Granted Patent B2

US 7,199,859 · App. 11/117,434 · Granted Apr 3, 2007

Abstract

Claims (39)

1. An exposure equipment comprising:

a wafer carrier being flexibly movable and containable plural wafers being subject to exposure;

a container containing said wafer carrier in an attachable/detachable manner;

an equipment including a mounting table for said wafer in an exposure chamber thereof and exposing a surface of said wafer mounted on the mounting table;

a transfer area including, between said container and said equipment, a transfer unit having a space to transfer said wafer carrier therethrough and an airflow generating unit generating an airflow in the space of the transfer unit to maintain cleanliness in the transfer unit; and

a controller controlling a transfer operation of said wafer carrier and the wafer;

wherein said controller moves said wafer carrier from said container, controls a transfer and a collection of the wafer between an inside of the space of the transfer unit and said equipment, returns said wafer carrier containing wafers which are not exposed by said equipment into said container when said wafer is exposed to keep said wafer carrier waiting in said container.

2. The exposure equipment according to claim 1 ,

wherein said controller transfers the wafer from said wafer carrier positioning in the space of the transfer unit to said equipment until said wafer(s) placed in said equipment attain(s) an upper limit in number containable in said equipment, and returns said wafer carrier from the space of the transfer unit to said container when the number of the wafer(s) attains the upper limit.

3. The exposure equipment according to claim 2 ,

wherein said equipment includes a load lock unit arranged between the transfer unit and the exposure chamber,

wherein the number of the wafer(s) containable in the load lock unit is at least one; and

wherein the number of the wafers containable in said equipment is at least two.

4. The exposure equipment according to claim 1 ,

wherein said transfer area includes a protection plate for said wafer carrier and a protection plate arrangement mechanism to arrange the protection plate so as to shield said wafer carrier against the airflow when said wafer carrier is transferred to the transfer unit by said controller.

5. The exposure equipment according to claim 1 ,

wherein the protection plate has a shape shielding only such a portion of said wafer carrier that confronts an airflow direction.

6. The exposure equipment according to claim 1 ,

wherein the protection plate has a shape covering said wafer carrier to isolate said wafer carrier from the space of the transfer unit.

7. The exposure equipment according to claim 1 ,

wherein said controller returns said wafer carrier containing wafers which are not exposed by said equipment into said container when said wafer is exposed and thereafter keeps said wafer carrier waiting in said container until the wafer completes the exposure.

8. A control method of an exposure equipment comprising the steps of:

moving the wafer carrier from the container to the space of the transfer unit;

transferring the wafer from the inside of the space of the transfer unit to the equipment;

exposing the surface of the wafer set on the mounting table;

returning the wafer carrier containing wafers which are not exposed by said equipment into the container when the wafer is exposed to keep the wafer carrier waiting in the container;

moving the wafer carrier from the container to the space of the transfer unit when the wafer completes the exposure; and

collecting the wafer completing the exposure from the equipment to the wafer carrier, using an exposure equipment including a wafer carrier being flexibly movable and containable plural wafers being subject to exposure; a container containing the wafer carrier in an attachable/detachable manner; an equipment including a mounting table for the wafer in an exposure chamber thereof and exposing a surface of the wafer mounted on the mounting table; a transfer area including, between the container and the equipment, a transfer unit having a space to transfer the wafer carrier therethrough and an airflow generating unit generating an airflow in the space of the transfer unit to maintain cleanliness in the transfer unit; and a controller controlling a transfer operation of the wafer carrier and the wafer.

9. The control method of the exposure equipment according to claim 8 ,

wherein, in said step of transferring the wafer to the equipment, the wafer is transferred from the wafer carrier positioning in the space of the transfer unit to the equipment until the wafer(s) placed in the equipment attain(s) an upper limit in number containable in the equipment, and

wherein, in said step of returning the wafer carrier into the container to keep the wafer carrier waiting, the wafer carrier is returned from the space of the transfer unit to the container when the number of the wafer(s) attain(s) the upper limit.

10. The control method of the exposure equipment according to claim 8 ,

wherein, when the wafer carrier positions in the space of the transfer unit, a protection plate is arranged so as to shield the containable plural wafers in the wafer carrier against the airflow.

11. The control method of the exposure equipment according to claim 10 ,

wherein the protection plate shields only such a portion of the wafer carrier that confronts an airflow direction.

12. The control method of the exposure equipment according to claim 10 ,

wherein the protection plate covers the wafer carrier to isolate the wafer carrier from the space of the transfer unit.

13. The control method of the exposure equipment according to claim 8 ,

wherein, in said step of keeping said wafer carrier waiting in said container, said wafer carrier containing wafers which are not exposed by said equipment is returned into said container when said wafer is exposed and thereafter said wafer carrier is kept waiting in said container until the water completes the exposure.

Assignments (6)