A wafer basket station includes a semiconductor wafer basket containing therein a number of semiconductor wafers and an elevating device which raises and lowers the wafer basket to bring a desired wafer in its taken out height. A wafer detecting device is formed with a transmission type optical sensor disposed inclined so that the optical axis thereof passes a center of a semiconductor wafer at the desired height, but not to pass adjacent wafers of the semiconductor wafer. The elevating device of the wafer basket has an elevator which supports wafers to be worked and treated and is guided and driven vertically with respect to a base frame of the device. The elevator is provided with an opaque body. A photocoupler support plate is guided to move vertically and supported with respect to the base frame of the device. A spring means is energized in the departing direction away from the photocoupler support plate against the base frame. A screw adjusting means is rotatably supported while being restricted to move downwardly with respect to the base frame and connected with the support plate, so that by its rotation the relative position of the photocoupler and the base frame is adjusted.
A hand mechanism and a library apparatus capable of performing cartridge detection at a high speed as well as reducing the production cost. The library apparatus includes an entry/exit mechanism (container shelf) having a plurality of cells (container chambers) for containing a cartridge and a hand mechanism for taking a cartridge out of the entry/exit mechanism. The cells have a reflection plate (reflector), and the hand mechanism has a sensor (cartridge detector) emitting a detection light and receiving the detection light reflected from the reflection plate. The detection light is simultaneously applied to two or more cells.
A detector for detecting the presence, number and arrangement of semiconductor wafers arranged face to face comprising a light emitting unit having a light emitting element for shooting light beam to each of the wafer, a light receiving unit having a light receiving element for receiving the light beam which have passed through each of the wafers, and a controller for finding the state of each of the wafers while comparing data obtained from the light beams received with reference data stored to thereby determine how each of the wafers to be processed, wherein said light emitting and receiving elements are alternately positioned corresponding to spaces each defined between a pair of the wafers.
Apparatus and method for the inspection of the edges of multiple semiconductor wafers at the same time. The wafers are held in a cassette and a columnar beam of light is projected tangentially to an upper edge portion of the wafers. Visual detection of back scattering of light from the edge of any of the wafers reveals the edge defect. Rotation of the wafers using the apparatus permits the entire circumference of the wafers to be inspected. The apparatus holds the wafers in such a way as to protect their polished surfaces during the inspection process.
A wafer conveyor apparatus which moves a wafer moving device which moves wafers housed in a wafer cassette and performs conveyance the wafers, comprises a first arm provided with a light emitting device, a second arm provided with a light receiving device that detects light emitted from the light emitting device, and a wafer detector that has a judgment device for judging the presence or absence or a housing status of a wafer inside a wafer cassette on the basis of the output information of the light receiving device. In addition, the first arm provided to a conveyor platform and having the light emitting device provided at its distal end and the second arm provided to the conveyor platform and having the light receiving device provided at its distal end, are moved and positioned above and below an outside of an outer peripheral side of the wafer, and the first arm and the second arm are moved in a direction of the thickness of the wafer, light is irradiated from the light emitting device and the light is detected by the light receiving device to measure an apparent thickness of the wafer. Then, the apparent thickness of the wafer as obtained by measurement is compared with an actual thickness of the wafer and an inclination of a housed wafer is detected, and depending upon a detected inclination of the wafer, the wafer is either moved, the housing of the wafer corrected, or alarm processing is performed.
