Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention includes: a robot including a hand configured to hold a substrate, and an arm configured to move the hand; a robot control device configured to set a moving path for the hand and control the arm such that the hand moves on the moving path toward a target position; and a camera disposed so as to be able to capture an image of the substrate held by the hand located at a predetermined confirmation position. The robot control device sets the moving path so as to pass through the confirmation position, obtains an image captured by the camera when the hand is located at the confirmation position, calculates a distance between a predetermined environment and the substrate which are taken in the image, and calculates a positional deviation amount from a reference position of the substrate on the basis of the distance.

Abstract: An aligner apparatus according to one or more embodiments may include a first rotating base, a second rotating base, and a detection apparatus. The first rotating base on which a wafer placed thereon rotates around a first rotation axis line. The second rotating base on which a wafer placed thereon rotates around a second rotation axis whose position is different from that of the first rotation axis line. The detection apparatus includes one sensor for detecting the edge of the wafer, and the detection range of the sensor includes the edge of the wafer placed on the first rotating base and the edge of the wafer placed on the second rotating base, and detects the edges of the two wafers.

Abstract: A substrate suction-holding structure includes a conductive pad main body including an annular contact portion and a bottom wall portion closing a first vacuum chamber bottom surface surrounded by the contact portion, a conductive blade main body including an upper surface and a second vacuum chamber formed by depressing the upper surface, a conductive support column provided either on the second vacuum chamber or on the pad main body, causing the contact portion to be further on an upper side than the upper surface, and swingably supporting the pad main body with respect to the second vacuum chamber, a cover secured to the blade main body and covering the second vacuum chamber, and a suction path extending from the first vacuum chamber and passing through the bottom wall portion, the second vacuum chamber, and the blade main body in this order, the suction path connected to a vacuum source.

Abstract: A wafer jig according to an embodiment may be used for a robot having a hand including a light emitting part and a light receiving part. The light receiving part detects detection light emitted from the light emitting part. The wafer jig includes a light source for emitting the notification light toward the light receiving part. The wafer jig outputs information to a hand side by emitting the notification light from the light source to the light receiving part.

Abstract: A robot system according to an embodiment may include a robot, a wafer jig that is held by the robot, a positioning base, a positional displacement detection device, a control part, and an offset acquisition part for acquiring an offset that occurs between a command position for the robot and an actual position. The positioning base includes contacting members. The wafer jig has a tapered surface. The tapered surface guides the wafer jig so that a center of the wafer jig approaches a predetermined position as a position where the taped surface contacts the contacting members is relatively higher. The robot places the wafer jig on the positioning base, then holds and conveys the wafer jig to the positional displacement detection device. The offset acquisition part acquires the offset based on a result in which the positional displacement detection device detects a positional displacement of the conveyed wafer jig.

Abstract: A method of teaching a robot, the robot including a first and second end effector that are mounted to a robotic arm wrist, the first and second end effector being rotatable about a same rotational axis independently of each other. The method includes: a first step of, in a state where rotational positions of the first and second end effectors about the rotational axis coincide with each other, attaching a relative motion preventing device to the first and second end effector, the relative motion preventing device preventing the first and second end effector from moving relative to each other; and a fourth step of generating a teaching point of the second end effector based on: a teaching point of the first end effector; and rotational position information about the first and second end effector that are stored in a storage unit in association with each other in a third step.

Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention includes: a robot including a hand configured to hold a substrate, and an arm configured to move the hand; a robot control device configured to set a moving path for the hand and control the arm such that the hand moves on the moving path toward a target position; and a camera disposed so as to be able to capture an image of the substrate held by the hand located at a predetermined confirmation position. The robot control device sets the moving path so as to pass through the confirmation position, obtains an image captured by the camera when the hand is located at the confirmation position, calculates a distance between a predetermined environment and the substrate which are taken in the image, and calculates a positional deviation amount from a reference position of the substrate on the basis of the distance.

Abstract: A position correction method includes: a step of opposing a hand to a target by moving the hand such that the hand becomes in a predetermined first initial posture; a first position detection step of detecting a position of the target from a rotation angle of a rotation axis when the target blocks a detection light by swinging the hand; a step of opposing the hand to the target by moving the hand such that the hand becomes a predetermined second initial posture different from the first initial posture; a second position detection step of detecting a position of the target from the rotation angle of the rotation axis when the target blocks the detection light by swinging the hand; and a correction amount arithmetic step of obtaining rotation angle correction amounts of the second axis and the third axis based on a difference between the position of the target acquired in the first initial posture and the position of the target acquired in the second initial posture.

Abstract: A substrate suction-holding structure includes a conductive pad main body including an annular contact portion and a bottom wall portion closing a first vacuum chamber bottom surface surrounded by the contact portion, a conductive blade main body including an upper surface and a second vacuum chamber formed by depressing the upper surface, a conductive support column provided either on the second vacuum chamber or on the pad main body, causing the contact portion to be further on an upper side than the upper surface, and swingably supporting the pad main body with respect to the second vacuum chamber, a cover secured to the blade main body and covering the second vacuum chamber, and a suction path extending from the first vacuum chamber and passing through the bottom wall portion, the second vacuum chamber, and the blade main body in this order, the suction path connected to a vacuum source.

Abstract: A substrate transport robot includes: a base installed inside a transport chamber; an arm; a first hand and a second hand rotatable about a vertical hand axis and configured to support a substrate; and a controller. The controller performs: a first transfer process of causing the first hand to enter from the transport chamber into a storage chamber, and transferring the substrate between the first hand and a placing portion in the storage chamber; an exit process of causing the first hand to exit the storage chamber into the transport chamber; and a second transfer process of causing the second hand to enter from the transport chamber into the storage chamber. In the exit process, the hand axis moves away from a center line of an opening, such that the hand axis is farther from the center line than a reference position of the first hand is.

Abstract: A method of correcting a position of a robot includes: a correction step of rotating an arm around a first axis to detect a rotation angle around the first axis when a target blocks detection light, and locating the first axis, a third axis, and the target on an identical straight line by rotating the arm and/or a hand around the first axis, a second axis, and/or the third axis based on a detection result; and a correction amount arithmetic step of obtaining rotation angle correction amounts of the second axis and the third axis based on the rotation angle of each rotation axis acquired after the correction step in a first posture.

Abstract: A substrate transfer robot, first and second sensors are provided in a hand such that a planar-view intersection point of optical axes is located on a center of a substrate when the hand holds the substrate in planar view, and a control device operates an arm, scans a target placed at a teaching position with the first and second sensors, and acquires the teaching position when the target is located at the planar-view intersection point of the optical axes.

Abstract: A substrate transport robot includes: a base installed inside a transport chamber; an arm; a first hand and a second hand rotatable about a vertical hand axis and configured to support a substrate; and a controller. The controller performs: a first transfer process of causing the first hand to enter from the transport chamber into a storage chamber, and transferring the substrate between the first hand and a placing portion in the storage chamber; an exit process of causing the first hand to exit the storage chamber into the transport chamber; and a second transfer process of causing the second hand to enter from the transport chamber into the storage chamber. In the exit process, the hand axis moves away from a center line of an opening, such that the hand axis is farther from the center line than a reference position of the first hand is.

Abstract: A substrate transfer apparatus includes a base, an arm, an end effector provided at a tip of the arm and having a first tip portion and a second tip portion that are bifurcated, a light emitting unit, a light receiving unit, and a control device controlling an operation of the arm. The control device controls an operation of the arm so that light straightly traveling through a tip of the end effector scans edges of a plurality of substrates accommodated in a front opening unified pod (FOUP), unit with shape patterns of a reference waveform for comparison according to a relative positional relationship between the light and the substrate during the operation of the arm and diagnoses at least one of a state of the substrate, a state of the FOUP, and a state of the end effector based on a comparison result.

Abstract: A method of teaching the target body edge position includes moving a photoelectric sensor optical axis to an initial position specified on the target body edge outer side installed so that the target body main surface is horizontal, and specified upper or lower than the target body, repeating an optical axis forward cycle until the target body edge is detected by the sensor, and obtaining the target body edge detected point position based on the substrate transfer robot posture when the target body edge is detected by the sensor to store the edge position. A movement cycle includes a series of movements including lifting or lowering passing through a height level of the target body, forward movement by a first movement amount in a horizontal scanning direction toward the target body, lowering or lifting passing through the level, and forward movement by the first movement amount in the scanning direction.

Abstract: A robot control unit for a substrate conveying robot raises a hand from a first lower position below a first target position at which the hand picks up a substrate to a first upper position above the first target position, and displaces at least one of a plurality of joints in one direction, in a first interval from the first lower position to a first intermediate position between the first lower position and the first target position.

Abstract: A position correction method includes: a step of opposing a hand to a target by moving the hand such that the hand becomes in a predetermined first initial posture; a first position detection step of detecting a position of the target from a rotation angle of a rotation axis when the target blocks a detection light by swinging the hand; a step of opposing the hand to the target by moving the hand such that the hand becomes a predetermined second initial posture different from the first initial posture; a second position detection step of detecting a position of the target from the rotation angle of the rotation axis when the target blocks the detection light by swinging the hand; and a correction amount arithmetic step of obtaining rotation angle correction amounts of the second axis and the third axis based on a difference between the position of the target acquired in the first initial posture and the position of the target acquired in the second initial posture.

Abstract: A substrate transfer robot, first and second sensors are provided in a hand such that a planar-view intersection point of optical axes is located on a center of a substrate when the hand holds the substrate in planar view, and a control device operates an arm, scans a target placed at a teaching position with the first and second sensors, and acquires the teaching position when the target is located at the planar-view intersection point of the optical axes.

Abstract: A method of correcting a position of a robot includes: a correction step of rotating an arm around a first axis to detect a rotation angle around the first axis when a target blocks detection light, and locating the first axis, a third axis, and the target on an identical straight line by rotating the arm and/or a hand around the first axis, a second axis, and/or the third axis based on a detection result; and a correction amount arithmetic step of obtaining rotation angle correction amounts of the second axis and the third axis based on the rotation angle of each rotation axis acquired after the correction step in a first posture.

Abstract: Throughput is improved in a substrate transfer device including a substrate transport robot having a substrate holding hand, and an aligner. A method of controlling a substrate transfer device includes moving a substrate holding hand holding a substrate to a predetermined ready position defined around an aligner, moving the substrate holding hand to a predetermined placement position defined by the aligner to transfer the substrate to a turntable of the aligner, causing the aligner to align the substrate while causing the substrate holding hand to wait at a predetermined waiting position defined at a position closer to the placement position than the ready position is, moving the substrate holding hand to the placement position to transfer the substrate from the aligner to the substrate holding hand, and moving the substrate holding hand holding the substrate to the ready position.