Coating apparatus – Gas or vapor deposition – Work support
Utility Patent
1999-02-16
2001-01-02
Bueker, Richard (Department: 1763)
Coating apparatus
Gas or vapor deposition
Work support
C118S729000, C118S719000
Utility Patent
active
06168669
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate holding apparatus, for example, a pair of tweezers or the like for holding a substrate and a substrate process system.
In the photoresist process in semiconductor device fabrication, resist solution is supplied to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (referred to as a wafer hereinafter) or the like to form a resist film. After the resist film is exposed to a predetermined pattern, developing solution is supplied to the wafer to develop. A coating and developing apparatus is conventionally used to perform the sequence of treatments as above.
The coating and developing apparatus includes process units which individually perform a sequence of treatments needed for coating and developing the wafer, for example, hydrophobic process (adhesion process) for improving fixing of resist, resist coating process for coating resist solution, heat treatment for curing the resist film by heating the resist solution coated wafer, heat treatment for heating the exposed wafer at a predetermined temperature, developing process for performing development to the exposed wafer, and the like.
A transfer apparatus is used to transfer the wafer between the process units, and the transfer apparatus is provided with a pair of tweezers to transfer the wafer between the process units. A pair of tweezers has a frame section having a configuration surrounding a half or more of a periphery of the wafer. Three supporting members are provided on the inner periphery of the frame section. Each supporting member has a rear face supporting section horizontally supporting the wafer and an inclined guide with an inclination of, for example, 45 degrees. Each supporting member is attached by inserting a bolt into a hole for bolt.
Incidentally, there is the possibility that the wafer received by the tweezers is not horizontally supported to the rear face supporting section, owing to slippage of the position of the substrate in the process units or the position where the tweezers stops when the tweezers receives the wafer. Therefore, the tweezers are conventionally provided with the inclined guide for allowing the wafer to slide down to the rear face supporting section. Consequently, even when the tweezers stop getting out of a predetermined stop position and the wafer W is received at an irregular position, the wafer W slides down with a rim portion thereof touching the inclined guide to a regular position and is horizontally supported by the rear face supporting section.
Friction is occasionally generated between the rim portion of the wafer and the inclined guide so that the wafer W does not slide down to the predetermined rear face supporting section. When the tweezers moves in the state as above, there is the possibility that the wafer W falls from the tweezers and slips along the inclined guide off the tweezers. Accordingly, the moving speed of the tweezers is limited for preventing the wafer W from falling, thereby it is difficult to improve throughput in the prior art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate holding apparatus and a substrate process system capable of preventing the substrate from falling at the time of moving, even when the wafer W is received in an irregular position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a holding apparatus and a process system for a substrate which does not give a limit to a moving speed of a pair of tweezers for giving and receiving the substrate such as a wafer or the like and can improve throughput.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding apparatus which comprises a frame section formed surrounding a half or more of a periphery of the substrate, an arm section supporting the frame section, and a plurality of supporting members which are provided on the inner periphery of the frame section, each of the supporting members having an inclined guide allowing a rim portion of the substrate to slide down to be guided to a predetermined position, a rear face supporting section supporting a rear face of the guided substrate, and a vertical wall formed continuing from the inclined guide and being nearly perpendicular to the supported face of the substrate at an upper end of the inclined guide.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate supporting apparatus which comprises a frame section formed surrounding a half or more of a periphery of the substrate, an arm section supporting the frame section, and a plurality of supporting members which are provided on the inner periphery of the frame section, each of the supporting members having an inclined guide allowing a rim portion of the substrate to slide down to be guided to a predetermined position, a rear face supporting section supporting a rear face of the guided substrate, and an inclined wall formed continuing from the inclined guide and being further inclined from a perpendicular direction toward the inclined guide side at an upper end of the inclined guide.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding apparatus which comprises a plurality of process units performing a predetermined process respectively to the substrate and a transfer unit having a pair of tweezers which are movable forward and backward to each process unit for receiving and transferring the substrate between the process units, in which the tweezers include a frame section formed surrounding a half or more of a periphery of the substrate, an arm section supporting the frame section, and a plurality of supporting members provided on the inner periphery of the frame section, each of the supporting members having an inclined guide to allow a rim portion of the substrate to slide down to be guided to a predetermined position, a rear face supporting section for supporting a rear face of the guided substrate, and a vertical wall formed continuing from the inclined guide and being nearly perpendicular to a supported face of the substrate at an upper end of the inclined guide.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding apparatus which comprises a plurality of process units for performing a predetermined process respectively to the substrate, and a transfer unit having a pair of tweezers which are movable forward and backward to each process unit for receiving and transferring the substrate between the process units, in which the tweezers include a frame section formed surrounding a half or more of a periphery of the substrate, an arm section supporting the frame section, and a plurality of supporting members provided on the inner periphery of the frame section having an inclined guide to allow a rim portion of the substrate to slide down to be guided to a predetermined position, a rear face supporting section for supporting a rear face of the guided substrate, and an inclined wall formed continuing from the inclined guide and being further inclined from a perpendicular direction toward the inclined guide side at an upper end of the inclined guide.
In the present invention, even when the substrate holding apparatus is moved in the state where a rim portion of the substrate is caught at the inclined guide, the rim portion touches or hits against the vertical wall provided at an upper end of the inclined guide, therefore the vertical wall fulfills the function as a stopper. Accordingly, the substrate can be prevented from falling from the holding apparatus for a substrate.
In the present invention, an inclined wall which is further inclined toward the inclined guide side than the vertical wall may be formed instead of the vertical wall.
In this case, the rim portion of the substrate touches or hits the inclined wall more easily than that in the case where the vertical wall is used. Accordingly, the function as a stopper of the inclined wall improves further than that in the case where the vertical wall is used, thereby further securely
Iida Naruaki
Yasuda Kenji
Bueker Richard
Hassanzadeh P.
Rader Fishman & Grauer
Tokyo Electron Limited
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