U.S. patent application number 10/703498 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-01 for wafer processing apparatus including clean box stopping mechanism.
This patent application is currently assigned to TDK CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Igarashi, Hiroshi, Miyajima, Toshihiko, Okabe, Tsutomu.
Application Number | 20040127048 10/703498 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32654429 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040127048 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Okabe, Tsutomu ; et
al. |
July 1, 2004 |
Wafer processing apparatus including clean box stopping
mechanism
Abstract
The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus includes a clean
box having an opening, a lid for closing the opening, a door to be
in contact with the lid and to detach the lid from the clean box, a
first stopper adapted to move in conjunction with movement of the
clean box without a change in its relative positional relationship
with the clean box, and an unmoved second stopper. With this
structure, it is possible to prevent the clean box moved on the
semiconductor wafer processing apparatus from colliding with the
apparatus, even if the clean box manufactured by molding using a
reinforced plastic in accordance with a prescribed standard
includes a manufacturing error in its size.
Inventors: |
Okabe, Tsutomu; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Igarashi, Hiroshi; (Tokyo, JP) ;
Miyajima, Toshihiko; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON, SPIVAK, MCCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT, P.C.
1940 DUKE STREET
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
TDK CORPORATION
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
32654429 |
Appl. No.: |
10/703498 |
Filed: |
November 10, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10703498 |
Nov 10, 2003 |
|
|
|
10330098 |
Dec 30, 2002 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
438/691 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 21/67772
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
438/691 |
International
Class: |
H01L 021/461; H01L
021/302 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A wafer processing apparatus for receiving a wafer from a clean
box including a box body that has an opening portion at one side
thereof and a lid for closing said opening portion, and processing
said wafer, comprising: a main housing having a window opening at
one side thereof; an openable/closable door for closing the window
opening; and an access plate on which the clean box is placed
thereon so that the opening portion faces against to said window
opening, wherein said access plate includes a docking plate on
which the clean box is substantially placed thereon, an air
cylinder which supports said docking plate movably toward said main
housing and is supported by said access plate, a first stopper
provided on said docking plate, and a second stopper provided on
said access plate, and wherein a movement of said docking plate
toward the main housing is regulated by an abutment operation of
said first and second stopper.
2. A wafer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a
position at which said first stopper abuts said second stopper is
provided at a position shifted from a position at which the lid of
the clean box placed on said docking plate abuts said door, in a
direction along which said door moves from a closing position to a
position for opening said window opening.
3. A wafer processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said
sir cylinder and said first stopper are placed at a position housed
within a bore provided below said docking plate and on said access
plate.
4. A wafer processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said
sir cylinder and said first stopper are placed at a position housed
within a bore provided below said docking plate and on said access
plate.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer
processing apparatus having a cushion function, which is used in
manufacturing processes for semiconductor devices, electronic parts
and related products, or optical disks etc. The semiconductor wafer
processing apparatus receives a semiconductor wafer (which will be
simply referred to as a wafer hereinafter) from a clean box that
stores the wafer and performs processing of the wafer with a
collision avoidance function.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Manufacturing of wafers, which are used for semiconductor
devices etc., must be performed under a condition in which a high
degree of cleanness is ensured. Therefore, manufacturing of wafers
was generally performed in a clean room the whole interior of which
is kept in a highly clean condition. However construction and
maintenance of a large clean room with a high degree of cleanness
require a significant initial investment and service costs. In
addition, even if once a plant investment is made for such a clean
room, a modification of the layout of the room might be required
later due to a modification in the manufacturing process, which
would require a large additional investment. Therefore, use of
clean rooms is uneconomical. In view of the above-described
situation, recently a certain method has been widely adopted, that
is, to keep a high degree of cleanness not within the whole
interior space of a room but only within a small environmental
space (which will be referred to as a mini-environment) inside a
processing apparatus to attain the effects same as those obtained
by keeping a high degree of cleanness within the whole of the room.
(In the following, a processing apparatus that adopts this method
will be called a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.)
[0005] Specifically, semiconductor wafer processing apparatus as
shown in FIG. 1 are arranged in a manufacturing room. When the door
3 of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 is in a closed
state, a mini-environment portion 5 in which processing of a wafer
is performed is kept in a highly clean condition. Wafers 7 are
transferred from one semiconductor wafer processing apparatus to
another using a wafer storing container hermetically closed by a
lid 4, whereby the interior of the container is kept in a highly
clean condition. This wafer storing container is composed of a box
body in the form of a housing and the lid 4. This container will be
referred to as a clean box 6 hereinafter. The wafers 7 having been
delivered to a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus by the
clean box 6 is subjected to further transportation in the interior
of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. The
mini-environment portion 5 is provided with a window opening 2 that
functions-as an access opening through which wafers 7 are to be
transferred into the mini-environment portion 5. The opening 2 is
closed by the door 3 that is provided in the interior of the
mini-environment portion 5. The door 3 is provided with a holding
means for holding the lid 4, such as suction means or a latch
mechanism etc.
[0006] The clean box 6 having been delivered to the semiconductor
wafer processing apparatus is placed on a docking plate 12 with the
lid 4 of the box facing toward the window opening 2 of the
mini-environment portion 5. Then the docking plate 12 is moved (in
the right direction in FIG. 1) so that the clean box 6 is brought
to a position (which will be referred to as a prescribed position
hereinafter) close to the window opening 2 provided on the
semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 and stopped. After the
clean box 6 is stopped at the prescribed position, the lid 4 is
held by the door 3 and brought into the interior of the
mini-environment portion 5 with the door 3. Thus, the lid 4 is
detached from the clean box 6 and the window opening 2 is made
open. The wafers 7 stored in the clean box 6 are transferred into
the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 through the window
opening 2 that has been made open. Thus, the space to which the
wafers are exposed can be always kept highly clean without a need
for establishing a highly clean condition within the whole interior
of the manufacturing room. Therefore, this method realizes the
effects same as those attained by establishing a clean room
condition within the whole of the room, and so it is possible to
reduce construction and maintenance costs to realize an effective
manufacturing process.
[0007] In this semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10, the
clean box 6 is generally manufactured in accordance with a
standard. In other words, the shape, size and weight of the clean
box 6 are standardized, so that the clean box 6 can be used in a
plurality of semiconductor processing apparatus 10 without changing
the specification of the clean box 6.
[0008] On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application No.
2000-262472 discloses a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus
having a dust proof function. In the wafer processing apparatus
disclosed in that application, a clean box is not in contact with
the wall of a mini-environment portion, and small clearance is
formed between the mini-environment portion and the clean box.
[0009] The clean box is generally manufactured by molding using a
reinforced plastic in accordance with the above-mentioned standard.
In that standard, a reference length that is designated by numeral
in FIG. 1 with respect to the opening side end of the clean box is
determined in reference to the center of the clean box.
[0010] However, even if the clean box is molded in accordance with
the standard, size range by a manufacturing errors in molding. In
addition, there are minor differences between manufacturers in
their interpretations of the standard length 11 that is defined as
the length between the center of the clean box 6 and the opening
side end of the clean box 6. Those differences includes, for
example, whether the width of the flange portion is to be included
in the reference length or not. Therefore, there are variations in
the size of actually manufactured clean boxes 6, which cause
various problems as follows.
[0011] In the following, the problems will be described with
reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C.
[0012] FIGS. 4A to 4C are schematic drawing showing a portion of
the equipment shown in FIG. 1, in which a portion including the
clean box 6 is illustrated in an enlarged manner. In these
drawings, the exaggeration is made in order to specifically
illustrate the above-mentioned problems.
[0013] For example, FIG. 4A shows a case in which the reference
length 11 of the manufactured clean box 6 is too short. In this
case, when the docking plate 12 is stopped at a prescribed
position, the lid 4 is not in contact with the door 3. In the case
shown in FIG. 4A, there is a problem that a holding means 8 does
not operate normally and the door 3 cannot hold the lid 4
appropriately, since the lid 4 and the door 3 cannot be in contact
with each other.
[0014] FIG. 4B shows a case that is contrary to the case show in
FIG. 4A, namely FIG. 4B shows a case in which the reference length
11 is too long. In this case, the surface of the clean box 6 would
collide with the wall of the semiconductor processing apparatus 10
before the docking plate 12 reaches the prescribed position. The
collision might result in damaging of the clean box 6 or damaging
of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10, or trouble of
the docking plate 12, which is a problem.
[0015] FIG. 4C shows a case in which the lid 4 is too thick. In
this case, the lid 4 abuts the door 3 before the movement of the
docking plate 12 is completed. Since conventional driving devices
for moving the docking plate 12 use a motor, the driving of the
docking plate 12 continue after that. However, if the motor
continues to drive the docking plate 12 in spite that the movement
of the clean box 6 is blocked by the door 3, an excessive load that
can damage the motor is exerted on the motor, which is a
problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the
present invention is to provide a wafer processing apparatus that
can prevent collision of a clean box when the clean box is moved to
a position at which the lid is to be opened/closed, even if there
are variations in the size of the clean boxes.
[0017] According to the present invention, there is provided a
semiconductor wafer processing apparatus configured to receive a
wafer from a clean box including a box body that has an opening
portion at one side thereof and a lid for closing the opening
portion, comprising, a main housing having a window opening at one
side thereof, an openable/closable door for closing the window
opening, a movable member, on which the clean box is to be placed,
provided below the window opening, adapted to be horizontally
movable toward and away from the main housing, and adapted to move,
after the clean box is placed thereon, toward the main housing so
as to bring the clean box to a prescribed position at which a wafer
is taken out from the clean box, and a stopper for stopping, when
the movable member moves toward the main housing, the movable
member at a predetermined position, wherein when the movable member
on which the clean box is placed is moved toward the main housing,
the lid of the clean box is brought into contact with the door
before the movable member is stopped by the stopper, after the lid
is brought into contact with the door, the door is moved together
with the clean box toward the interior of the main housing while
holding the lid, until the movable member is stopped by the
stopper, and the door is further moved, after the movable member is
stopped by the stopper, while holding the lid so as to detach the
lid from the box body to open the clean box.
[0018] Other objects and aspects of the invention will become
apparent from the following description of embodiments with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIOIN OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a semiconductor wafer
processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
[0020] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a portion including a
clean box, of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus show in
FIG. 1.
[0021] FIGS. 3A and 3B are drawings schematically illustrating the
principle of the present invention.
[0022] FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are drawings showing prior arts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] In the following, an embodiment of the invention will be
described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a drawing
showing the overall structure of a semiconductor wafer processing
apparatus 10. The semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10
includes a mini-environment portion 5, in which a robot arm 11 is
provided. The interior of the mini-environment portion 5 is
pressurized to a pressure that is higher than the ambient pressure
(that is generally, the atmospheric pressure) outside the
semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10.
[0024] The mini-environment portion 5 has a window opening 2
through which the robot arm 11 receives wafers 7. In the interior
of the mini-environment portion 5, there is provided a door 3 for
closing the window opening 2. The door 3 is composed of a body
portion 25 for closing the opening and a support portion 26. The
support portion 26 is supported on a driving portion. The driving
portion is adapted to be moved up and down by, for example, an air
cylinder (not shown) and adapted to cause the support portion 26 to
swing about a pivot disposed in the driving portion.
[0025] A clean box 6 is used for transferring wafers 7 from one
semiconductor processing apparatus 10 to another. The wafers 7 are
accommodated in the clean box 6, and the clean box is closed by a
lid 4 in a highly airtight manner. Thus, when the wafers 7 are
accommodated in the clean box 6, the interior of the clean box 6 is
ensured to be in a highly clean condition. The interior of the
clean box 6 may be filled with a gas such as nitrogen of high
purity.
[0026] The semiconductor processing apparatus 10 is provided with a
docking plate 12 on which the clean box is to be placed. FIG. 2 is
an enlarged view of a portion including the clean box 6 of FIG. 1.
The docking plate 12 is mounted on a rail and provided with an air
cylinder 15. The air cylinder 15 can drive the clean box 6 together
with the docking plate 12 toward the mini-environment portion 5
(i.e. in the right direction in FIG. 2) and away from the
mini-environment portion 5 (i.e. in the left direction in FIG. 2).
When the clean box 6 is moved close to the mini-environment portion
5, the vertical position (in the vertical direction of the window
opening 2) and the horizontal position (in the horizontal direction
of the window opening 2) of the clean box 6 are arranged in such a
way that the lid 4 is fitted within the area of the window opening
2 and aligned with it. Thus, when the wafers 7 are to be
transferred from the clean box 6 to the semiconductor wafer
processing apparatus 10, the docking plate 12 is moved toward the
mini-environment portion 5 (this operation will be referred to as
"a docking operation" hereinafter). On the other hand, when
processing of the wafers 7 has been completed and the clean box 6
is to be detached from the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus
10 and transferred to the next semiconductor wafer processing
apparatus, the docking plate 12 is moved away from the
mini-environment portion 5.
[0027] The docking plate 12 is disposed on an access table 19 that
is provided on the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10. The
access table 19 has a bore 24 having a substantially rectangular
shape. The bore 24 is provided in order to prevent the air cylinder
and other parts provided on the docking plate 12 for moving the
docking plate 12 from interfering with the access table 19.
[0028] The docking plate 12, which is a movable part, is provided
with a first stopper 20, while the semiconductor wafer processing
apparatus 10 is provided with a second stopper 21. The first
stopper 20 is provided with an abutting member 22 that is to be in
surface contact with the second stopper 21. The abutting member 22
is attached to a supporting member 23 that is extending from the
bottom surface of the docking plate 12 downward through the bore
24. On the other hand, the second stopper 21 is constituted by an
inner side surface of the access plate 19 that defines the edge of
the bore 24. The abutting member 22 is so provided as to be opposed
to the inner edge of the access plate 19 defining the bore 24, so
that when the docking plate 12 is moved toward the window opening 2
(i.e. in the right direction in FIG. 2), the abutting member 22
would abut that edge defining the bore 24.
[0029] The second stopper 21 may be constructed as a separate
member composed of members similar to the abutting member 22 and
the supporting member 23 of the first stopper instead of as the
edge defining the bore 24. In that case, the effects same as the
structure of this embodiment can be realized by arranging the first
stopper 20 and the second stopper 21 in such a way that the
abutting surfaces of them are adjusted to be in the same height and
opposed to each other to allow abutment.
[0030] Next, a description will be made of operations of the
above-described structure with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIGS.
3A and 3B are drawings schematically showing the movement of the
docking plate 12 on the occasion of the docking operation. In FIGS.
3A and 3B, each constituent part is also illustrated in a schematic
manner.
[0031] When the transferring of wafers 7 is not performed, the
window opening 2 is closed by the door 3 provided in the interior
of the mini-environment portion 5. The clean box 6 is closed by the
lid 4 in a sealed state.
[0032] After the preceding process has been completed, the clean
box 6 is fixed to a predetermined position on the docking plate 12.
After the clean box 6 is fixed to the docking plate 12, the docking
operation of the docking plate 12 is started (not shown) After the
docking operation has been started and the docking plate 12 has
been moved in a prescribed manner, the lid 4 of the clean box 6
abuts the door 3, as shown in FIG. 3A. In this state, the first
stopper 20 and the second stopper 21 are not in contact with each
other. At this stage, the docking plate 12 cannot move forward,
since a part of the clean box 6, that is, the lid 4 is blocked by
the door 3. Then, the lid 4 is held by the door 3 with a holding
mechanism 8. Under this state, the docking plate 12 is biased or
pressed toward the window opening 2 by the air cylinder 15.
[0033] After the abutment of the lid 4 and the door 3 is confirmed,
the support portion 26 of the door 3 is swung about a pivot
disposed in the driving portion, and the door 3 is moved away from
the wall of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10 toward
the inner side of the apparatus (i.e. into the interior of the
mini-environment portion 5). Then the clean box 6 starts to move
together with the docking plate 12, so that the docking operation
is restarted. During this process, the lid 4 is not detached from
the clean box 6, though the door swings with the support portion
26, since the clean box 6 itself moves in tandem with the door
3.
[0034] With further swinging of the door 3 and docking operation,
the first stopper 20 and the second stopper 21 are eventually in
contact with each other, and the docking plate 12 is stopped. Since
the docking plate 12 cannot move anymore, the clean box 6 cannot
move anymore too. Therefore, when the door 3 continues swinging
further, the lid 4 is moved with the door 3 that holds the lid 4
and detached from the clean box 6 as shown in FIG. 3B, since the
clean box 6 is fixed.
[0035] After completion of the detachment of the lid 4 from the
clean box 6, the door 3 is moved downward while holding the lid 4.
Thus, the interior of the mini-environment portion 5 and the
interior of the clean box 6 are made accessible from each other
through the window opening 2. Under this state, a wafer 7
accommodated in the clean box 6 is transferred to the interior of
the mini-environment portion 5 through the window opening 2.
[0036] On the other hand, when the window opening 2 is to be closed
by the door for allowing processing of the wafer 7, the door 3 is
moved following the process reverse to the above-described process,
that is, the door 3 is moved upward, and the support portion 26 is
swung about the pivot disposed in the driving portion, so that the
window opening 2 is closed by the body portion 25 and the lid 4 is
housed in the body housing of the clean box 6 to close it in a
sealing manner.
[0037] In the case of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus
having a dust proof function as disclosed in Japanese Patent
Application No. 2000-262472, clearance 16 of about 2 mm should be
formed between the clean box 6 and the semiconductor wafer
processing apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 3A. On the other hand,
tolerance in the size of the clean box 6 is about .+-.0.5 mm to 1
mm. Therefore, it is required that the clean box 6 be stopped
accurately with the clearance of 2 mm being secured while the
tolerance in the size is taken into account. This can be attained
by arranging the positions of the first stopper 20 and the second
stopper 21 in advance in such a way that when the first stopper 20
and the second stopper 21 are in contact with each other, clearance
of at least 2 mm is formed between the clean box 6 and the
semiconductor wafer processing apparatus 10. With such arrangement,
even if there are variations in the size of clean boxes 6 as
described before, the clean box can be stopped at a prescribed
position. Therefore, the clean box will not collide with the
semiconductor wafer processing apparatus while ensuring the
relationship of a distance sufficient for opening/closing of the
lid 4.
[0038] The present invention realizes the following advantageous
effects.
[0039] (1) If there are variations in the size of clean boxes or
the thickness of lids due to manufacturing tolerance etc., the
clean box can be prevented from colliding with the semiconductor
wafer processing apparatus, and it is possible to ensure the
relationship of a distance sufficient for opening/closing of the
lid 4.
[0040] (2) It is possible to adjust the position at which the clean
box should be stopped only by adjusting the contact positions of
the first and second stoppers.
[0041] It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein
shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the
same and that various changes inn-the shape, size and arrangement
of parts may be resorted without departing from the spirit of my
invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.
* * * * *