatus 11 is sequentially installed from the loader section 7 side.
Chuck cleaning / drying processing tank 21 for cleaning and drying 6, and chemical cleaning processing tank 2 for cleaning impurities such as organic contaminants, metal impurities and particles on the wafer surface with a chemical solution
2. Two washing cleaning treatment tanks 23, 2 for cleaning the wafers cleaned in the chemical cleaning treatment tank 22 with pure water, for example
4, a chemical cleaning treatment tank 25 for cleaning with a chemical different from the chemical in the chemical cleaning treatment tank 22, and two washing cleaning treatment tanks 26 for cleaning the wafers cleaned by the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25 with, for example, pure water. , 27, a chuck cleaning / drying processing tank 28 for drying the wafer chuck 17 of the wafer transfer device 13, and a drying process for vapor-drying the wafer from which the impurities have been removed by, for example, IPA (isopropyl alcohol). Tanks 29 are provided respectively.

The chemical cleaning treatment tanks 22 and 25 are
Each cleaning treatment liquid overflows and circulates, and during this circulation, impurities accumulated in each cleaning treatment liquid are removed.

The wafer transfer devices 11, 12, 13 are
The structure of the wafer transfer device 12 is basically the same, and the structure of the wafer transfer device 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The wafer transfer device 12 includes, for example, a pair of left and right gripping members that collectively grip 50 wafers. A wafer chuck 17 (holding means) composed of 17a and 17b, and the wafer chuck 17 is moved up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction).
Y-axis drive mechanism 12d that also moves in the front-back direction (Y direction)
And a transport base 12b for moving the drive mechanism 12a including the Y-axis drive mechanism 12d along the longitudinal direction (X direction) of the cleaning processing section 3. Further, when the wafer chuck 17 is moved up and down, the sliding body that projects from and is housed in the drive mechanism 12a is covered with the bellows seal 12c, so that particles generated in the cleaning processing unit 3 do not directly adhere to the sliding body. Is configured.

Further, the entire drive mechanism 12a can be finely adjusted in an appropriate range in the θ direction as shown in FIG. 2 with an appropriate adjusting mechanism (not shown) with the center in the plane as an axis. The wafer chuck 17
Of the drive mechanism 12a in the X-direction and the Y-axis drive mechanism 12d in the Y-direction for the purpose of stopping at a predetermined position, that is, the position adjustment, can be freely performed by the control of the pulse motor. Is configured to be stored.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the holding members 17a and 17b of the wafer chuck 17 are rotatable as shown by reciprocating rotation arrows M and N in FIG. Further, gripping bars 33 and 34 are horizontally installed and fixed above and below between the support bodies 31 and 32 provided below both ends thereof, respectively. These gripping rods 33 and 34f are made of, for example, a quartz member or a synthetic resin member such as PEEK (polyether / ether / ketone).

Further, a gripping groove P is provided on the upper gripping bar 33, and a gripping groove Q is also provided on the lower gripping bar 34, respectively, under the same intervals, from P _{1 to} P ₅₀ and Q _{1 to} Q ₅₀ , respectively. Fifty wafers W are provided, and the peripheral edge of the 50 wafers W to be gripped is the gripping bar 3 of each of the gripping members 17a and 17b.
In a state of being inserted (engaged) in the gripping groove P ₁ to P ₅₀ and Q ₁ to Q ₅₀ in the 3,34, by the gripping member 17a, 17b is rotated in a direction approaching each other, the wafer It is configured to be gripped by the chuck 17.

A wafer boat 41 as a wafer holding means for processing the wafer W being cleaned is provided near the bottom of each of the cleaning processing tanks. Referring now to FIGS. The wafer boat 41 provided in the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25 will be described. In the wafer boat 41, three holding rods 42, 43, and 44 are provided in the longitudinal direction (Y) in the vicinity of the bottom of the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25. Direction) and is fixedly installed via an appropriate bracket 45. In this case, the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25 is formed of, for example, a quartz member, and the holding rods 42, 43, 44 are the holding rods 33, 3 described above.
Similar to the example 4, it is formed of a quartz member or a synthetic resin member such as PEEK.

The holding rod 42 has a holding groove R, the central holding rod 43 has a holding groove S, and the holding rod 44 has a holding groove S.
The holding grooves T are provided in each of the gripping grooves P and Q at the same intervals as R _{1 to} R ₅₀ , S _{1 to} S ₅₀ , and T _{1 to} T ₅₀ , respectively.

When the 50 wafers W held together by the wafer chuck 17 of the wafer transfer device 12 are subjected to the chemical cleaning in the chemical cleaning processing bath 25, the wafers in the state where the wafer W is held are held. The chuck 17 is moved to just above the wafer boat 41 by the drive mechanism 12a,
The wafer chuck 17 is directly attached to the chemical cleaning processing tank 25.
The wafer W is lowered inside and the peripheral edge of each wafer W held by the wafer chuck 17 is received by each holding groove R, S, T in each holding rod 42, 43, 44 of the wafer boat 41. Then, the holding member 17a of the wafer chuck 17,
17b is opened, the wafer chuck 17 is raised again, and is retracted to the outside of the chemical cleaning processing bath 25.

After the predetermined dipping time has elapsed and the cleaning process is completed, the wafer chuck 17 is lowered into the chemical cleaning process tank 25 with the gripping members 17a and 17b open, and the wafer W is removed. It is stopped at the position where it was transferred to the boat 41, and this time it is held by the wafer boat 41.
The peripheral portions of the zero wafers W are put together into the gripping grooves P and Q of the gripping bars 33 and 34 of the gripping members 17a and 17b at the same time, and then the gripping members 17a and 17b are closed to close them. The wafers W are collectively gripped, the wafer chuck 17 is lifted, and the gripped wafers W are transferred to the washing / cleaning processing tank 24 where the next washing processing, that is, washing / cleaning is performed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the chemical cleaning bath 25 has a triangular notch (not shown) for overflow at the opening.
And an overflow tank 25b located outside the opening of the inner tank 25a. A processing liquid supply port 25c provided at the bottom of the inner tank 25a.
And the drainage port 2 provided at the bottom of the overflow tank 25b
A suction pump 25f, a flow rate control valve 25g, and a filter 25h are provided in a circulation path 25e connected to 5d. In addition, the wafer boat 4 at the bottom of the inner tank 25a
A rectifying plate 25i is disposed below 1 to uniformly flow the processing liquid circulated and supplied from the processing liquid supply port 25c into the inner tank 25a onto the wafer W.

In the above process, the wafer chuck 1
When 50 wafers W are collectively transferred between the wafer 7 and the wafer boat 41, at the time of transfer, each of the gripping grooves P _{1 to} P ₅₀ and Q _{1 to} Q ₅₀ on the wafer chuck 17 side, The holding grooves R _{1 to} R ₅₀ , S _{1 to} S ₅₀ , and T _{1 to} T ₅₀ on the wafer boat 41 side must be in the correct relative positional relationship. Thus, for example As for gripping groove P1, gripper groove P _1, Q
Therefore, ₁ and the holding grooves R ₁ , S ₁ and T ₁ must be located on the same vertical plane.

The present invention embodies a positioning device for positioning the holding groove and the holding groove in such a case. Next, an example of the aligning device will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 14. This aligning device includes a aligning jig 50 that is held by the holding rods 33 and 34 of the wafer chuck 17. An image pickup device 60 (image pickup means) mounted on the jig 50 for simultaneously picking up the gripping grooves P and Q and the holding grooves R, S and T, and the gripping groove P picked up by the image pickup device 60. A main portion is constituted by a display unit, for example, a monitor 70, which displays images by superimposing Q and holding grooves R, S, T on the same coordinate system in the same image display unit.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the jig 50 has mounting portions 52 and 53 protruding in the left and right horizontal directions at both longitudinal ends of a rectangular support plate 51, and On the lower surface side of the support plate 51, there are provided, for example, four claw portions 54 having a shape to be received (engaged) in the grip groove P. A light source such as a fluorescent lamp or a light emitting diode (not shown) is attached to the lower surface of the support plate 51. In this case, the dimension of the support plate 51 in the longitudinal direction is set to be, for example, P ₄ for a predetermined period of the above-mentioned holding groove P of the wafer chuck 17.
The distance is set to the same as the distance between P _{47 and} P ₄₇ . In addition, each claw portion 54 projects outward in the horizontal direction in an L shape,
The outer diameter dimension is set to be the same as the outer diameter of the wafer W. The distance between the claws 54 in the longitudinal direction is n times the distance between the gripping grooves P in the wafer chuck 17, for example, 4
It is set to be four times larger, and is configured to be compatible with the wafer chuck 17 used under different temperature environments, for example, at room temperature and at high temperature.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, the gap (p2) between the gripping grooves P of the gripping rod 32 of the wafer chuck 17 used at high temperature is set at room temperature in consideration of the thermal expansion of the gripping rod 32. The pitch is set in advance from the distance (p1) between the gripping grooves of the gripping rod 32 of the wafer chuck 17 to be used. Therefore, a pitch error (Δp) occurs between the gripping grooves P of the gripping rod 32 of the wafer chuck 17 for normal temperature and high temperature, so that the claw portion 54 cannot be used for both normal temperature and high temperature. Occurs. Therefore, FIG. 8 (b)
As shown in FIG. 5, the claw portion 54 is formed so as to engage with the common portion (Δp / 2) of the grip groove Pn of the grip rod 32 for normal temperature and the grip groove Ph of the grip rod 32 for high temperature. That is, the claw portion 54
Is provided at a predetermined distance (n) from the center (O) of the support plate 51, the position of the claw portion 54 from the center of the support plate 51 is set to the position of p2 · n + Δp / 2 and the claw portion is set. The shape of 54 is set so that it can be engaged with the common portion of the grip groove Pn for normal temperature and the grip groove Ph for high temperature. In this way, the claw portion 5
4 is formed so as to be engageable with the common portion of the gripping groove Pn of the gripping rod 32 for normal temperature and the gripping groove Ph of the gripping rod 32 for high temperature, the gripping grooves P and Q are formed by using the same jig. The holding grooves R, S, T can be aligned.

On the other hand, the image pickup device 60 mounted on the jig 50.
Are fixed to the centers of both end faces in the longitudinal direction of the support plate 51 via a mounting member 61. This imaging device 60 has a configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, an image pickup camera 63 is provided in the substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 62, and the image pickup camera 63 is provided with a magnifying lens 64 having an image pickup magnification of, for example, 20 times. Is fitted to the tip portion of the claw portion 54, that is, the outer peripheral portion of the wafer W. A half mirror 65 tilted at 45 degrees is provided vertically below the magnifying lens 64. The half mirror 65 is set to be located at the center of the support plate 51. View ports 66 and 67 made of, for example, acrylic are provided on the bottom surface and the left side surface of the case 62. Therefore, the imaging camera 63 can magnify vertically downward and horizontal objects 20 times through the viewports 66 and 67, respectively, and simultaneously image them.

As shown in FIG. 10, an image signal from each of the image pickup cameras 63 of the two image pickup apparatuses 60 mounted on the support plate 51 is, for example, through a signal line 71 such as a cable or an optical fiber as shown in FIG. It is input to an appropriate mixing device 72 installed outside. The mixing device 72 has an image processing function, and the processed image signal is input to the monitor 70 (display means). In this monitor 70, based on the input image signal,
An image picked up by the image pickup device 60 attached to one end side of the support plate 51 above the screen (A portion) and an image pickup device 6 attached to the other end side of the support plate 51 below the screen (B portion).
The images picked up by 0 are configured to be displayed respectively.

Next, a procedure for aligning the holding grooves P, Q with the holding grooves R, S, T by using the aligning device configured as described above will be described. First, FIGS. 2 and 4
As shown in, the support plate 51 of the jig 50 is placed on the gripping rod 32 of the wafer chuck 17, and the claw portion 54 is engaged with the gripping groove P to grip the jig. In such a case, the jig 50
The claw portions 54 located on both end sides in the longitudinal direction of the claw 54 are configured to have the same outer diameter as the wafer W as the object to be processed. Since the lengths of the grooves P _{4 to} P ₄₇ are set to be the same, the claw portion 54 on one side is engaged with the gripping groove P ₄ and the claw portion 54 on the other side is engaged with the gripping groove P _47. The jig 50 can be easily gripped by the normal leg closing operation of the wafer chuck 17.

Moreover, the insertion (engagement) of the claw portion 54 into the holding groove P is merely an operation for aligning when setting the wafer chuck 17, and the jig 50 as a whole is placed on the mounting portion 52, Since it is supported by each gripping bar 33 via 53, there is almost no load on the gripping groove P due to the load of the jig 50 when the jig 50 is set.

Therefore, the holding groove P is not likely to be damaged, and the jig 50 is set on the wafer chuck 17 in an extremely stable state.

When the jig 50 is set as described above, as shown in FIG. 4, the antireflection plate 80 is arranged inside the chemical cleaning tank 25, for example, on the back side of the gripping bars 33 and 34. In this way, by disposing the antireflection plate 80 on the back side of the gripping bars 33, 34, in particular, the gripping bars 33, 3
When 4 is formed by a transparent member made of quartz, the gripping rod 3
It is possible to prevent the light transmitted through the light sources 3, 34 from being reflected on the inner surface of the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25 and adversely affecting the captured image of the imaging device 60 such as making it unclear. In FIG. 4, the antireflection plate 80 is arranged on one of the inner side surfaces of the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25, but it is also arranged on the other side of the chemical cleaning tank 25, and the back side of the holding rods 42 to 44 of the wafer boat 41. Also placed on the bottom side of.

When the jig 50 is set and the antireflection plate 80 is arranged as described above, the monitor 70 is also operated at the same time.

Then, the screen of the monitor 70 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
An enlarged screen of the gripping grooves P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ on the 7a side is clearly displayed, and an enlarged screen of the gripping grooves P ₄₈ , P ₄₉ , P ₅₀ on the gripping member 17b side is displayed on the lower side of the screen (B portion). Are displayed clearly.

Then, with the jig 50 held as such, the wafer chuck 17 is lowered into the chemical cleaning bath 25 just above the wafer boat 41 as in the normal operation, as shown in FIG. To the wafer boat 41.
When the monitor 70 is stopped just before, the enlarged images of the holding grooves S ₁ , S ₂ , and S ₃ are displayed above the screen (A part) of the monitor 70, while the holding grooves S ₁ , S ₂ , and S ₃ are held below the screen (B part). Groove S ₄₈ ,
Enlarged images of S ₄₉ and S ₅₀ are grip grooves P ₁ , P ₂ , and P ₃ , respectively.
And the enlarged images of the gripping grooves P ₄₈ , P ₄₉ , and P ₅₀ are displayed at the same magnification and on the same coordinate system.

Therefore, if the above-mentioned gripping grooves P ₁ , P ₂ , P
₃ and the holding grooves S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ and the holding grooves P ₄₈ , P ₄₉ , P ₅₀ and the holding grooves S ₄₈ , S ₄₉ , S ₅₀ are respectively located on the same vertical plane. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, both images completely match on the screen. That is, it can be confirmed that the relative positions at the time of transfer between the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 have a correct relationship.

However, when the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 are exchanged, the relative positional relationship is X, Y,
When they are deviated in the θ direction, on the screen of the monitor 70, the image of the holding groove S ₂ is deviated accordingly from the image of the gripping groove P ₂ , for example, as shown in FIG. 13. . As a result, the operator can immediately recognize the deviation of the relative relationship when the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 are transferred.

When the deviation shown in FIG. 13 is confirmed, for example, the drive mechanism 12a of the wafer transfer device 12 is appropriately adjusted in the θ direction to correct the deviation in the θ direction as shown in FIG. Let In this case, of course, the wafer boat 4
1 may be appropriately rotated in the θ direction. The operator can easily perform such an operation while looking at the monitor 70.

After the above adjustment in the θ direction, if the state shown in FIG. 14 is reached, it is only necessary to correct the deviations in the X and Y directions.
While looking at the monitor 70 in the same manner as described above, for example, regarding the relationship between the grip groove P ₂ and the holding groove S ₂ , the worker holds the grip groove P ₂ only.
As the ₂ and the holding groove S ₂ images match in both fully as shown in FIG. 12, may be moved adjusts the setting position of the drive mechanism 12a suitable wafer transfer device 12 X and Y directions Of.

In such a case, the image displayed on the monitor 70 shows the holding grooves P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ and the holding grooves S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ and the holding grooves P ₄₈ , P ₄₉ , P ₅₀ and the holding grooves. Since it is an enlarged image of S ₄₈ , S ₄₉ , and S ₅₀ , it is easy to visually recognize and it is also easy to confirm that they match. Therefore, the alignment at the time of transfer between the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 can be performed extremely simply and quickly.

Further, in the above embodiment, the gripping groove P and the holding groove S of the image portion in the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 are provided by the two image pickup devices 60 as described above.
And are respectively displayed on the monitor 70, it is possible to detect the positional deviations at the both ends and correct the positional deviations, and extremely accurate positioning can be performed.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the relative positional relationship between the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 in the transfer of the wafer chuck 41 can be immediately recognized, and the deviations in the X, Y, and θ directions can be immediately recognized. It is possible to perform simple and quick corrections and perform extremely accurate alignment. Moreover, the jig 50 used for this purpose can be easily and surely mounted on the wafer chuck 17, and the apparatus configuration itself is simple.

The wafer chuck 17 and the wafer 4
The relative positional relationship of 1 may be automatically adjusted instead of being manually adjusted by the operator. In this case, the signal from the image pickup device 60 is supplied to the mixing device 7
2, as well as sending to the monitor 70, as shown in FIG.
Cleaning processing device 1 including wafer transfer devices 11, 12, and 13
It is also input to the central processing unit 90 (CPU) that controls the whole. Then, in the CPU 90, the images of the gripping groove P and the holding groove S are compared, and the wafer chuck 17 and, if necessary, the wafer boat 41 are controlled and driven so as to correct the deviation of the image images. The relative position of the two can be adjusted.

In the above embodiment, the magnifying lens 64 for magnifying an image is provided in the image pickup camera 63. However, such a structure is not always necessary, and each viewport 66 is not necessarily required. , 67 side may be provided with the enlargement function.

When the wafer chuck 17 descends and moves to a position where the wafer W is transferred to and from the wafer boat 41, the position of the wafer chuck 17 in the Z direction with respect to the wafer boat 41, that is, the wafer at the time of transfer. The height of the chuck 17 is also important for accurate transfer.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, an opening 55 is provided in the center of the support plate 51 of the jig 50A, and a distance sensor is provided on the peripheral edge of the opening 55 above the opening 55 via a mounting member 56. Support 57. The distance sensor 57 is composed of, for example, an optical system sensor, has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and when the detection light such as laser light emitted from the light emitting portion is reflected by another object and returned. By receiving the reflected light at the light receiving portion, the distance to other objects can be detected. The detection signal of the distance sensor 57 is input to, for example, the monitor 70, and the monitor 70 can confirm the distance detected by the distance sensor 57.

When the jig 50A constructed as described above is used, an appropriate reflection plate (not shown) is set in advance. After that, as with the jig 50, the wafer chuck 17
It can be used by setting to. Then, this jig 50
According to A, the distance sensor 57 always detects the distance to the reflection plate through the central opening 55 of the support plate 51, and this distance is always displayed by the monitor 70. The predetermined height of 17, that is, the position of the wafer chuck 17 in the Z direction with respect to the wafer boat 41 can be confirmed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the wafer chuck 1
7, the support plate 51 mounted on the grip bar 33 and the grip groove P
The configuration in which the imaging device 60 is provided at each end of the jig 50 having the claw portion 54 that engages with the jig 50 has been described, but instead of such a jig 50, the jig 50 as shown in FIG.
B may be used.

The jig 50B is provided on the peripheral portion of the supporting disks 58a and 58b having the same diameter and the same thickness as the wafer W, at the common portion of the holding groove P of the wafer chuck 17 for normal temperature and high temperature as described above. An engaging claw portion 54a is formed, and both supporting discs 58a and 58b are integrated via two connecting rods 58c so that the supporting discs 58a and 58b face each other in parallel. . Each support disk 58a, 5
The length between 8b is an appropriate distance between the gripping grooves P, for example, P
It is set to be the same as the distance between _{4 and} P ₄₇ .

The image pickup device 60 is fixed to the outside of each of the support disks 58a and 58b. The focus of the image pickup camera provided in the image pickup device 60 is that of each support disk 5.
It is joined to the peripheral portions of 8a and 58b. A half mirror (not shown) provided in the image pickup device 60 is set so as to be located at the center of each of the support disks 58a and 58b.

Even when the jig 50B having such a structure is used for alignment, as in the case of the jig 50 of the above embodiment.
First, the jig 50B is set on the wafer chuck 17. In this case, the holding members 17a and 17b of the wafer chuck 17 are opened, the jig 50B is set, and then the holding members 17a and 17b are closed. Support disk 58a
The claw portion 54a of the peripheral edge in the gripping groove P _4, Q ₄ of the supporting disc 58
The jig 50B can be held by the wafer chuck 17 by inserting the claw portion 54a on the peripheral edge of b into the holding grooves P ₄₇ and Q ₄₇ .

Further, as described above, the pair of support disks 58
When the jig 50B having a and 58b is used, in order to confirm the predetermined position of the wafer chuck 17 in the Z direction with respect to the wafer boat 41, as shown in FIG.
B may be set on the wafer boat 41 side. In this case, the imaging device 60, via the viewport 66,
The holding groove S of the holding rod 43 of the wafer boat 41 is always imaged, but the holding groove P of the wafer chuck 17 on the side of the holding rod 33 is not imaged unless it comes into the viewport 67. In other words, the wafer chuck 17
The image is captured through the viewport 67 and displayed on the monitor 70 only after the image has descended to a predetermined height. Then, when positioned at a predetermined height of the transfer position, the gripping grooves P and the holding groove S overlap each other on the image. Therefore, also by this method, the predetermined position of the wafer chuck 17 in the Z direction can be confirmed.

In the above embodiment, in order to make the picked-up images of the gripping grooves P, Q and the holding grooves R, S, T clear, the back side and the holding of the gripping bars 33, 34 in the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25. Although the case where the antireflection plate 80 is arranged on the back side of the rods 42 to 44 has been described, instead of the antireflection plate 80 or together with the antireflection plate 80, for example, as shown in FIG. Gripping grooves P, Q or holding rod 4
The positioning member 81 may be detachably attached to the holding grooves R to T of 2 to 44. The positioning member 81 has a positioning portion 81 that engages with the gripping grooves P and Q or the holding grooves R to T.
a is formed of a ladder-shaped opaque member made of, for example, a synthetic resin, which is provided at appropriate intervals, that is, at intervals matching the pitch of the grooves. Thus, the gripping grooves P, Q and the holding groove R are
By attaching the positioning member 81 to T and imaging with the imaging camera 63 of the imaging device 60 as described above, the positioning portion 81a of the positioning member 81 is imaged and the image is clearly displayed on the monitor 70. Therefore, more accurate alignment can be performed.

Further, instead of using the positioning member 81, as shown in FIG. 19, the gripping grooves P, Q and the holding grooves R.about.
A positioning indication 82 may be provided on the bottom of T (representing the gripping groove P in the drawing as a representative). The display 82 is made of, for example, a paint having chemical resistance, heat resistance, and peeling resistance. In this way, by providing the positioning display on the bottoms of the gripping grooves P, Q and the holding grooves R to T, the display 82 is imaged by the imaging camera 63 of the imaging device 60 as in the case of using the positioning member 81. Since the image can be clearly displayed on the monitor 70, accurate alignment can be performed.

Further, instead of the positioning member 81 and the display 82, as shown in FIG. 20, the gaps between the gripping grooves P and Q and the holding grooves R to T (in the drawing, the gripping groove P is representatively shown). A positioning indication 83 may be provided on the mountain portion of the. The display 83 can be applied by, for example, a paint having chemical resistance, heat resistance, and peeling resistance, or can be a display formed by directly cutting the base material.

The image pickup device 6 used in each of the above embodiments
In the case of 0, the half mirror 65 is used in order to simultaneously image the object in two directions with the image pickup camera 63 of 1. However, instead of this, for example, a prism 68 is used as shown in FIG. , The same effect can be obtained. That is, the optical path from the imaging camera 63 can be split. In this case, by changing the shape of the prism 68 or combining other optical elements, the optical path from the imaging camera 63 can be appropriately divided for two objects located at an angle other than a right angle. That is, the imaging camera 63
When the wafer chuck 17 and the wafer boat 41 are aligned, the holding groove Q of the holding rod 34 and the holding groove R or T of the holding rod 42 or 43 are used by appropriately dividing the optical path from the. Will be possible.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the gripping groove P and the holding groove S of the one image pickup camera 63 in the image pickup device 60 are used.
22 and 25 are simultaneously imaged, of course, as shown in FIG. 22, the two image pickup cameras 63a and 63b are attached to, for example, the support disks 58a and 58b, and the grip groove P is formed in the image pickup camera 63.
a, the holding groove S is imaged separately by the imaging camera 63b, the image signals thereof are mixed, and the monitor 70
Even if they are displayed overlaid on each other, the same operational effects as those of the above-described respective embodiments can be obtained.

The above-described embodiment has been described as applied to the transfer system between the wafer chuck and the wafer boat in the chemical cleaning processing tank in the wafer cleaning processing apparatus. Not limited to this, in the transport system configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed, which are gripped at the predetermined gripping position of the gripping means, to the predetermined holding position of the holding means, the gripping position and the holding position It is applicable to a device for performing the relative position alignment of.

[0077]

【The invention's effect】

1) According to the alignment apparatus of claim 1, a gripping means having gripping grooves with a predetermined pitch used at room temperature and a gripping groove having a small pitch used at high temperature in consideration of thermal expansion in advance. A jig can be set on any of the gripping means having a holding means, and when a plurality of objects to be processed that are gripped at a predetermined gripping position on the gripping means are transferred to a predetermined holding position on the holding means. The relative positions of the gripping position and the holding position can be easily and accurately aligned.

2) According to the aligning device of the second aspect, since the antireflection member is arranged on the back side of the holding position or the holding position, the reflection of the light emitted from the image pickup means to the holding position and the holding position. It is possible to prevent the above, and the gripping position and the holding position can be clearly displayed on the image display section of the display means, and in addition to the above 1), more accurate alignment can be performed.

3) According to the aligning device of the third aspect, by mounting an opaque positioning member at the gripping position of the gripping means or the holding position of the holding means, the image pickup means intervenes through the positioning member. Since the gripping position and the holding position can be imaged, the gripping position and the holding position can be clearly displayed on the image display section of the display means, and more accurate alignment can be performed in addition to the above 1). .

4) According to the positioning device of the fourth aspect, by displaying a positioning indication at the gripping position of the gripping means or the holding position of the holding means, the gripping position and Since the holding position can be imaged, the gripping position and the holding position can be clearly displayed on the image display section of the display means, and the positioning can be performed more accurately in addition to the above 1).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a semiconductor wafer cleaning processing apparatus to which an alignment apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a wafer chuck using an example of a jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the image pickup apparatus according to the present invention is simultaneously picking up an image of a holding groove on the wafer chuck side and a holding groove on the wafer boat side.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the imaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention is simultaneously imaging the holding groove on the wafer chuck side and the holding groove on the wafer boat side.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a jig according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing a state where the jig is set on a wafer chuck.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view (a) in a state where the jig is set on a wafer chuck and an enlarged sectional view (b) taken along the line AA.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view (a) showing a gripping groove of a wafer chuck used under different temperature environments and a cross-sectional view (b) of a main part of a claw portion in the present invention showing a state applied to both gripping grooves. is there.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing an example of an image pickup apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a relationship between an image pickup apparatus and a monitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an image of a holding groove on the wafer chuck side displayed on a monitor.

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged view of an image displayed on the monitor when the grip groove and the holding groove have a correct relative positional relationship.

FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view of an image displayed on a monitor when the grip groove and the holding groove are displaced in the X, Y, and θ directions, respectively.

FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged view of an image displayed on the monitor when the grip groove and the holding groove are misaligned in the X and Y directions, respectively.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an example of another jig including a distance sensor.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing still another jig.

17 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state where the jig shown in FIG. 16 is set in a wafer boat.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of the positioning member in the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a schematic plan view (a) showing a positioning display in the present invention and an enlarged sectional view (b) of a main part thereof.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing another positioning display according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image pickup device that employs a prism.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a jig equipped with an imaging camera for individual imaging.

[Explanation of symbols]

 17 Wafer chuck (grasping means) 41 Wafer boat (holding means) 50, 50A, 50B Positioning jigs 54, 54a Claws 60 Imaging device (imaging means) 70 Monitor (display means) 80 Antireflection plate 81 Positioning member 82 , 83 Positioning display W Semiconductor wafer (object to be processed) P, Q Gripping groove R, S, T Holding groove

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location // B23Q 3/18 G06F 15/62 405C

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transfer system configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed, which are gripped at a predetermined gripping position of a gripping means, to a predetermined holding position of a holding means. In a device for aligning a relative position between a gripping device position and a holding position, a jig gripped by the gripping means, and an imaging means provided on the jig for simultaneously imaging the gripping position and the holding position. A gripping position of the gripping means is provided in the jig, the display means displaying an image of the gripping position and the holding position imaged by the image pickup means in an overlapping manner on the same coordinate system in the same image display unit. The positioning is characterized in that a claw part that engages with the gripping groove is provided, and that this claw part is formed so as to be engageable with a common part of the gripping grooves of the gripping means used under different temperature environments. Location. 2. A transfer system configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed, which are held at a predetermined holding position of the holding means, to a predetermined holding position of the holding means. In an apparatus for aligning a relative position between a gripping device position and a holding position, an image pickup unit which is gripped or held by the gripping unit or the holding unit, and which images the gripping position and the holding position at the same time; Display means for superimposing and displaying the grasped position and the held position on the same coordinate system in the same image display section, and a display unit arranged on the back side of the grasped position or the held position for the light emitted from the imaging means. An anti-reflection member that prevents reflection, and an alignment device. 3. A transfer system configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed held in a predetermined holding position of the holding means to a predetermined holding position of the holding means at the time of the transfer. In an apparatus for aligning a relative position between a gripping device position and a holding position, an image pickup unit which is gripped or held by the gripping unit or the holding unit, and which images the gripping position and the holding position at the same time; Display means for superimposing and displaying the grasped position and the retained position on the same coordinate system in the same image display part, and an opacity detachably attached to the grasped position of the grasping means or the retaining position of the retaining means. A positioning member, and a positioning device. 4. A transfer system configured to transfer a plurality of objects to be processed, which are gripped at a predetermined gripping position of the gripping means, to a predetermined holding position of the holding means. In an apparatus for aligning a relative position between a gripping device position and a holding position, an image pickup unit which is gripped or held by the gripping unit or the holding unit, and which simultaneously picks up the gripping position and the holding position, and an image picked up by the image pickup unit Display means for displaying the grasped position and the retained position, which are overlapped with each other, on the same coordinate system in the same image display unit as an image, and a display for positioning is displayed at the grasped position of the grasping means or the retaining position of the retaining means. A positioning device characterized by being applied.