Vacuum processing apparatus

• US 6,446,353 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2001
• Issued: 09/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Itou, Atsushi, Tsubone, Tsunehiko, Kato, Shigekazu, Nishihata, Kouji
• Primary Examiner(s): Lazarus, Ira S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): O Malley, Kathryn S.
• Application Number:
  US09/781,270
• Publication Number:
  US 20010009074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 34/60, 34/92, 342/18, 342/28, 342/29, 342/32, 342/36, 414/217, 414/222.13, 414/785, 414/937, 414/939, 414/940
• US Class Current: 34/92
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 3/006 Processes utilising sub-atmospheric pressure; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/36 Print density control
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/365 by compensation for variation in temperature
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/564 Means for minimising impurities in the coating chamber such as dust, moisture, residual gases
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67028 for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67167 surrounding a central transfer chamber
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67736 Loading to or unloading from a conveyor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67748 horizontal transfer of a single workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 134/902 Semiconductor wafer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/137 including means for charging or discharging wafer cassette
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/139 including wafer charging or discharging means for vacuum chamber
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 414/14 Wafer cassette transporting

Abstract

A vacuum processing apparatus which includes a cassette mount table for holding a cassette, a conveying structure for transferring a wafer from the held on the cassette mount table, a robot, and a vacuum loader. The vacuum loader is provided with a vacuum conveyor chamber and a conveying structure which further include an additional robot.

Claims

1. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a cassette mount table for holding a cassette;

a first conveyor structure for transferring a wafer from the cassette held on the cassette mount table;

a vacuum loader provided with a vacuum conveyor chamber and a second conveyor structure in the vacuum conveyor chamber; and

a lock chamber disposed between the first conveyor structure and the second conveyor structure,

wherein;

the first conveyor structure is disposed between the cassette mount table and the lock chamber and in front of the lock chamber, the first conveyor structure and the second conveyor structure are respectively provided with a first robot and a second robot, and the first robot is shiftable in a direction perpendicular to an inlet of the lock chamber,

the lock chamber is provided with both the inlet and an outlet, which are located in a horizontal line, and the second robot is disposed in the vacuum conveyor chamber of the vacuum loader and provided with an arm extendable into the lock chamber, and

the vacuum loader is provided with a gate for a vacuum processing chamber to be connected with the vacuum conveyor chamber.

2. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first conveyor structure is provided with a transfer structure on which the first robot is installed.

3. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first robot is movable in up and down directions.

4. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second robots has an arm which moves in horizontal and rotational directions.

5. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first robot and the second robot transfer respectively the wafer one by one.

6. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a computer control system for controlling movement of the first and second robots.

7. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first robot is exposed to the air, and the second robot is disposed in a vacuum condition.

8. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first conveyor structure is provided with a track.

9. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the first conveyor structure is provided with a transfer structure,

the lock chamber is provided with a gate valve at the inlet, and

the first robot is installed on the transfer structure and travels along a front surface of the gate valve.

10. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a set of two cassettes is disposed on the cassette mount table.

11. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a cassette mount table for holding a cassette;

a first conveyor structure for horizontally transferring a wafer from the cassette held on the cassette mount table;

a vacuum loader provided with a vacuum conveyor chamber and a second conveyor structure in the vacuum conveyor chamber; and

at least two lock chambers disposed between the first conveyor structure and the second conveyor structure,

wherein the first conveyor structure and the second conveyor structure are respectively provided with a first robot and a second robot,

the vacuum conveyor chamber is provided with gates to be respectively connected to at least five chambers which comprise at least three vacuum processing chambers and the at least two lock chambers provided with at least two wafer transfer chambers,

each lock chamber is provided with both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal line, and

the second robot is disposed in the vacuum conveyor chamber of the vacuum loader and provided with an arm extendable into the lock chamber.

12. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first robot transfers the wafer from the cassette to any of the at least two lock chambers, and the second robot transfers the wafer from any of the at least two lock chambers through the vacuum conveyor chamber to any of the at least three vacuum processing chambers.

13. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the second robot transfers a processed wafer from any of the at least three vacuum processing chambers through the vacuum conveyor chamber to any of the lock chambers, and the first robot transfers the processed wafer from any of the lock chambers to the cassette.

14. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first robot travels on a track and is movable in horizontal and rotational directions.

15. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first robot and the second robot maintain a plane of a surface of the wafer substantially horizontal during transferring the wafer, so that the plane of the surface of the wafer is kept in a horizontal state during the steps from the cassette to the vacuum processing chamber.

16. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the lock chamber comprises a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber which are separate chambers.

17. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the first conveyor structure is provided with a sole transfer structure including a track, and the first robot is a sole robot which travels on the track to transfer the wafer between the cassette and the first conveyor structure.

18. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least two lock chambers are provided with a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber, and the first robot transfers the wafer between the cassette and the load lock chamber, and transfers a processed wafer between the unload lock chamber and the cassette.

19. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 18, which further comprises a control device which controls movement of the first and second robots, and the first robot returns a processed wafer to a same position of the cassette from which a wafer had been taken out for a process treatment.

20. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein during at least a part of the period the first robot is transferring a wafer from the cassette to the first conveyor structure, the second robot is transferring a wafer from the lock chamber to the vacuum conveyor chamber.

21. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the lock chamber includes a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber which are separate chambers, and the second robot is a sole robot which accesses to both the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber.

22. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the second robot is a sole robot accessing to the at least three vacuum processing chambers to be connected with the vacuum conveyor chamber and the lock chambers.

23. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a cassette mount table for holding a set of two cassettes adjacent to each other;

a first conveyor structure for transferring a wafer held in the cassette on the cassette mount table;

a vacuum loader provided with a vacuum conveyor chamber and a second conveyor structure in the vacuum conveyor chamber; and

a lock chamber disposed between the first conveyor structure and the second conveyor structure,

wherein;

the first conveyor structure forms a sole transfer structure on which a track is installed, positioned along an inlet of the lock chamber,

the first conveyor structure is provided with a first robot which travels on the track,

the first robot is adapted to transfer a wafer from the cassette to the lock chamber,

the first conveyor structure is disposed between the set of two cassettes and a set of chambers forming the lock chamber, which comprises a chamber to take in and to take out a wafer one by one, and another chamber to take in and to take out a processed wafer, and

an inlet and an outlet of the lock chamber are in a horizontal line.

24. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the first robot is movable in horizontal and rotational directions.

25. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the first robot is movable in up and down directions.

26. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the sole transfer structure is formed in a rectangular shape.

27. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the sole transfer structure is exposed to the air.

28. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the cassette mount table is exposed to the air and the first robot transfers the wafer from the cassettes to said lock chamber.

29. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the sole transfer structure is disposed in parallel to both the cassette mount table and the lock chamber.

30. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the cassette mount table, the first conveyor structure and the lock chamber are arranged in a horizontal tandem.

31. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the lock chamber is formed of a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber, and wherein the first robot travels to transfer the wafer from the cassette to the load lock chamber and a processed wafer from the unload lock chamber to the cassette.

32. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the track is a set of rails.

33. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the lock chamber is formed of a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber which are respectively provided with gate valves, and the first robot communicates with the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber through the respective gate valves.

34. A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

a cassette mount table for holding a cassette;

a first conveyor structure for horizontally transferring a wafer from the cassette held on the cassette mount table, and having a first robot;

a vacuum loader provided with a vacuum conveyor chamber and a second conveyor structure in the vacuum conveyor chamber, the second conveyor structure including a second robot; and

a plurality of lock chambers connected to the vacuum loader,

wherein;

the first robot is shiftable in a direction perpendicular to an inlet of any of the plurality of lock chambers,

the second robot is a sole robot installed in the vacuum conveyor chamber and has an arm accessing any of the plurality of lock chambers, and

the vacuum conveyor chamber is provided with at least five gates connected with the plurality of lock chambers and three vacuum processing chambers.

35. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the second robot is a sole robot disposed in the vacuum conveyor chamber.

36. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the first robot has an arm accessing any of the plurality of lock chambers and the cassette.

37. A vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the first conveyor structure is provided with a transfer structure on which the first robot is installed.