JPS6074546A - Attachment and detachment of wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable to attach a wafer on three wafer holders and to detach the wafer from there without causing any steric hindrance by a method wherein the wafer is made to transfer to the second wafer holder from the first wafer holder using the third wafer holder. CONSTITUTION:A wafer 3 is drawn out of a cassette using a handling arm 2, which is a first wafer holder; the wafer 3 is put on the pillars 4a of a third wafer holder 4; and the handling arm 2 is made to descend and retreat. The wafer 3 is reked up by a ringed wafer holder 1, which is a second wafer holder, and is made to transfer to the irradiating position in a furnace. These operations can be all carried out automatically, and moreover, as the handling arm 2 has been made to retreat when the wafer 3 is put on the ringed wafer holder 1, automatic attachment and detachment of the wafer 3 can be performed without causing any steric hindrance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for attaching and detaching a wafer, and more particularly to a method for automatically attaching and detaching a wafer to and from a ring-shaped wafer holder without steric hindrance.

(2) Background of the Technology In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, wafers are frequently annealed (heat treated) using a heat source such as an infrared lamp. For example, while preparing a furnace with infrared lamps placed at intervals (1) above and below,
The wafers housed in the cassette are placed on the wafer holder by the handling arm, then the wafer holder is transferred into the furnace, the upper and lower infrared lamps are turned on to perform the desired annealing, and then the wafer holder is taken out of the furnace and the annealed Return the wafer to its original cassette or store it in another cassette. There is a tendency for such wafers to be carried into and out of the furnace automatically using the aforementioned handling arm.

(3) Prior art and problems Since the distance between the infrared lamps in the furnace is narrow, the ring-shaped wafer holder is formed thin and flat.

A specific example is shown in the perspective view of FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a ring-shaped wafer holder, and 1a indicates a claw provided on the holder. The claw 1a is made of an elastic material that allows the wafer to pass through easily but can withstand the weight of the wafer.

The handling arm has a structure shown by reference numeral 2 in FIG. 1, and carries a wafer 3 thereon as shown. The handling arm 2 may be provided with an exhaust hole 2a (2), and the wafer 3 may be vacuum-adsorbed by exhausting air through the exhaust hole 2a, or the wafer 3 may be vacuum-adsorbed by using tweezers instead of the handling arm 2. The wafer may also be held by pinching it.

In order to anneal the wafer 3 in the furnace, the wafer 3 must be placed on the wafer holder 1 as shown by the dotted line in the figure and carried into the furnace.
The handling arm 2 must be moved upward as shown by the arrow in the figure, and after the wafer is placed, the handling arm 2 must be moved downward in the direction opposite to the arrow shown in the figure. However, since the wafer holder 1 is ring-shaped, it itself becomes a steric obstacle, that is, the handling arm 2 hits the wafer holder 1 and cannot bring the wafer 3 to the position indicated by the dotted line. Therefore, when a conventional ring-shaped wafer holder and rod-shaped handling arm are used to automatically anneal wafers in a narrow furnace, there is a problem in that it becomes impossible to automatically load and unload the wafer onto the holder due to steric hindrance. Occurred. Even if tweezers are used, this problem cannot be solved because the outline of the tweezers (3) is almost the same as the illustrated handling arm.

(4) Purpose of the Invention In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention uses a handling arm or the like to move the wafer into a thin, flat ring-shaped wafer holder that carries the wafer into the furnace when annealing the wafer in a furnace with limited space. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for automatically mounting and removing a wafer without causing steric hindrance when the wafer is automatically mounted and removed.

(5) Structure and object of the invention According to the present invention, when moving a wafer using a handling arm that is a first wafer holder and a ring-shaped wafer holder that is a second wafer holder, the wafer is first transferred to a third wafer holder. This is achieved by providing a method for attaching and detaching a wafer, which is characterized in that the wafer is placed and then transferred from a third wafer holder to the ring-shaped wafer holder.

(6) Examples of the invention (4) Embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In carrying out the method of the present invention, a third evaporator holder is prepared in addition to the conventional ring-shaped wafer holder, and during wafer annealing, the wafer is not transferred directly from the handling arm to the ring-shaped wafer boulder; The wafer is placed on a third wafer holder, and then the wafer on the third wafer holder is transferred from the third wafer holder to a ring-shaped wafer holder, and after the annealing is completed, the above operations are performed in reverse.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to a schematic cross-sectional view in FIG. 2, and in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the same parts as those shown in FIG. do. The third wafer holder is indicated by reference numeral 4 in FIG. For the sake of simplicity, only two pillars 4a are shown inside the ring-shaped wafer holder 1 (FIG. 2(bl)).The method of the present invention is carried out by the following steps.

(5) See Figure 2fa): Take out the wafer 3 from a cassette (not shown) using the handling arm 2, which is the first wafer holder, and operate the handling arm 2 to transfer the wafer 3 to the pillar 4a of the third wafer holder 4. Place it at the same height as the height.

Figure ff12 (see BL: Operate the handling arm 2 to place the wafer 3 on the pillar 4a, lower the handling arm 2, and then evacuate it. The figure shows the handling arm 2 in a lowered state and the wafer 3 on the pillar 4a. is shown located inside the ring-shaped wafer holder 1.

FIG. 2 (See Ql: Next, the ring-shaped holder 1, which is the second wafer holder, is raised vertically as shown by the arrow in the figure, scoops up the wafer 3, and then moves to the irradiation position in the furnace (not shown). The third wafer holder 4 is shown in the state after being scooped up. Instead of raising the ring-shaped holder 1 as described above, the third wafer holder 4 may be lowered vertically.

When the annealing is completed, the above-described operations are performed in reverse, the wafer 3 is transferred to the original cassette or to another cassette (6), and the above-described operations are repeated in sequence.

All such operations can be performed automatically, and since the handling arm 2 is retracted when the wafer 3 is placed on the ring-shaped wafer holder 1, automatic attachment and detachment of the wafer to and from the ring-shaped wafer holder can be performed without steric hindrance. You will be killed.

Although the third wafer holder has three pillars in the above embodiment, it may be provided with any number of pillars such as four, five, or more, or alternatively, the third wafer holder has three pillars. As shown in the figure, one thick pillar 4b may be provided in the center of the stand of the third wafer holder 4. The structure of the pillars of the third wafer holder can be appropriately selected depending on the type of wafer, the type of annealing, etc.

(7) Effects of the Invention As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, when annealing a wafer in a narrow furnace, a third wafer holder is used, and after placing an evaporator on it, the wafer is transferred to a ring-shaped wafer holder. Because the handling arm used to move the wafer is in the retracted position (7), no steric hindrance occurs during automatic wafer loading and unloading, so the handling arm used to move the wafer into the furnace, annealing, and the wafer outside the furnace does not cause any steric hindrance. The series of steps for carrying out the process can be carried out automatically without any obstacles, which is highly effective in improving the semiconductor device manufacturing yield.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of a wafer, a ring-shaped wafer holder, and a handling arm, and FIG. 2 shows a wafer, a ring-shaped wafer holder,
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of the handling arm and the third wafer holder, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another example of the third wafer holder. 1- Ring-shaped wafer holder, 1a-claw, 2-handling arm, 2a-exhaust hole, 3-wafer, 4-third wafer holder, 4a, 4b-one pillar patent applicant Fujitsu Ltd. (8) C(

Claims (1)

[Claims] When moving a wafer using a handling arm that is a first wafer holder and a ring-shaped wafer holder that is a second wafer holder, the wafer is first placed on the third wafer holder, and then the wafer is transferred from the third wafer holder to the ring-shaped wafer holder. A method for attaching and detaching a wafer, characterized by transferring the wafer to a shaped wafer holder.