Wafer transfer apparatus and substrate transfer apparatus

A substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate, relative to a substrate processing apparatus for processing the substrate, comprising:

• an interface space forming portion defining an interface space, the interface space forming portion having a front wall and a rear wall which are arranged in predetermined forward and backward directions at an interval, the front wall having a first transfer port formed therein, and the rear wall having a second transfer port formed therein;
• an opening and closing unit configured to open and close the first transfer port of the interface space forming portion;
• and
• a substrate carrying robot located in the interface space and configured to carry the substrate between the first transfer port and the second transfer port,
• wherein the substrate carrying robot includes:
• a base which is fixed to the interface space forming portion and at which a predetermined pivot axis is set;
• a first link member which is connected at its one end with the base, configured to be angularly displaced about the pivot axis, and at which a first joint axis is set in parallel to the pivot axis;
• a second link member which is connected at its one end with an other end of the first link member, configured to be angularly displaced about the first joint axis, and at which a second pivot axis is set in parallel to the pivot axis;
• a third link member which is connected at its one end with an other end of the second link member, configured to be angularly displaced about the second joint axis, and includes a robot hand at an other end thereof for holding the substrate;
• and
• a drive unit configured to drive each of the link members so that the link members are angularly displaced, individually, about each corresponding axis,
• wherein the pivot axis is located nearer to the rear wall than to the front wall or nearer to the front wall than to the rear wall in the forward and backward directions, and
• wherein a first link distance L1 defined as a distance from the pivot axis to an end of the first link member, which is farthest in a radial direction toward the first joint axis relative to the pivot axis, is set to exceed ½ of a length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space, the length B corresponding to a length between the front wall and the rear wall of the interface space forming portion, and is further set to be equal to or less than a subtracted value (B−L0) to be obtained by subtracting a distance L0 in the forward and backward directions from the rear wall of the interface space forming portion to the pivot axis, from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., B/2<L1≤B−L0), and
• the first link distance L1 is set to be equal to or less than an allowable length (B−L0−E) to be obtained by subtracting the distance L0 in the forward and backward directions from the rear wall of the interface space forming portion to the pivot axis and a length E of a robot invasion restricted region, which is set for the FOUP opener and is measured from the front wall in the forward and backward directions toward the rear wall, from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., L1≤B−L0−E).

A wafer transfer apparatus for transferring a wafer, comprising:

• an interface space forming portion defining an interface space, the interface space forming portion having a front wall and a rear wall which are arranged at a predetermined interval in forward and backward directions, the front wall having a front opening formed therein, and the rear wall having a rear opening formed therein;
• a FOUP opener configured to open and close the substrate container located adjacent to the interface space and the front opening of the interface space forming portion;
• and
• a wafer carrying robot located in the interface space and configured to carry the wafer between the front opening and the rear opening,
• wherein the wafer carrying robot includes:
• a base which is fixed to the interface space forming portion and at which a predetermined pivot axis is set;
• a robot arm having a proximal end and a distal end, the robot arm including a plurality of link members connected with one another in succession in a direction from the proximal end to the distal end, the proximal end being connected with the base, the distal end being provided with a robot hand for holding the wafer, the robot arm being configured to be angularly displaced about the pivot axis;
• and
• a drive unit configured to drive each of the link members of the robot arm so that the link members are angularly displaced, individually, about each corresponding axis,
• wherein, in a minimum transformed state where the robot arm is transformed such that a distance defined from the pivot axis to an arm portion which is farthest in a radial direction relative to the pivot axis is minimum, a minimum rotation radius R, as the distance defined from the pivot axis to the arm portion which is the farthest in the radial direction relative to the pivot axis, is set to exceed ½ of a length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space, the length B corresponding to a length between the front wall and the rear wall of the interface space forming portion, and is further set to be equal to or less than a subtracted value (B−L0) to be obtained by subtracting a distance L0 set to be greater by a predetermined gap length Q than a radius T2 of an outer circumference of the first link member about the pivot axis (L0=T2+Q), from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., B/2<R≤B−L0), and
• the minimum rotation radius R is set to be equal to or less than an allowable length (B−L0−E) to be obtained by subtracting the distance L0 set to be greater by the predetermined gap length Q than the radius T2 of an outer circumference of the first link member about the pivot axis and a length E of a robot invasion restricted region, which is set for the FOUP opener and is measured from the front wall in the forward and backward directions toward the rear wall, from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., R<B−L0−E).

A substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate, relative to a substrate processing apparatus for processing the substrate, comprising:

• an interface space forming portion defining an interface space, the interface space forming portion having a front wall and a rear wall which are arranged in predetermined forward and backward directions at an interval, the front wall having a first transfer port formed therein, and the rear wall having a second transfer port formed therein;
• an opening and closing unit configured to open and close the first transfer port of the interface space forming portion;
• and
• a substrate carrying robot located in the interface space and configured to carry the substrate between the first transfer port and the second transfer port,
• wherein the substrate carrying robot includes:
• a base which is fixed to the interface space forming portion and at which a predetermined pivot axis is set;
• a first link member which is connected at its one end with the base, configured to be angularly displaced about the pivot axis, and at which a first joint axis is set in parallel to the pivot axis;
• a second link member which is connected at its one end with an other end of the first link member, configured to be angularly displaced about the first joint axis, and at which a second pivot axis is set in parallel to the pivot axis;
• a third link member which is connected at its one end with an other end of the second link member, configured to be angularly displaced about the second joint axis, and includes a robot hand at an other end thereof for holding the substrate;
• and
• a drive unit configured to drive each of the link members so that the link members are angularly displaced, individually, about each corresponding axis,
• wherein the pivot axis is located nearer to the rear wall than to the front wall or nearer to the front wall than to the rear wall in the forward and backward directions, and
• wherein a first link distance L1 defined as a distance from the pivot axis to an end of the first link member, which is farthest in a radial direction toward the first joint axis relative to the pivot axis, is set to exceed ½ of a length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space, the length B corresponding to a length between the front wall and the rear wall of the interface space forming portion, and is further set to be equal to or less than a subtracted value (B−L0) to be obtained by subtracting a distance L0 set to be greater by a predetermined gap length Q than a radius T2 of an outer circumference of the first link member about the pivot axis (L0=T2+Q), from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., B/2<L1≤B−L0), and
• the first link distance L1 is set to be equal to or less than an allowable length (B−L0−E) to be obtained by subtracting the distance L0 set to be greater by the predetermined gap length Q than the radius T2 of an outer circumference of the first link member about the pivot axis and a length E of a robot invasion restricted region, which is set for the FOUP opener and is measured from the front wall in the forward and backward directions toward the rear wall, from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., L1≤B−L0−E).

A substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate, comprising:

• an interface space forming portion defining an interface space, the interface space forming portion having a front wall and a rear wall which are arranged at a predetermined interval in forward and backward directions, the front wall having a front opening formed therein, and the rear wall having a rear opening formed therein;
• a FOUP opener including an opener-side door, the FOUP opener being configured to open and close a substrate container which includes a FOUP-side door and is located adjacent to the interface space and the front opening of the interface space forming portion, the FOUP opener being configured to open and close the opener-side door and the FOUP-side door;
• and
• a substrate carrying robot located in the interface space and configured to carry the substrate between the front opening and the rear opening,
• wherein the substrate carrying robot includes:
• a base which is located in the interface space and at which a predetermined pivot axis is set;
• a first link member which is connected at its one end with the base, configured to be angularly displaced about the pivot axis, and at which a first joint axis is set in parallel to the pivot axis;
• a second link member which is connected at its one end with an other end of the first link member, configured to be angularly displaced about the first joint axis, and at which a second joint axis is set in parallel to the pivot axis;
• a third link member which is connected at its one end with an other end of the second link member, configured to be angularly displaced about the second joint axis, and includes a robot hand at an other end thereof for holding the substrate;
• and
• a drive unit configured to drive each of the link members so that the link members are angularly displaced, individually, about each corresponding axis, the drive unit including a plurality of motors, each of the plurality of motors being provided for a respective one of the plurality of link members, wherein
• the pivot axis is located nearer to the rear wall than to the front wall in the forward and backward directions,
• a first link distance L1 defined as a distance from the pivot axis to an end of the first link member, which is farthest in a radial direction toward the first joint axis relative to the pivot axis, is set to exceed ½ of a length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space, the length B corresponding to a length between the front wall and the rear wall of the interface space forming portion, and is further set to be equal to or less than a subtracted value (B−L0) to be obtained by subtracting a distance L0 set to be greater by a predetermined gap length Q than a radius T2 of an outer surface of the first link member about the pivot axis (L0=T2+Q), from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., B/2<L1≤B−L0),
• the first link distance L1 is set to be equal to or less than an allowable length (B−L0−E) to be obtained by subtracting the distance L0 and a length E of a robot invasion restricted region from the length B in the forward and backward directions of the interface space (i.e., L1≤B−L0−E), and
• the robot invasion restricted region is set for the FOUP opener, extends in the forward and backward directions, and is defined by a movable region in which the opener-side door and the FOUP-side door move relative to the substrate container.