Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer

Abstract

To provide a Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer that can prevent a wafer from coming into contact with a chuck support and prevent cracks from occurring in the wafer.SOLUTION: A Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer includes a transparent or semi-transparent stage guide 11 that has a ring-shaped center, a Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21 that is attached to the upper surface of the stage guide 11 and that suction-holds a wafer on the underside of the stage guide 11 without contact, wafer guide lines 11a that are provided on the stage guide 11 and that are used by an operator to visually position the center of the wafer when the Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21 holds the wafer on the underside of the stage guide 11, and chuck supports 12 to 15 that are arranged on the outer periphery of the stage guide 11 and that support the stage guide 11 when it is placed on a surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer. [Background technology]

[0002] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a conventional Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport, viewed from the wafer chucking surface side.

[0003] In the Bernoulli chuck used for wafer transport, as shown in Figure 3, the chuck support portions 112-115 on the outer periphery of the stage guide 111 are located inside the outer periphery of the stage guide 111, so when the wafer is transported, the wafer may come into contact with the chuck support portions 112-115, causing stress to the wafer. As a result, the wafer may crack. The chuck supports 112-115 located inside the stage guide 111 are intended to support the stage guide 111 when it is placed on a surface, and also to prevent the wafer from jumping out.

[0004] 3, guide pins 131 to 136 are arranged on the stage guide 111, and the guide pins 131 to 136 guide the wafer held by a Bernoulli chuck on the underside of the stage guide 111. A related technology is described in Patent Document 1.

[0005] Normally, according to Bernoulli's principle, the wafer should be able to be sucked and held (floated) in a non-contact state, but if the wafer position shifts from the center, the floating state becomes unstable and the wafer comes into contact with the stoppers of the chuck support parts 112 to 115.

[0006] Broken wafers are discarded because they affect the quality of the product, which leads to increased defect costs.

[0007] Therefore, it is required to prevent the wafer from coming into contact with the stoppers of the chuck support portions 112 to 115 and to prevent cracks from occurring in the wafer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-340522 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Various aspects of the present invention aim to provide a Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport that can prevent the wafer from coming into contact with the chuck support and prevent cracks from occurring in the wafer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] Various aspects of the present invention are described below.

[0011] [1] A transparent or semi-transparent ring-shaped stage guide in the center; a Bernoulli chuck mechanism attached to the upper surface side of the stage guide and adapted to suction-hold the wafer to the lower surface side of the stage guide in a non-contact manner; a guideline for the wafer provided on the stage guide, the guideline for the wafer being used by an operator to visually position the center of the wafer when the Bernoulli chuck mechanism holds the wafer on the lower surface side of the stage guide; a chuck support disposed on the outer periphery of the stage guide and supporting the stage guide when the stage guide is placed on a surface; A Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer, comprising:

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport described above in [1] has wafer guide lines provided on the stage guide that an operator uses to visually center the wafer when the Bernoulli chuck mechanism holds the wafer on the underside of the stage guide, and a chuck support is disposed on the outer periphery of the stage guide. Therefore, when the operator holds the wafer in the Bernoulli chuck, the wafer guide lines help center the wafer, making it less likely to shift. Furthermore, by disposing the chuck support on the outer periphery of the stage guide, the wafer is prevented from coming into contact with the chuck support. As a result, the wafer can be transported without stressing it. This makes it possible to suppress wafer cracking. As an additional effect, the wafer can be prevented from coming into contact with the chuck support during wafer transport, thereby eliminating the risk of unintentional transfer of contamination to the wafer.

[0013] [2] In [1] above, The Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport is characterized in that the chuck support has an L-shaped cross section and is arranged to cover the outer periphery of the stage guide.

[0014] According to the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport described above in [2] according to one aspect of the present invention, the chuck support is arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the stage guide, which makes it easy to arrange the chuck support and reduces the manufacturing cost of the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport.

[0015] [3] In [1] or [2] above, The Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer is characterized in that the chuck supports are arranged in a number of three to five.

[0016] According to the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport described above in [3] according to one aspect of the present invention, three to five chuck supports are arranged. This allows the stage guide to be reliably supported by the chuck supports when the stage guide is placed on a surface, and by not having too many chuck supports, increases in manufacturing costs can be suppressed.

[0017] [4] In [1] or [2] above, a stage guide provided on a lower surface of the stage guide and having a plurality of guide pins positioned outside the guide lines;

[0018] According to the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport described above in [4], one aspect of the present invention has a plurality of guide pins provided on the underside of the stage guide and positioned outside the guide lines. These guide pins serve as guides when transporting the wafer. In other words, when the Bernoulli chuck mechanism holds the wafer on the underside of the stage guide and transports it, guiding the wafer by the plurality of guide pins can prevent it from slipping outside the guide lines. As a result, the wafer can be prevented from contacting the chuck support.

[0019] [5] In [1] or [2] above, 10. A Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer, wherein the stage guide and the chuck support are made of conductive materials.

[0020] According to the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport described above in [5], which is one aspect of the present invention, the stage guide and the chuck support are made of conductive materials, so that when a statically charged wafer is attracted to the Bernoulli chuck, the charged static electricity can be released to the stage guide. [Effects of the Invention]

[0021] According to various aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport that can prevent the wafer from coming into contact with the chuck support and prevent cracks from occurring in the wafer. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a top view of a Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view of a Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a conventional Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport, viewed from the wafer chucking surface side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following description, and it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the description of the embodiments shown below.

[0024] 1 and 2 are top and perspective views of a Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] 1 and 2, the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport has a transparent or semi-transparent ring-shaped stage guide 11, and a Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21 is attached to the upper surface of this stage guide 11. The Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21 is a mechanism that suction-holds a wafer on the lower surface of the stage guide 11 without contact. Although not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stage guide 11 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 also has an opening 11b in its center as shown in FIG. 3, and the wafer is suction-held by the Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21 through this opening 11b.

[0026] 1, a wafer guide line 11a is provided on the stage guide 11. This guide line 11a is used by an operator to visually position the center of the wafer when the wafer is held on the underside of the stage guide 11 by the Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21.

[0027] Four chuck supports 12 to 15 are arranged on the outer periphery of the stage guide 11, and the chuck supports 12 to 15 support the stage guide 11 when the stage guide 11 is placed on a surface.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, the chuck supports 12 to 15 have an L-shaped cross section and are arranged to cover the outer periphery of the stage guide 11.

[0029] In this embodiment, four chuck supports 12 to 15 are arranged on the outer periphery of the stage guide 11, but this is not limited to this, and it is also possible to arrange three or five chuck supports 12 to 15 on the outer periphery of the stage guide 11.

[0030] A plurality of guide pins 31 to 34 are provided on the underside of the stage guide 11, and are positioned outside the guide line 11a. In this embodiment, four guide pins 31 to 34 are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and three or five or more guide pins may be provided. The guide pins 31 to 34 are pins that guide the wafer when the wafer is sucked and held on the underside of the stage guide 11 without contact. Therefore, the guide pins 31 to 34 are arranged outside the guide line 11a.

[0031] It is preferable that the stage guide 11 and the chuck supports 12 to 15 are made of conductive materials, so that when a statically charged wafer is attracted by the Bernoulli chuck, the static electricity can be released to the stage guide 11.

[0032] According to this embodiment, the stage guide 11 is provided with wafer guide lines 11a that the operator uses to visually center the wafer when the Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21 holds the wafer on the underside of the stage guide 11, and chuck supports 12-15 are arranged on the outer periphery of the stage guide 11. Therefore, when the operator holds the wafer in the Bernoulli chuck, the wafer guide lines 11a help to center the wafer, making it less likely for the wafer to shift. Furthermore, by arranging the chuck supports 12-15 on the outer periphery of the stage guide 11, the wafer can be prevented from coming into contact with the chuck supports 12-15. As a result, the wafer can be transported without applying stress to it. This makes it possible to suppress cracking of the wafer.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wafer can be prevented from coming into contact with the chuck supports 12 to 15 during wafer transport, thereby eliminating the risk of unintentional transfer of contamination to the wafer.

[0034] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the chuck supports 12 to 15 are arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the stage guide 11, which makes it easy to arrange the chuck supports and reduces the manufacturing costs of the Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport.

[0035] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, three to five chuck supports 12 to 15 are provided. This makes it possible for the chuck supports 12 to 15 to reliably support the stage guide 11 when the stage guide 11 is placed on a surface, and by not providing too many chuck supports, increases in manufacturing costs can be suppressed.

[0036] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the stage guide 11 has a plurality of guide pins 31 to 34 provided on the underside thereof and positioned outside the guide line 11a. These guide pins 31 to 34 serve as guides when transporting the wafer. In other words, when the Bernoulli chuck mechanism 21 holds the wafer on the underside of the stage guide 11 and transports it, the wafer is guided by the plurality of guide pins 31 to 34, thereby preventing it from slipping outside the guide line 11a. As a result, the wafer can be prevented from coming into contact with the chuck supports 12 to 15. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 11 Stage Guide 11a Guidelines 12~15 Chuck support 21 Bernoulli chuck mechanism 31~34 Guide pins

Claims

1. a transparent or semi-transparent ring-shaped stage guide; a Bernoulli chuck mechanism attached to the upper surface side of the stage guide and adapted to suction-hold the wafer to the lower surface side of the stage guide in a non-contact manner; a guideline for the wafer provided on the stage guide, the guideline for the wafer being used by an operator to visually position the center of the wafer when the Bernoulli chuck mechanism holds the wafer on the lower surface side of the stage guide; a chuck support disposed on the outer periphery of the stage guide and supporting the stage guide when the stage guide is placed on a surface; A Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer, comprising:

2. In claim 1, The Bernoulli chuck for wafer transport is characterized in that the chuck support has an L-shaped cross section and is arranged so as to cover the outer periphery of the stage guide.

3. In claim 1 or 2, The Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer is characterized in that the number of the chuck supports is three to five.

4. In claim 1 or 2, a stage guide provided on a lower surface of the stage guide and having a plurality of guide pins positioned outside the guide lines;

5. In claim 1 or 2, 10. A Bernoulli chuck for wafer transfer, wherein the stage guide and the chuck support are made of conductive materials.

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