Wafer transfer method and wafer transfer device

Abstract

To provide a wafer transfer method capable of reducing a dust emission amount when opening / closing a lid of a sealed storage container or moving a load port door up / down with transfer of a wafer, and a wafer transfer device.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a wafer transfer method. When putting a wafer out of a sealed storage container and transferring the wafer with a transfer robot or when putting the wafer transferred by the transfer robot into the sealed storage container, in the wafer transfer method, a latch key for fixing and unfixing a lid to / from a container body is rotationally driven at a rotation speed equal to or lower than 60 deg / sec when rotationally driving the latch key in the sealed storage container mounted on a load port cradle by a latch key drive mechanism provided on a load port door which can be fitted to a wafer transfer gateway of a transfer chamber and can be detached from the wafer transfer gateway while holding the lid of the sealed storage container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wafer transfer method and a wafer transfer apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] In an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) of an apparatus used in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor wafer such as silicon (hereinafter also simply referred to as a wafer), the positional relationship of a load port or a FOUP (Front Openning Unified Pod) which is a sealed storage container (hereinafter also simply referred to as a storage container) for storing a semiconductor wafer is defined by SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Material International) standards (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Here, when the lid of the FOUP is opened by the load port, the inside of the FOUP may be contaminated by the inflow of outside air containing dust generated from devices such as the load port and the packing of the FOUP. When introducing equipment such as a device, in order to cause defects in the semiconductor wafers stored in the FOUP, an evaluation is made of how much dust flows into the FOUP when the lid of the FOUP is opened.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] When the present inventor conducted intensive research on the above-mentioned dust inflow evaluation, it was found that, in the transfer of wafers, dust is generated when opening and closing the lid of the sealed storage container for storing the wafers to be transferred or when raising and lowering the load port door, and the generated dust may flow into the sealed storage container and adhere to the wafers.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a wafer transfer method and a wafer transfer apparatus capable of reducing the amount of dust generated when opening and closing the lid of a sealed storage container or when raising and lowering a load port door during wafer transfer.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a wafer transfer method for transferring a wafer by a transfer robot between a sealed storage container including a container body for storing the wafer and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body, and a transfer chamber storing the transfer robot via a load port for taking in and out the wafer, when taking out the wafer from the sealed storage container and transferring the wafer by the transfer robot, or when putting the wafer transferred by the transfer robot into the sealed storage container, a latch key drive mechanism provided on a load port door that can be fitted to a wafer transfer entrance and exit of the transfer chamber and holds the lid of the sealed storage container and can be detached from the wafer transfer entrance and exit, when rotationally driving a latch key for fixing and releasing the fixing of the lid to the container body in the sealed storage container placed on a load port gantry, a wafer transfer method is provided, characterized in that the latch key is rotationally driven at a rotational speed of 60 deg / sec or less.

[0008] In the wafer transfer method of the present invention, since the latch key is rotationally driven at the above speed, the lid of the hermetically sealed storage container can be opened and closed (fixed or released with respect to the container body) at a relatively low speed. Therefore, the amount of dust generated when the lid is opened and closed can be reduced, and the amount of dust adhering to the wafer can be reduced.

[0009] At this time, when the load port door descends and disengages from the wafer transfer entrance, or ascends and fits into the wafer transfer entrance, the descending speed and ascending speed of the load port door can be set to 100 mm / sec or less.

[0010] In this way, since the load port door ascends or descends at the above speed, the fitting, disengagement, and movement with respect to the wafer transfer entrance can be performed at a relatively low speed. Therefore, the amount of dust generated when the load port door ascends and descends can also be reduced, and further, the amount of dust adhering to the wafer can be reduced.

[0011] The present invention also relates to a wafer transfer apparatus including a transfer chamber in which a transfer robot is stored, a load port for transferring the wafer between a hermetically sealed storage container including a container body for storing the wafer and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body, and the transfer chamber, and is provided with The load port includes a load port door that can be fitted to the wafer transfer entrance of the transfer chamber and can hold the lid of the hermetically sealed storage container and be detached from the wafer transfer entrance, a load port pedestal on which the hermetically sealed storage container is placed so that the lid of the hermetically sealed storage container faces the wafer transfer entrance, a control device for driving and controlling the load port door and is provided with The load port door In the sealed storage container placed on the load port stand, a latch key drive mechanism for rotationally driving a latch key for fixing and releasing the lid with respect to the container body is provided. The control device is capable of driving and controlling the latch key drive mechanism, and provides a wafer transfer device characterized in that a set value of the rotational speed of the rotational drive of the latch key by the latch key drive mechanism is 60 deg / sec or less.

[0012] With such a wafer transfer device of the present invention, the opening and closing of the lid of the sealed storage container are performed at a relatively low speed, and the amount of dust generated during the opening and closing of the lid and the amount of dust adhering to the wafer can be reduced.

[0013] In this case, the control device can be such that a set value of the descending speed when the load port door is detached from the wafer transfer entrance and a set value of the ascending speed when the load port door is fitted to the wafer transfer entrance are 100 mm / sec or less.

[0014] With such a device, the fitting / removal and movement of the load port door with respect to the wafer transfer entrance are performed at a relatively low speed, the amount of dust generated when the load port door ascends / descends can be reduced, and the amount of dust adhering to the wafer can be further reduced.

[0015] The present invention also relates to a wafer transfer method in which a wafer is transferred by a transfer robot via a load port for taking in and out the wafer between a sealed storage container including a container body for storing a wafer and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body, and a transfer chamber storing the transfer robot. When taking out the wafer from the sealed storage container and transferring the wafer by the transfer robot, or when putting the wafer transferred by the transfer robot into the sealed storage container, A load port door that can be fitted to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets of the transfer chamber and that holds the lid of the hermetically sealed storage container and can be detached from the wafer transfer inlets and outlets, when descending and detaching from the wafer transfer inlets and outlets or ascending and fitting to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets, provides a wafer transfer method characterized in that the descending speed and ascending speed of the load port door are 100 mm / sec or less.

[0016] In such a wafer transfer method of the present invention, since the load port door is raised or lowered at the above speed, fitting, detachment, and movement with respect to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets can be performed at a relatively low speed. Therefore, the amount of dust generated when the load port door is raised and lowered can be reduced, and the amount of dust adhering to the wafer can be reduced.

[0017] Further, the present invention provides a wafer transfer apparatus including a transfer chamber in which a transfer robot is stored, a load port for taking in and out the wafer between a hermetically sealed storage container including a container body for storing the wafer and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body and the transfer chamber, wherein the load port includes: a load port door that can be fitted to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets of the transfer chamber and that holds the lid of the hermetically sealed storage container and can be detached from the wafer transfer inlets and outlets; a load port stand on which the hermetically sealed storage container is placed so that the lid of the hermetically sealed storage container faces the wafer transfer inlets and outlets; and a control device for driving and controlling the load port door. The control device is configured such that a set value of the descending speed when the load port door detaches from the wafer transfer inlets and outlets and a set value of the ascending speed when the load port door fits to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets are 100 mm / sec or less, thereby providing a wafer transfer apparatus. The control device is configured such that a set value of the descending speed when the load port door detaches from the wafer transfer inlets and outlets and a set value of the ascending speed when the load port door fits to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets are 100 mm / sec or less, thereby providing a wafer transfer apparatus. The control device is configured such that a set value of the descending speed when the load port door detaches from the wafer transfer inlets and outlets and a set value of the ascending speed when the load port door fits to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets are 100 mm / sec or less, thereby providing a wafer transfer apparatus. The control device is configured such that a set value of the descending speed when the load port door detaches from the wafer transfer inlets and outlets and a set value of the ascending speed when the load port door fits to the wafer transfer inlets and outlets are 100 mm / sec or less, thereby providing a wafer transfer apparatus.

[0018] In the case of such a wafer transfer device of the present invention, the fitting / separation and movement of the load port door with respect to the wafer transfer in / out port are performed at a relatively low speed, and the amount of dust generated when the load port door rises / falls and the amount of dust attached to the wafer can be reduced.

Advantages of the Invention

[0019] In the case of the wafer transfer method and the wafer transfer device of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of dust generated when the lid of the hermetically sealed storage container is opened / closed or when the load port door rises / falls during wafer transfer, and reduce the amount of adhesion to the wafer.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020]

Figure 1

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Figure 8

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail, but the present invention is not limited thereto. First, the process by which the present inventor arrived at the present invention will be described. When the inventor opens the lid of a sealed storage container (here, described by taking a FOUP as an example), an investigation was conducted on the flow of outside air that enters the FOUP. As a result, when the lid of the FOUP is opened by the load port door of the load port with all the wafers placed in the FOUP, outside air flows in through the gap between the container body and the lid. More specifically, the outside air is introduced from the lid side toward the innermost side wall through the space between the upper wall (top plate) of the container body and the wafer located on the uppermost side. At the same time, the outside air is introduced from the lid side toward the innermost side wall (back wall) through the space between the lower wall (bottom surface) of the container body and the wafer located at the bottom. It was confirmed that the flow of the outside air that reached each back wall flows along the back wall, with the upper outside air flowing downward and the lower outside air flowing upward.

[0022] Here, there is a possibility of dust generation from various locations such as the lid opening / closing mechanism of the FOUP and the wafer transfer robot in the transfer chamber. When the lid of the FOUP is opened, the outside air flowing into the container body often contains dust. In particular, it was considered that dust generation occurs when the lid is opened / closed or when the load port door is raised / lowered.

[0023] Then, the inventor found that when rotating the latch key to open and close the lid of a sealed storage container such as a FOUP, the rotation speed should be set to 60 deg / sec or less, and when raising and lowering the load port door for fitting / removing and moving with respect to the wafer transfer in / out port, the speeds should be set to 100 mm / sec or less, so that it is possible to reduce the amount of dust generated when the lid is opened / closed or when the load port door is raised / lowered, and thus the amount of dust adhering to the wafer. Based on this, the present invention was completed.

[0024] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the wafer transfer device (loading device) 1 of the present invention. A general sealed storage container (FOUP) 2 and a processing device 20 are also shown in the figure. Here, as an example of the sealed storage container 2, the type of FOUP is described, but the type is not particularly limited. For example, it can also be of the FOSB (Front Opening Shipping Box) type. The wafer W to be transferred (loaded) by the wafer transfer device 1 is not particularly limited, and examples include various semiconductor wafers such as semiconductor silicon wafers and compound semiconductor wafers, and in particular, polished silicon wafers and silicon wafers formed by epitaxial growth can be used. In addition, it is a device capable of transferring wafer-like objects such as glass substrates.

[0025] Here, a general FOUP 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. The FOUP 2 in FIG. 2 is a sealed storage container for storing wafers. The FOUP 2 includes a container body 3 and a lid 4. The container body 3 is formed to be able to store a plurality of wafers and has an opening in the front surface. The wafers are taken in and out through this opening. In FIG. 2, the front surface of the container body 3 is the right side surface. The lid 4 is for opening and closing the opening in the front surface of the container body 3. When the lid 4 is closed via a packing (not shown), the inside of the container body 3 is sealed. When storing and transferring the wafer W in the FOUP 2, usually, the wafer W is fully filled. Usually, the number of fully filled wafers is, for example, 25, but in the drawing, it is drawn as 8 for simplicity.

[0026] Here, the opening and closing mechanism of the lid 4 will be described. FIG. 3 is a front view of the lid and a side view of the sealed storage container when the lid is closed. FIG. 4 is a front view of the lid and a side view of the sealed storage container when the lid is open. The lid 4 is provided with a latch key 5. By rotationally driving the latch key 5, the lid 4 can be opened and closed (locked and unlocked), that is, the lid 4 can be fixed to or released from the container body 3. More specifically, it has a hole (aperture) 6 of the latch key. By inserting the claw 7 of the latch key, which will be described later, into the hole 6 and rotationally driving it, the lid 4 can be opened and closed. Here, when the lid 4 is closed, the orientation of the hole 6 is a vertical hole. And when the lid 4 is open, the orientation of the hole 6 is a horizontal hole rotated 90 degrees clockwise. With such a mechanism, the lid 4 can be opened and closed. Of course, the mechanism of the latch key 5 itself is not limited to this.

[0027] Next, the wafer transfer device 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. First, the wafer transfer device 1 has an EFEM 11. This EFEM 11 transfers the wafer W stored in the FOUP 2 from the FOUP 2 to the processing device 20 in a mini-environment method. The EFEM 11 includes a transfer robot 12, a transfer chamber 13, and a load port 14. The transfer robot 12 takes out and transfers the wafer W stored in the FOUP 2. Also, the transfer robot 12 can put the wafer W into the FOUP 2 and store it. The transfer chamber 13 houses the transfer robot 12. The wafer W taken out from the FOUP 2 by the transfer robot 12 is transferred to the processing device 20 via the transfer chamber 13. Conversely, the wafer W processed by the processing device 20 can also be transferred and put into the FOUP 2 via the transfer chamber 13. Note that a wafer transfer entrance / exit 18 for taking in and out the wafer W between the FOUP 2 is provided on the wall of the transfer chamber 13.

[0028] The load port 14 is an interface for delivering the wafer W between the FOUP 2 and the transfer chamber 13. When taking in and out the wafer W between the FOUP 2 and the transfer chamber 13, this load port is used. That is, the drive of the load port 14 is required. This load port 14 includes a load port pedestal (pedestal) 15, a load port door (door) 16, and a control device 17.

[0029] The pedestal 15 is a place for placing the FOUP 2. The height and position are adjusted so that the lid 4 of the FOUP 2 can be placed in a state facing the wafer transfer in / out port 18. The door 16 is for opening and closing the wafer transfer in / out port 18. That is, the door 16 can be fitted to the wafer transfer in / out port 18 and its opening can be closed. Also, it can be detached from the wafer transfer in / out port 18 and its opening can be opened. In addition, a latch key drive mechanism 19 for rotationally driving the latch key 5 on the lid 4 of the above-described FOUP 2 is incorporated in the door 16. An example of the latch key drive mechanism is shown in FIG. 5. The latch key drive mechanism 19 is provided with, for example, a latch key claw (claw) 7 that can be inserted into the hole 6 of the latch key. When this claw 7 is inserted into the hole 6 and rotationally driven, the latch key 5 is rotationally driven to open and close the lid 4.

[0030] Note that when the latch key 5 is rotationally driven and released by the latch key drive mechanism 19 and the lid 4 that has opened the opening of the container body 3 is held by the door 16 and can move up and down integrally with the door 16. FIG. 6 shows a state when the door 16 is detached from the wafer transfer in / out port 18 and descends while holding the lid 4. If necessary, a suction device (not shown) or the like can be provided on the door 16 so that the lid 4 can be held more firmly by the suction device.

[0031] On the other hand, when the positions of the integrated lid 4 and door 16 rise to the opening of the container body 3 and the wafer transfer in / out port 18 and the latch key 5 of the lid 4 is rotationally driven and locked by the latch key drive mechanism 19, the opening of the container body 3 is blocked by the lid 4. In the state where the lid 4 of the FOUP 2 is thus blocked, at the same time, the door 16 is fitted to and closes the wafer transfer in / out port 18, and at this time, the inside of the transfer chamber 13 is sealed. FIG. 1 shows this sealed state.

[0032] Incidentally, the vertical movement (upward and downward driving) of the aforementioned door 16 and the driving of the latch key driving mechanism 19 incorporated therein (rotational driving of the claw 7 of the latch key) can be controllably performed by the control device 17. This control device 17 can be, for example, a computer. It can be configured to automatically control those drives according to a preset program.

[0033] In the first aspect of the control device 17, the rotational speed of the rotational driving of the latch key 5 by the latch key driving mechanism 19 is programmed with a set value of 60 deg / sec or less (and greater than 0 deg / sec), and the lid 4 is opened and closed at a relatively low speed. The inventor has found that the amount of dust generated varies depending on the rotational speed of this latch key 5. And due to such a low speed, the amount of dust generated during the opening and closing of the lid 4 can be reduced. Thereby, the amount of dust contained in the outside air flowing into the container main body 3 from the transfer chamber 13 when the lid 4 is opened and closed can be reduced, and the amount of dust adhesion to the wafer W can be reduced.

[0034] Also, in the second aspect of the control device 17, the descending speed when the door 16 detaches from the wafer transfer entrance 18 is programmed with a set value of 100 mm / sec or less (and greater than 0 mm / sec), and the ascending speed when the door 16 fits into the wafer transfer entrance 18 is programmed with a set value of 100 mm / sec or less (and greater than 0 mm / sec). In either the ascending or descending movement, the door 16 (and the held lid 4) moves at a relatively low speed. The inventor has found that the amount of dust generated also varies depending on the ascending and descending speeds of this door 16. And due to such a low speed, the amount of dust generated during the ascending and descending of the door 16 can be reduced, and as a result, the amount of dust contained in the outside air flowing into the container main body 3 from the transfer chamber 13 into the container main body 3 can be reduced, and thus, the amount of dust adhesion to the wafer W can be reduced.

[0035] Although it is essential that the control device 17 in the present invention has the set value of either the first aspect or the second aspect as described above, particularly as a third aspect, it can be configured to have the set values of both the first aspect and the second aspect. If it is such a configuration, the amount of dust generated during both the opening and closing of the lid 4 and the raising and lowering of the door 16 can be reduced, and further, the amount of dust adhering to the wafer W can be reduced, which is more preferable.

[0036] Next, the wafer transfer method of the present invention will be described. When transferring the wafer W from the FOUP 2 to the processing device 20, first, the FOUP 2 is placed at a predetermined position on the gantry 15. At this time, the lid 4 of the FOUP 2 and the door 16 of the load port 14 fitted to the wafer transfer in / out port 18 are arranged to face each other. Then, the lid 4 of the FOUP 2 is held by the door 16 of the load port 14, and the latch key 5 is rotationally driven and released by the latch key drive mechanism 19 to open the lid 4. When the latch key 5 is rotationally driven, the control device 17 automatically controls the rotation speed to be a relatively low speed of 60 deg / sec or less. Then, the door 16 integrated with the lid 4 is lowered and detached from the wafer transfer in / out port 18, and the control device 17 automatically controls the lowering speed at this time to be a relatively low speed of 100 mm / sec or less. Thereafter, the wafer W stored in the FOUP 2 is taken out by the transfer robot 12 and transferred to the processing device 20. Thus, the wafer W is transferred in a mini-environment method.

[0037] In the above description, the case where both the rotation speed control during the rotational drive of the latch key 5 (when the lid 4 is opened) and the lowering speed control of the door 16 are performed has been described. However, in the wafer transfer method of the present invention, at least one of these may be performed. However, it is more preferable to perform both.

[0038] Conversely, when the wafer W processed by the processing apparatus 20 is transported by the transfer robot 12 and stored in the FOUP 2, after storing the wafer W, the rising speed when raising the door 16 (and the lid 4) that had been lowered and fitting it to the wafer transfer inlet / outlet 18 is set to 100 mm / sec or less. And the rotational speed during the rotational drive of the latch key 5 when closing with the lid 4 is set to 60 deg / sec or less.

[0039] As described above, since the FOUP 2 is sealed by the lid 4, for example, when the lid 4 opens, the inside becomes negative pressure. When the inside of the FOUP 2 becomes negative pressure, outside air flows in, and dust in the air enters the container body 3. Thus, when the lid 4 is opened or closed accompanying the loading or unloading of the wafer W, pressure fluctuations and dust inflow may occur in the container body 3. Therefore, as described above, by adjusting the speed of the rotational drive of the latch key 5 and the upward / downward movement of the door 16, the amount of dust generated from various locations accompanying the operation and contained in the air is reduced. As a result, the amount of dust that later flows into the container body 3 and adheres to the wafer W can be reduced.

Example

[0040] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically by showing examples and comparative examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these. (Example 1) A FOUP filled (fully filled) with 25 P-type (100) wafers having a diameter of 300 mm was prepared. This FOUP was placed on the gantry of the load port of the wafer transfer apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, and the claw of the latch key, which is the latch key drive mechanism of the door, was inserted into the hole of the latch key of the lid of the FOUP and rotated to perform an operation of opening the door and the lid (an operation of separating the door integrated with the lid from the wafer transfer inlet / outlet. At this time, the lid is separated from the container body). Next, the door and the lid were closed without lowering the door, and the claw of the latch key was rotated in the reverse direction to the previous one to set the lid of the FOUP in a closed state (locked). These series of operations were repeated 100 times as door and lid opening / closing operations. In a control device for driving and controlling a latch key drive mechanism, the rotational speed of the latch key (the claw of the latch key) at this time was set to 50 deg / sec.

[0041] (Example 2) The same operation as in Example 1 was performed except that the rotational speed of the latch key was set to 60 deg / sec, and the door and lid opening and closing operations were repeated 100 times.

[0042] (Comparative Example 1) The same operation as in Example 1 was performed except that the rotational speed of the latch key was set to 70 deg / sec, and the door and lid opening and closing operations were repeated 100 times.

[0043] (Comparative Example 2) The same operation as in Example 1 was performed except that the rotational speed of the latch key was set to 75 deg / sec, and the door and lid opening and closing operations were repeated 100 times.

[0044] (Example 3) A FOUP filled with 25 P-type (100) wafers with a diameter of 300 mm (full filling) was prepared. This FOUP was placed on the gantry of the load port of the wafer transfer device of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, and the claw of the latch key, which is the latch key drive mechanism of the door, was inserted into the hole of the lid of the FOUP and rotated to open the door and the lid (the operation of separating the door integrated with the lid from the wafer transfer inlet and outlet. At this time, the lid is separated from the container body). Next, the door and the lid were lowered to the lowest position. Next, the door and the lid were raised from the lowest position to a position where the lid could be closed, and finally the door and the lid were closed, and the claw of the latch key was rotated in the opposite direction to the previous one to set the lid of the FOUP in a closed state (locked). These series of operations were repeated 100 times as the door and lid opening and closing lowering and raising operations. In a control device for driving and controlling a latch key drive mechanism, the rotational speed of the latch key (the claw of the latch key) at this time was set to 50 deg / sec, and the lowering and raising speeds of the door and the lid were set to 60 mm / sec.

[0045] (Example 4) The door and lid opening / closing lowering / raising operation was repeated 100 times with the same operation as in Example 3 except that the lowering / raising speed of the door and lid was set to 100 mm / sec.

[0046] (Example 5) The door and lid opening / closing lowering / raising operation was repeated 100 times with the same operation as in Example 3 except that the lowering / raising speed of the door and lid was set to 125 mm / sec.

[0047] (Example 6) The door and lid opening / closing lowering / raising operation was repeated 100 times with the same operation as in Example 3 except that the lowering / raising speed of the door and lid was set to 150 mm / sec.

[0048] (Results) Regarding the wafers in the FOUP after performing the door and lid opening / closing operations of Examples 1 to 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 2 and the door and lid opening / closing lowering / raising operations of Examples 3 to 6 respectively, the particles before and after the operations were measured with a particle counter SP2 manufactured by KLA. Specifically, the average value of the number of particles per sheet with a size of 46 nm or more was calculated, and the difference before and after the operation was normalized and compared. The results are shown in Fig. 7 (Examples 1 to 2, Comparative Examples 1 to 2) and Fig. 8 (Examples 3 to 6).

[0049] As shown in Fig. 7, when the rotation speed of the latch key was reduced to 60 deg / sec or less as in Examples 1 to 2, the number of generated dusts adhering to the wafer was reduced to less than ½ compared to Comparative Examples 1 to 2 where the rotation speed of the latch key was 70 deg / sec or more. From this, the effect of optimizing the rotation speed of the latch key to a low speed of 60 deg / sec or less as in the present invention was confirmed. Next, as shown in Fig. 8, when the lowering and raising speeds of the door and the lid were reduced to 100 mm / sec or less as in Examples 3 to 4, the number of generated dust particles adhering to the wafer was approximately reduced to 1 / 2 or less compared to Examples 5 to 6 where the lowering and raising speeds of the door and the lid were 125 mm / sec or more. Since the rotation speeds of the latch keys were all the same (50 deg / sec) and the conditions did not change, the effect of optimizing the lowering and raising speeds of the door and the lid to a low speed of 100 mm / sec or less was confirmed from this.

[0050] (Examples 7 to 8, Comparative Examples 3 to 4) The door and lid opening / closing lowering and raising operations were repeated 100 times with the same operation as in Example 3, except that the rotation speed of the latch key was 70 deg / sec, and the lowering and raising speeds of the door and the lid were 60 mm / sec (Example 7), 100 mm / sec (Example 8), 125 mm / sec (Comparative Example 3), and 150 mm / sec (Comparative Example 4).

[0051] Similarly, as a result of normalizing and comparing the differences in the number of particles before and after the operation, although the absolute values were different from those in the case of Fig. 8, the tendency was the same as in Fig. 8. That is, when the lowering and raising speeds of the door and the lid were reduced to 100 mm / sec or less, the number of generated dust particles adhering to the wafer was approximately reduced to 1 / 2 or less compared to Comparative Examples 3 and 4 where the lowering and raising speeds of the door and the lid were 125 mm / sec or more.

[0052] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The above-described embodiments are examples, and any device having a configuration substantially the same as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention and exhibiting the same operational effects is included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Signs

[0053] 1... Wafer transfer device of the present invention, 2... Hermetic storage container (FOUP), 3... Container body, 4... Lid, 5... Latch key, 6... Hole of latch key (hole), 7... Claw of latch key (claw), 11…EFEM, 12…Transfer robot, 13…Transfer chamber, 14…Load port, 15…Load port pedestal (pedestal), 16…Load port door (door), 17…Control device, 18…Wafer transfer in / out port, 19…Latch key drive mechanism, 20…Processing device, W…Wafer.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer method for transferring a wafer by a transfer robot via a load port for taking in and out the wafer between a sealed storage container including a container body for storing a wafer and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body, and a transfer chamber storing the transfer robot, comprising: when taking out the wafer from the sealed storage container and transferring the wafer by the transfer robot, or when putting the wafer transferred by the transfer robot into the sealed storage container, by a latch key drive mechanism provided in a load port door that can be fitted to a wafer transfer entrance / exit of the transfer chamber and can hold the lid of the sealed storage container and can be detached from the wafer transfer entrance / exit, when rotationally driving a latch key for fixing and releasing the lid to / from the container body in the sealed storage container placed on a load port stand, the wafer transfer method characterized in that the latch key is rotationally driven at a rotational speed of 60 deg / sec or less.

2. When the load port door descends and detaches from the wafer transfer entrance / exit or ascends and fits to the wafer transfer entrance / exit, the wafer transfer method according to Claim 1, characterized in that a descending speed and an ascending speed of the load port door are 100 mm / sec or less.

3. A wafer transfer device comprising a transfer chamber storing a transfer robot, a load port for taking in and out a wafer between the transfer chamber and a sealed storage container including a container body for storing a wafer and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the container body, The wafer transfer device comprising: The load port includes: a load port door that can be fitted to a wafer transfer entrance / exit of the transfer chamber and can hold the lid of the sealed storage container and can be detached from the wafer transfer entrance / exit, a load port stand on which the sealed storage container is placed such that the lid of the sealed storage container faces the wafer transfer entrance / exit, and a control device for driving and controlling the load port door. The load port door includes: a latch key drive mechanism for rotationally driving a latch key for fixing and releasing the lid to / from the container body in the sealed storage container placed on the load port stand, The control device is: ​ A wafer transfer device, characterized in that drive control of the latch key drive mechanism is possible, and a set value of the rotational speed of the rotational drive of the latch key by the latch key drive mechanism is 60 deg / sec or less.

4. The control device The wafer transfer device according to claim 3, characterized in that a set value of the descending speed at the detachment of the load port door from the wafer transfer in / out port and a set value of the ascending speed at the fitting of the load port door to the wafer transfer in / out port are 100 mm / sec or less.

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