Shinko Electric Company, Ltd.

Other

N.p.w. Technical Laboratory Co.

Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho

Shinko Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Hitoshi Kawano

Masanao Murata

Teruya Morita

Tsuyoshi Tanaka

Teppei Yamashita

Mitsuhiro Hayashi

Atsushi Okuno

Masanori Tsuda

Akio Nakamura

Kenji Abiko

Yasuhiro Nakai

Takumi Mizokawa

Yuzo Takakado

Kunikatsu Ban

Toshiyuki Takaoka

Yukio Yamamoto

Tadahito Nakajima

Yoshihiro Ashino

Makoto Omori

Tatsuo Tsubaki

Tokuji Maruyama

Sadao Nakanishi

Mitsuji Karita

Susumu Nakagawa

Hiroyuki Oyobe

Takaaki Ogasawara

Kiyoshi Ikemura

Yoshihiro Nakajima

Akihiko Ihochi

Masanobu Harada

Motonori Inagaki

Masanao Sugita

Hiromi Morita

Takahide Hoshiko

Tutomu Shinya

Tanaka Tsuyoshi

Mithuhilo Hayashi

A wafer conveyance system is described for transporting one or more wafers that undergo, while being transported, different processes at a plurality of wafer processing apparatuses inside which one or more wares are processed. A hermetically closed chamber is provided that defines an isolated environment inside which a controlled atmosphere. At least one guide path is provided inside the hermetically closed chamber. At least one mobile element is movable inside the hermetically closed chamber along the at least one guide path to transport one or more wafers from one wafer processing apparatus to another. A plurality of position sensors that detect positions of the at least one mobile element are deployed along each of the at least one guide path in such a manner that they are deployed at intervals close together when near the wafer processing apparatuses and deployed at wider intervals elsewhere. In another aspect, the guide rails may be constructed of a plurality of connectable rail units. Because the guide rail can be disconnected and/or connected between rail units having position sensors, rearrangement and/or reattachment of the plurality of position sensors is not necessary when changing a configuration and/or extending the layout of the guide rail.

Conveyance system

Wafer processing apparatus A-Z for performing processes A-Z on a wafer are arranged in a row. A chamberis formed parallel to these wafer processing apparatus, and a guide railis provided inside the chamber. A mobile elementdriven by means of a linear motor is provided on the guide rail, and a wafer transfer robotcapable of exchanging a wafer between the wafer processing apparatus is mounted on the mobile element. With this structure, the wafer transfer robotexchange wafers between wafer processing apparatus to perform each process on the wafers until the wafers are conveyed to the wafer processing apparatus Z.

An overhead conveyance device and an overhead conveyance vehicle that can convey a conveying object, while keeping it at a minimum distance from surrounding equipment when the overhead conveying vehicle turns around during conveyance of the conveying object. The overhead conveyance device ( ) is so structured that even when a carriage part ( ) of the overhead conveyance vehicle ( ) enters a branching part ( ) for allowing the carriage part to change in traveling direction and turns around, the conveying object ( ) grasped by a hand ( ) can be kept unchanged in direction.

Overhead conveyance device and overhead conveyance vehicle

Overhead conveying device and overhead conveying vehicle

A mechanical interface apparatus which is capable of loading semiconductor wafers stored in a sealed container into a processing apparatus without adversely affecting the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers due to exposure to external air or dust. When a sealed container 100 is placed on top of a processing apparatus 200, latch mechanisms 201 are activated to engage with a flange 103, so as to affix the container body 101. Then, valves 3 and 5 are opened to perform a gas purge, after which a drive mechanism provided inside a lock operating mechanism 220 is operated in order to withdraw lock arms 111 from concave portions 103a, thereby unlocking the bottom lid 110. Then, wafer cassettes 106 inside the container are lowered to a predetermined position by means of an in-apparatus elevator mechanism 202, and the wafer cassettes are loaded into the processing apparatus 200 by a cassette loading mechanism.

Mechanical interface apparatus

A transport system has a track provided along a transport route forming a main route and at least one branch route connected to the main route at a branch point. A first power supply line is provided along the main route; a second power supply line is provided along the branch route and a transport vehicle moves along the track. There is a drive unit for driving the transport vehicle along the track with the drive unit being attached to the transport vehicle, a route selector for selecting a branch route at the branch point and a power receiver for receiving electric power from the first and second power supply lines to supply electric power to the drive unit.

Transport system

In an overhead hoist transfer having a moving carriage with a hand portion, which holds a load, elevatably suspended therefrom; and a means for teaching an appointed stop position on a placement base, on which said load is placed, to said moving carriage, LEDs 7a and 7b are installed at the hand portion 6, and a position detecting portion 12 consisting of a lens 12a and PSD 12b is installed at the placement base 53 side, in order to automatically and accurately enable a teaching of position correcting data in a short time without use of any manpower. Further, a teaching portion is installed, which detects a deviation between the present stop position and the above appointed stop position on the basis of the relative position of the hand portion 6 with respect to the placement base, which is obtained by the position detecting portion 12, and carries out a teaching to the moving carriage by, for example, radio, whereby it is not necessary for an operator to carry out a teaching by actually moving the hand portion, wherein it is possible to accurately carry out a teaching of position correcting data in a short time.

Overhead hoist transfer

A method of refining metal to be processed to a high degree of purity by heat-melting the metal in a melting furnace in the form of a metal crucible placed in a vacuum vessel. The method includes evacuating prior to melting, preheating the inside of the entire vacuum atmosphere including the inner wall surface of the vacuum vessel, component parts inside the vessel and the like in order to keep the total pressure within the vessel at 1.times.10.sup.-8 Torr or lower, and effecting high frequency induction heating while controlling the partial pressure of each of O.sub.2, H.sub.2, CO in the atmosphere inside the vessel. Further, the vacuum vessel, the metal crucible and an induction heating coil attached to the crucible, each of which has double jacket structure, are heated or cooled by supplying circulating heating or cooling water in a water-passage space of each of the vacuum vessel, the metal crucible and the induction heating coil, so that the inside of the melting furnace is baked.

Method of refining metal to high degree of purity and high-frequency

An automated guided vehicle includes a transporting portion having an upper surface and a driving device, the transporting portion being movable by the driving device; a transferring device provided on the upper surface of the transporting portion, the transferring device being capable of transferring a workpiece to or from an apparatus; and a mounting portion formed on the upper surface of the transporting portion, the mounting portion having at least two opening portions which allow an operation for transferring the workpiece. In the automated guided vehicle, photosensors are respectively arranged on the opening portions to detect an object which intrudes into a predetermined area or projects from the predetermined area, and a control device monitors a state of the photosensors and controls the transferring device or the driving device in accordance with the state of the photosensors.

Automated guided vehicle

A cold crucible induction melting furnace is provided with a plurality of segments separated by a plurality of slits that surround a bottom member which together form the melting chamber. Each lower end of each segment is overlapped with and spaced from a short part of a vertically extending side wall of the bottom member so as to form a horizontal gap there between. A radially and outwardly extending flange protrudes from the bottom member side wall below each segment lower end to form a lower gap there between. An induction coil is disposed around and spaced from an outer face of the segments with a lower end adjacent to each of the lower segment ends and an upper end adjacent to an upper part of each segment that is in turn connected with an adjacent upper segment part to form a short circuited part. The radial thickness of each segment from the upper end of the coil to the lower end of the segments is the same and the magnetic flux generated by the induction coil passing through the lower gap and the horizontal gap provides increased magnetic flux density at least adjacent to the region adjacent to the bottom member and the lower ends of the segments.

Cold crucible induction furnace

A portable closed container has a container body, and a lid for opening and hermetically closing the opening of the container body, in which an internal atmosphere thereof is replaced with an inner atmosphere suitable for an article contained in the container through a gas purging operation. The container is improved such that the lid is a hollowed body with at least one purging wall hole.

Portable closed container

Disclosed is an electronic substrate processing system comprising a processing equipment for processing electronic substrates including semiconductor wafers and liquid crystal substrates; a cleaning equipment for cleaning said electronic substrate in a predetermined processing step; a portable closed container for accommodating a cassette containing said electronic substrate; a purging station for gas-purging said portable closed containers; and a storage member for storing said portable closed containers, wherein said cassette accommodates said electronic substrates which have been cleaned by said cleaning equipment being set in said portable closed container and purged with an inert gas in said purging station, and said portable closed container or containers is stored in said storing section when necessary.

Electronic substrate processing system using portable closed containers

Disclosed is a wafer conveying system for a clean room which is high in wafer conveying efficiency, and makes it possible to achieve a variety of processing operations with high efficiency. The wafer conveying system in a clean room comprises: an interface equipment cooperating with a conveying system to transfer wafers therebetween which is adapted to convey articles between manufacturing lines; a conveying path extended from the interface equipment; on intra-bay wafer conveying equipment which is moved along the conveying path; and a single or plural wafer processing equipments arranged along the conveying path, thus forming one processing line, the conveying system operating to convey cassettes containing wafers, the interface equipment operating to take a specified number of wafers out of a single or plural cassettes which are delivered to the interface equipment, and place the wafers in an auxiliary cassette provided for the one processing line only, and the intra-bay wafer conveying equipment operating to receive the auxiliary cassette, and move to a specified one of the wafer processing equipments, and to give the wafers to the specified wafer processing equipment and receive wafers therefrom.

Wafer conveying system in a clean room

Growing community of inventors

Ise, Japan

Hitoshi Kawano