Blade of wafer transfer robot, semiconductor manufacturing equipment having a transfer robot comprising the same, and method of aligning a wafer with a process chamber

• US 20050207875A1
• Filed: 03/10/2005
• Published: 09/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Jong-Jun
• Application Number:
  US11/075,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20050207875A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 414/217
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67745 characterized by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68 for positioning, orientation or alignment

Abstract

A transfer robot of semiconductor manufacturing equipment has the ability to sense the relative position of a wafer transferred by the robot so that the wafer can be aligned for processing. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes at least one load lock chamber, a transfer chamber in which the transfer robot is disposed, and at least one process chamber, e.g., an etching chamber and a stripping chamber. The transfer robot transfers wafers from a load lock chamber directly to the etching chamber through the transfer chamber, from the etching chamber to the stripping chamber, and from the stripping chamber to a load lock chamber. The blade of the transfer robot has an array of contact sensors by which the relative position of the wafer can be sensed such that a separate orienting device is not necessary. Hence, the etching process can be carried out in a relatively short time.

Claims

1. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment comprising:

a load lock chamber;

a transfer chamber to which the load lock chamber is connected;

a process chamber connected to the transfer chamber and in which a wafer is processed; and

a transfer robot disposed in said transfer chamber and having a working envelope encompassing the load lock and process chambers such that the transfer robot transfers wafers between the load lock and process chambers, said transfer robot comprising a blade having a plate on which a wafer is supported during its transfer by the robot, and position sensing means for sensing the relative position of a wafer on the plate of the blade.

2. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment of claim 1, wherein said position sensing means comprises an array of contact sensors spaced from one another by uniform intervals across the plate of the blade of the transfer robot.

3. A blade of a wafer transfer robot, comprising:

a plate configured to support a wafer; and

an array of contact sensors spaced from one another by uniform intervals across a surface of the plate, each of the contact sensors being actuated when a portion of wafer rests on the plate at the location of the sensor such that the relative position of a wafer supported on the plate can be sensed.

4. A method for use in the fabricating of a semiconductor device, comprising:

loading a wafer onto a shelf in a load lock chamber;

evacuating the load lock chamber;

subsequently lifting the wafer from the shelf of load lock chamber with a blade of a transfer robot disposed in a transfer chamber, the blade including a plate on which the wafer is supported;

while the wafer is supported on the plate of the blade, sensing the relative position of the wafer, and generating coordinate data indicative of the relative position;

controlling the transfer robot, based on the coordinate data, to transfer the wafer supported by the blade from the load lock chamber directly through the transfer chamber to a process chamber; and

subsequently processing the wafer in the process chamber.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the process chamber is an etching chamber, and said processing comprises etching the wafer in the etching chamber.