Wafer position detection device and semiconductor equipment

By providing a synchronous sliding device of linear sensor and annular slide rail outside the semiconductor chamber, the problem of sealing processing and high-temperature chip transfer complexity in the prior art is solved, efficient and accurate wafer position detection is achieved, and maintenance difficulty is reduced .

CN119132999AActive Publication Date: 2024-12-13BEIJING NAURA MICROELECTRONICS EQUIP CO LTD

Patent Information

Application Number
CN202310701127.5
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-06-13
Publication Date
2024-12-13
Estimated Expiration
2043-06-13

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing wafer position detection devices have complexity and maintenance difficulties in sealing processing and high-temperature chip transfer, especially the sealing connection of the rotating platform to the process chamber and the added complexity of the cooling system.

Method used

A wafer position detection device is designed, wherein the transmitting end and receiving end of the linear sensor are located on the upper and lower sides of the wafer, and slide synchronously through the annular slide rail. The processor controls the transmission and reception of the detection signal, determines the center position of the wafer, and The device is arranged outside the semiconductor chamber, avoiding the sealing process of connecting the rotating shaft to the chamber, and does not require a cooling system at high temperatures.

Benefits of technology

It realizes simplified sealing processing, reduces maintenance difficulty, is suitable for high-temperature chip transfer environments, and can accurately determine the center position of the wafer, improving detection accuracy and equipment reliability.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The invention discloses a wafer position detection device and semiconductor equipment. A first annular sliding rail and a second annular sliding rail of the wafer position detection device are oppositely arranged on the upper side and the lower side of a semiconductor cavity. The transmitting end of the linear sensor is slidably connected with the first annular sliding rail, and the receiving end of the linear sensor is slidably connected with the second annular sliding rail. The orthographic projection of the linear sensor transmitting end on the wafer and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor receiving end on the wafer are partially overlapped with the wafer; the processor is used for controlling the driver to drive the linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end to slide synchronously; a linear sensor transmitting end is controlled to transmit a detection signal, and a linear sensor receiving end is controlled to receive the detection signal which is not shielded by the wafer; determining the circle center position of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the receiving end of the linear sensor; wherein the detection signal can penetrate through the semiconductor chamber. The problems that an existing process chamber is difficult to seal and needs a cooling system are solved.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and in particular to a wafer position calibration detection device and semiconductor equipment. Background Art

[0002] The wafer needs to be calibrated before transmission, such as center calibration, to prevent the wafer from being too far off-center and causing the robot to be unable to grab it when transferring the wafer. The position of the wafer needs to be detected before calibration.

[0003] An existing wafer position detection device is as follows Figure 1 As shown, it includes a transparent process chamber 10a, a rotating platform 20a, a light source 30a, a light receiver 40a and a driving source 50a. The rotating platform 20a is located in the process chamber 10a, and is driven to rotate by an external driving source 50a, and is used to fix the wafer 101a and drive the wafer 101a to rotate. The light source 30a and the light receiver 40a are located on the upper and lower sides of the process chamber 10a. The light source 30a projects the shadow of the wafer 101a onto one side of the light receiver 40a, and the light receiver 40a determines the edge of the wafer 101a, and calculates the center of the wafer 101a based on the determined edge.

[0004] Since the rotating platform 20a and the driving source 50a are respectively located inside and outside the process chamber 10a, the connection portion between the rotating shaft 21a of the rotating platform 20a and the process chamber 10a needs to be sealed; and for high-temperature wafer transmission, the temperature of the wafer 101a is as high as over 800°C, which will cause the temperature of the process chamber 10a to be higher than 70°C, thereby requiring a special water cooling device, which increases the overall complexity of the equipment and the difficulty of maintenance. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above technical problems, the present application provides a wafer position detection device and a semiconductor device, which can improve the problems of the existing detection method that the process chamber is difficult to seal and requires a cooling system.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a wafer position detection device applied to a semiconductor chamber, wherein a carrying portion for carrying a wafer is provided in the semiconductor chamber; the wafer position detection device is arranged outside the semiconductor chamber, and the wafer position detection device includes a first annular slide rail, a second annular slide rail, a linear sensor transmitting end, a linear sensor receiving end, a driver and a processor;

[0007] The first annular slide rail and the second annular slide rail are arranged oppositely on upper and lower sides of the semiconductor chamber;

[0008] The linear sensor transmitting end is slidably connected to the first annular slide rail, and the linear sensor receiving end is slidably connected to the second annular slide rail; and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor transmitting end on the wafer and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor receiving end on the wafer both partially overlap with the wafer;

[0009] The driver is used to drive the linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end to slide synchronously along the annular slide rails where they are located;

[0010] The processor is used to: control the driver to drive the linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end to slide synchronously along the respective annular slide rails; and control the linear sensor transmitting end to transmit a detection signal, and the linear sensor receiving end to receive the detection signal that is not blocked by the wafer; determine the center position of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end; wherein the detection signal can penetrate the semiconductor chamber.

[0011] Optionally, determining the center position of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end specifically includes:

[0012] Determining the outline of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end;

[0013] At least three position points are selected on the contour, and the center position of the wafer is calculated based on the at least three position points.

[0014] Optionally, a notch mark is provided on the edge of the wafer, and the center angle corresponding to the notch mark is θ0; selecting at least three position points on the contour and calculating the center position of the wafer according to the at least three position points specifically includes:

[0015] Selecting three first position points on the contour, and calculating the first center position of the wafer according to the three first position points, wherein the center angle between any two adjacent first position points among the three first position points is 120°;

[0016] Selecting three second position points on the contour, and calculating the second center position of the wafer, wherein the three second position points correspond to the three first position points one by one, and the center angle between each second position point and the corresponding first position point is equal to a first preset angle θ1, and θ0<θ1≤120°-θ0;

[0017] Selecting three third position points on the contour, and calculating the third center position of the wafer, wherein the three third position points correspond to the three first position points one by one, and the center angle between each third position point and the corresponding first position point is equal to a second preset angle θ2, θ0<θ2≤120°-θ0, and θ1≠θ2;

[0018] The center position of the wafer is calculated based on the two positions with the smallest difference among the first center position, the second center position and the third center position.

[0019] Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

[0020] According to the contour, the azimuth angle of the notch mark relative to the center position of the circle is calculated.

[0021] Optionally, calculating the azimuth of the notch mark relative to the center position according to the contour specifically includes:

[0022] Determining an ideal circle according to the center position of the circle and the radius of the wafer;

[0023] Compare the ideal circle with the contour to determine the starting position and the ending position of the notch mark;

[0024] Calculate the azimuth angle θ of the starting position relative to the center position of the circle S and the azimuth angle θ of the end position relative to the center position of the circle F ;

[0025] According to the S and the θ F Calculate the azimuth angle θ of the midpoint of the line connecting the starting position and the ending position relative to the center position of the circle M .

[0026] Optionally, the processor is further used to compare the determined center position of the wafer with a pre-stored target position to determine an offset between the center position of the wafer and the target position.

[0027] Optionally, controlling the linear sensor receiving end to receive the detection signal that is not blocked by the wafer specifically includes:

[0028] The linear sensor receiving end is controlled to receive the signal once every time it moves a preset arc length, wherein the preset arc length is less than a preset calibration accuracy value.

[0029] Optionally, the linear sensor transmitting end extends radially along the first annular slide rail, and a signal transmitting position is provided every preset length;

[0030] The linear sensor receiving end extends radially along the second annular slide rail, and a signal receiving position is set every preset length, and the signal receiving position corresponds one-to-one with the signal transmitting position, wherein the preset length is less than the preset calibration accuracy value.

[0031] Optionally, the linear sensor transmitting end is a linear light source;

[0032] The linear sensor receiving end is a light sensor.

[0033] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a semiconductor device, comprising: a semiconductor chamber, a wafer transfer device, and a wafer position detection device as described in the above embodiments;

[0034] The wafer position detection device is used to detect the position of the wafer located in the semiconductor chamber;

[0035] The wafer transport device is used to transport the wafer and perform position correction on the wafer according to the detection result of the wafer position detection device.

[0036] As described above, in the wafer position detection device of the present application, the linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end constitute a corresponding sensor, which are respectively located on the upper and lower sides of the wafer. Since the orthographic projection of the linear sensor transmitting end on the wafer and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor receiving end on the wafer partially overlap with the wafer, the edge of the wafer can be identified. The linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end are driven by the processor to synchronously slide along the respective annular slide rails, so that the entire edge of the wafer can be scanned to determine the circumference of the wafer and then determine the center position of the wafer. The wafer position detection device of the present application, since the wafer is fixed in the semiconductor chamber, does not cause the problem of the connection part between the rotating shaft and the semiconductor chamber in the existing detection device that needs to be sealed; since the parts connected to the semiconductor chamber do not have a motor, even if it is used for high-temperature transmission, no cooling system assistance is required, which reduces the difficulty of maintenance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application, and are used together with the specification to explain the principles of the present application. In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative labor.

[0038] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an existing wafer position detection device;

[0039] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer position detection device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a control system of a wafer position detection device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 4 It is a control flow diagram of a processor provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 5 It is a flowchart of a method for determining the center position of a circle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the projection position relationship of a linear sensor transmitting end / linear sensor receiving end on a wafer provided by the present application;

[0044] Figure 7 It is a flowchart of a better method for calculating the center position of a circle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of taking three position points on a contour provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of detecting the azimuth angle of a notch mark of a wafer provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of calculating the azimuth angle of a notch mark relative to the center position of a circle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Fig.11 This is an application scenario diagram of a semiconductor device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0049] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of this application will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The above-mentioned drawings have shown clear embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail later. These drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept of this application in any way, but to illustrate the concept of this application to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present application. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0051] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "includes a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, components, features, and elements with the same name in different embodiments of the present application may have the same meaning or different meanings, and their specific meanings need to be determined by their explanation in the specific embodiment or further combined with the context of the specific embodiment.

[0052] It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" and "including" indicate the presence of the described features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, kinds, and / or groups, but do not exclude the presence, occurrence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, kinds, and / or groups. The terms "or", "and / or", "including at least one of the following", etc. used in this application may be interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination. For example, "including at least one of the following: A, B, C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C", and for another example, "A, B or C" or "A, B and / or C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C". Exceptions to this definition will only occur when the combination of elements, functions, steps or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way.

[0053] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of this document, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless otherwise indicated in the context.

[0054] It should be understood that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by terms such as "top", "bottom", "up", "down", "vertical", and "horizontal" are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description. They do not indicate or imply that the device referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0055] For ease of description, in the following embodiments, the orthogonal space formed by the horizontal plane and the vertical direction is used as an example for explanation, and this premise should not be understood as a limitation to the present application.

[0056] See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 , Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer position detection device provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 3 1 is a schematic diagram of a control system of a wafer position detection device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The wafer position detection device is used to detect the position of a wafer 101 in a semiconductor chamber 10, wherein the wafer 101 is located on a carrier 20 in the semiconductor chamber 10. The wafer position detection device may include: a first annular slide rail 801, a second annular slide rail 802, a linear sensor transmitting end 30, a linear sensor receiving end 40, a driver 60, and a processing module 70.

[0057] The first annular slide rail 801 and the second annular slide rail 802 are relatively arranged at the upper and lower sides of the semiconductor chamber 10. For example, the first annular slide rail 801 can be located above the semiconductor chamber 10, and the second annular slide rail 802 is correspondingly located below the semiconductor chamber 10; the first annular slide rail 801 can also be located below the semiconductor chamber 10, and the second annular slide rail 802 is correspondingly located above the semiconductor chamber 10.

[0058] The linear sensor transmitting end 30 is slidably connected to the first annular slide rail 801, and the linear sensor receiving end 40 is slidably connected to the second annular slide rail 802; and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor transmitting end 30 on the wafer 101 and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor receiving end 40 on the wafer 101 both partially overlap with the wafer 101. It can be understood that the radius of the first annular slide rail 801 and the radius of the second annular slide rail 802 can be designed according to the size of the wafer 101.

[0059] The driver 60 is used to drive the linear sensor transmitting end 30 and the linear sensor receiving end 40 to slide synchronously along the annular slide rails where they are located.

[0060] The processor 70 is used to: control the driver 60 to drive the linear sensor transmitting end 30 and the linear sensor receiving end 40 to slide synchronously along the respective annular slide rails; and control the linear sensor transmitting end 30 to transmit a detection signal and the linear sensor receiving end 40 to receive a detection signal that is not blocked by the wafer 101. The processor 70 is also used to determine the center position of the wafer 101 based on the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end 40; wherein the detection signal can penetrate the semiconductor chamber 10.

[0061] It should be noted that the linear sensor transmitter 30 and the linear sensor receiver 40 are two parts of a one-dimensional sensor (linear sensor), and the two constitute a beam sensor. The linear sensor transmitter 30 can send signals over a certain one-dimensional length. Figure 2 Only two signals (S1 and S2) are shown in the length direction of the linear sensor transmitting end 30. When not blocked by the wafer 101, the signal emitted by the linear sensor transmitting end 30 can penetrate the semiconductor chamber 10 and be received by the linear sensor receiving end 40. As an example, the linear sensor transmitting end 30 can be a linear light source (one-dimensional light source), such as a linear light source formed by a plurality of LEDs or laser sensors arranged in a straight line. In this embodiment, a laser sensor is preferably used. Compared with LEDs, laser sensors are less disturbed by ambient light. The linear light source can emit a light signal to the linear sensor receiving end 40. The bottom plate and the top plate of the semiconductor chamber 10 can be made of transparent materials (such as quartz) to allow the light signal to pass through. The linear sensor receiving end 40 can include a plurality of sensors arranged in a one-dimensional straight line. Each sensor can receive the above signal. The sensor can be a light sensor, such as a CCD lens. In order to reduce the installation accuracy of the relative position of the linear sensor transmitting end 30 and the linear sensor receiving end 40, and to ensure that the signals emitted by the linear sensor transmitting end 30 can be projected to the linear sensor receiving end 40, the length of the linear sensor receiving end 40 can be greater than the length of the linear sensor transmitting end 30. In addition, according to wafers of different sizes, the installation position of the linear sensor transmitting end 30 can be configured such that a portion of the transmitted signal (signal S1) is blocked by the wafer 101, and another portion (signal S2) penetrates the semiconductor chamber 10 from the edge of the wafer 101 and is received by the linear sensor receiving end 40. It can be understood that when the linear sensor transmitting end 30 and the linear sensor receiving end 40 move synchronously for one circle, a scan of the edge of the wafer 101 can be completed.

[0062] As an example, see Figure 4 , Figure 4 The control flow diagram of a processor provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 7 . The processor 70 can detect the center position of the wafer 101 by executing S110 - S130 .

[0063] S110, controlling the driver to drive the linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end to slide synchronously along the respective annular slide rails.

[0064] S120, controlling the linear sensor transmitting end to transmit a detection signal, and the linear sensor receiving end to receive the detection signal that is not blocked by the wafer.

[0065] S130 , determining the center position of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end.

[0066] In the wafer position detection device of this embodiment, the linear sensor transmitting end 30 and the linear sensor receiving end 40 form a pair of sensors, which are respectively located at the upper and lower sides of the wafer 101. Since the orthographic projection of the linear sensor transmitting end 30 on the wafer 101 and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor receiving end 40 on the wafer 101 partially overlap with the wafer 101, the edge of the wafer 101 can be identified. The processor 70 controls the driver 60 to drive the linear sensor transmitting end 30 and the linear sensor receiving end 40 to slide synchronously along the respective annular slide rails, so that the entire edge of the wafer 101 can be scanned to determine the circumference of the wafer 101 and then determine the center position of the wafer 101. In the wafer position detection device of this embodiment, since the wafer 101 is fixed in the semiconductor chamber 10, the problem of sealing the connection part between the rotating shaft and the semiconductor chamber in the existing detection device will not occur; since the parts connected to the semiconductor chamber 10 have no motor, even if used for high-temperature transmission, no cooling system assistance is required, which reduces the difficulty of maintenance.

[0067] In one embodiment, after step S130, the processor 70 may also be configured to execute S140.

[0068] S140, comparing the determined center position of the wafer with a pre-stored target position to determine an offset between the center position of the wafer and the target position.

[0069] After calculating the center position of the wafer, the determined center position of the wafer can be compared with the pre-stored target position to determine the offset between the center position of the wafer and the target position, so that when the center position deviates from the target position, the subsequent wafer transmission process can calibrate the center position to the target position.

[0070] In one embodiment, see Figure 5 , Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method for determining a center position of a circle provided in an embodiment of the present application. Specifically, step S130 may include:

[0071] S131 , determining the outline of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end 40 .

[0072] For example, in the area blocked by the wafer 101, the linear sensor receiving end 40 does not receive a signal, and the area can be fed back as 0. In the area not blocked by the wafer 101, the linear sensor receiving end 40 can receive a signal, and the area can be fed back as 1. The boundary point between 1 and 0 can be determined as the edge of the wafer 101. When the linear sensor transmitting end 30 and the linear sensor receiving end 40 move synchronously to scan the edge of the wafer 101 for one cycle, the contour of the wafer 101 can be obtained.

[0073] As an example, see Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the projection position relationship of a linear sensor transmitter / linear sensor receiver on a wafer provided by the present application. When the wafer position detection device is required to be compatible with the contour recognition of 6-inch (radius D1=75mm) and 8-inch (radius D2=100mm) wafers, a linear sensor with a length of 55mm (including a linear sensor transmitter 30 / linear sensor receiver 40) can be used. Taking 6 inches as an example, the projection of the linear sensor on the 6-inch wafer overlaps with the 6-inch wafer by L1=15mm and exceeds the edge of the 6-inch wafer by L2=40mm. When converted to an 8-inch wafer, the projection of the linear sensor on the 8-inch wafer overlaps with the 8-inch wafer by 40mm and exceeds the edge of the 8-inch wafer by 15mm, thereby ensuring that the linear sensor can perform edge scanning and recognition on both 6-inch and 8-inch wafers, thereby determining the wafer contour.

[0074] Of course, the length of the linear sensor can be further lengthened, or the radial position of the linear sensor along the wafer can be adjusted as needed to accommodate wafers of more sizes.

[0075] In order to reduce the amount of data processing, the processor 70 can control the linear sensor receiving end 40 to synchronously perform circular motion, and receive a signal once for each preset arc length of motion, wherein the preset arc length is less than the preset calibration accuracy value. That is, under the premise of meeting the calibration accuracy, the amount of data processing is reduced. Taking an 8-inch wafer (circumference of 628mm) and a calibration accuracy of 0.1mm as an example, 8192 points can be taken during a scan (8192 times of receiving signals), and the preset arc length is 628 / 8192=0.077mm<0.1mm, which can meet the calibration accuracy requirements. The coordinates of the 8192 points on the edge of the wafer can be recorded as (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2) in sequence.......(X 8192 , Y 8192 ).

[0076] In order to meet the requirements of the recognition accuracy (calibration accuracy) of the edge of the wafer, as an example, the linear sensor transmitting end 30 extends radially along the first annular slide rail 801, and a signal transmitting position is set at every preset length. The linear sensor receiving end 40 extends radially along the second annular slide rail 802, and a signal receiving position is set at every preset length. The signal receiving position corresponds to the signal transmitting position one by one, and the two form a reflection, wherein the preset length is less than the preset calibration accuracy value. For example, taking the linear sensor receiving end 40 as an example with a length of 55mm and a calibration accuracy of 0.1mm, at least 550 signal receiving points can be arranged on the linear sensor receiving end 40, and the distance between two adjacent signal receiving points is 0.1mm, thereby meeting the requirements of the recognition accuracy of the edge of the wafer.

[0077] S132, selecting at least three position points on the contour, and calculating the center position of the wafer according to the at least three position points.

[0078] For example, at the boundary between signal 0 and signal 1, three positions corresponding to signal 1 can be selected to calculate the center position of the wafer. It can be understood that three non-collinear points can determine a circle. Several additional positions corresponding to signal 1 can be selected to verify the calculation results; similarly, three positions corresponding to signal 0 can be selected at the above decomposition to calculate the center position of the wafer, and the midpoint of the two center positions calculated above can be used as the final center position to reduce the calculation error.

[0079] Since the wafer is generally provided with a notch mark (flat groove or V groove notch), that is, the outline of the wafer is not a complete circle, when three points are randomly selected on the identified outline, the point at the notch mark may be selected, resulting in a large calculation error of the center position of the circle.

[0080] As a preferred embodiment, please refer to Figure 7 , Figure 7 : is a flow chart of a preferred method for calculating the center position of a circle provided in an embodiment of the present application. Taking the center angle θ0 corresponding to the notch mark as an example, the method for calculating the center position of the circle in step S132 may include:

[0081] S1321. Select three first position points on the contour and calculate the first center position of the wafer, wherein the center angle corresponding to any two adjacent first position points among the three first position points is 120°.

[0082] See also Figure 8 , Figure 8This is a schematic diagram of taking three position points on a contour provided by an embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that a first position point is selected every 120° on the contour, and the first center position can be calculated through the three first position points. Points are taken at 0°, 120° and 240° respectively, and the coordinates of the three first position points are: A1(X 1 1,Y 1 1) A2(X 1 2,Y 1 2) A3(X 1 3,Y 1 3), the corresponding first circle center position A 1 0 coordinate is (X 1 0,Y 1 0), the coordinates of the first circle center position A0 can be calculated according to the following equations (1) to (3).

[0083] (X 1 1-X 1 0) 2 +(Y 1 1-Y 1 0) 2 =R 2 (1)

[0084] (X 1 2-X 1 0) 2 +(Y 1 2-Y 1 0) 2 =R 2 (2)

[0085] (X 1 3-X 1 0) 2 +(Y 1 3-Y 1 0) 2 =R 2 (3)

[0086] S1322. Select three second position points on the contour and calculate the second center position of the wafer, wherein the three second position points correspond one-to-one to the three first position points, and the center angle between each second position point and the corresponding first position point is equal to the first preset angle θ1, and θ0<θ1≤120°-θ0.

[0087] It can be understood that the three second position points are equivalent to the points obtained by rotating the three first position points by a certain angle θ1. Since θ0 is generally less than 2°, θ1 is usually greater than 2° and less than 118°. For example, the first preset angle θ1 can be 45°, which is equivalent to selecting three second position points from the corresponding positions on the contour after rotating 45°, 165°, and 285° from the origin A1.

[0088] According to the three second position points, the second center position A of the wafer can be calculated 2 0 coordinate is (X 2 0,Y 2 0), the specific calculation method can be referred to above and will not be described here.

[0089] S1323. Select three third position points on the contour and calculate the third center position of the wafer, wherein the three third position points correspond one-to-one to the three first position points, and the center angle between each third position point and the corresponding first position point is equal to the second preset angle θ2, θ0<θ2≤120°-θ0, and θ1≠θ2.

[0090] The specific implementation of S1323 can refer to the implementation of S1322, except that the second preset angle θ2 is different, for example, θ2 can be 90°, and three third position points are selected from the corresponding positions on the contour after rotating 90°, 210°, and 330° from the origin A1, and the third center position A of the wafer is calculated. 3 0 coordinate is (X 3 0,Y 3 0).

[0091] S1324, calculating the center position of the wafer using the two positions with the smallest difference among the first center position, the second center position and the third center position.

[0092] It can be understood that the center of the circle calculated three times in this embodiment, since the angle θ1 of the second position point rotation and the angle θ2 of the third position point rotation satisfy θ0<θ1,θ2≤120°-θ0, and θ1≠θ2, it can ensure that among the three position points, at least two of the points taken can avoid the notch mark of the wafer, so that the center of the wafer of the two calculation results basically coincides, and the center position of the wafer can be calculated with the two positions with the smallest difference.

[0093] Therefore, the distances between the first center position, the second center position, and the third center position can be calculated, and the center position of the wafer can be calculated using the two positions with the smallest distance. For example, when the distance between the first center position and the second center position is the smallest, the first center position can be used as the center position of the wafer, the second center position can be used as the center position of the wafer, or the midpoint between the first center position and the second center position can be used as the center position of the wafer. This embodiment uses a method of calculating the center position three times to avoid excessive errors in the calculation of the center position.

[0094] In one embodiment, the processor is further configured to execute step S133.

[0095] S133. Calculate the azimuth of the notch mark relative to the center of the circle according to the contour.

[0096] Taking the flat groove notch mark as an example, the intersection of the notch mark's symmetry axis and the contour is used as the reference position for calculating the notch mark's azimuth. Fig. 9 , Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of detecting the azimuth angle of a notch mark of a wafer provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig. 9 The reference position of the notch mark is point E, and the azimuth angle of the notch mark relative to the center of the circle is θ. M θ can be calculated based on the identified contour M .

[0097] As an example, see Fig.10 , Fig.10 It is a flowchart of calculating the azimuth angle of a notch mark relative to the center position of a circle provided in an embodiment of the present application. S133 may include the following steps S1331 to S1334.

[0098] S1331. Determine an ideal circle according to the center position of the circle and the radius of the wafer.

[0099] Since the radius of the wafer is known and the center position of the wafer is calculated, the ideal circle corresponding to the wafer can be determined. The ideal circle is a complete circle corresponding to the contour (without wafer notch). The arc corresponding to the notch mark can be restored according to the calculated center position and the radius of the wafer to obtain the coordinate data M0 of the entire ideal circle.

[0100] S1332. Compare the ideal circle with the contour to determine the starting position and the ending position of the notch mark.

[0101] For example, the coordinate data M0 of the ideal circle and the coordinate data M1 of the contour may be ANDed (the boundary is regarded as "1"), and the starting point and the ending point of the gap mark may be determined according to the result of the operation, taking a clockwise operation as an example.

[0102] For position C, due to the existence of the gap mark, the result of the "AND" operation changes from 1 to 0, so it can be determined that position C is the starting point of the gap mark (X 1c ,Y 1c ).

[0103] For position D, due to the presence of the gap mark, the result of the "AND" operation changes from 0 to 1, and it can be determined that position D is the end point of the gap mark (X 1d ,Y 1d ).

[0104] S1333, calculate the azimuth angle θ of the starting position relative to the center position of the circle S and the azimuth angle θ of the end position relative to the center of the circle F .

[0105] Assuming that the position B in the figure is at an azimuth of 0° relative to the center O, the azimuths θ of the starting point C and the ending point D relative to the center O can be calculated based on their coordinates. S and θ F .

[0106] S1334, according to θ S and θ F Calculate the azimuth angle θ of the midpoint of the line connecting the starting position and the ending position relative to the center of the circle M .

[0107] Specifically, the azimuth of the midpoint E of the line connecting the starting position C and the ending position D relative to the center of the circle is: θ M =(θ S +θ F ) / 2.

[0108] Determining the azimuth angle of the wafer notch can facilitate subsequent accurate wafer transfer.

[0109] The embodiment of the present application also provides a semiconductor device, which includes a semiconductor chamber 10, a wafer transfer device, and a wafer position detection device as described in the above embodiments. The wafer position detection device is used to detect the position of the wafer located in the semiconductor chamber 10; the wafer transfer device is used to transfer the wafer and perform position correction on the wafer according to the detection result of the wafer position detection device.

[0110] For example, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 The wafer transfer device may include a robot 50 , and the processor 70 may control the robot 50 to grab the wafer 101 from the carrier 20 of the semiconductor chamber 10 .

[0111] In one embodiment, when the center position of the wafer calculated by the processor 70 deviates from the pre-stored target position by more than a preset position threshold, the processor 70 can control the robot 50 to calibrate the center position to the target position. For example, the robot can adjust the X-direction position and the Y-direction position of the wafer 101 in the XY horizontal plane.

[0112] In one embodiment, when the azimuth of the gap mark relative to the center position calculated by the processor 70 deviates from the target angle by more than a preset angle threshold, the processor 70 can control the manipulator 50 to calibrate the azimuth of the gap mark to the target angle. For example, when the target angle of the gap mark is 0° (refer to Figure 8 ), the robot 50 can be controlled to rotate the wafer -θ M , that is, counterclockwise rotation θ M , thereby completing the calibration of the azimuth angle of the notch mark. In addition to performing a translation operation on the wafer to calibrate the center position, the robot 50 can also perform a rotation operation to calibrate the angle of the notch mark.

[0113] See also Fig.11 , Fig.11 This is an application scenario diagram of a semiconductor device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes a material box lifting system 100, an isolation chamber 200, a transfer chamber 300 and a process chamber 400 in sequence. The semiconductor chamber 10 and the wafer position detection device of the above embodiment are arranged in the isolation chamber 200.

[0114] The material box lifting system 100 is used to transfer a wafer box loaded with wafers, and the wafers in the wafer box can be transferred to the semiconductor chamber 10 by a robot, and the position and angle of the wafer can be detected by a wafer position detection device; the robot 50 in the transfer chamber 300 can grab the wafer from the semiconductor chamber 10, calibrate the position and angle of the wafer according to the detection result of the wafer position detection device, and transfer it to the transfer chamber 300 and the process chamber 400 in sequence. In order to improve efficiency, multiple process chambers 400 can be arranged around the transfer chamber 300.

[0115] For other working principles and processes of the semiconductor device of this embodiment, please refer to the description of the wafer position detection device in the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.

[0116] The above is a detailed introduction to a wafer position detection device and a semiconductor device provided by the present application. This article uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application. It should be noted that in the present application, the descriptions of each embodiment have their own emphasis. For parts that are not described or recorded in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0117] The various technical features of the technical solution of the present application can be arbitrarily combined. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the various technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A wafer position detection device used in a semiconductor chamber, characterized in that: The semiconductor chamber is provided with a carrying portion for carrying a wafer; the wafer position detection device is arranged outside the semiconductor chamber, and the wafer position detection device includes a first annular slide rail, a second annular slide rail, a linear sensor transmitting end, a linear sensor receiving end, a driver and a processor; The first annular slide rail and the second annular slide rail are arranged oppositely on upper and lower sides of the semiconductor chamber; The linear sensor transmitting end is slidably connected to the first annular slide rail, and the linear sensor receiving end is slidably connected to the second annular slide rail; and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor transmitting end on the wafer and the orthographic projection of the linear sensor receiving end on the wafer both partially overlap with the wafer; The driver is used to drive the linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end to slide synchronously along the annular slide rails where they are located; The processor is used to: control the driver to drive the linear sensor transmitting end and the linear sensor receiving end to slide synchronously along the annular slide rails where they are located; and control the linear sensor transmitting end to transmit a detection signal, and the linear sensor receiving end to receive the detection signal that is not blocked by the wafer; determine the center position of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end; wherein the detection signal can penetrate the semiconductor chamber.

2. The wafer position detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Determining the center position of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end specifically includes: Determining the outline of the wafer according to the detection signal received by the linear sensor receiving end; At least three position points are selected on the contour, and the center position of the wafer is calculated based on the at least three position points.

3. The wafer position detection device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The edge of the wafer is provided with a notch mark, and the center angle corresponding to the notch mark is θ0; selecting at least three position points on the contour, and calculating the center position of the wafer according to the at least three position points, specifically includes: Selecting three first position points on the contour, and calculating the first center position of the wafer according to the three first position points, wherein the center angle between any two adjacent first position points among the three first position points is 120°; Selecting three second position points on the contour, and calculating the second center position of the wafer, wherein the three second position points correspond to the three first position points one by one, and the center angle between each second position point and the corresponding first position point is equal to a first preset angle θ1, and θ0<θ1≤120°-θ0; Selecting three third position points on the contour, and calculating the third center position of the wafer, wherein the three third position points correspond to the three first position points one by one, and the center angle between each third position point and the corresponding first position point is equal to a second preset angle θ2, θ0<θ2≤120°-θ0, and θ1≠θ2; The center position of the wafer is calculated based on the two positions with the smallest difference among the first center position, the second center position and the third center position.

4. The wafer position detection device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The processor is further configured to: According to the contour, the azimuth angle of the notch mark relative to the center position of the circle is calculated.

5. The wafer position detection device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The step of calculating the azimuth angle of the notch mark relative to the center position of the circle according to the contour specifically includes: Determining an ideal circle according to the center position of the circle and the radius of the wafer; Compare the ideal circle with the contour to determine the starting position and the ending position of the notch mark; Calculate the azimuth angle θ of the starting position relative to the center position of the circle S and the azimuth angle θ of the end position relative to the center position of the circle F ; According to the S and the θ F Calculate the azimuth angle θ of the midpoint of the line connecting the starting position and the ending position relative to the center position of the circle M .

6. The wafer position detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The processor is further configured to compare the determined center position of the wafer with a pre-stored target position to determine an offset between the center position of the wafer and the target position.

7. The wafer position detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Controlling the linear sensor receiving end to receive the detection signal that is not blocked by the wafer; specifically comprising: The linear sensor receiving end is controlled to receive the signal once every time it moves a preset arc length, wherein the preset arc length is less than a preset calibration accuracy value.

8. The wafer position detection device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The linear sensor transmitting end extends along the radial direction of the first annular slide rail, and a signal transmitting position is set every preset length; The linear sensor receiving end extends radially along the second annular slide rail, and a signal receiving position is set every preset length, and the signal receiving position corresponds one-to-one with the signal transmitting position, wherein the preset length is less than the preset calibration accuracy value.

9. The wafer position detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The linear sensor transmitting end is a linear light source; The linear sensor receiving end is a light sensor.

10. A semiconductor device, characterized in that: include: A semiconductor chamber, a wafer transfer device, and a wafer position detection device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9; The wafer position detection device is used to detect the position of the wafer located in the semiconductor chamber; The wafer transport device is used to transport the wafer and perform position correction on the wafer according to the detection result of the wafer position detection device.

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