JPS6233320Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as semiconductor vapor phase growth equipment, etching equipment, and diffusion equipment that uses an airtight container, and particularly relates to a sealing valve plate that opens and closes the wafer introduction opening of the airtight container. , provided inside and outside the airtight container, respectively, for transporting the wafer through the wafer introduction opening when the sealing valve plate is opened;
The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus equipped with an external wafer transport mechanism.

In such conventional semiconductor manufacturing equipment,
To avoid damage to parts due to mechanical interference between the valve plate and the wafer transport mechanism when opening and closing the sealing valve plate,
The configuration was such that one of the wafer transport mechanisms was released, and the valve plate was operated only after confirming that the wafer transport mechanism had escaped, but in this configuration, two drive sources were used, one for the valve plate and one for the wafer transport mechanism. and also,
In the case of automation, two systems of sensors are also required,
It is complicated and requires an interlock mechanism between the two, and if one of the drive sources or sensors is defective, there is a risk of damage to the parts, resulting in a lack of reliability.

The present invention was developed to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it operates the valve plate and wafer transport mechanism with only one drive source, prevents damage to parts due to mechanical interference, and integrates a single system of sensors. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing equipment that can be easily automated.

An embodiment of the present invention that achieves the above object will be described below, as shown in the drawings.

The drawing is a side sectional view showing the main parts of an embodiment of the present invention. First, the structure will be explained. 1 is an airtight container;
11 is an opening for introducing the wafer; 7 is a sealing valve plate for opening and closing the wafer introducing opening 11; 10 is an O-ring for keeping the inside of the airtight container 1 airtight;
Reference numerals 2 and 3 denote inner and outer wafer transport mechanisms provided inside and outside the airtight container 1, respectively. For example, air trucks can be used as the inner and outer wafer transport mechanisms 2 and 3.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a rotation regulating spring, and although a spring hinge is shown in the illustrated example, a spring-loaded hinge may also be used.

4 is a dogleg-shaped arm whose central part is rotatably supported on a fixed part 13 by a pivot shaft 5 on the outside of the airtight container 1, and 7 is a pin, shaft, screw, etc. at the tip of this arm 4. This is a sealing valve plate connected by a connecting means 6. Reference numeral 8 denotes a roller pivotally attached to the tip of the arm 4 for smooth contact with the outer wafer transport mechanism 3.

When the sealing valve plate 7 is opened, the end face of the outer conveyance mechanism 3 comes into contact with the side surface of the fixed part 12, ensuring that the inner and outer conveyance mechanisms 2 and 3 are in a straight line, and when the sealing valve plate 7 is closed, the arm The outer conveying mechanism 3 is connected to the fixing part 12 by a spring hinge 9 so that the outer conveying mechanism 3 can be lifted up against the spring force by a roller 8 pivotally connected to the outer conveying mechanism 3.

Next, the operation of the present invention configured as described above will be explained. Now, the arm 4 and the valve plate 7 are in the open position shown by the imaginary line, and the outer wafer transport mechanism 3 is in the hinge 9
Assume that the spring force causes the wafer to be in a straight line with respect to the inner wafer transport mechanism 2 as shown by the imaginary line. In this state, the arm 4 is connected to the pivot shaft 5.
When the valve plate 7 rotates clockwise as indicated by arrow A around , the valve plate 7 rotates clockwise as indicated by arrow C and is pressed against the outer surface of the airtight container 1 via the O-ring 10 as indicated by the solid line. The wafer introduction opening 11 is closed. At the same time, the outer wafer transport mechanism 3 is pushed by the rollers 8 of the arm 4 against the spring force of the hinge 9, and rotates in the counterclockwise direction shown by arrow F, so that it is in the state shown by the solid line. Therefore, when the pressure inside the airtight container 1 is reduced, the valve plate 7 is increasingly pressed against the outer surface of the airtight container 1 via the O-ring 10, and the wafer introduction opening 1
1 will be sealed and maintain an airtight state.

Next, the inside of the airtight container 1 is returned to atmospheric pressure and the arm 4 is rotated about the pivot shaft 5 in the counterclockwise direction shown by the arrow B until the valve plate 7 changes from the closed state shown by the solid line to the open state shown by the imaginary line. , the valve plate 7 rotates in the counterclockwise direction indicated by arrow D, changing from the closed state shown by the solid line to the open state shown by the imaginary line. At the same time, the outer wafer transport mechanism 3, which was in contact with the rollers 8 of the arm 4, is moved counterclockwise as shown by the arrow G by the spring force of the hinge 9 and the own weight of the outer wafer transport mechanism 3. Rotate clockwise as shown and return to the state shown by the imaginary line.

In this return state, the outer wafer transport mechanism 3 is secured by the hinge 9 in a state in which the outer wafer transport mechanism 3 is in a straight line and communicated with the inner wafer transport mechanism 2. wafers that have been processed or have been subjected to diffusion processing are transported to the outside by these wafer transport mechanisms 2 and 3, and conversely, unprocessed wafers are transported from the outside into the airtight container 1 for processing. I can do it.

In this embodiment, an example in which a spring hinge is used as the rotation regulating spring 9 has been described, but it is clear that the same explanation can be made using a hinge with a spring.

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the opening/closing operation of the valve plate 7 and the outer wafer transport mechanism 3
Since the escape operation can be performed only by rotating the arm 4, the operation of the valve plate 7 and the outer wafer transport mechanism 3 can be performed with a single drive source.
Equipment can be easily constructed. Since the operations of the valve plate 7 and the outer wafer transport mechanism 3 are mechanically synchronized, damage to parts due to mechanical interference can be prevented, resulting in safety. There is no need to use two systems of sensors, one for the valve plate 7 and the other for the outer wafer transport mechanism 3, but only one system, so there is no need for an interlock mechanism between the two, making the configuration simple, improving reliability, and facilitating automation. There are effects such as being able to achieve this.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawing is a side sectional view showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention. 1... Airtight container, 2, 3... Inner and outer wafer transfer mechanisms, 4... Arm, 5... Pivot shaft, 6...
Connection means, 7... Sealing valve plate, 8... Roller (member), 9... Spring hinge (rotation regulating spring), 11...
Wafer introduction opening, 12, 13... fixing part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A sealing valve plate 7 that opens and closes the wafer introduction opening 11 of the airtight container 1; and a sealing valve plate 7 provided inside and outside the airtight container to transport the wafer through the wafer introduction opening when the sealing valve plate is opened. In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus equipped with outer wafer transport mechanisms 2 and 3, the sealing valve plate 7 is coupled to an arm 4 rotatably supported outside the airtight container, and a member 8 is attached to a part of this arm 4. At the same time, when the sealing valve plate 7 is opened, the outer conveying mechanism 3 is attached to the side of the fixed part 12.
A part of the inner and outer conveyance mechanisms 2 and 3 are in contact with each other to ensure a straight line state, and when the sealing valve plate 7 is closed, a member 8 attached to the arm 4 allows the outer conveyance mechanism 3 to resist the spring force. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which an outer transport mechanism 3 is connected to a fixed part 12 by a rotation regulating spring 9 so as to be lifted up.