Open cassette adapter, load port, and mapping method

Abstract

This open cassette adapter enables proper mapping even when handling an increasing variety of wafers smaller than 200mm, or when wafers have orientation flats. [Solution] In constructing an open cassette adapter 6 used when placing open cassettes 51-53, which contain wafers W1-W3 to be processed in multiple stages, onto the mounting table 11 of the load port 1 of the transport chamber 2, the adapter comprises a base plate 61a, which is the adapter body for placing the open cassettes 51-53 onto the mounting table 11, and a mapping mechanism 7 that maps the wafers W(W1-W3) contained in the open cassettes 51(-53) using an optical axis n. The mapping mechanism 7 is provided on the base plate 61a, and the optical axis n of the mapping mechanism 7 is configured in the direction of loading and unloading (front-to-back direction) of the wafers W1(-W3) contained in the open cassettes 51(-53) into and out of the transport chamber 2, and the wafers W1(-W3) are mapped by raising and lowering the optical axis n.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an open cassette adapter, a load port, and a mapping method that are used when setting an open cassette accommodating a workpiece such as a wafer on a load port.

Background Art

[0002] Containers for storing workpieces such as wafers include a sealed container having an openable and closable lid called a FOUP (Front-Opening Unified Pod), and an open container called an open cassette. A plurality of stages of shelf plates are provided inside these containers, and a plurality of workpieces such as wafers are accommodated in the container in a horizontal posture with a constant interval in the vertical direction. Here, a load port generally has a function called a mapping function. The mapping function is a function of detecting the presence or absence of each of a plurality of workpieces such as wafers accommodated in a container at each stage, and the accommodation state such as inclination.

[0003] As a technique related to the above-described mapping function, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known. The related art is configured as follows. A vertically movable mapping device including a mapping sensor is provided on the back side (inside the transfer chamber) of the load port, and the mapping device is moved up and down together with a door (door of the load port) that partitions the transfer space from the outside. The mapping device includes a swing frame, and the mapping sensor is inserted into the container by swinging the swing frame toward the container such as the open cassette or the FOUP.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] FOUPs are typically used to accommodate 300mm wafers, while open cassettes are used to accommodate 200mm wafers. Figure 4 of Patent Document 1 shows these two types of containers. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 5, 6, and 11 of Patent Document 1, the mapping mechanism includes a sensor added to the mapping arm, allowing two different sizes of wafers to be detected by a single mapping arm.

[0006] However, when attempting to apply this to open cassettes containing wafers smaller than 200 mm, it becomes necessary to increase the number of sensors and optical axes as shown in Figure 6 of Patent Document 1 above in order to map wafers of multiple sizes. This presents structural limitations, such as creating conditions under which the mapping arm does not interfere with the housings of multiple types of open cassettes.

[0007] In particular, many wafers smaller than 200 mm have an orientation flat. An orientation flat is a straight edge created by cutting along the chord of the wafer's disk to indicate its orientation (as shown in Figure 6 of Patent Document 1 above, it is a crescent-shaped cutout parallel to the optical axis).

[0008] When such an orientation flat is located on the mapping arm side, the mapping arm needs to penetrate deeper into the open cassette in order to apply the optical axis to the wafer. Therefore, the open cassette needs to be manufactured with more precise dimensional relationships, and the design of the mapping arm and open cassette becomes difficult from this point of view as well.

[0009] This invention has been made in view of these problems, and aims to realize an open cassette adapter, a load port, and a mapping method that enable appropriate mapping even when the variety of wafers smaller than 200 mm is increased, or when the wafers have orientation flats. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] To achieve this objective, the present invention employs the following means.

[0011] In other words, the open cassette adapter of the present invention is An open cassette adapter used when placing an open cassette containing a multi-tiered stack of items to be processed onto a loading platform in a transport chamber, An adapter body for placing the open cassette on the aforementioned stand, The system includes a mapping mechanism that maps the object to be processed, which is housed in the open cassette, using an optical axis. The mapping mechanism is provided in the adapter body. The optical axis of the mapping mechanism is configured in the direction of transporting the workpiece contained in the open cassette into and out of the transport chamber. The object to be processed is mapped by raising and lowering the optical axis. It is characterized by the following:

[0012] In this way, a common mapping optical axis can be used regardless of the size of the object being processed. Therefore, even if the open cassette contains objects that are too large to be mapped by the mapping arm structure attached to the load port or transport chamber, and even if the variety of objects being processed increases, the same mapping mechanism can be used to map them appropriately. Moreover, by using this optical axis, the mapping mechanism can handle objects regardless of the orientation of the orientation flat.

[0013] The mapping mechanism is configured such that the mapping arm constituting the optical axis is driven by a lifting drive unit, The adapter body is provided with a lifting drive unit, In a plan view, it is preferable that the mapping arm is positioned so as to pass through the gap between the open cassette and the lifting drive unit.

[0014] In this way, the mapping mechanism can be integrated with the open cassette adapter, and the open cassette can be positioned without interfering with the mapping arm in a plan view.

[0015] It is preferable that the adapter body is fitted with a cassette holder via a tilt axis, and that when an open cassette is temporarily placed on the cassette holder and then rotated to set it in a predetermined position, the optical axis passes through the open cassette.

[0016] This method allows for easy and proper insertion and removal of open cassettes from the cassette storage space of the open cassette adapter, and also enables proper mapping.

[0017] Furthermore, the load port according to the present invention is configured such that the open cassette adapter can be attached to and detached from the mounting base of the load port on which the FOUP is installed, and the control device is configured to drive and control the main mapping mechanism provided in the transport chamber or the load port to perform mapping when the FOUP is placed on the aforementioned mounting base, and to drive and control the mapping mechanism attached to the open cassette adapter to perform mapping in a manner that does not interfere with the main mapping mechanism when the open cassette adapter is installed on the aforementioned mounting base.

[0018] In this way, for example, when the material to be processed is a wafer, it becomes possible to appropriately map both 300mm or larger wafers handled by FOUP and 200mm or smaller wafers handled by open cassettes using a control device on the load port.

[0019] The mapping method of the present invention is a mapping method using the above-mentioned open cassette adapter, characterized in that when a plurality of types of open cassettes accommodating workpieces of different sizes are set on the open cassette adapter, mapping is performed through the same movement of the optical axis, regardless of which open cassette is used and regardless of the position of the edge of the workpiece in the loading / unloading direction.

[0020] With this configuration, uniform mapping can be performed without being affected by the type of cassette or the arrangement position of the workpiece. [Advantageous Effects of the Invention]

[0021] According to the present invention described above, it is possible to provide an open cassette adapter that enables appropriate mapping even when the number of types of wafers of 200 mm or less to be handled increases, or even when the wafers are provided with an orientation flat. [Brief Description of the Drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] A schematic plan view of the entire apparatus used for semiconductor manufacturing, including a load port according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] An oblique front perspective view of the load port shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] An oblique front perspective view of the load port in a state where an open cassette is placed in place of the FOUP of Figure 2. [Figure 4] An oblique rear perspective view of the load port corresponding to Figure 3. [Figure 5] A schematic diagram of an open cassette. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram relating to open cassettes of different sizes. [Figure 7] An oblique rear perspective view showing an open cassette adapter according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] A front view showing a state in which open cassettes of different sizes are set using the same open cassette adapter. [Figure 9] A side view corresponding to Figure 8. [Figure 10] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the portion along line xx in Figure 8. [Figure 11] An enlarged perspective view showing the mapping mechanism used in Figure 7. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0024] The apparatus shown in Figure 1 is used for semiconductor manufacturing and consists of a plurality of load ports 1 (three in this embodiment), a transport chamber 2, and a processing apparatus 3. The load port 1 is an apparatus on which a container for containing a workpiece (for example, the FOUP 50 shown in Figure 2 or the open cassette 51' shown in Figure 5) is placed in order to load and unload the workpiece, such as a wafer, into the space (transport space A) in the transport chamber 2.

[0025] A transport robot 22 is located inside the transport chamber 2, and this transport robot 22 is responsible for transferring the materials to be processed between the load port 1 and the processing device 3. The transport robot 22 takes the materials to be processed from the container placed on the load port 1 and supplies the materials to the processing device 3 via the transport space A. As mentioned above, a clean environment must be maintained inside the transport chamber 2 (transport space A), so an inert gas is introduced into the transport chamber 2 and it is maintained at positive pressure relative to the outside. The transport space A is a space that is partitioned into an inside and outside by a partition wall 21, which is the outer wall of the transport chamber 2.

[0026] The operation of the load port 1 is controlled by the control device 4. Note that the control device 4 may also control equipment within the transport room 2, such as the transport robot 22, in addition to the load port 1. In Figure 1, the control device 4 may be integrated into the load port 1, or a control device that includes control of the transport robot 22 and other equipment may be located within the transport room 2.

[0027] Furthermore, the direction to which the load port 1 is connected, as viewed from the transport chamber 2 (transport space A), is defined as the front, and the opposite direction as the rear. The direction in which the wafers are stacked in multiple layers is defined as the up-down direction (perpendicular to the plane of the paper), and the direction perpendicular to the front-back direction and the up-down direction is defined as the left-right direction.

[0028] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the load port 1 has a plate-shaped base 10 that forms part of the partition wall 21 that divides the transport space A. The base 10 is positioned upright and is provided with a base opening 10a that serves as an opening for loading and unloading objects to be processed into the transport space A. In order to keep the transport space A clean, the base opening 10a is normally closed with a door 12.

[0029] On the side opposite to the transport space A of the base 10, that is, at the front of the base 10, is a platform 11 on which containers for holding multiple items to be processed are placed. The platform 11 moves in the front-rear direction and has the function of docking / undocking the FOUP 50, as shown by the dashed lines in Figure 2. In this sense, the platform 11 is also called a carrier base.

[0030] The FOUP 50 shown in Figure 2 is positioned via a positioning pin 11a provided on the mounting base 11 of the load port 1, and locked via a locking lock 11b provided on the mounting base 11. When placing the open cassette 51' shown in Figure 5, the open cassette adapter 6' shown in Figures 3 and 4 is used. This open cassette adapter 6' is also positioned via a positioning pin 11a on the mounting base 11 of the load port 1, and locked via a locking lock 11b provided on the mounting base 11.

[0031] The open cassette adapter 6' comprises a base plate 61a', which is the adapter body supported by legs 61a1'; a handle 61b' for carrying the open cassette adapter 6'; an adapter plate 61c' supported on the base plate 61a'; a cassette support 61d' that is rotatable with the adapter plate 61c' and for temporarily placing the open cassette 51' when rotated 90° (see Figure 6(a): rotational state around tilt axis t); a handle 61e' for tilting the cassette support 61'; and a cover 61f' that covers the cassette storage space S'. In Figure 4, reference numeral 61g' indicates a holder that holds the open cassette 51' on the adapter plate 61c', and reference numeral 61h' indicates a guide that positions the open cassette 51' on the cassette support 61d'.

[0032] Figure 4 shows, with dashed lines, an open cassette (e.g., 51') housed in the cassette housing space S' within the open cassette adapter 6', visible through the opening 10a of the base 10. The open cassette 51' is capable of housing wafers W in multiple stages in the vertical direction, as shown in Figure 5. From the transport chamber 2 located in the front right direction of Figure 4, the robot 22 shown in Figure 1 can access the open cassette 51' within the wafer housing space S' to load and unload wafers.

[0033] The open cassette adapter 6' shown in Figures 1 to 4 is a type that does not have a mapping function itself. This open cassette adapter 6' is shown first to illustrate the limitations of this type of open cassette holder 6', as the mapping of wafers contained in the open cassette 51' is usually performed on the load port 1 side.

[0034] The mapping of the open cassette 51' set in the open cassette adapter 6' is performed using the main mapping mechanism 13 used in the FOUP 50. This mapping mechanism 13, as shown in Figure 4, for example, has mapping sensors 13a and 13b mounted on a swing frame 12a integrated with the door 12, and a left-right optical axis m is formed between the mapping sensors 13a and 13b. When the door 12 retracts from the state in which the opening 10a above the base 1 is closed and descends to the position shown in Figure 4, the swing frame 12a is swung to insert the tips of the mapping sensors 13a and 13b into a position where they can penetrate a portion of the wafer W inside the open cassette 51' through the opening 10a. Then, using the descending motion of the door 12, the wafer is detected at the position where the wafer obstructs the optical axis m formed between the tips of the light-emitting and receiving parts 13a and 13b. The operation of the mapping is controlled by the control device 4 of the load port 1 shown in Figure 1.

[0035] If the task is merely to detect wafer W in FOUP 50 and wafer W in open cassette 51', it is possible to address this by increasing the number of mapping mechanism 13 (mapping sensors 13a, 13b) to two, as shown in Figures 5, 6, and 10 of Patent Document 1.

[0036] On the other hand, as shown in Figures 6(b) and (c), in addition to the open cassette 51' described above, there are several types of open cassettes of different sizes, such as 52' and 53', which house the materials to be processed. These are designed to house wafers W1, W2, and W3 of 200 mm, 150 mm, and 100 mm, respectively.

[0037] When attempting to map wafers W to such open cassettes 51-53 using the main mapping mechanism 13 provided in the load port 1, the method described in Figures 5, 6, and 10 of Patent Document 1 makes it difficult to create a structure that avoids interference between the mapping sensors 13a and 13b and the cassette holder, etc.

[0038] In other words, if we were to apply this to open cassettes 52' and 53' that house wafers W2 and W3 smaller than 200 mm, we would need to increase the number of sensor sets 13 and the number of optical axis m (mapping sensors other than the mapping sensors 13a and 13b shown in Figure 6 of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1) in Figure 4 of this embodiment, making it difficult to create conditions in which the mapping sensors 13a and 13b and the oscillating frame 12a, etc. do not interfere with the housings of multiple types of open cassettes 51', 52', and 53'.

[0039] In particular, many wafers W1 to W3 that are 200 mm or smaller have an orientation flat OF (see, for example, the dashed line in Figure 5) on the transport chamber 2 side where a portion is cut in a straight line. If such an orientation flat OF is located on the mapping sensor 13 side, the optical axis m must be acted in front of the orientation flat OF in order to map the wafer W. Therefore, the mapping sensor 13 needs to penetrate deeper into the open cassettes 52' and 53'. For this reason, it is necessary to manufacture the open cassettes with more precise dimensional relationships, and the design of the mapping sensor 13, the oscillating axis 12a, and the open cassettes 52' and 53' becomes difficult from this point of view as well.

[0040] Therefore, this embodiment solves the above-mentioned problem by newly configuring an open cassette adapter 6 equipped with a mapping function 7, as shown in Figures 7 to 10. This mapping mechanism 7 is configured such that the optical axis n is set in the direction of wafer loading and unloading (front and rear direction of the load port 1), and with the open cassettes 51 to 53 installed as shown in Figures 8 to 10, mapping of the wafers W1 to W3 installed inside can be performed by a common optical axis n passing through the open cassettes 51 to 53.

[0041] The open cassette adapter 6 is similar to the open cassette adapter 6' described above in terms of its basic components, and comprises a base plate 61a which is the adapter body supported by legs 61a1, a handle 61b for carrying the base plate 61a, an adapter plate 61c supported on the base plate 61a, a cassette support 61d which can rotate together with the adapter plate 61c around the tilt axis t and is used to temporarily place open cassettes 51-53 in the state shown by the dashed line in Figure 7 when rotated 90°, and a handle 61e for tilting the cassette support 61.

[0042] This open cassette adapter 6 is also positioned on the mounting base 11 of the load port 1 shown in Figure 2 via a positioning pin 11a and locked via a locking lock 11b provided on the mounting base 11.

[0043] Although this open cassette adapter 6 does not show a cover that covers the cassette storage space S, a cover similar to the one shown above 61f' can be used if necessary. 61g is a holder that holds the open cassettes 51-53 on the adapter plate 61c', and 61h is a guide that positions the open cassettes 51-53 on the cassette support 61d'.

[0044] Open cassettes 51-53 are placed on the mounting base 11 via a common open cassette adapter 6. The open cassettes 51, 52, and 53 shown in Figures 8 and 9 are basically the same as the open cassettes 51', 52', and 53' shown in Figure 6, with different height and front-to-back dimensions depending on the size of the wafer they contain (for example, wafer W1: 200 mm, wafer W2: 150 mm, wafer W3: 100 mm as shown in Figure 11). The interiors of the open cassettes 51, 52, and 53 are open to the rear (towards the transport space A) and the front (opposite side) respectively when placed on the mounting base 11.

[0045] The load port 1 shown in Figure 9 is equipped with a load sensor at a location not shown to detect the load of the placed object, and the open cassette adapter 6 shown in Figures 7 to 9 is equipped with a link mechanism to turn on the load sensor. When the load sensor is turned on, the control device 4 (see Figure 1) receives input that the open cassette adapter 6 has been set. If the load sensor is activated when no wafers are placed inside, it is also possible to detect which of the open cassettes 51 to 53 has been set by the difference in their weights.

[0046] As shown in Figure 9, the mapping mechanism 7 is located on the side opposite to the transport space A of the base 10, that is, on the front side of the base 10, towards the load port 1.

[0047] As shown in Figures 7 to 10, the mapping mechanism 7 includes a mapping arm 71 and a lifting drive unit 72 for raising and lowering the mapping arm 71, and the lifting drive unit 72 is integrated into the open cassette adapter 6.

[0048] The mapping arm 71 has a U-shape in plan view, with light-emitting and light-receiving units 73a and 73b attached to its bifurcated tip 71a, respectively, and the pair of light-emitting and light-receiving units 73a and 73b constitute the transmission sensor 73. The light-emitting and light-receiving units 73a and 73b may consist of a light-emitting element using an LED and a light-receiving element that receives the light from it, or one may be configured as a light-emitting and light-receiving element and the other as a mirror. It is also possible to use a laser instead of an LED.

[0049] The lifting drive unit 72 includes a linear guide 72a that supports the base end 71b of the mapping arm 71 so that it can move up and down, a ball screw 72b arranged in parallel with the linear guide 72a for raising and lowering the base end 71b, and a motor 72c that rotates the ball screw 72b in forward and reverse directions.

[0050] As shown in Figure 11, the mapping arm 71 is arranged such that a pair of light-receiving units 73a and 73b are positioned in the front-to-back direction, flanking the open cassettes 51 to 53. That is, when the open cassettes 51 to 53 are placed on the mounting base 11 via the open cassette adapter 6, the light-receiving units 73a and 73b are positioned opposite each other so that they pass near the center of the wafer storage space S within the open cassettes 51 to 53 in the wafer loading / unloading direction (front-to-back direction) of the wafers W1 to W3, connecting the optical axis n. The cassette support base 61d shown in Figure 7 is provided with an opening 61d1 for the optical axis n to pass through. This opening 61d1 may be fitted with a translucent plate material. The configuration is such that when the open cassettes 51 to 53 are rotated around the tilt axis t and set in a predetermined position, the optical axis n passes through the open cassettes 51 to 53.

[0051] The mapping arm 71 is positioned so as not to interfere with surrounding components. In this embodiment, in the plan view shown in Figure 11, the gap between the open cassettes 51-53 and the lifting drive unit 72 is used as the operating space for the mapping arm in the left-right direction, and the tip of the mapping arm is positioned to sandwich the open cassettes 51-53 from the front and rear in the front-back direction to prevent interference with surrounding components during operation. Furthermore, in the height direction shown in Figures 9 and 10, the standby position of the mapping arm 71 when not mapping is set so that the upper surface 71b of the mapping arm 71 is lower than the cassette support surface 61c1 of the adapter plate 61c, thereby preventing the open cassettes 51-53 from interfering with the mapping arm 71 when they are attached to the mounting base 11.

[0052] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the mapping arm 71 is configured so that it does not interfere with the base 10 of the load port 1 or other surrounding parts, even if the mounting base 11 moves in the front-rear direction between the dock position and the undock position as shown in Figure 9.

[0053] As shown in Figure 11, the distance between the light-receiving and light-emitting sections 73a and 73b of the mapping arm 71 is set to a distance that allows for the largest depth (51) of the open cassettes 51 to 53. In the height direction, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, the vertical lifting range is set so that the wafer W3 housed in the tallest of the open cassettes 51 to 53 (53) can be scanned.

[0054] If a cover is provided for the open cassette adapter 6, the cover is inserted so that its side walls are positioned between the handle 61b and the lifting drive unit 72, as shown in Figure 8, so that mapping can be performed with the mapping arm 71 and the lifting mechanism 72 housed inside. This cover is also designed to have openings at both ends in the wafer loading / unloading direction (front-to-back direction).

[0055] Here, a cable C (see Figure 8) containing signals from the light-receiving and light-emitting sections 73a and 73b of the mapping arm 71, which constitutes the mapping mechanism 7, and power lines that drive the motor 72c of the lifting mechanism 72, is pulled out from the mapping mechanism 7 and connected to the power / communication port 11c provided on the mounting base 11 of the load port 1. The control device 4 controls the mapping mechanism 7, making it possible to acquire mapping results.

[0056] The control device 4 performs mapping of wafers W1 to W3, which are housed in multiple stages within open cassettes 51 to 53, while raising and lowering the mapping arm 71. The mapping detects the presence or absence of wafers W1 to W3 in each stage within the open cassettes 51 to 53, as well as their orientation and other housing conditions. The control device 4 controls the optical axis n of the light-receiving and light-emitting units 73a and 73b to move through the wafer housing space S of the open cassettes 51 to 53 in the front-to-back direction. If a wafer is present, the optical axis n is blocked, thereby detecting the presence of the wafer. Conversely, if no wafer is present, light is received along the optical axis n, thereby detecting the absence of a wafer. After mapping is complete, the mapping arm 71 is lowered to the standby position. The mapping results are sent via cable C to the control device 4 and, if there are any higher-level devices, to those devices.

[0057] When the control device 4 determines from the mapping results that the wafer is in a normal state, it moves the mounting platform 11 horizontally a predetermined distance toward the door 12 (to the DOCK position) as shown in Figure 9, and opens the door 12 that separates it from the transport space A of the transport chamber 2 shown in Figure 4 (the door 12 moves downward). The wafers in the open cassettes 51 to 53 are then placed into the transport space A through the base opening 10a by the transport robot 22 (see Figure 1).

[0058] In Figure 9, even though region A in the transport chamber and the wafer storage space S are in communication, region A in the transport chamber is under relative positive pressure, so the airflow is directed from region A towards the wafer storage space S. Therefore, even if particles are generated by the operation of the mapping mechanism 7, the particles will not enter the transport chamber 2 and will be expelled from the wafer storage space S by the airflow.

[0059] Once all wafers W have been loaded into the transport space A (or taken in after loading), the control device 4 closes the door 12 (the door 12 moves upward) and moves the mounting table 11 to the UNDOCK position. Then, by rotating it around the tilt axis t, the empty open cassette 51 is removed from the load port 1 by a transport means (not shown).

[0060] On the other hand, if the control device 4 determines that the mapping result is an error, the open cassettes 51-53 are removed from the load port 1 by a transport means (not shown) without opening the door 12.

[0061] As described above, the open cassette adapter 6 of this embodiment is This is used when placing open cassettes 51 to 53, which contain wafers W1 to W3 to be processed in multiple layers, onto the loading platform 11 of the load port 1 of the transport chamber 2. The base plate 61a is the adapter body for placing open cassettes 51-53 on the mounting base 11, The system includes a mapping mechanism 7 that maps wafers W (W1 to W3) housed in an open cassette 51 (~53) using the optical axis n, The mapping mechanism 7 is provided on the base plate 61a. The optical axis n of the mapping mechanism 7 is configured in the direction of loading and unloading (front-to-back direction) of the wafers W1 (~W3) contained in the open cassette 51 (~53) into the transport chamber 2, By raising and lowering the optical axis n, the wafer W1 (~W3) is mapped. It is characterized by the following:

[0062] In this way, a common mapping optical axis n can be used regardless of the size of the wafer W. Therefore, even if the open cassettes 52 and 53 contain wafers W of a size that cannot be mapped by the conventional mapping arm structure attached to the load port 1 or transport chamber 2 (for example, wafers W2 and W3), and even if the number of wafer W types increases, the same mapping mechanism 7 can be used to map them appropriately. Moreover, by using this optical axis n, the mapping mechanism 7 can handle any orientation of the orientation flat OF.

[0063] If the mapping mechanism were to be installed below the load port 1 instead of on the transport chamber 2 side, it would be difficult from a design perspective to install the mapping arm and lifting mechanism that constitute the mapping mechanism there, as there are drive mechanisms that drive the mounting table 11 below the load port 1, and switching between operations would also become complicated. However, with the above configuration, the drive systems such as the mapping arm 71 and lifting mechanism 72 that constitute the mapping mechanism 7 can be attached to the open cassette adapter 6, which increases the degree of design freedom and makes it possible to flexibly accommodate differences in diameter.

[0064] Furthermore, the mapping mechanism 7 is configured such that the mapping arm 71 constituting the optical axis n is driven by the lifting drive unit 72. A lifting drive unit 72 is provided on the base plate 61a, which is the adapter body. In a plan view, the mapping arm 71 is positioned to pass through the gap between the open cassette 51 (~53) and the lifting drive unit 72.

[0065] In this way, the mapping mechanism 7 can be integrated with the open cassette adapter 6, and the open cassettes 51 (~53) can be positioned without interfering with the mapping arm 71 in a plan view.

[0066] Furthermore, the cassette support 61d is attached to the base plate 61a via a tilt axis n, and after temporarily placing the open cassette 51(~53) on the cassette support 61d, it is rotated around the tilt axis t to set it in a predetermined position, at which point the optical axis n passes through the open cassette 51(~53).

[0067] In this way, the open cassette 51 (~53) can be easily and appropriately set into and removed from the cassette storage space S of the open cassette adapter 6, and mapping can also be performed appropriately.

[0068] Furthermore, the lower limit of the elevation range of the mapping arm 71 is set so that the upper surface 71a of the mapping arm 71 descends to a position lower than the cassette support surface 61a1 of the base plate 61a.

[0069] In this way, by retracting the mapping arm 71 in the downward direction, the open cassette 51 (~53) can be positioned without interfering with the mapping arm 71 in the height direction.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the load port 1 is configured to allow the open cassette adapter 6 to be attached to and detached from the mounting base 11 of the load port 1 where the FOUP 50 is installed. The control device 4 is configured to drive and control the main mapping mechanism 13 provided in the transport chamber 2 or load port 1 to perform mapping when the FOUP 50 is placed on the mounting base 11, while when the open cassette adapter 6 is installed on the mounting base 11, it is configured to drive and control the mapping mechanism 7 attached to the open cassette adapter 6 so as not to interfere with the main mapping mechanism 13 to perform mapping.

[0071] In this way, the control device 4 can appropriately map wafers W of 300 mm or larger handled by FOUP50, as well as wafers W1 (~W3) of 200 mm or smaller handled by open cassette 51 (~53), on the load port 1.

[0072] In this case, a power / communication port 11c is provided on the mounting base 11 of the load port 11. A cable C necessary for mapping is drawn from the mapping mechanism 7 and connected to the power / communication port 11c, and the mapping mechanism 7 can be controlled from the control device 4 to acquire the mapping results.

[0073] In this way, even if a mapping mechanism 7 is provided on the open cassette adapter 6 side, its drive control can be centrally managed by the control device 4 on the load port 1 side or the higher-level device side.

[0074] Furthermore, the mapping method using the open cassette adapter 6 described above involves setting multiple types of open cassettes 51 (~53) containing wafers W1 (~W3) of different sizes into the open cassette adapter 6, and performing the mapping through movement along the same optical axis n, regardless of which open cassette 51 (~53) is used, or regardless of the position of the edges of the wafers W1 (~W3) in the loading / unloading direction.

[0075] In this way, mapping can be performed uniformly regardless of the type of open cassette 51 (~53) or the placement of wafers W1 (~W3).

[0076] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the embodiment described above.

[0077] In the above-described embodiment, an example of a container was shown as an open cassette 51 (~53) that is open on the transport chamber 2 side and the opposite side when placed on the mounting table 11. However, the open cassette may have only one opening on the transport chamber 2 side. When using an optical sensor, if the part of the open cassette located in the light irradiation path (optical axis) is made transparent, light and light can be received and received.

[0078] Furthermore, if a reflective sensor is used, the container may only have one opening (or transparent section).

[0079] Examples of materials to be processed include semiconductor substrates such as wafers, as well as glass substrates (substrates for displays such as liquid crystal panels and organic / inorganic EL displays), and plates or petri dishes capable of containing cells or the like.

[0080] Furthermore, although the lifting drive unit 71 is composed of a linear guide 71a, a ball screw 72a for raising and lowering the linear guide 71a, and a motor 73a for driving the ball screw 72a, a linear motor, an air cylinder, or the like may be used instead as a means for raising and lowering the linear guide 71a.

[0081] In the above embodiment, a structure is adopted in which the open cassette is set by tilting the open cassette adapter, but the open cassette may also be placed flat on the open cassette adapter. In this case, a cassette support is not necessary, and handles, plates for attaching them, and tilt axes can also be omitted.

[0082] In the above embodiment, ~ was used as the adapter body of the open cassette adapter, but the adapter body can be anything that constitutes the base of the open cassette adapter.

[0083] In the above embodiment, power was supplied to the mapping mechanism from the load port and its operation was controlled. However, the open cassette adapter may have its own independent power supply, and the design may also involve providing a control interface on the outer casing to perform the mapping.

[0084] Other configurations can also be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0085] 1…Load port 2…Transportation Room 4…Control device 6…Open cassette adapter 7…Mapping mechanism 11… Mounting platform 11c…Power / communication port 13…Main Mapping Mechanism 50...FOUP 51-53...Open cassette 61a…Adapter body (base plate) 61a1...Cassette support surface 61d... Cassette holder 71…Mapping Arm 71a…Top surface 72... Lifting drive unit n…Optical axis t...Tilt axis W1~W3...wafer

Claims

1. An open cassette adapter used when placing an open cassette containing a multi-tiered stack of items to be processed onto a loading platform in a transport chamber, An adapter body for placing the open cassette on the aforementioned stand, The system includes a mapping mechanism that maps the object to be processed, which is housed in the open cassette, using an optical axis. The mapping mechanism is provided in the adapter body. The optical axis of the mapping mechanism is configured in the direction of transporting the workpiece contained in the open cassette into and out of the transport chamber. The object to be processed is mapped by raising and lowering the optical axis. An open cassette adapter characterized by the following features.

2. The mapping mechanism is configured such that the mapping arm constituting the optical axis is driven by a lifting drive unit, The adapter body is provided with a lifting drive unit, The open cassette adapter according to claim 1, wherein the mapping arm is positioned to pass through the gap between the open cassette and the lifting drive unit in a plan view.

3. The open cassette adapter according to claim 1, wherein a cassette holder is attached to the adapter body via a tilt axis, and when an open cassette is temporarily placed on the cassette holder and then rotated to set it in a predetermined position, the optical axis passes through the open cassette.

4. A load port characterized in that an open cassette adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is detachably attached to a mounting base of a load port on which a FOUP is installed, and the control device is configured to drive and control a main mapping mechanism provided in the transport chamber or the load port to perform mapping when a FOUP is placed on the aforementioned mounting base, and to drive and control a mapping mechanism attached to the open cassette adapter to perform mapping in such a way as not to interfere with the main mapping mechanism when an open cassette adapter is installed on the aforementioned mounting base.

5. A mapping method using the open cassette adapter described in claim 1, characterized in that when setting multiple types of open cassettes containing objects of different sizes into the open cassette adapter, mapping is performed by moving along the same optical axis, regardless of which open cassette is used and regardless of the position of the edge of the object to be processed in the loading / unloading direction.

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