Process chamber, slide glass plate manipulator and slide glass plate temporary storage device

Abstract

The invention discloses a process chamber, a slide glass plate manipulator and a slide glass plate temporary storage device, the process chamber comprises a chamber body, a lifting mechanism and a heater arranged in the chamber body, the heater comprises multiple layers of heating plates distributed at intervals, and the heating plates are used for heating slide glass plates which are carried by the heating plates and carry silicon wafers; the heating plate is provided with an avoiding structure; the lifting mechanism comprises a lifting frame arranged in the chamber body, the lifting frame comprises multiple layers of first supporting blocks distributed at intervals, and each layer of first supporting block is opposite to the avoiding structure of the corresponding heating plate; in the ascending process of the lifting frame, each layer of first supporting block upwards penetrates through the corresponding avoiding structure and bears the corresponding slide plate, so that the slide plate is separated from the corresponding heating plate; in the descending process of the lifting frame, each layer of first supporting block downwards penetrates through the corresponding avoiding structure and enables the slide glass plate borne by the first supporting block to fall on the corresponding heating plate so as to be separated from the slide glass plate borne by the first supporting block.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of semiconductor process equipment, and specifically relates to a process chamber, a wafer carrier robot, and a wafer carrier temporary storage device. Background Art

[0002] Heterojunction solar cells have multiple advantages such as unique structure, excellent passivation performance, high theoretical efficiency, short production process, less thermal damage, high bifaciality, low temperature coefficient, low attenuation rate, and high degree of thinning, and therefore have broad market prospects.

[0003] In the related art, the key process for manufacturing heterojunction solar cells is to deposit an intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on both sides of the silicon wafer and to deposit an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer and a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on both sides, respectively. This is usually achieved by plasma chemical vapor deposition equipment (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition; PECVD for short). Different film layers are deposited in different process chambers. In the semiconductor process equipment involved in the related art for manufacturing heterojunction solar cells, many process chambers are arranged in series and occupy a large area of ​​the plant, which leads to a high configuration cost of the process line of the semiconductor process equipment. At the same time, the semiconductor process equipment involved in the related art for manufacturing heterojunction solar cells also has the problem of low process efficiency, which leads to the problem of low production capacity of the semiconductor process equipment for manufacturing heterojunction solar cells. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application discloses a process chamber, a wafer carrier plate robot and a wafer carrier plate temporary storage device to solve at least one technical problem described in the background technology.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a process chamber, the disclosed process chamber comprises a chamber body, a lifting mechanism and a heater arranged in the chamber body, the heater comprises a plurality of heating plates arranged at intervals, the heating plates are used to heat a wafer carrier carrying a silicon wafer thereon; the heating plates are provided with an avoidance structure;

[0007] The lifting mechanism comprises a lifting frame arranged in the chamber body, the lifting frame comprises multiple layers of first support blocks distributed at intervals, and each layer of the first support blocks is opposite to the avoidance structure of the corresponding heating plate;

[0008] During the ascending process of the lifting frame, the first support block of each layer passes through the relative avoidance structure upward and carries the corresponding carrier plate, so that the carrier plate is separated from the corresponding heating plate; during the descending process of the lifting frame, the first support block of each layer passes through the relative avoidance structure downward and makes the carrier plate it carries fall onto the corresponding heating plate, so as to be separated from the carrier plate it carries.

[0009] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a wafer carrier plate manipulator, which is used in conjunction with the process chamber described in the first aspect, and the wafer carrier plate manipulator comprises: a finger seat and a plurality of second robotic fingers arranged on the finger seat, and when taking and placing the wafer carrier plate, the plurality of second robotic fingers can extend to the corresponding interlayer between the heating plate and the first support block through the opening of the chamber body, and during the descent of the lifting frame, the plurality of second robotic fingers can contact the wafer carrier plate carried on the first support block to carry the wafer carrier; during the ascent of the lifting frame, the wafer carrier plate carried on the plurality of second robotic fingers can contact the first support block of the lifting frame to be carried on the first support block.

[0010] In the third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a carrier plate temporary storage device, which is used in conjunction with the carrier plate manipulator described in the second aspect, and the carrier plate temporary storage device includes a second frame and a second support block arranged on the second frame, the second frame has a plurality of carrier plate temporary storage spaces, each of the carrier plate temporary storage spaces is provided with a plurality of second support blocks distributed at intervals, the carrier plate manipulator can transport the plurality of carrier plates it receives to the carrier plate temporary storage space, so that the plurality of carrier plates are respectively carried on the plurality of second support blocks in the carrier temporary storage space, or the carrier plate manipulator can take out the plurality of carrier plates received in the carrier plate temporary storage space.

[0011] In the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, a multi-layer heating plate and a lifting frame including a multi-layer first support block are arranged, and the lifting frame is lifted to achieve the handover of the carrier plates carrying silicon wafers in groups between the heating plate and the first support block, thereby preparing for the carrier plates carrying silicon wafers in groups to enter and exit the process chamber. In the specific handover process, the carrier plate manipulator grabs the carrier plates carrying silicon wafers in groups and enters the process chamber, and places the carrier plates carrying silicon wafers in groups on the multi-layer first support blocks by the falling of the carrier plate manipulator or the rising of the lifting frame. The carrier plate manipulator can exit the process chamber, and the lifting frame drives the multi-layer first support blocks to descend so that the first support blocks pass through the corresponding avoidance structure, and finally the groups of carrier plates fall on the multi-layer heating plates respectively, finally realizing the carrying of the carrier plates by the heating plates, and also preparing for subsequent heating. After the process in the process chamber is completed, the lifting frame rises so that the multi-layer first support block passes through the avoidance structure of the corresponding heating plate to support the carrier plate carrying the silicon wafer, thereby realizing the separation of the carrier plate carrying the silicon wafer and the corresponding heating plate. In this case, the multiple second manipulators of the carrier plate manipulator extend into the interlayer between the corresponding heating plate and the carrier plate respectively, and then the lifting frame falls and finally the carrier plate carrying the silicon wafer falls on the corresponding second manipulator fingers, and finally the carrier plate manipulator moves the carrier plates carrying the silicon wafers processed in the process chamber out of the process chamber in groups. It can be seen from this that the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can allow the carrier plates carrying silicon wafers in groups to enter and exit, thereby realizing the process of the silicon wafers in groups, which is conducive to improving the process efficiency and ultimately achieving the purpose of improving the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor process equipment disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 The middle protection compartment shows a portion of the structure;

[0013] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a chamber module disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of another chamber module disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of another chamber module disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 5 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor process equipment disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a silicon wafer manipulator disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of a silicon wafer manipulator disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention picking up and placing a silicon wafer on a wafer carrier temporary storage device;

[0019] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of a silicon wafer manipulator disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention picking up and placing silicon wafers on a basket loading and unloading device;

[0020] Fig. 9 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer carrier temporary storage device disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Fig.10 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer carrier manipulator disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the coordination of the first wafer carrier manipulator, the first wafer carrier temporary storage device and the first silicon wafer manipulator disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the second silicon wafer manipulator, the flipping temporary storage device and the second wafer carrier temporary storage device disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Fig.13 is a schematic structural diagram of a process chamber disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Fig.14 yes Fig.13 AA section view in the figure;

[0026] Fig.15 yes Fig.14 A magnified schematic diagram of part B in FIG.

[0027] Fig.16 yes Fig.14 An enlarged schematic diagram of part C in FIG.

[0028] Fig.17 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a process chamber disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Fig.18 It is a structural schematic diagram of a part of the structure of the process chamber disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention in a state;

[0030] Fig.19 yes Fig.18 An enlarged schematic diagram of part D in FIG.

[0031] Fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of a part of the structure of the process chamber disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention in another state;

[0032] Fig.21 yes Fig. 20An enlarged schematic diagram of part E in FIG.

[0033] Fig. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a heater disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Fig.23 yes Fig. 22 An enlarged schematic diagram of part F in FIG.

[0035] Fig.24 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer carrier plate disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Fig.25 yes Fig.24 An enlarged schematic diagram of part G in FIG.

[0037] Fig.26 It is a structural schematic diagram of a lifting mechanism disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Fig. 27 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the driving mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Fig.28 is a schematic structural diagram of a first supporting block disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Fig.29 is a schematic structural diagram of a heater disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Fig.30 yes Fig.29 An enlarged schematic diagram of part H in FIG.

[0042] Fig.31 yes Fig.29 An enlarged schematic diagram of part I in FIG.

[0043] Fig.32 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer carrier plate disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Fig.33 It is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the heating plate and the carrier plate disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Fig.34 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the limit block disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Fig.35 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of a wafer carrier robot disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Fig.36 is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the wafer carrier plate and the second mechanical finger disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Fig.37 yes Fig.36Schematic diagram of the structure from other viewing angles;

[0049] Fig.38 is a schematic structural diagram of a second mechanical finger disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Fig.39 yes Fig.38 An enlarged schematic diagram of part J in FIG.

[0051] Description of reference numerals:

[0052] 100-chamber module,

[0053] 101-first process chamber, 102-second process chamber, 103-third process chamber, 104-fourth process chamber, 105-stacked support, 1051-chamber accommodating space,

[0054] 110-chamber body, 111-perforation,

[0055] 120-heater, 121-heating plate, 1211-avoidance structure, 1212-second avoidance hole, 122-support, 123-foot support, 124-limiting block, 1241-first calibration slope, 1242-first vertical limiting surface, 125-insulating plate,

[0056] 130-lifting mechanism, 131-driving mechanism, 1311-power source, 1312-transmission mechanism, 13121-screw, 13122-lifting part, 13123-annular pressure plate, 13124-telescopic tube, 13125-sealing ring, 13126-connecting plate, 13127-guide rod, 13128-base, 13129-threaded bushing, 13130-first reduction box, 13131-connecting shaft, 13132-second reduction box, 13133-coupling, 132-lifting frame, 1321-first support block, 13211-second calibration slope, 13212-first horizontal support surface, 13213-second vertical limit surface, 1322-vertical beam, 1323-cross beam,

[0057] 200-Transmission device,

[0058] 201-first silicon wafer manipulator, 202-second silicon wafer manipulator, 203-first wafer carrier temporary storage device, 204-second wafer carrier temporary storage device, 205-first wafer carrier manipulator, 206-second wafer carrier manipulator,

[0059] 210-slice carrier manipulator, 211-finger seat, 212-second mechanical finger, 2121-first positioning protrusion, 213-support pad, 214-rotation drive unit, 215-guide rail, 216-vertical drive unit, 217-horizontal drive unit, 2171-first horizontal guide rail, 2172-second horizontal guide rail, 2173-first sub-drive unit, 2174-second sub-drive unit,

[0060] 220 - wafer plate temporary storage device, 221 - second frame, 222 - second support block, 223 - first base, 224 - first rotating shaft,

[0061] 230-carrier plate, 231-silicon wafer slot, 232-positioning hole,

[0062] 240- silicon wafer manipulator, 241- first mechanical finger, 242- six-axis industrial robot, 243- base,

[0063] 250-Turning over temporary storage device,

[0064] 260-Flower basket loading and unloading device,

[0065] 300-Transporter,

[0066] 400-Protective cabin,

[0067] 401-first wafer carrier transfer port, 402-second wafer carrier transfer port, 403-silicon wafer transfer port,

[0068] 410-First sub-cabin,

[0069] 420-Second Sub-cabin,

[0070] 430-First sealed door,

[0071] 440-Second sealed door,

[0072] 450-Third sub-cabin. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solution of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in combination with the specific embodiments of the present application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0074] The technical solutions disclosed in various embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0075] Please refer to Figures 1 to 39The embodiment of the present invention discloses a semiconductor process equipment, which can be used to produce heterojunction solar cells. The disclosed semiconductor process equipment includes a chamber module 100 and a transmission device 200.

[0076] The chamber module 100 includes a plurality of process chambers. Each process chamber is used at least for performing a semiconductor process on a silicon wafer. In an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of process chambers included in the chamber module 100 include a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103, and a fourth process chamber 104. The first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103, and the fourth process chamber 104 cooperate with each other, and then realize the coating process on the silicon wafer by performing different semiconductor processes on the silicon wafer respectively.

[0077] The transmission device 200 is used to transmit silicon wafers, so that the silicon wafers are transmitted between the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104. In one embodiment, the transmission device 200 transmits silicon wafers, so that the silicon wafers can sequentially pass through the first process chamber 101, the third process chamber 103, the second process chamber 102 and the fourth process chamber 104. In another embodiment, the transmission device 200 transmits silicon wafers, so that the silicon wafers can sequentially pass through the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104. In other embodiments, the transmission device 200 can also transmit silicon wafers, so that the silicon wafers are transmitted between the process chambers in other sequences. It should be noted that the transmission sequence of the silicon wafers between the multiple process chambers of each chamber module is determined according to the set semiconductor process sequence and the type of semiconductor process that the process chamber can perform, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit it.

[0078] In an embodiment of the present invention, there may be multiple types of the transmission device 200, as long as it can realize the transmission of silicon wafers between different process chambers. For example, the transmission device 200 only includes multiple manipulators of the same type that grab silicon wafers and realize the transmission of silicon wafers between different process chambers. For another example, the transmission device 200 may include a device for temporarily storing silicon wafers while including a manipulator for grabbing silicon wafers. For another example, the transmission device 200 may include multiple manipulators of different types that grab silicon wafers and realize the transmission of silicon wafers between different process chambers. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific type of the transmission device 200.

[0079] The chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include at least one stacked chamber structure. The stacked chamber structure includes at least two process chambers stacked in sequence. It should be noted that the at least two process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure are stacked in sequence in the height direction of the chamber module 100. It can also be considered that, among the at least two process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure, one of the two adjacent process chambers is stacked on top of the other, thereby achieving stacking in sequence in the vertical direction. This structure enables multiple process chambers in each stacked chamber structure to only occupy the floor space of one process chamber.

[0080] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention adjusts the layout of the process chamber so that the chamber module 100 includes a stacked chamber structure, so that at least two process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure can be stacked in sequence. In this case, each stacked chamber structure can make at least two process chambers stacked in sequence only need to occupy the floor space of one process chamber. Compared with laying all the process chambers of the semiconductor process equipment flat on the ground, the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can undoubtedly reduce the floor space of the semiconductor process equipment, thereby reducing the cost of laying out the semiconductor process production line, and ultimately helping to achieve the purpose of reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

[0081] In one embodiment, in the chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, the number of the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104 can all be one. In this case, the chamber module 100 includes a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 and a fourth process chamber 104, so that the number of process chambers configured in the chamber module 100 is minimized, which is beneficial to reducing the hardware configuration cost of the chamber module 100.

[0082] In another embodiment, in the chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103, and the fourth process chamber 104 can be multiple. In a more specific embodiment, in the chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103, and the fourth process chamber 104 can all be multiple. In this case, the chamber module 100 includes multiple first process chambers 101, multiple second process chambers 102, multiple third process chambers 103 and multiple fourth process chambers 104. Therefore, when a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 or a fourth process chamber 104 in the chamber module 100 fails, the semiconductor process equipment can be replaced by other first process chambers 101, other second process chambers 102, other third process chambers 103 or other fourth process chambers 104, thereby ensuring that the semiconductor process equipment will not be shut down due to the failure of a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 or a fourth process chamber 104, thereby ensuring the stability of semiconductor process equipment production.

[0083] In another more specific embodiment, in the chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, some of the process chambers in the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104 are one, and the other process chambers are multiple. In the design of the chamber module 100 with such a structure, the process chambers that are prone to failure can be configured as multiple, and the process chamber that is not prone to failure can be configured as one, so that the number of process chambers in the chamber module 100 is not too large, and at the same time, when the process chamber that is prone to failure fails, it can be replaced by other process chambers of the same type, and finally the stability of semiconductor process equipment production is taken into account.

[0084] It should be emphasized that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific number of the first process chamber 101 , the second process chamber 102 , the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104 .

[0085] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include one chamber module 100, or may include multiple chamber modules 100. Similarly, the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the number of chamber modules 100. In the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, since each chamber module 100 includes a stacked chamber structure, the floor space of the chamber module 100 is relatively small. When the plant space is determined, the plant space can be fully utilized by adjusting the number of chamber modules 100. At the same time, the chamber module 100 makes the layout of the process chamber in the plant similar to a modular layout, which is conducive to making the construction of the process line of the semiconductor process equipment clear and easy.

[0086] As described above, the chamber module 100 includes at least one stacked chamber structure, and each chamber module 100 may include one stacked chamber structure, or may include multiple stacked chamber structures. In one embodiment, each chamber module 100 may include a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103, and a fourth process chamber 104. Any two process chambers among the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103, and the fourth process chamber 104 are stacked to form a stacked chamber structure, and the other two process chambers can be stacked to form another stacked chamber structure, so that each chamber module 100 can form two stacked chamber structures. In another embodiment, when each chamber module 100 may include a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103, and a fourth process chamber 104, any two process chambers may be stacked to form a stacked chamber structure, and the other two process chambers may not be stacked. This structure can also reduce the floor space of the chamber module 100.

[0087] In an embodiment of the present invention, the stacked chamber structure may include at least two process chambers. For example, the stacked chamber structure may include two process chambers stacked in sequence. The stacked chamber structure may also include three process chambers stacked in sequence. The stacked chamber structure may also include four process chambers stacked in sequence. Still taking the chamber module 100 including a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 and a fourth process chamber 104 as an example, in one embodiment, the chamber module 100 includes a stacked chamber structure, and any three of the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104 are stacked to form a stacked chamber structure. In another embodiment, the chamber module 100 includes a stacked chamber structure, and a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 and a fourth process chamber 104 are stacked to form a stacked chamber structure.

[0088] Since the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the number of the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104 included in the chamber module 100, nor does it limit the number of process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure, the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the number of stacked chamber structures included in the chamber module 100.

[0089] In the stacked chamber structure disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, there are multiple ways to stack the process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure. In one embodiment, at least two process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure can be stacked directly, that is, in two adjacent process chambers in the stacked chamber structure, the process chamber located above is supported on the process chamber below, and the process chamber located above is in contact with the process chamber below. This method of stacking directly through contact support can make the stacked chamber structure more compact. In another embodiment, the chamber module disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include a stacked support 105, and each stacked chamber structure may include a stacked support 105. The stacked support 105 includes a plurality of chamber accommodating spaces 1051, and the process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure are respectively placed in the plurality of chamber accommodating spaces 1051. Specifically, the at least two process chambers included in the stacked chamber structure can be placed in the plurality of chamber accommodating spaces 1051 of the stacked support 105 in a one-to-one correspondence, thereby achieving separate arrangement. In this structure, two adjacent process chambers in each stacked chamber structure can be supported on the stacked support 105 without direct support contact, which can reduce the interference between the two adjacent process chambers. In addition, this structure also facilitates the removal and replacement of the process chamber located below without being affected by the process chamber located above.

[0090] In the embodiment of the present invention, the first process chamber 101 can be used to deposit a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer. The second process chamber 102 can be used to deposit a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back side of the silicon wafer. The third process chamber 103 can be used to deposit an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer. The fourth process chamber 104 can be used to deposit a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer.

[0091] In an exemplary process of processing a silicon wafer, the transmission device 200 can control the silicon wafer to sequentially undergo the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103, and the fourth process chamber 104, so as to respectively perform deposition of a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer, and a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer. In another exemplary process of processing a silicon wafer, the transmission device 200 can also control the silicon wafer to sequentially undergo the first process chamber 101, the third process chamber 103, the second process chamber 102, and the fourth process chamber 104, so as to respectively perform deposition of a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer, a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, and a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer. In another exemplary process of processing a silicon wafer, the transfer device 200 can also control the silicon wafer to sequentially undergo the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the fourth process chamber 104 and the third process chamber 103, thereby respectively performing deposition of a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer and an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer.

[0092] During the specific process design process, the inventors of the present invention discovered that the deposition of the N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer after the deposition of the P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer is completed is likely to cause adverse contamination to the deposition of the N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer. Therefore, the deposition operation of the P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer can be put at the end, that is, before the deposition of the P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer, the deposition of the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, and the N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer can be completed first.

[0093] In one embodiment, the chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include two stacked chamber structures, wherein one stacked chamber structure includes a first process chamber 101 and a fourth process chamber 104 stacked on the first process chamber 101, and the other stacked chamber structure may include a third process chamber 103 and a second process chamber 102 stacked on the third process chamber 103.

[0094] In another embodiment, the chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include two stacked chamber structures, wherein one stacked chamber structure includes a first process chamber 101 and a fourth process chamber 104 stacked on the first process chamber 101, and the other stacked chamber structure may include a second process chamber 102 and a third process chamber 103 stacked on the second process chamber 102.

[0095] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include a controller, which may be a PLC control circuit or a host computer, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific type of the controller. The controller is connected to the transmission device 200, and specifically, the controller and the transmission device 200 may be connected in a wired or wireless communication manner, thereby controlling the transmission device 200, and then controlling the transmission device 200 to perform corresponding transmission work.

[0096] In one embodiment, the controller may control the semiconductor process equipment to perform the following steps in sequence:

[0097] S110 , controlling the transfer device 200 to transfer the unprocessed silicon wafer to the first process chamber 101 and performing a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer deposition on the front side of the silicon wafer.

[0098] S120, controlling the transfer device 200 to turn over the silicon wafer processed in the first process chamber 101 and transfer the silicon wafer to the second process chamber 102 after turning over to deposit a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back side of the silicon wafer.

[0099] S130 , controlling the transfer device 200 to transfer the silicon wafer processed in the second process chamber 102 to the third process chamber 103 and depositing an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer.

[0100] S140, controlling the transfer device 200 to flip the silicon wafer after the process in the third process chamber 103, and after the flipping, transferring the silicon wafer to the fourth process chamber 104, and depositing a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer.

[0101] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the front side of the silicon wafer and the back side of the silicon wafer are two opposite surfaces of the silicon wafer, the surface on which the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer is deposited on the silicon wafer is the front side of the silicon wafer, and the surface on which the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer is deposited on the silicon wafer is the back side.

[0102] Considering that when performing the above steps, the first process chamber 101 and the second process chamber 102 are process chambers that require silicon wafers to enter successively for corresponding processes during the process, in order to improve the transmission efficiency of silicon wafers, in the same chamber module 100, the first process chamber 101 and the second process chamber 102 can be respectively located at the same height position in two adjacent stacked chamber structures, for example, the first process chamber 101 and the second process chamber 102 can be respectively located at the bottom of two adjacent stacked chamber structures. This structure enables the transmission device 200 to transfer silicon wafers from the first process chamber 101 to the second process chamber 102 without having to consider their height differences too much, which is conducive to faster transmission of the transmission device 200.

[0103] As described above, the transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may be of various types. In one embodiment, the transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include a first silicon wafer manipulator 201. The first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is a manipulator for picking up and placing silicon wafers. The first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is used to pick up and place unprocessed silicon wafers to prepare for loading before the process. The first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is also used to pick up and place silicon wafers that have been processed by the chamber module 100 to prepare for unloading after the process. It should be noted that "before the process" in this article refers to the silicon wafer that has not been processed by any of the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104 in the chamber module 100. "After the process" in this article refers to the silicon wafer that has been processed by the first process chamber 101, the second process chamber 102, the third process chamber 103 and the fourth process chamber 104 in the chamber module 100, thereby forming a processed silicon wafer.

[0104] It should be noted that the processed silicon wafer described in this article refers to the silicon wafer that has completed the process only in the chamber module 100, and does not mean that the silicon wafer for preparing heterojunction solar cells has gone through all the processes.

[0105] In the embodiment of the present invention, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is not only used to pick up and place unprocessed silicon wafers for pre-process loading preparation, but also used to pick up and place processed silicon wafers for post-process unloading preparation. It can be seen that the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 has multiple functions, and can realize the pre-process loading preparation and post-process unloading preparation using the same first silicon wafer manipulator 201, so there is no need to configure multiple sets of dedicated manipulators for multiple functions, which can undoubtedly simplify the structure of the transmission device 200 and help reduce the configuration cost of the transmission device 200. In the embodiment of the present invention, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can be one, so that the configuration cost can be further reduced. Of course, in other embodiments, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can be multiple, for example, two. In this case, the two first silicon wafer manipulators 201 can be used one for use and the other for standby. When one of the first silicon wafer manipulators 201 fails, the other first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can be immediately used to take over the work, thereby ensuring the stability of the transmission work.

[0106] In a further embodiment, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is used to pick up and place silicon wafers in groups, that is, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can grab a group of silicon wafers each time, and the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can put down a group of silicon wafers each time, each group of silicon wafers includes multiple silicon wafers. This grabbing method of the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can improve the efficiency of picking and placing silicon wafers, which is beneficial to improving transmission efficiency, and ultimately beneficial to improving the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0107] The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the type of the first silicon wafer manipulator 201. In one embodiment, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can be a clamping manipulator, that is, the silicon wafer is grasped by mechanical clamping or the silicon wafer is put down by releasing the clamping. The clamping force of the clamping manipulator is not easy to control, and the silicon wafer is easily damaged during the process of clamping and placing. Moreover, in the process of taking and placing silicon wafers in groups, it is difficult to unify the clamping force of the clamping manipulator on the silicon wafers grasped in groups, and finally the stability of taking and placing the silicon wafers is poor. In another embodiment, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can be a vacuum manipulator, which grasps the silicon wafer by vacuum adsorption or puts down the silicon wafer by releasing the vacuum. The vacuum manipulator causes less damage to the silicon wafer, so that the transmission device 200 causes less damage to the silicon wafer during the transmission process, which is ultimately beneficial to improving the yield of the silicon wafer after the process.

[0108] The transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include a first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203 and a first wafer carrier plate manipulator 205. The first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203 is essentially a device for temporarily storing silicon wafers, and unprocessed silicon wafers or processed silicon wafers can be temporarily stored on the first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203. The first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is used to pick up and place silicon wafers in groups on the first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203. Specifically, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is used to grab unprocessed silicon wafers in groups and place them on the first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203. The first silicon wafer manipulator 201 is also used to grab processed silicon wafers from the first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203 in groups and transport them away.

[0109] The first wafer carrier robot 205 is at least used to transfer silicon wafers in groups between the first process chamber 101 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203. In this case, the control of the transfer device 200 described in S110 above to transfer the unprocessed silicon wafers to the first process chamber 101 and perform the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer deposition on the front side of the silicon wafers includes: the controller controls the first silicon wafer robot 201 to transfer the unprocessed silicon wafers to the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 in groups and then controls the first wafer carrier robot 205 to transfer the unprocessed silicon wafers to the first process chamber 101 in groups, and performs the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer deposition on the front side of the silicon wafers in the first process chamber 101.

[0110] Specifically, the controller can be connected to the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 and the first wafer carrier plate manipulator 205 for communication, so as to realize the control of the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 and the first wafer carrier plate manipulator 205.

[0111] The first wafer carrier robot 205 can directly transfer the unprocessed silicon wafer from the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 to the first process chamber 101. In order to avoid damaging the silicon wafer in the process of entering and exiting the process chamber, in other embodiments, the transfer device 200 can also include wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups, each group of wafer carriers 230 includes a plurality of wafer carriers 230, and the wafer carriers 230 are used to carry silicon wafers. The plurality of wafer carriers 230 included in each group of wafer carriers 230 are distributed at intervals in the carrying direction of the wafer carriers 230, that is, in each group of wafer carriers 230, there is a gap between two adjacent wafer carriers 230. In this case, the first wafer carrier robot 205 is at least used to transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups between the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 and the first process chamber 101. Specifically, the first wafer carrier robot 205 is used to grab the wafer carriers 230 carrying the unprocessed silicon wafers on the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 in groups, and transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying the unprocessed silicon wafers in groups to the first process chamber 101. In this way, the wafer carriers 230 carrying the unprocessed silicon wafers can be brought into the first process chamber 101 in groups, and the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer can be deposited on the front side of the unprocessed silicon wafers in the first process chamber 101.

[0112] In this case, the controller in the above steps controls the first wafer robot 201 to transfer the unprocessed wafers to the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 in groups and then controls the first wafer carrier robot 205 to transfer the unprocessed wafers to the first process chamber 101 in groups, which may include the following steps:

[0113] S111, the controller controls the first silicon wafer robot 201 to transfer unprocessed silicon wafers in groups to the wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups in the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203, so that each group of silicon wafers is placed on a corresponding group of wafer carriers 230 in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0114] S112 , the controller controls the first wafer carrier robot 205 to transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying unprocessed silicon wafers in groups from the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 to the first process chamber 101 .

[0115] As described in one embodiment above, in a stacked chamber structure, the fourth process chamber 104 is stacked on the first process chamber 101. Since the silicon wafers become processed silicon wafers after being processed in the fourth process chamber 104, and the processed silicon wafers can be temporarily stored in the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203, based on this, in a further embodiment, the first wafer carrier robot 205 is also used to transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying the processed silicon wafers in groups between the fourth process chamber 104 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203. In this case, the first wafer plate robot 205 is not only used to transfer the wafer plates 230 carrying unprocessed silicon wafers on the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203 from the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203 to the first process chamber 101 in groups, but also used to transfer the wafer plates 230 carrying silicon wafers processed by the fourth process chamber 104 (i.e., processed silicon wafers) from the fourth process chamber 104 to the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203 in groups. This method can make the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203 and the first process chamber 101 and the fourth process chamber 104 have a good connection. The first wafer plate manipulator 205 is used for the transfer of the wafer plate 230 carrying silicon wafers between the chamber 104 and the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203, so there is no need to configure a dedicated manipulator for the wafer plate 230 carrying unprocessed silicon wafers between the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203 and the first process chamber 101, and there is no need to configure a dedicated manipulator for the wafer plate 230 carrying processed silicon wafers between the fourth process chamber 104 and the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203. This method can simplify the transfer device 200, which is conducive to reducing the cost of semiconductor process equipment. At the same time, since the first wafer plate manipulator 205 can be shared, the components of the transfer device 200 can also be reduced, which is conducive to reducing the floor area of ​​the transfer device 200, and ultimately helps to reduce the floor area of ​​the semiconductor process equipment.

[0116] As described above, the transmission device 200 includes wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the number of groups of wafer carriers 230. As described above, considering that the fourth process chamber 104 is prone to contamination during the process, in order to avoid adverse effects on the processes of other process chambers, in one embodiment, the fourth process chamber 104 can be equipped with two groups of wafer carriers 230, which can be considered as the first group of wafer carriers 230 and the second group of wafer carriers 230. These two sets of wafer carriers 230 only enter and exit the fourth process chamber 104, and will not enter and exit other process chambers, thereby avoiding contamination. When in use, one of the two groups of wafer carriers 230 matched with the fourth process chamber 104 can be in the fourth process chamber 104 for processing, and the other can be located in the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 to prepare for unloading the silicon wafers that have been processed, or the other can be located in the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 to receive the silicon wafers that have been turned over after the process in the third process chamber 103.

[0117] As described above, since the process needs to be turned over before entering the second process chamber 102 after the process in the first process chamber 101, in one embodiment, the first process chamber 101 can be equipped with two sets of carrier plates 230, which can be considered as the third set of carrier plates 230 and the fourth set of carrier plates 230. These two sets of carrier plates 230 are only used to enter and exit the first process chamber 101.

[0118] Since there is no need to flip the silicon wafer between the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103, the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103 can be respectively equipped with a set of carrier plates 230, namely, the fifth set of carrier plates 230 and the sixth set of carrier plates 230. The second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103 can share the carrier plates 230 in a group, that is, the fifth set of carrier plates 230 and the sixth set of carrier plates 230 can both enter and exit the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103, and do not need to be exclusively used by the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103.

[0119] In a specific embodiment, the transmission device disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can be configured with six groups of carrier plates 230, namely the first group of carrier plates 230, the second group of carrier plates 230, the third group of carrier plates 230, the fifth group of carrier plates 230 and the sixth group of carrier plates 230 mentioned above, so as to achieve good operation of the transportation device 200.

[0120] The transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204. The second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 has the same function as the first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203, and is essentially a device for temporarily storing silicon wafers. The silicon wafers processed by the first process chamber 101 or the silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 may be temporarily stored on the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204, thereby providing conditions for the flipping operation of the silicon wafers before entering the second process chamber 102 or before entering the fourth process chamber 104. In this case, silicon wafers are transferred between the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the first process chamber 101, and silicon wafers are also transferred between the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the fourth process chamber 104. Based on this, in a further embodiment, the first carrier plate robot 205 is also used to transfer the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups between the first process chamber 101 and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204, and between the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the fourth process chamber 104. Specifically, the first carrier plate robot 205 is used to grab the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers processed in the first process chamber 101 in groups from the first process chamber 101 and transfer them to the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204. The first carrier plate robot 205 is also used to grab the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers processed in the third process chamber 101 and turned over from the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 in groups and transfer them to the fourth process chamber 104.

[0121] This method can further expand the function of the first wafer carrier plate robot 205, so that the first wafer carrier plate robot 205 can be better shared, and there is no need to configure a dedicated robot for the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer processed by the first process chamber 101 between the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the first process chamber 101, and there is no need to configure a dedicated robot for the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer processed by the third process chamber 103 and turned over between the fourth process chamber 104 and the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204. This method can further simplify the structure of the transmission device 200, and further help to reduce the cost of semiconductor process equipment. At the same time, since the first wafer carrier plate robot 205 can be further shared, the components of the transmission device 200 can also be further reduced, which is further conducive to reducing the floor area of ​​the transmission device 200, and ultimately further conducive to reducing the floor area of ​​the semiconductor process equipment.

[0122] In the case where the transfer device 200 includes the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 and the first carrier plate manipulator 205, the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 can temporarily store the carrier plates 230 carrying the silicon wafers processed by the fourth process chamber 104 (i.e., the processed silicon wafers), and the first carrier plate manipulator 205 is also used to transfer the carrier plates 230 carrying the silicon wafers processed by the fourth process chamber 104 from the fourth process chamber 104 to the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 in groups. Based on this, the controller can control the semiconductor process equipment to further perform the following steps after S140:

[0123] S150, control the first wafer carrier robot 205 to take out the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers processed in the fourth process chamber 104 from the fourth process chamber 104 in groups and place them on the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203. This method indirectly realizes the transfer of the processed silicon wafers from the fourth process chamber 104 to the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 by transferring the wafer carriers 230.

[0124] The transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a basket loading and unloading device 260. The basket loading and unloading device 260 is used to unload the unprocessed silicon wafers carried by the basket on the transport vehicle (such as an AGV vehicle) 300, and is also used to transfer the processed silicon wafers to the basket of the transport vehicle 300 for loading. The basket loading and unloading device 260 is a prior art, and the process and principle of loading or unloading the basket loading and unloading device 260 and the structure of the basket loading and unloading device 260 are all well-known technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0125] When the transmission device 200 includes a basket loading and unloading device 260, S111 may specifically include:

[0126] S1111, the controller controls the first silicon wafer robot 201 to transfer unprocessed silicon wafers in groups from the basket loading and unloading device 260 to the wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups in the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203.

[0127] Since the basket loading and unloading device 260 can also receive silicon wafers that have been processed, the controller can control the semiconductor process equipment to further perform the following steps after S150:

[0128] S160 , controlling the first silicon wafer robot 201 to take out the processed silicon wafers from the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 in groups and transfer them to the flower basket loading and unloading device 260 .

[0129] It can be seen from the above process steps that the first process chamber 101 deposits a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer, and the second process chamber 102 deposits a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back side of the silicon wafer. Therefore, during the process of transferring the silicon wafer from the first process chamber 101 to the second process chamber 102, it is necessary to turn the front side of the silicon wafer to the back side, so as to prepare for the subsequent deposition of the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back side of the silicon wafer in the second process chamber 102. Similarly, the third process chamber 103 deposits an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer deposited on the back side of the silicon wafer, and the fourth process chamber 104 deposits a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer deposited on the front side of the silicon wafer. Therefore, during the process of transferring the silicon wafer from the third process chamber 103 to the fourth process chamber 104, it is necessary to turn the back side of the silicon wafer to the front side, so as to prepare for the subsequent deposition of the P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer in the fourth process chamber 104.

[0130] Based on this, the transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include a second silicon wafer manipulator 202 and a second wafer carrier manipulator 206. The second silicon wafer manipulator 202 is used to flip the silicon wafer that has undergone the first process chamber 101 process or the silicon wafer that has undergone the third process chamber 103 process temporarily stored on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, thereby preparing the silicon wafer to enter the second process chamber 102 or the fourth process chamber 104.

[0131] The second wafer carrier robot 206 can directly pick up and place silicon wafers, thereby transferring the silicon wafers that have been processed in the first process chamber 101 and turned over from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 to the second process chamber 102. In order to avoid damaging the silicon wafers during the process of entering and exiting the process chamber, in other embodiments, the second wafer carrier robot 206 is at least used to transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers that have been processed in the first process chamber 101 and turned over between the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 and the second process chamber 102 in groups, thereby indirectly transferring the silicon wafers that have been processed in the first process chamber 101 and turned over from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 to the second process chamber 102.

[0132] In the case where the transmission device 200 includes the second silicon wafer robot 202 and the second wafer carrier robot 206, the controller can be respectively connected to the second silicon wafer robot 202 and the second wafer carrier robot 206 for communication, thereby realizing the control of the second silicon wafer robot 202 and the second wafer carrier robot 206. The controller can control the semiconductor process equipment to perform S120 according to the following steps:

[0133] S121, controlling the first wafer carrier robot 205 to move the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers processed in the first process chamber 101 out of the first process chamber 101 in groups and transfer them to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204;

[0134] S122, controlling the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the silicon wafers processed by the first process chamber 101 in groups on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, flip them over, and after flipping, place the silicon wafers processed by the first process chamber 101 in groups on the wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups in the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204;

[0135] S123 , control the second wafer carrier robot 206 to transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers that have been processed in the first process chamber 101 and turned over in groups from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 to the second process chamber 102 .

[0136] As described above, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 is used to pick up and place silicon wafers on the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and to flip the silicon wafers. Similar to the first silicon wafer manipulator 201, in one embodiment, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 can be a clamping manipulator, that is, it can grasp the silicon wafer by mechanical clamping or put down the silicon wafer by unclamping. The clamping manipulator can clamp the edge of the silicon wafer, so as to flip the silicon wafer by rotating the clamping manipulator itself. Specifically, the clamping manipulator clamps the silicon wafers in groups by clamping and then flips the silicon wafers by rotating itself. After flipping, the silicon wafers are placed back in groups on the wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups in the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204. The clamping force of the clamping robot is difficult to control, and the silicon wafers are easily damaged during the clamping and placing process. Moreover, in the process of taking and placing silicon wafers in groups, it is difficult to unify the clamping force of the clamping robot on the silicon wafers grasped in groups, which ultimately leads to poor stability in the taking and placing of silicon wafers.

[0137] In another embodiment, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 may also be a vacuum manipulator, which can grasp the silicon wafer by vacuum adsorption or put down the silicon wafer by releasing the vacuum. The vacuum manipulator causes less damage to the silicon wafer, so that the transmission device 200 causes less damage to the silicon wafer during the transmission process, which is ultimately beneficial to improving the yield of the silicon wafer after the process. The vacuum manipulator transfers the silicon wafer by adsorbing the front or back of the silicon wafer.

[0138] In this case, the transfer device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a flipping temporary storage device 250. In one embodiment, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 is a vacuum manipulator. The second silicon wafer manipulator 202 is used to transfer silicon wafers in groups between the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the flipping temporary storage device 250, so as to realize the flipping operation required for implementing the process on the silicon wafer. Specifically, after the first process chamber 101 deposits the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer, the second process chamber 102 is required to deposit the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back side of the silicon wafer. In this case, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 is used to grab the silicon wafers that have been processed in the first process chamber 101 in groups by vacuum adsorbing the back side of the silicon wafers, and transport them in groups from the wafer carriers 230 in the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 to the flipping temporary storage device 250, and transfer them to the flipping temporary storage device 250 after the first process chamber 101 process. The silicon wafers to be turned over after being processed in the first process chamber 101 are temporarily stored in the turning-over temporary storage device 250, and then the second silicon wafer robot 202 grabs the silicon wafers after the process in the first process chamber 101 from the turning-over temporary storage device 250 by vacuum adsorbing the front side of the silicon wafer (at this time, what is actually vacuum adsorbed is the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer), and transfers them in groups from the turning-over temporary storage device 250 to the groups of wafer carriers 230 in the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, thereby finally realizing the turning operation of the silicon wafers.

[0139] In the embodiment of the present invention, the flip temporary storage device 250 is used for temporary storage of silicon wafers. When the silicon wafers are temporarily stored on the flip temporary storage device 250, both the front and back sides of the silicon wafers can be exposed for selective grabbing by the second silicon wafer robot 202. For example, the flip temporary storage device 250 can be provided with a slot for inserting the edge of the silicon wafer, and the slot is plugged and matched with the edge of the silicon wafer to ensure the placement of the silicon wafer on the flip temporary storage device 250, and the slot does not cover the front and back sides of the silicon wafer. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific structure of the flip temporary storage device 250, as long as the front and back sides of the silicon wafers can be exposed after the silicon wafers are placed thereon for grabbing by the second silicon wafer robot 202 by vacuum adsorption.

[0140] After the third process chamber 103 deposits an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back of the silicon wafer, the fourth process chamber 104 is required to deposit a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front of the silicon wafer. In this case, the second silicon wafer robot 202 is used to grab the silicon wafers that have undergone the process in the third process chamber 103 by vacuum adsorbing the front side of the silicon wafer (at this time, what is actually vacuum adsorbed is the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer), and transport them in groups from the grouped carrier plates 230 in the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 to the flipping temporary storage device 250, and temporarily store the silicon wafers to be flipped after the process in the third process chamber 103 in the flipping temporary storage device 250, and then the second silicon wafer robot 202 grabs the silicon wafers that have undergone the process in the third process chamber 103 from the flipping temporary storage device 250 by vacuum adsorbing the back side of the silicon wafer (at this time, what is actually vacuum adsorbed is the N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back side of the silicon wafer), and transfers them in groups from the flipping temporary storage device 250 to the grouped carrier plates 230 in the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204, finally realizing the flipping operation of the silicon wafers.

[0141] In an optional embodiment, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 may be disposed between the flipping temporary storage device 250 and the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204. This central distribution is conducive to the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 cooperating with the flipping temporary storage device 250 and the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204, respectively, and thus it is easier to cooperate with them to realize the transfer of silicon wafers during the flipping process. Considering that the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 generally has greater flexibility, in other embodiments, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 may not be disposed between the flipping temporary storage device 250 and the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific location of the second silicon wafer manipulator 202.

[0142] In the case where the transfer device 200 includes the flipping temporary storage device 250, the controller is used to control the semiconductor process equipment to perform the control of the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 in S122 to grab the silicon wafers on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups after being processed by the first process chamber 101 and flip them over according to the following steps:

[0143] S1221, control the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the back side of the silicon wafers processed by the first process chamber 101 on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups, and place them on the flipping temporary storage device 250;

[0144] S1222, control the second silicon wafer robot 202 to grab the front sides of the silicon wafers that have been processed in the first process chamber 101 and placed on the flipping temporary storage device 250 in groups, and place them on the wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 to complete the flipping.

[0145] As described in one embodiment above, in a stacked chamber structure, the third process chamber 103 is stacked on the second process chamber 102. Based on this, in a further embodiment, the second wafer carrier robot 206 can also be used to transfer wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups between the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103. Specifically, the second wafer carrier robot 206 grabs wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers processed in the second process chamber 102 in groups and transports them to the third process chamber 103.

[0146] As described above, the silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 will be temporarily stored in the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204. Based on this, in a further embodiment, the second wafer carrier robot 206 is also used to transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers in groups between the third process chamber 103 and the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204. Specifically, the second wafer carrier robot 206 is used to grab the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 in groups and transfer them to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204.

[0147] This method can expand the function of the second wafer carrier plate robot 206, so that the second wafer carrier plate robot 206 can be better shared, and there is no need to configure a dedicated robot for the wafer carrier 230 between the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103, which carries the silicon wafer processed by the second process chamber 102, and there is no need to configure a dedicated robot for the wafer carrier 230 between the third process chamber 103 and the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204, which carries the silicon wafer processed by the third process chamber 103. This method can further simplify the structure of the transmission device 200, and further help to reduce the cost of semiconductor process equipment. At the same time, since the first wafer carrier plate robot 205 can be further shared, the components of the transmission device 200 can be further reduced, which is further conducive to reducing the floor area of ​​the transmission device 200, and ultimately further conducive to reducing the floor area of ​​the semiconductor process equipment.

[0148] In the case where the transmission device 200 includes the second wafer carrier robot 206, the second silicon wafer robot 202, the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 and the first wafer carrier robot 205, the controller may control the semiconductor process equipment to perform S130 by the following steps:

[0149] S131 , controlling the second wafer carrier robot 206 to take out the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers processed in the third process chamber 103 in groups from the third process chamber 103 and transfer them to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 .

[0150] S132, control the second silicon wafer robot 202 to grab the silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups, turn them over, and after turning over, place the silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 in groups on the wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204.

[0151] S133 , control the first wafer carrier robot 205 to transfer the wafer carriers 230 carrying the silicon wafers that have been processed in the third process chamber 103 and turned over in groups from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 to the fourth process chamber 104 .

[0152] In an embodiment where the transfer device 200 further includes a flipping temporary storage device 250, the controller can be used to control the semiconductor process equipment to perform the control described in S132 of the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the silicon wafers on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups after being processed by the third process chamber 103 to flip the silicon wafers:

[0153] S1321, control the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the front side of the silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups, and place them on the flipping temporary storage device 250;

[0154] S1322, control the second silicon wafer robot 202 to grab the back sides of the silicon wafers that have been processed in the third process chamber 103 and placed on the flipping temporary storage device 250 in groups, and place them on the wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 to complete the flipping.

[0155] There can be many types of the first carrier plate robot 205. Specifically, the first carrier plate robot 205 can adopt a variety of existing robots that can move in multiple directions (such as moving or rotating) to achieve flexible transportation. In order to make it more convenient for the first carrier plate robot 205 to better perform the multiple functions mentioned above, the first carrier plate robot 205 can be opposite to the stacked chamber structure where the first process chamber 101 is located. This structure enables the first carrier plate robot 205 to be opposite to the first process chamber 101 and the fourth process chamber 104 respectively through lifting and lowering, thereby making it more convenient for the carrier plate 230 carrying silicon wafers to enter and exit the first process chamber 101 or the fourth process chamber 104.

[0156] Similarly, in order to facilitate the second wafer plate robot 206 to better perform the multiple functions mentioned above, the second wafer plate robot 206 can be opposite to the stacked chamber structure where the second process chamber 102 is located. This structure enables the second wafer plate robot 206 to be opposite to the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103 respectively through lifting and lowering, thereby making it more convenient for the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer to enter and exit the second process chamber 102 or the third process chamber 103.

[0157] In a further embodiment, the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 may be located on the side of the first carrier plate manipulator 205 facing away from the second carrier plate manipulator 206, and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 may be located between the first carrier plate manipulator 205 and the second carrier plate manipulator 206. This distribution of the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 can be arranged more compactly, thereby making it easier for the first carrier plate manipulator 205 and the second carrier plate manipulator 206 to perform multiple functions.

[0158] On the basis that the transmission device 200 includes the flower basket loading and unloading device 260, in a further embodiment, the flower basket loading and unloading device 260 may be opposite to the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203, and the first silicon wafer robot 201 may be located between the flower basket loading and unloading device 260 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203. This distribution method enables the first silicon wafer robot 201 to more conveniently cooperate with the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 and the flower basket loading and unloading device 260, respectively.

[0159] On the basis that the transmission device 200 includes the flipping temporary storage device 250, in a further embodiment, the flipping temporary storage device 250 may be opposite to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, and the second silicon wafer robot 202 may be located between the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 and the flipping temporary storage device 250. This distribution method enables the second silicon wafer robot 202 to more conveniently cooperate with the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 and the flipping temporary storage device 250, respectively.

[0160] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a protection chamber 400, in which the second silicon wafer robot 202, the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, the first wafer carrier robot 205 and the second wafer carrier robot 206 are arranged. The protection chamber 400 can provide protection and reduce the contamination of the silicon wafer, and at the same time ensure the safety of the silicon wafer being transferred between the above devices and between the process chambers of the chamber module 100. In the embodiment in which the transfer device 200 includes a flipping temporary storage device 250, the flipping temporary storage device 250 may also be arranged in the protection chamber 400.

[0161] In one embodiment, the protective chamber 400 can provide a single space, and the second silicon wafer robot 202, the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, the first wafer carrier robot 205 and the second wafer carrier robot 206 are arranged in the single space. This method does not require a complex protective chamber 400, which is conducive to simplifying the structure of the semiconductor process equipment.

[0162] In another embodiment, the protection compartment 400 may include a first sub-compartment 410 , a second sub-compartment 420 , a first sealing door 430 , and a second sealing door 440 .

[0163] The first wafer carrier plate robot 205 , the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 , the second silicon wafer robot 202 and the flipping temporary storage device 250 may be disposed in the first sub-chamber 410 , and the second wafer carrier plate robot 206 is located in the second sub-chamber 420 .

[0164] The protection chamber 400 is provided with a first carrier plate transfer port 401 connected to the first sub-chamber 410 and a second carrier plate transfer port 402 connected to the first sub-chamber 410 and the second sub-chamber 420. The first carrier plate transfer port 401 is used for the first carrier plate robot 205 to pass through to grab the carrier plate 230 carrying unprocessed silicon wafers from the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 or to transfer the carrier plate 230 carrying silicon wafers processed by the fourth process chamber 104 to the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203.

[0165] The second wafer carrier transfer port 402 is used for the second wafer carrier robot 206 to pass through to grab the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer that has been processed in the first process chamber 101 and turned over from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, or to transfer the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer that has been processed in the third process chamber 103 to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204.

[0166] The first sealing door 430 cooperates with the first wafer carrier transfer port 401 to control the opening and closing of the first wafer carrier transfer port 401. When the silicon wafer needs to be transferred through the first wafer carrier transfer port 401, the first sealing door 430 is opened; when the silicon wafer does not need to be transferred through the first wafer carrier transfer port 401, the first sealing door 430 is closed to block the first wafer carrier transfer port 401, thereby ensuring the environment in the first sub-chamber 410.

[0167] The second sealing door 440 cooperates with the second wafer carrier transfer port 402 to control the opening and closing of the second wafer carrier transfer port 402. When the silicon wafer needs to be transferred through the second wafer carrier transfer port 402, the second sealing door 440 is opened; when the silicon wafer does not need to be transferred through the second wafer carrier transfer port 402, the second sealing door 440 is closed to block the second wafer carrier transfer port 402, thereby ensuring the environment in the second sub-chamber 420.

[0168] In the embodiment of the present invention, the first sub-chamber 410 and the second sub-chamber 420 can be nitrogen-filled chambers or vacuum chambers. In the embodiment where the first sub-chamber 410 and the second sub-chamber 420 are nitrogen-filled chambers, further, the nitrogen concentration in the second sub-chamber 420 is at least 99.9%, and the nitrogen concentration in the first sub-chamber 410 is at least 95%.

[0169] Since the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer enters and exits the process chamber in the first sub-chamber 410 and the second sub-chamber 420, and the first sub-chamber 410 and the second sub-chamber 420 can be isolated from the external environment of the semiconductor process equipment, the first sub-chamber 410 and the second sub-chamber 420 can also insulate the silicon wafer, so that the temperature of the silicon wafer will not drop too quickly after being output from a process chamber, so that it can still have a higher temperature when entering the next process chamber, and finally the preheating time of the silicon wafer in the next process chamber can be reduced, which is beneficial to improving the process efficiency and can also achieve the purpose of increasing the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0170] As described above, in one embodiment, the transmission device 200 may include a basket loading and unloading device 260, and the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 may be used to transfer unprocessed silicon wafers or processed silicon wafers in groups between the basket loading and unloading device 260 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203. In a further embodiment, the protection chamber 400 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include a third sub-chamber 450, and the first sub-chamber 410 may be located between the third sub-chamber 450 and the second sub-chamber 420. The first wafer carrier transfer port 401 is used to connect the third sub-chamber 450 with the first sub-chamber 410. The third sub-chamber 450 may be provided with a silicon wafer transfer port 403, and the basket loading and unloading device 260, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 may be sequentially arranged in the third sub-chamber 450 in a direction away from the silicon wafer transfer port 403. The silicon wafer transfer port 403 is used to dock with the transport vehicle (e.g., AGV vehicle) 300 mentioned above. The transport vehicle 300 carries a first flower basket carrying unprocessed silicon wafers. When the transport vehicle 300 runs to the position docking with the silicon wafer transfer port 403, the first flower basket carrying the unprocessed silicon wafers will be received by the flower basket loading and unloading device 260 and pass through the silicon wafer transfer port 403 and enter the third sub-chamber 450. The flower basket loading and unloading device 260 can also unload the unprocessed silicon wafers on the first flower basket for subsequent grabbing by the first silicon wafer robot 201. The transport vehicle 300 also carries a second flower basket carrying processed silicon wafers. When the transport vehicle 300 runs to the position docking with the silicon wafer transfer port 403, the first silicon wafer robot 201 grabs the processed silicon wafers on the grouped carrier plates 230 in the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 in groups, and transports them to the flower basket loading and unloading device 260. The flower basket loading and unloading device 260 loads the processed silicon wafers on the second flower basket, and transfers the second flower basket carrying the processed silicon wafers to the transport vehicle 300 through the silicon wafer transfer port 403.

[0171] The third sub-chamber 450 can protect the basket loading and unloading device 260, the first silicon wafer robot 201 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203. Since the silicon wafer will not enter the process chamber of the chamber module 100 from the third sub-chamber 450, the third sub-chamber 450 can be an atmospheric chamber.

[0172] The protection chamber 400 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a third sealing door, which cooperates with the wafer transfer port 403 to control the opening and closing of the wafer transfer port 403. In this case, the third sealing door is conducive to forming a sealed structure of the third sub-chamber 450, thereby ensuring the sealing of the third sub-chamber 450 when the wafer transfer port 403 is not docked with the transport vehicle 300. When the wafer transfer port 403 docks with the transport vehicle 300, the third sealing door is opened, in which case the transport vehicle 300 can be sealed and docked with the wafer transfer port 403, thereby ensuring that the third sub-chamber 450 is still sealed when the wafer transfer port 403 docks with the transport vehicle 300.

[0173] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of silicon wafer manipulators 240, and the plurality of silicon wafer manipulators 240 may include the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 and the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 mentioned above. The structures of the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 and the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 may be the same. In one embodiment, the silicon wafer manipulator 240 may include a plurality of first mechanical fingers 241, a six-axis industrial robot 242 and a base 243. In each silicon wafer manipulator 240, the plurality of first mechanical fingers 241 are distributed at intervals and are all fixed on the base 243. The base 243 is fixed to the free end of the six-axis industrial robot 242. Each silicon wafer manipulator 240 includes a plurality of first mechanical fingers 241. In the process of picking up and placing silicon wafers, each first mechanical finger 241 can pick up and place a silicon wafer. Since each silicon wafer manipulator 240 includes a plurality of first mechanical fingers 241, each silicon wafer manipulator 240 can simultaneously pick up and place multiple silicon wafers, thus achieving the purpose of picking up and placing silicon wafers in groups as described above.

[0174] When the silicon wafer manipulator 240 is a clamping manipulator, the first mechanical finger 241 may be a clamping structure. When the silicon wafer manipulator 240 is a vacuum manipulator, the first mechanical finger 241 may be a vacuum suction cup, which grasps the silicon wafer by vacuuming the front or back of the silicon wafer and puts the silicon wafer down by releasing the vacuum.

[0175] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of wafer plate temporary storage devices 220, and the plurality of wafer plate temporary storage devices 220 may include the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203 and the second wafer plate temporary storage device 204 described above. The structures of the first wafer plate temporary storage device 203 and the second wafer plate temporary storage device 204 may be the same. The wafer plate temporary storage device 220 may include a second frame 221 and a second support block 222 disposed on the second frame 221. Specifically, the second support block 222 may be fixed to the second frame 221 by welding, bonding, clamping, connecting with a connector, etc. The second frame 221 can have multiple carrier plate temporary storage spaces, and each carrier plate temporary storage space can be provided with multiple layers of second support blocks 222 distributed at intervals. Each layer of second support blocks 222 is used to support a carrier plate 230. The multiple layers of second support blocks 222 can support multiple layers of carrier plates 230. As described above, the carrier plates 230 are distributed in groups, and each group of carrier plates 230 includes multiple carrier plates 230. Each group of carrier plates 230 is distributed in layers, that is, each carrier plate 230 in each group of carrier plates 230 is located at a different layer.

[0176] In a further embodiment, the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 may further include a first base 223 and a first rotating shaft 224, and the second frame 221 is rotatably disposed on the first base 223 via the first rotating shaft 224. The second frame 221 is provided with a silicon wafer access opening facing the first direction and a wafer carrier access opening facing the second direction. The first direction may intersect with the second direction. Specifically, the first direction may be perpendicular to the second direction.

[0177] The wafer access opening is used to cooperate with the first wafer robot 201 or the second wafer robot 202, and is used for the first wafer robot 201 to access and access the wafers in groups on the first wafer board temporary storage device 203 or for the second wafer robot 202 to access and access the wafers in groups on the second wafer board temporary storage device 204. The wafer board access opening is used to cooperate with the first wafer board robot 205 or the second wafer board robot 206, and is used for the first wafer board robot 205 to access and access the wafer board 230 carrying the wafers in groups on the first wafer board temporary storage device 203 or for the second wafer board robot 206 to access and access the wafer board 230 carrying the wafers in groups on the second wafer board temporary storage device 204.

[0178] The first base 223 can be placed on the ground in the factory, and the second frame 221 can be rotatably disposed on the first base 223 via the first rotating shaft 224, so that the second frame 221 can be rotated to adjust the orientation of the silicon wafer access port and the wafer carrier access port, and then the orientation of the silicon wafer access port and the wafer carrier access port can be flexibly adjusted, which is ultimately beneficial for them to be relative to the silicon wafer manipulator 240 or the wafer carrier manipulator 210 mentioned later.

[0179] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of carrier plate manipulators 210, and the disclosed plurality of carrier plate manipulators 210 may include a first carrier plate manipulator 205 and a second carrier plate manipulator 206. The first carrier plate manipulator 205 and the second carrier plate manipulator 206 have the same structure. In one embodiment, the carrier plate manipulator 210 may include a plurality of second mechanical fingers 212, and the carrier plate manipulator 210 is arranged on the side facing the carrier plate access opening, and the plurality of second mechanical fingers 212 may take and place the carrier plate 230 loaded with silicon wafers in the carrier plate temporary storage device 220 in groups through the carrier plate access opening.

[0180] In the embodiment of the present invention, the second mechanical finger 212 can be a clamping structure, a vacuum adsorption structure, or a supporting structure. When the second mechanical finger 212 is a supporting structure, the wafer carrier 230 loaded with silicon wafers can fall on the second mechanical finger 212 by its own gravity and be supported by the second mechanical finger 212, and follow the movement of the second mechanical finger 212 to achieve transmission.

[0181] In a more specific structure, the wafer carrier manipulator 210 may also include a rotation drive unit 214, a guide rail 215, a vertical drive unit 216, a horizontal drive unit 217 and a finger seat 211. The plurality of second manipulator fingers 212 may be fixed to the finger seat 211. The finger seat 211 is connected to the horizontal drive unit 217, which drives the finger seat 211 to move horizontally; the vertical drive unit 216 is connected to the horizontal drive unit 217, which drives the horizontal drive unit 217, the finger seat 211 and the plurality of second manipulator fingers 212 to rise and fall in the vertical direction along the guide rail 215, and the guide rail 215 is connected to the rotation drive unit 214, which drives the guide rail 215 to rotate so that the plurality of second manipulator fingers 212 rotate around a preset axis, and the preset axis extends in the vertical direction. This structure can ultimately enable the second robotic finger 212 to move in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, and can also enable the second robotic finger 212 to rotate around the vertical direction, thereby ultimately achieving the placement and transportation of the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer.

[0182] It should be noted that, in this article, the second robot finger 212 moves in the horizontal direction, which means that the second robot finger 212 moves in the direction close to the process chamber of the stacked chamber structure opposite to it or away from the process chamber of the stacked chamber structure opposite to it, so that the carrier plate 230 carrying the silicon wafer can enter and exit the relative process chamber. The process chamber can be a horizontal chamber, and the opening direction of the chamber body can be horizontal. The second robot finger 212 moves in the vertical direction, which means that the second robot finger 212 moves in the vertical direction, so that it can adjust the height in the stacking direction of the stacked chamber structure opposite to it, and then it can be relative to the process chamber of the corresponding height, so as to prepare for the subsequent carrier plate 230 carrying the silicon wafer to enter and exit the process chamber. The second robotic finger 212 can rotate in the vertical direction, which means that the second robotic finger 212 can rotate in the vertical direction, so that the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers can be transferred in groups between the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 and the first process chamber 101, between the first process chamber 101 and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204, between the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the second process chamber 102, between the third process chamber 103 and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204, between the fourth process chamber 104 and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204, or between the fourth process chamber 104 and the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203.

[0183] In order to reduce the space occupied by horizontal movement, in one embodiment, the horizontal driving unit 217 can be a telescopic driving mechanism, for example, the horizontal driving unit 217 can be a hydraulic telescopic mechanism, a pneumatic telescopic mechanism, etc., or a telescopic driving mechanism of other structures. In one embodiment, the horizontal driving unit 217 can include a first horizontal guide rail 2171, a second horizontal guide rail 2172, a first sub-driving unit 2173 and a second sub-driving unit 2174. The first horizontal guide rail 2171 is fixedly connected to the vertical driving unit 216, and the second horizontal guide rail 2172 is slidably provided on the first horizontal guide rail 2171. The first sub-driving unit 2173 connects the first horizontal guide rail 2171 and the second horizontal guide rail 2172, and is used to drive the second horizontal guide rail 2172 to move horizontally along the first horizontal guide rail 2171. The finger seat 211 is slidably provided on the second horizontal guide rail 2172. The second sub-driving unit 2174 connects the second horizontal guide rail 2172 and the finger seat 211, and is used to drive the finger seat 211 to move horizontally along the second horizontal guide rail 2172.

[0184] As described above, the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention includes a first silicon wafer manipulator 201. In one embodiment, the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 can not only grab the silicon wafers processed by the fourth process chamber 104 from the first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203 for unloading, but also grab the unprocessed silicon wafers and transfer them to the first wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 203. The controller of the embodiment of the present invention can control the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 to first grab the silicon wafers processed by the fourth process chamber 104 for unloading, or grab the unprocessed silicon wafers for loading. In the specific design process, the inventor of the present invention found that unloading the processed silicon wafers as soon as possible is more conducive to improving the transmission efficiency of the silicon wafers. Based on this, in one embodiment, the controller can control the semiconductor process equipment to perform the following steps:

[0185] S311, determining whether there is a silicon wafer processed by the fourth process chamber 104 on the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203;

[0186] S312: If yes, control the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 to grab the silicon wafers processed by the fourth process chamber 104 on the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 in groups for unloading;

[0187] S313 , if not, control the first silicon wafer robot 201 to grab unprocessed silicon wafers in groups and transport them to the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 .

[0188] The controller schedules the first silicon wafer robot 201 according to the sequence of S311-S313, so that the first silicon wafer robot 201 takes the silicon wafer on the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 after being processed in the fourth process chamber 104 as a priority operation object, which is beneficial to improving the transmission efficiency of the transmission device 200.

[0189] In a further embodiment where the transmission device 200 further includes a flower basket loading and unloading device 260, the first silicon wafer robot 201 can be disposed between the flower basket loading and unloading device 260 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203, so as to more advantageously cooperate with the flower basket loading and unloading device 260 and the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 respectively. In this case, wherein:

[0190] S312 may include: controlling the first silicon wafer robot 201 to grab the silicon wafers processed by the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 in groups and transporting them to the flower basket loading and unloading device 260.

[0191] S313 may include: controlling the first silicon wafer robot 201 to grab unprocessed silicon wafers in groups from the basket loading and unloading device 260 and transporting them to the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 .

[0192] As described above, in one embodiment, the chamber module 100 includes a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 and a fourth process chamber 104 for sequentially processing silicon wafers, the first process chamber 101 is used to deposit a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer, the fourth process chamber 104 is used to deposit a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer, and the fourth process chamber 104 is stacked on top of the first process chamber 101; the transmission device 200 includes a first wafer carrier plate storage device 203, a first wafer carrier plate robot 205 and a second wafer carrier plate storage device 204. The first wafer carrier manipulator 205 can be shared to play multiple functions. In the specific process, the inventor of the present invention found that the fourth process chamber 104 takes the longest time to deposit the P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, which is the key to determining the production capacity of the entire semiconductor process equipment. Reducing the waiting time of the fourth process chamber 104 and allowing the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer to enter and exit the fourth process chamber 104 quickly will help improve the process efficiency, thereby achieving the purpose of improving the production capacity of the semiconductor process equipment. Based on this, in order to improve the production capacity of the semiconductor process equipment, the controller controls the semiconductor process equipment to perform the following steps:

[0193] S321 , determining whether the fourth process chamber 104 stores silicon wafers that have undergone processing in the fourth process chamber 104 .

[0194] S322, if yes, control the first wafer carrier robot 205 to transfer the silicon wafers processed in the fourth process chamber 104 to the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 in groups.

[0195] S323, if not, determine whether the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 stores silicon wafers that have been processed in the third process chamber 103 and need to enter the fourth process chamber 104;

[0196] S324. When the silicon wafers that have undergone the third process chamber 103 process and need to enter the fourth process chamber 104 are stored on the second wafer plate temporary storage device 204, the first wafer plate robot 205 is controlled to transfer the silicon wafers that have undergone the third process chamber 103 process and need to enter the fourth process chamber 104 and are stored on the second wafer plate temporary storage device 204 to the fourth process chamber 104 in groups.

[0197] It should be noted that the silicon wafer that has been processed in the third process chamber 103 and needs to enter the fourth process chamber 104 refers to the silicon wafer that has been processed in the third process chamber 103 and has been turned over to prepare for entering the fourth process chamber 104 for processing.

[0198] In a further embodiment, when the second wafer storage device 204 does not store silicon wafers that have been processed in the third process chamber 103 and need to enter the fourth process chamber 104, the controller may further control the semiconductor process equipment to further perform the following steps:

[0199] S325, determining whether the first process chamber 101 stores silicon wafers processed by the first process chamber 101;

[0200] S326, if yes, control the first wafer carrier robot 205 to transfer the silicon wafers processed in the first process chamber 101 to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups;

[0201] S327 , if not, control the first wafer carrier robot 205 to transfer the unprocessed silicon wafers stored on the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 202 to the first process chamber 101 in groups.

[0202] In this case, once the second wafer plate temporary storage device 204 does not store silicon wafers that have undergone the third process chamber 103 process and need to enter the fourth process chamber 104, it means that the fourth process chamber 104 does not need assistance temporarily. The controller controls the first wafer plate robot 205 to preferentially take out the wafer plate 230 carrying silicon wafers that have undergone the first process chamber 101 process in the first process chamber 101, and then input the wafer plate 230 carrying unprocessed silicon wafers into the first process chamber 101 so that the first process chamber 101 can start the process as soon as possible.

[0203] As described above, in one embodiment, the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention includes a chamber module 100, a transmission device 200 and a controller, the chamber module 100 includes a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 and a fourth process chamber 104 for sequentially processing a silicon wafer, the first process chamber 101 is used to deposit a first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer, the second process chamber 102 is used to deposit a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back side of the silicon wafer, the third process chamber 103 is used to deposit an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer, and the fourth process chamber 104 is used to deposit a P-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the first intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the front side of the silicon wafer; the transmission device 200 includes a second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 and a second silicon wafer manipulator 202, and the controller controls the semiconductor process equipment to perform the following steps:

[0204] S327, determining whether the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 stores silicon wafers that need to be turned over after being processed in the third process chamber 103;

[0205] S328, if yes, control the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after being processed in the third process chamber 103 from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups and perform a turning operation;

[0206] S329, if not, determine whether the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 stores silicon wafers that need to be turned over after being processed in the second process chamber 102;

[0207] S330, when silicon wafers that need to be turned over after being processed in the second process chamber 102 are stored on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, the second silicon wafer robot 202 is controlled to grab the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after being processed in the first process chamber 101 from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups to perform the turning operation.

[0208] In the embodiment of the present invention, the fourth process chamber 104 has the longest processing time for silicon wafers, the third process chamber 103 has the second longest processing time for silicon wafers, and the first process chamber 101 and the second process chamber 102 have shorter processing time for silicon wafers.

[0209] Similarly, in order to reduce the waiting time of the process chamber with a long process time, it is beneficial to start the process with a long process time as quickly as possible, and then it is beneficial to improve the process efficiency. Based on this, in the semiconductor process equipment of this structure, it is preferentially determined whether the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 stores the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after the process of the third process chamber 103, and then the second silicon wafer robot 202 is preferentially controlled to turn over the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after the process of the third process chamber 103, and then it is determined whether the second wafer carrier plate temporary storage device 204 stores the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after the process of the first process chamber 101, and then the second silicon wafer robot 202 is controlled to turn over the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after the process of the first process chamber 101. This kind of sequential judgment and turning processing order can better give priority to the full operation of the fourth process chamber 104, and then consider the full operation of the third process chamber 103, so as to improve the production capacity of the semiconductor process equipment and achieve the purpose of better sharing the second silicon wafer robot 202.

[0210] In the embodiment where the transfer device 200 includes the flipping temporary storage device 250, the second silicon wafer robot 202 may be disposed between the flipping temporary storage device 250 and the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204. In this case, wherein:

[0211] S328 may include: controlling the second silicon wafer robot 202 to grab the front sides of the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after being processed in the third process chamber 103 from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups and transferring them to the turning-over temporary storage device 250, and then controlling the second silicon wafer robot 202 to grab the back sides of the silicon wafers that have been processed in the third process chamber 103 from the turning-over temporary storage device 250 in groups and transfer them to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204.

[0212] S330 may include: controlling the second silicon wafer robot 202 to grab the back sides of the silicon wafers that need to be turned over after being processed in the first process chamber 101 from the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 in groups and transferring them to the turning-over temporary storage device 250, and then controlling the second silicon wafer robot 202 to grab the front sides of the silicon wafers that have been processed in the first process chamber 101 from the turning-over temporary storage device 250 in groups and transfer them to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204.

[0213] In one embodiment, the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include a chamber module 100, a transmission device 200 and a controller. The chamber module 100 includes a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103 and a fourth process chamber 104 for sequentially processing a silicon wafer. The second process chamber 102 is used to deposit a second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer on the back of the silicon wafer, and the third process chamber 103 is used to deposit an N-type crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon thin film layer on the second intrinsic amorphous silicon thin film layer. The transmission device 200 includes a second wafer carrier manipulator 206 and a second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204. The controller controls the semiconductor process equipment to perform the following steps:

[0214] S331, determining whether the third process chamber 103 stores silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103;

[0215] S332, if yes, control the second wafer carrier robot 206 to grab the silicon wafers processed in the third process chamber 103 in groups and transport them to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204;

[0216] S333, if not, determine whether the second process chamber 102 stores silicon wafers processed by the second process chamber 102;

[0217] S334, when silicon wafers processed by the second process chamber 102 are stored in the second process chamber 102, the second wafer carrier robot 206 is controlled to grab the silicon wafers processed by the second process chamber 102 in groups and transport them to the third process chamber 103.

[0218] As described above, the processing time of silicon wafers in the third process chamber 103 is longer than that in the second process chamber 102. In this method, it is still prioritized to determine whether silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 are stored in the third process chamber 103. When silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 are subsequently stored in the third process chamber 103, the second wafer carrier robot 206 is preferentially controlled to grab the silicon wafers processed by the third process chamber 103 in groups and transfer them to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204. This can prepare the third process chamber 103 for the next batch of silicon wafers in a more timely manner, which is beneficial to reducing the waiting time of the third process chamber 103 and achieving the purpose of making full use of the third process chamber 103 to carry out the process to improve the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0219] In a further embodiment, the controller may further control the semiconductor process equipment to perform the following steps:

[0220] S335, when there is no silicon wafer processed by the second process chamber 102 stored in the second process chamber 102, it is determined whether there is a silicon wafer processed by the first process chamber 101 and needs to enter the second process chamber 102 stored in the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204;

[0221] S336. When silicon wafers that need to enter the second process chamber 102 after being processed in the first process chamber 101 are stored on the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, the second wafer carrier robot 206 is controlled to grab the silicon wafers that need to enter the second process chamber 102 after being processed in the first process chamber 101 in groups.

[0222] As described above, the transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include wafer carriers 230 distributed in groups, and the wafer carriers 230 are used to carry silicon wafers. The first wafer carrier manipulator 205 and the second wafer carrier manipulator 206 realize the transmission of silicon wafers by grabbing the wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups.

[0223] As described above, the chamber module 100 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of process chambers, and the plurality of process chambers include a first process chamber 101, a second process chamber 102, a third process chamber 103, and a fourth process chamber 104 capable of performing different coating processes on silicon wafers. Also as described above, the first wafer carrier manipulator 205 and the second wafer carrier manipulator 206 can grab the wafer carrier 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups and enter and exit the corresponding process chambers. That is, in one embodiment, the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can process the silicon wafers on the wafer carrier 230 in groups that enter the interior thereof, that is, can process the silicon wafers in groups that enter the interior thereof. The process chamber can simultaneously process the silicon wafers distributed in groups in the carrying direction of the wafer carrier 230, which can improve the process efficiency of the process chamber, and thus help to improve the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0224] In order to cooperate with the group of wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers to realize processing on the group of silicon wafers, the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include a chamber body 110 , a heater 120 and a lifting mechanism 130 .

[0225] The chamber body 110 is a peripheral component of the process chamber. The chamber body 110 can not only form a process space of the process chamber, but also provide an installation basis for at least part of other components of the chamber body 110 .

[0226] The heater 120 is disposed in the chamber body 110. The heater 120 includes a plurality of spaced-apart heating plates 121. The heating plates 121 are used to heat the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer. In a specific process, the heating plates carry the wafer carrier 230 and heat the wafer carrier 230. Since the wafer carrier 230 carries the silicon wafer, the heating plates 121 can heat the wafer carrier 230 to indirectly heat the silicon wafer, so that the silicon wafer reaches the required temperature during the thin film deposition process. The heating plate 121 is provided with an avoidance structure 1211. The avoidance structure 1211 can be a first avoidance hole or an avoidance notch. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific shape of the avoidance structure 1211.

[0227] The lifting mechanism 130 includes a lifting frame 132, which is disposed in the chamber body 110 and includes multiple layers of first support blocks 1321 that are spaced apart, and each layer of first support blocks 1321 is opposite to the avoidance structure 1211 of the corresponding heating plate 121. The lifting frame 132 can be lifted and lowered.

[0228] During the rising process of the lifting frame 132, each layer of the first support block 1321 passes upward through the relative avoidance structure 1211 and carries the corresponding carrier plate 230, so that the carrier plate 230 is separated from the corresponding heating plate 121, thereby preparing for the carrier plate manipulator 210 to subsequently grab the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups.

[0229] During the descent of the lifting frame 132, the first support block 1321 of each layer passes downward through the relative avoidance structure 1211 and allows the carrier plate 230 it carries to fall on the corresponding heating plate 121 to be separated from the carrier plate 230 it carries, thereby placing the carrier plate 230 carrying the silicon wafer on the heating plate 121, and preparing for the heating plate 121 to carry and heat the carrier plate 230 in the subsequent process.

[0230] In the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, a multi-layer heating plate 121 and a lifting frame 132 including a multi-layer first support block 1321 are arranged, and the lifting frame 132 is lifted and lowered to realize the transfer of the wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups between the heating plates 121 and the first support blocks 1321, thereby preparing for the wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups to enter and exit the process chamber. In the specific handover process, the carrier plate manipulator 210 grabs the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups and brings them into the process chamber, and places the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups on the multi-layer first support blocks 1321 by the falling of the carrier plate manipulator 210 or the rising of the lifting frame 132. The carrier plate manipulator 210 can exit the process chamber, and the lifting frame 132 drives the multi-layer first support blocks 1321 to descend so that the first support blocks 1321 pass through the corresponding avoidance structure 1211, and finally the groups of carrier plates 230 fall on the multi-layer heating plate 121 respectively, and finally the heating plate 121 supports the carrier plates 230, and prepares for subsequent heating. After the process in the process chamber is completed, the lifting frame 132 rises so that the multi-layer first support block 1321 passes through the avoidance structure 1211 of the corresponding heating plate 121 to support the carrier plate 230 carrying the silicon wafer, thereby realizing the separation of the carrier plate 230 carrying the silicon wafer from the corresponding heating plate 121. In this case, the multiple second mechanical fingers 212 of the carrier plate manipulator 210 extend into the interlayer between the corresponding heating plate 121 and the carrier plate 230, and then the lifting frame 132 falls and finally the carrier plate 230 carrying the silicon wafer falls on the corresponding second mechanical fingers 212. Finally, the carrier plate manipulator 210 moves the carrier plates 230 carrying the silicon wafers processed in the process chamber out of the process chamber in groups. It can be seen from this that the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can allow the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups to enter and exit, thereby realizing the process of the silicon wafers in groups, which is conducive to improving the process efficiency and ultimately achieving the purpose of improving the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0231] In the embodiment of the present invention, the multiple layers of heating plates 121 included in the heater 120 can be independently arranged in the chamber body 110, or can be arranged in the chamber body 110 in cooperation with each other. In one embodiment, the heater 120 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can also include multiple groups of support members 122, and two adjacent layers of heating plates 121 can be supported by a group of support members 122 so that the two adjacent layers of heating plates 121 are spaced apart. The heater 120 of this structure can isolate the two adjacent layers of heating plates 121 through a group of support members 122, and at the same time, the lower layer of the two adjacent layers of heating plates 121 can support the other layer of heating plates 121 located above through a group of support members 122. Compared with the independent arrangement of multiple layers of heating plates 121, this structure has the advantage of simple structure.

[0232] Each group of support members 122 may include one support member 122 or may include multiple support members 122, as long as it is possible to implement interval support for two adjacent layers of heating plates 121. In one embodiment, each group of support members 122 includes multiple support members 122, and the multiple support members 122 included in each group of support members 122 may be distributed at intervals along the edges of the corresponding heating plates 121. This structure can achieve relatively stable and balanced support.

[0233] In one embodiment, the heater 120 may be fixed in the chamber body 110. In the embodiment of the present invention, the heater 120 may further include a foot support 123, the foot support 123 being supported between the heating plate 121 of the multi-layer heating plate 121 adjacent to the bottom wall of the chamber body 110 and the bottom wall of the chamber body 110, so that the foot support 123 supports the heater 120 so that the heater 120 and the bottom wall of the chamber body 110 are spaced apart and avoid contact with the bottom wall of the chamber body 110. Specifically, the bottom end of the foot support 123 may be fixedly connected to the bottom wall of the chamber body 110, and the top end of the foot support 123 may be fixedly connected to the heating plate 121 of the multi-layer heating plate 121 adjacent to the bottom wall of the chamber body 110. It should be noted that the heating plate 121 of the multi-layer heating plate 121 adjacent to the bottom wall of the chamber body 110 refers to the heating plate 121 of the bottom layer among the multi-layer heating plates 121.

[0234] In order to achieve better support, in a further embodiment, there can be multiple foot supports 123, and the multiple foot supports 123 are spaced apart at the edge of the heater 120. In this case, the multiple spaced apart foot supports 123 can provide multi-point support, and are also conducive to balanced support, ultimately improving the support effect.

[0235] The heating plate 121 can carry the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer. In order to prevent the wafer carrier 230 from being deflected on the corresponding heating plate 121, in one embodiment, the heater 120 may further include a stopper 124. The edge of each layer of the heating plate 121 may be provided with a plurality of stoppers 124 distributed at intervals. The stopper 124 is used to contact with the relative edge of the wafer carrier 230. Under the limiting action of the stopper 124, it is difficult for the wafer carrier 230 to break through the edge of the heating plate 121 and become deflected or even slide off. Specifically, the stopper 124 may be fixed to the edge of the heating plate 121 by welding, bonding, clamping, etc.

[0236] In a further embodiment, the edge of the heating plate 121 may include a plurality of sub-edges connected end to end in sequence, and the plurality of sub-edges except the sub-edge through which the carrier plate 230 passes in and out may be provided with a limit block 124. This structure enables the carrier plate 230 to more easily enter and exit the gap between two adjacent heating plates 121.

[0237] In one embodiment, the limit block 124 may include a first vertical limit surface 1242, and the first vertical limit surface 1242 may be in limit contact with the edge of the carrier plate 230. In another embodiment, the limit block 124 includes not only the first vertical limit surface 1242, but also a first calibration slope 1241 connected with the first vertical limit surface 1242. The first calibration slope 1241 is inclined relative to the first vertical limit surface 1242, and the first calibration slope 1241 is used to guide the carrier plate 230 to fall to a position where it is in limit contact with the first vertical limit surface 1242. When the carrier plate 230 falls onto the heating plate 121, once the carrier plate 230 is deflected, the guidance of the first calibration slope 1241 will cause the carrier plate 230 carrying the silicon wafer to slide down to a position where it is in contact with the first vertical limit surface 1242 under the action of gravity. It can be seen that the limit block 124 not only plays a limiting role, but also plays a role in correcting the position of the carrier plate 230.

[0238] In the multi-layer heating plate 121, the distances between two adjacent layers of heating plates 121 can be equal. This structure can help make the space size between two adjacent layers of heating plates 121 tend to be consistent, which is conducive to making the process environment faced by the silicon wafers on the wafer carrier 230 between the two adjacent layers of heating plates 121 more consistent during the process, thereby helping to improve the process consistency of the silicon wafers.

[0239] In other embodiments, the top surface of the heating plate 121 located at the top of the heater 120 and the bottom surface of the heating plate 121 located at the bottom of the heater 120 may be paved with an insulating plate 125, the insulating plate 125 may be a mica plate, or may be made of other insulating materials, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific material of the insulating plate 125. The provision of the insulating plate 125 can prevent the top wall of the chamber body 110 and the bottom wall of the chamber body 110 from having adverse effects on the heater 120.

[0240] In this embodiment, since the top surface of the heating plate 121 located on the top of the heater 120 is paved with the insulating plate 125 , the carrier plate 230 may not be placed on the heating plate 121 located on the top of the heater 120 .

[0241] Compared with the related art in which only one layer of silicon wafers can be placed in a process chamber with lower production capacity, and the process environment is constructed by electrically connecting the top wall of the process chamber and the bottom wall of the process chamber to the RF power supply and the ground respectively, the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can realize the simultaneous process of multiple layers of silicon wafers. At the same time, in the multi-layer heating plate 121, one of the two adjacent heating plates 121 can be connected to the RF power supply and the other can be connected to the ground, so that the silicon wafers between any two adjacent heating plates 121 can be in the same plasma process environment, which is conducive to ensuring the consistency of the process.

[0242] The heating plate 121 is used to place a wafer carrier 230 carrying a silicon wafer. Specifically, each heating plate 121 can place one wafer carrier 230, or multiple wafer carriers 230. Placing multiple wafer carriers 230 on each heating plate 121 can realize the process of more silicon wafers, which is conducive to achieving higher production capacity. Based on this, in one embodiment, the heating plate 121 can have multiple plate placement areas distributed side by side, each plate placement area is used to place a wafer carrier 230, and each plate placement area is provided with an avoidance structure 1211.

[0243] The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the position of the avoidance structure 1211 provided on the plate placement area, nor does it limit the number of avoidance structures 1211 provided on the plate placement area. In one embodiment, the two side edges extending along the placement direction of the wafer carrier 230 (which can also be considered as the direction in which the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer enters and exits the process chamber) on each plate placement area can be provided with multiple avoidance structures distributed at intervals, and the multiple avoidance structures 1211 can allow multiple first support blocks 1321 to pass through to achieve multi-point support for the wafer carrier 230, which is beneficial to improve the stability of the support for the wafer carrier 230. The placement direction of the wafer carrier 230 is parallel to the opening direction of the chamber body. This structure can more easily avoid the possible interference between the second mechanical finger 212 and the first support block 1321 during the handover process.

[0244] As described above, the lifting frame 132 may include multiple layers of first support blocks 1321, and each layer of first support blocks 1321 may be raised and lowered independently. The multiple layers of first support blocks 1321 included in the lifting frame 132 are raised synchronously to achieve the raising of the lifting frame 132, and the multiple layers of first support blocks 1321 included in the lifting frame 132 are lowered synchronously to achieve the lowering of the lifting frame 132. In order to facilitate the lifting and lowering drive of the multiple layers of first support blocks 1321, the lifting frame 132 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include a first frame body, and the multiple layers of first support blocks 1321 included in the lifting frame 132 are all fixed on the first frame body, and can be raised and lowered synchronously with the first frame body. In this case, each layer of first support blocks 1321 cannot be raised and lowered independently. In the specific working process, it is only necessary to drive the first frame body to rise and fall, so that the multiple layers of first support blocks 1321 included in the lifting frame 132 can be raised and lowered, and it is also more conducive to the synchronization of the lifting and lowering of the multiple layers of first support blocks 1321.

[0245] The first frame is the main frame of the lifting frame 132, which can realize the installation of multiple layers of first support blocks 1321 in the form of the same installation base, and can also drive the synchronous lifting of multiple layers of first support blocks 1321. The first support blocks 1321 can be fixed on the first frame by welding, bonding, clamping, etc., so as to realize installation on the first frame.

[0246] The structure of the first frame can be of various types, and the embodiments of the present invention do not limit the specific structure of the first frame. In a specific embodiment, the first frame can include multiple rows of vertical beams 1322 that are spaced apart, each row of vertical beams 1322 can include multiple vertical beams 1322, each vertical beam 1322 is provided with multiple first support blocks 1321 that are spaced apart along its height direction, and multiple first support blocks 1321 located at the same height of the multiple rows of vertical beams 1322 constitute a layer of first support blocks 1321; the area between two adjacent rows of vertical beams 1322 on the heating plate 121 constitutes the plate placement area, and the portion between two adjacent plate placement areas on the heating plate 121 can be provided with a second avoidance hole 1212, and the second avoidance hole 1212 is used for the vertical beam 1322 that is distributed opposite to it to pass through. In this structure, the first frame includes multiple rows of vertical beams 1322, each row of vertical beams 1322 includes multiple vertical beams 1322, and each vertical beam 1322 has multiple first support blocks 1321 distributed along its height direction. Therefore, this structure can make the number of first support blocks 1321 in each layer larger, which is beneficial to improve the stability of supporting the carrier plate 230.

[0247] Further, the first frame may include a crossbeam 1323, which is used to connect multiple rows of vertical beams 1322. Specifically, the crossbeam 1323 may include crossbeams 1323 that extend horizontally and have intersecting extension directions, and these crossbeams 1323 can respectively realize the connection between vertical beams 1322 in different rows and the connection between crossbeams 1323 in the same row.

[0248] The process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may include a manual control mechanism, which is connected to the lifting frame 132. The manual control mechanism is used to allow an operator to manually control the lifting frame 132. Specifically, the manual control mechanism can be connected to the lifting frame 132 by connecting to the first frame.

[0249] For the convenience of driving, the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a driving mechanism 131. It should be noted that the driving mechanism 131 herein refers to a power mechanism that does not require manpower to achieve driving. The driving mechanism 131 is connected to the lifting frame 132, and the driving mechanism 131 is used to drive the lifting frame 132 to move up or down.

[0250] In one embodiment, the driving mechanism 131 may include a power source 1311 and a transmission mechanism 1312. The power source 1311 may be implemented as a driving motor, a hydraulic motor, etc. The power source 1311 may be arranged outside the chamber body 110, so as to avoid the adverse effects of the process environment of the process chamber on the operation of the power source 1311. The chamber body 110 may be provided with a through hole 111, and the transmission mechanism 1312 passes through the through hole 111 and is sealed with the chamber body 110. The power input end of the transmission mechanism 1312 is connected to the power source 1311, and the power output end of the transmission mechanism 1312 is located inside the chamber body 110 and is connected to the lifting frame 132. In this structure, the transmission mechanism 1312 realizes the transmission of power from outside the chamber body 110 to inside the chamber body 110, and is also sealed with the chamber body 110 to ensure the isolation of the process environment in the chamber body 110 from the external environment.

[0251] Furthermore, the transmission mechanism 1312 may include a plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms. The plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms may be distributed at intervals, and the plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms may all pass through the chamber body 110 and be connected to the corresponding parts of the lifting frame 132. The power source 1311 drives the plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms to synchronously drive the lifting frame 132 to move, and the plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms are all sealed with the chamber body 110. The transmission mechanism 1312 of this structure can realize multi-point drive of the lifting frame 132, which is beneficial to improve the stability of driving the lifting frame 132, and is also beneficial to improve the driving ability of the driving mechanism 131.

[0252] The lifting transmission mechanism may be a connecting rod mechanism or a lead screw transmission mechanism, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific type of the lifting transmission mechanism.

[0253] In one embodiment, the lifting transmission mechanism may be a screw transmission mechanism, which has the advantages of high driving accuracy and relatively stable driving, and is conducive to providing precise and stable driving for the lifting frame 132 .

[0254] The structure of the screw transmission mechanism can be various. In one embodiment, the screw transmission mechanism can include a screw 13121, a lifting portion 13122, and an annular pressure plate 13123, a telescopic tube 13124, and a sealing ring 13125 located outside the chamber body 110. The top of the lifting portion 13122 passes through the through hole 111 and is located in the chamber body 110, and is fixedly connected to the lifting frame 132. Specifically, the top of the lifting portion 13122 can be fixed to the first frame, thereby achieving fixation with the lifting frame 132. The lifting and lowering of the lifting portion 13122 can drive the lifting and lowering of the lifting frame 132. The bottom end of the lifting portion 13122 passes through the annular pressure plate 13123 and is threadedly matched with the lead screw 13121. The first end of the telescopic tube 13124 is sealingly connected to the surface of the annular pressure plate 13123 facing away from the chamber body 110. The telescopic tube 13124 is sleeved outside the lifting portion 13122, and the second end of the telescopic tube 13124 is sealed with the bottom end of the lifting portion 13122. The telescopic tube 13124 can achieve sealing at the through hole 111 by cooperating with corresponding components, thereby ensuring the sealing of the process chamber. The sealing ring 13125 is clamped between the chamber body 110 and the annular pressure plate 13123, so as to achieve the sealing between the chamber body 110 and the annular pressure plate 13123. The lead screw 13121 is in transmission cooperation with the power source 1311, and the power source 1311 drives the lead screw 13121 to rotate. Since the lead screw 13121 is threadedly matched with the lifting part 13122, the rotation of the lead screw 13121 drives the lifting part 13122 to move up and down. The lifting of the lifting part 13122 drives the lifting frame 132 to move up and down.

[0255] Specifically, the lifting portion 13122 may be directly provided with a threaded hole so as to achieve threaded cooperation with the lead screw 13121. In a specific embodiment, the lifting portion 13122 may be a threaded sleeve. The telescopic tube 13124 is telescopic, and thus can adapt to the lifting portion 13122 while ensuring the sealing of the process chamber. The telescopic tube 13124 may be a telescopic tube made of a flexible material or an elastic material (such as rubber), or may be a telescopic tube 13124 formed by designing a telescopic structure, for example, the telescopic tube 13124 may be a bellows.

[0256] In a further embodiment, the screw transmission mechanism may further include a connecting plate 13126, a guide rod 13127 and a base 13128, wherein the guide rod 13127 is supported between the base 13128 and the annular pressure plate 13123 to drive the annular pressure plate 13123 to press the sealing ring 13125, the connecting plate 13126 is slidably matched with the guide rod 13127, and the connecting plate 13126 is fixedly connected to the lifting portion 13122. During the lifting and lowering process of the lifting portion 13122, the lifting portion 13122 can drive the connecting plate 13126 to lift and lower, so that the connecting plate 13126 slides along the guide rod 13127, and the guide rod 13127 can make the lifting and lowering of the lifting portion 13122 more accurate. At the same time, the guide rod 13127 applies pressure to the annular pressure plate 13123 based on the base 13128, so that the sealing ring 13125 is pressed between the annular pressure plate 13123 and the chamber body 110 to ensure the seal therebetween. In this case, the guide rod 13127 not only plays a guiding function, but also plays a function of pressing the annular pressure plate 13123, achieving the purpose of one object for multiple uses.

[0257] The screw transmission mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a threaded bushing 13129, which is at least partially lined with the top portion 13122 and is detachably connected to the top portion 13122. Specifically, the threaded bushing 13129 may be fixedly connected to the top portion 13122 by interference fit, connection with a connector, etc. The threaded bushing 13129 is threadedly matched with the screw 13121 to drive the top portion 13122 to rise and fall during the rotation of the screw 13121. Once the threaded bushing 13129 is damaged, it can be removed and replaced separately, so there is no need to replace the top portion 13122, which is conducive to reducing the maintenance cost of the equipment.

[0258] The screw transmission mechanism disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a first reduction box 13130, the screw 13121 is transmission-connected to the first reduction box 13130, and the first reduction boxes 13130 ​​of two adjacent screw transmission mechanisms may be transmission-connected via a connecting shaft 13131, so that power can be transmitted to the screw 13121 and also to the downstream screw transmission mechanism. The connecting shaft 13131 and the two adjacent first reduction boxes 13130 ​​may be fixedly connected via a coupling 13133.

[0259] In order to better achieve the purpose of increasing driving force, the transmission mechanism 1312 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may also include a second reduction box 13132. Among the multiple screw transmission mechanisms, the first reduction box 13130 ​​of the lifting transmission mechanism close to the power source 1311 is connected to the power source 1311 through the second reduction box 13132.

[0260] In the structure described above, the annular pressure plate 13123 can only be in close contact with the chamber body 110, thereby compressing the sealing ring 13125 therebetween. In order to improve the stability of the structure, in an embodiment of the present invention, the annular pressure plate 13123 can be fixedly connected to the chamber body 110. Specifically, the annular pressure plate 13123 can be detachably connected to the chamber body 110 through a threaded connector, thereby ensuring the stability of the cooperation between the driving mechanism 131 and the chamber body 110.

[0261] In the embodiment of the present invention, the function of the first support block 1321 is to support the wafer carrier 230. Specifically, the first support block 1321 may have a first horizontal support surface 13212, and the first horizontal support surface 13212 is used to support the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer. In a further embodiment, the first support block 1321 may also have a second calibration slope 13211, and the second calibration slope 13211 is inclined relative to the first horizontal support surface 13212, and the first horizontal support surface 13212 is lower than the second calibration slope 13211, and the second calibration slope 13211 is used to guide the wafer carrier 230 to slide onto the first horizontal support surface 13212. In the specific process of supporting the wafer carrier 230, the wafer carrier 230 should be supported on the first horizontal support surface 13212. Taking into account possible abnormal situations, once the carrier plate 230 deviates from the first horizontal support surface 13212 and falls on the second calibration slope 13211, then under the action of the gravity of the carrier plate 230, the carrier plate 230 will slide along the second calibration slope 13211 and finally be guided to the first horizontal support surface 13212, thereby finally achieving the correction of the position of the carrier plate 230.

[0262] In a further embodiment, the first support block 1321 may also include a second vertical limiting surface 13213, which connects the second calibration slope 13211 and the first horizontal support surface 13212. The second vertical limiting surface 13213 is used to limit the contact with the edge of the carrier plate 230 supported on the first horizontal support surface 13212, so as to avoid the carrier plate 230 from shifting after being supported on the first horizontal support surface 13212.

[0263] Based on the process chamber disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment of the present invention discloses a wafer carrier manipulator 210, which is used in conjunction with the process chamber described above, and includes a finger seat 211 and a plurality of second mechanical fingers 212 disposed on the finger seat 211. Specifically, the second mechanical fingers 212 can be fixedly connected to the finger seat 211. When taking and placing the wafer carrier 230, the plurality of second mechanical fingers 212 can extend into the interlayer between the corresponding heating plate 121 and the first support block 1321 through the opening of the chamber body 110, and during the descent of the lifting frame 132, the plurality of second mechanical fingers 212 can contact the wafer carrier 230 carried on the first support block 1321 to carry the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer; during the ascent of the lifting frame 132, the wafer carrier 230 carried on the plurality of second mechanical fingers 212 can contact the first support block 1321 of the lifting frame 132 to be carried on the first support block 1321.

[0264] In the embodiment of the present invention, the wafer carrier 230 may be provided with a positioning hole 232 or a positioning groove, and the second mechanical finger 212 may be provided with a first positioning protrusion 2121. When the second mechanical finger 212 carries the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer, the first positioning protrusion 2121 may be positioned and matched with the positioning hole 232 or the positioning groove, thereby ensuring the stability of the second mechanical finger 212 in grasping the wafer carrier 230. The first positioning protrusion 2121 may be one or more. In order to achieve better positioning, the first positioning protrusion 2121 may be multiple, and the multiple first positioning protrusions 2121 are used to position and match with the multiple positioning holes 232 or multiple positioning grooves on the wafer carrier 230 in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0265] The second mechanical finger 212 can carry the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer in a direct contact support manner. In order to alleviate the wear between the wafer carrier 230 and the second mechanical finger 212, in another embodiment, the second mechanical finger 212 can be provided with a support pad 213, and the support pad 213 is used to support the wafer carrier 230 so that the wafer carrier 230 is isolated from the second mechanical finger 212. This method can alleviate the wear between the wafer carrier 230 and the second mechanical finger 212, which is conducive to extending the service life of both. The support pad 213 can be an elastic pad or a wear-resistant pad.

[0266] As described above, the wafer carrier manipulator 210 grabs the wafer carrier 230 carrying the silicon wafer in groups, and the plurality of second mechanical fingers 212 can be distributed in a row, and each row of second mechanical fingers 212 includes a plurality of second mechanical fingers 212. In this case, the plurality of wafer carriers 230 grabbed at one time by a row of second mechanical fingers 212 constitutes a group of wafer carriers 230. In order to further improve the transmission capacity, in each wafer carrier manipulator 210, the plurality of second mechanical fingers 212 can be distributed in multiple rows, and each row of second mechanical fingers 212 includes a plurality of second mechanical fingers 212. In this case, the plurality of wafer carriers 230 grabbed at one time by multiple rows of second mechanical fingers 212 of the wafer carrier manipulator 210 constitutes a group of wafer carriers 230.

[0267] In one embodiment of the present invention described above, the carrier plate manipulator 210 can grab the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups, and realize the transmission of the carrier plates 230 carrying silicon wafers in groups between the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203 and the first process chamber 101, between the first process chamber 101 and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204, between the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the second process chamber 102, between the second process chamber 102 and the third process chamber 103, between the third process chamber 103 and the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204, between the second carrier plate temporary storage device 204 and the fourth process chamber 104, or between the fourth process chamber 104 and the first carrier plate temporary storage device 203, so the carrier plate manipulator 210 can have the ability to transport in multiple dimensions, and the above embodiment also exemplarily illustrates the structure of the carrier plate manipulator 210. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific structure of the carrier plate manipulator 210.

[0268] Based on the above disclosed wafer carrier manipulator 210, the embodiment of the present invention discloses a wafer carrier temporary storage device 220. As described above, the disclosed wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 is used in conjunction with the above described wafer carrier manipulator 210. The wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 may include a second frame 221 and a second support block 222 disposed on the second frame 221. The wafer carrier manipulator 210 may carry a plurality of wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers received in groups on the multi-layer second support blocks 222, or the wafer carrier manipulator 210 may take out the wafer carriers 230 carrying silicon wafers received in the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 in groups.

[0269] In a further embodiment, the second frame 221 may have a plurality of carrier plate temporary storage spaces, each of which may be provided with a plurality of second support blocks 222 that are spaced apart from each other, and the carrier plate manipulator 210 may transfer the carrier plates 230 received in groups to the carrier plate temporary storage space so that the grouped carrier plates 230 are respectively carried on the plurality of second support blocks 222 in the carrier plate temporary storage space, or the carrier plate manipulator 210 may take out the carrier plates 230 carried in the carrier plate temporary storage space in groups.

[0270] As described above, the carrier plate 230 may be provided with a positioning hole 232 or a positioning groove. In order to make the carrier plate 230 more stably stored in the carrier plate temporary storage device 220, the second support block 222 may be provided with a second positioning protrusion, and the second positioning protrusion is used to position and cooperate with the positioning hole 232 or the positioning groove, so that the carrier plate 230 in the carrier plate temporary storage device 220 is stored more stably. The second positioning protrusion may be one or more. In order to achieve better positioning, the second positioning protrusion may be multiple, and the multiple second positioning protrusions are used to position and cooperate with the multiple positioning holes 232 or multiple positioning grooves on the carrier plate 230 in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0271] In order to place the silicon wafer more stably, the wafer carrier plate 230 may be provided with a silicon wafer slot 231. In one embodiment, each wafer carrier plate 230 may be provided with one silicon wafer slot 231, or may be provided with multiple silicon wafer slots 231. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the number of silicon wafer slots 231 provided on the wafer carrier plate 230.

[0272] As described above, the silicon wafer manipulator 240 can pick up and place silicon wafers in groups. For the convenience of description, the silicon wafer manipulator 240 includes N first mechanical fingers 241 distributed at intervals, N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, each first mechanical finger 241 can pick up and place a silicon wafer, and the silicon wafer manipulator 240 can pick up and place N silicon wafers at a time, and N silicon wafers form a group of silicon wafers, thereby realizing the picking and placing of silicon wafers in groups, which can undoubtedly improve the picking and placing efficiency, and then improve the transmission efficiency.

[0273] The wafer plate temporary storage device 220 is used to carry a group of wafer plates 230, and each group of wafer plates 230 may include M wafer plates 230 spaced apart in the carrying direction of the wafer plate temporary storage device 220. In each group of wafer plates 230, the silicon wafer slots 231 on any two wafer plates 230 correspond to each other, so that the silicon wafer slots 231 on the adjacent N wafer plates 230 form a slot group, and M is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, wherein M is greater than or equal to N, and the ratio of M to N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0274] This method can make the silicon wafers picked up and placed in groups by the silicon wafer manipulator 240 have an accurate correspondence with the slot groups of the wafer carrier 230 in the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220, so that the silicon wafer manipulator 240 can accurately fill the slot groups on the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 or accurately take out all the silicon wafers in the slot groups on the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 after multiple pick-ups and placements. This structure that can pick up and place silicon wafers in groups is conducive to improving the transmission efficiency of the transmission device 200 for silicon wafers, and ultimately helps to improve the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment.

[0275] Based on this, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a control method for a transmission device 200, and the transmission device 200 involved in the disclosed control method includes a silicon wafer manipulator 240, a wafer carrier temporary storage device 220, and a wafer carrier 230. The silicon wafer manipulator 240 includes N first mechanical fingers 241 distributed at intervals; the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 is used to carry a group of wafer carriers 230, each group of wafer carriers 230 includes M wafer carriers 230 distributed at intervals in the carrying direction of the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220, and each wafer carrier 230 is provided with a silicon wafer slot 231; in each group of wafer carriers 230, the silicon wafer slots 231 on any two wafer carriers 230 are opposite to each other, so that the opposite silicon wafer slots 231 on the adjacent N wafer carriers 230 constitute a slot group; M and N are both greater than or equal to 2, and M is greater than or equal to N, and the ratio of M to N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, and the control method includes:

[0276] S210, controlling the N first mechanical fingers 241 of the silicon wafer manipulator 240 to grab N silicon wafers;

[0277] S220, controlling the silicon wafer robot 240 to move toward the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220 after grabbing the silicon wafer;

[0278] S230, control the silicon wafer robot 240 to place the N silicon wafers it grabs in groups in the slot groups corresponding to the wafer carrier temporary storage device 220, so that the N silicon wafers contained in each group of silicon wafers are placed one by one in the silicon wafer slots 231 of the corresponding slot group.

[0279] In an embodiment where each group of carrier plates 230 includes N carrier plates 230 and each carrier plate 230 includes a silicon wafer slot 231, each group of carrier plates 230 forms a slot group, and the silicon wafer robot 240 can fill a group of carrier plates 230 with one grab.

[0280] As described above, each carrier plate 230 may be provided with a plurality of silicon wafer slots 231, and the arrangement direction of the silicon wafer slots 231 on each layer of carrier plates 230 is consistent, so that each group of carrier plates 230 forms a plurality of slot groups distributed along the arrangement direction of the silicon wafer slots 231. The carrier plate temporary storage device 220 may be provided with a silicon wafer access port, and the orientation of the silicon wafer access port may be perpendicular to the arrangement direction. In this embodiment, S220 may include: controlling the silicon wafer manipulator 240 to face the silicon wafer access port after grabbing the silicon wafer.

[0281] Further, S230 includes: controlling the silicon wafer robot 240 multiple times to place the silicon wafers grasped by its first robot finger 241 in a plurality of slot groups one by one along the arrangement direction.

[0282] As described above, the transmission device 200 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a basket loading and unloading device 260, wherein the transmission device 200 includes a plurality of silicon wafer manipulators 240 and a plurality of wafer carrier temporary storage devices 220, wherein the plurality of silicon wafer manipulators 240 include a first silicon wafer manipulator 201, and the plurality of wafer carrier temporary storage devices 220 include a first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203; the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 may be disposed between the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 and the basket loading and unloading device 260; in this case, wherein:

[0283] The S210 may include: controlling the first mechanical finger 241 of the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 to grab the unprocessed silicon wafer from the basket loading and unloading device 260;

[0284] The S220 may include: controlling the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 after grabbing the silicon wafer to move toward the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203;

[0285] The S230 may include: controlling the first silicon wafer robot 201 to place the silicon wafers grasped by its first robot fingers 241 in groups into corresponding slot groups on the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 .

[0286] In a further embodiment, after the silicon wafer process is completed, the control method of the transmission device disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include the following steps:

[0287] S250, controlling the first mechanical finger 241 of the first silicon wafer manipulator 201 to grab the silicon wafers after the process is completed in groups from the slot group of the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203;

[0288] S270 , controlling the first silicon wafer robot 201 to place the captured silicon wafers after the process is completed in groups into the basket loading and unloading device 260 .

[0289] Before S270, the control method of the transmission device may further include:

[0290] S260 , control the first silicon wafer robot 201 to move toward the basket loading and unloading device 260 .

[0291] Before S250, the control method of the transmission device may further include:

[0292] S240 , control the first silicon wafer robot 201 to face the first wafer carrier temporary storage device 203 .

[0293] As described above, the transmission device disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a flipping temporary storage device 250, the transmission device 200 includes a plurality of silicon wafer manipulators 240 and a plurality of wafer carrier temporary storage devices 220, the plurality of silicon wafer manipulators 240 include a second silicon wafer manipulator 202, the plurality of wafer carrier temporary storage devices 220 include a second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 is disposed between the flipping temporary storage device 250 and the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204, in this case, wherein:

[0294] The S210 may include: controlling the first mechanical finger 241 of the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the first surface of the silicon wafer from the flipping temporary storage device 250 .

[0295] The S220 may include: controlling the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 that grabs the silicon wafer to move toward the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204;

[0296] The S230 may include: controlling the second silicon wafer robot 202 to place the silicon wafers grasped by its first robot fingers 241 in groups in the slot groups corresponding to the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 .

[0297] In a further embodiment, before controlling the first mechanical finger 241 of the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the turned silicon wafer from the turning temporary storage device 250, the control method of the transmission device may further include:

[0298] S280 , control the second silicon wafer robot 202 to face the flipping temporary storage device 250 .

[0299] In a further embodiment, before S280, the control method of the transmission device may further include:

[0300] S291, controlling the second silicon wafer robot 202 to move toward the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204;

[0301] S291 , controlling the first mechanical fingers 241 of the second silicon wafer manipulator 202 to grab the second plate surfaces of silicon wafers in groups from the slot groups of the second wafer carrier temporary storage device 204 .

[0302] It should be noted that one of the first surface of the silicon wafer and the second surface of the silicon wafer is the front side of the silicon wafer, and the other is the back side of the silicon wafer.

[0303] The semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may be a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) device, or other semiconductor equipment with similar functions. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific type of semiconductor process equipment.

[0304] The above embodiments of the present application focus on describing the differences between the various embodiments. As long as the different features of the various embodiments are not contradictory, they can be combined to form more specific embodiments. Considering the simplicity of the text, they will not be repeated here.

[0305] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A process chamber, characterized in that: The invention comprises a chamber body (110), a lifting mechanism (130) and a heater (120) arranged in the chamber body (110); the heater (120) comprises a plurality of heating plates (121) arranged at intervals; the heating plates (121) are used to heat a wafer carrier (230) carrying a silicon wafer; and the heating plates (121) are provided with an avoidance structure (1211); The lifting mechanism (130) comprises a lifting frame (132) arranged in the chamber body (110), the lifting frame (132) comprises multiple layers of first support blocks (1321) distributed at intervals, and each layer of the first support blocks (1321) is opposite to the avoidance structure (1211) of the corresponding heating plate (121); During the ascending process of the lifting frame (132), the first support block (1321) of each layer passes upward through the relative avoidance structure (1211) and carries the corresponding carrier plate (230), so that the carrier plate (230) is separated from the corresponding heating plate (121); during the descending process of the lifting frame (132), the first support block (1321) of each layer passes downward through the relative avoidance structure (1211) and makes the carrier plate (230) it carries fall onto the corresponding heating plate (121), so as to be separated from the carrier plate (230) it carries.

2. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heater (120) comprises a plurality of groups of support members (122), and two adjacent layers of the heating plates (121) are supported by a group of the support members (122) so that the two adjacent layers of the heating plates (121) are spaced apart.

3. The process chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each group of the support members (122) comprises a plurality of the support members (122), and the plurality of the support members (122) contained in each group of the support members (122) are distributed at intervals along the edge of the corresponding heating plate (121).

4. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heater (120) further comprises a foot support (123), wherein the foot support (123) is supported between the heating plate (121) adjacent to the bottom wall of the chamber body (110) and the bottom wall of the chamber body (110) of the multi-layer heating plate (121).

5. The process chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: There are a plurality of foot supports (123), and the plurality of foot supports (123) are distributed at intervals on the edge of the heater (120).

6. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heater (120) further comprises a limit block (124), and the edge of each layer of the heating plate (121) is provided with a plurality of the limit blocks (124) distributed at intervals, and the limit blocks (124) are used to contact with the corresponding edge of the carrier plate (230) in a limit position.

7. The process chamber according to claim 6, characterized in that: The edge of the heating plate (121) comprises a plurality of sub-edges connected end to end in sequence, and the plurality of sub-edges, except for the sub-edge through which the wafer carrier plate (230) passes in and out, are all provided with the limiting blocks (124).

8. The process chamber according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The limit block (124) comprises a first calibration inclined surface (1241) and a first vertical limit surface (1242) which are connected to each other, wherein the first calibration inclined surface (1241) is inclined relative to the first vertical limit surface (1242), and the first vertical limit surface (1242) is lower than the first calibration inclined surface (1241), and the first calibration inclined surface (1241) is used to guide the carrier plate (230) to descend to a position where it is in limit contact with the first vertical limit surface (1242).

9. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the multi-layer heating plate (121), the distances between two adjacent layers of the heating plates (121) are equal; and / or, in the multi-layer heating plate (121), the top surface of the heating plate (121) located at the top of the heater (120) and the bottom surface of the heating plate (121) located at the bottom of the heater (120) are both paved with insulating plates (125).

10. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating plate (121) has a plurality of plate placement areas distributed side by side, each of the plate placement areas is used to place one of the wafer carrier plates (230), and each of the plate placement areas is provided with the avoidance structure (1211).

11. The process chamber according to claim 10, characterized in that: Both side edges of each of the plate placement areas extending along the placement direction of the wafer carrier plate (230) are provided with a plurality of avoidance structures (1211) distributed at intervals.

12. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The avoidance structure (1211) is a first avoidance hole or a avoidance gap.

13. The process chamber according to claim 10, characterized in that: The lifting frame (132) also includes a first frame body, which includes a plurality of rows of vertical beams (1322) distributed at intervals, each row of vertical beams (1322) includes a plurality of the vertical beams (1322), each vertical beam (1322) is provided with a plurality of the first support blocks (1321) distributed at intervals along its height direction, and a plurality of the first support blocks (1321) located at the same height of the plurality of rows of vertical beams (1322) constitute a layer of the first support blocks (1321); the area between two adjacent rows of the vertical beams (1322) on the heating plate (121) constitutes the plate placement area, and a second avoidance hole (1212) is provided at a portion between two adjacent plate placement areas on the heating plate (121), and the second avoidance hole (1212) is used for the vertical beam (1322) distributed opposite thereto to pass through.

14. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism (130) further comprises a driving mechanism (131), wherein the driving mechanism (131) is connected to the lifting frame (132), and the driving mechanism (131) is used to drive the lifting frame (132) to move to rise or fall.

15. The process chamber according to claim 14, characterized in that: The driving mechanism (131) includes a power source (1311) and a transmission mechanism (1312), wherein the power source (1311) is arranged outside the chamber body (110), the chamber body (110) is provided with a through hole (111), the transmission mechanism (1312) passes through the through hole (111) and is sealed with the chamber body (110), the power input end of the transmission mechanism (1312) is connected to the power source (1311), and the power output end of the transmission mechanism (1312) is located inside the chamber body (110) and is connected to the lifting frame (132).

16. The process chamber according to claim 15, characterized in that: The transmission mechanism (1312) includes a plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms, and the plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms are distributed at intervals. The plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms all pass through the chamber body (110) and are connected to the relative parts of the lifting frame (132). The power source (1311) drives the plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms to synchronously drive the lifting frame (132) to move, and the plurality of lifting transmission mechanisms are all sealed and matched with the chamber body (110).

17. The process chamber according to claim 16, characterized in that: The jacking transmission mechanism is a screw transmission mechanism.

18. The process chamber according to claim 17, characterized in that: The screw transmission mechanism comprises a screw (13121), a lifting portion (13122), an annular pressure plate (13123) located outside the chamber body (110), a telescopic tube (13124) and a sealing ring (13125), wherein the top end of the lifting portion (13122) is located in the chamber body (110) and is fixedly connected to the lifting frame (132), the bottom end of the lifting portion (13122) passes through the annular pressure plate (13123) and is threadedly engaged with the screw (13121), and the telescopic tube (13124) is connected to the chamber body (110). The first end of the annular pressure plate (13124) is sealed and docked with the surface of the annular pressure plate (13123) facing away from the chamber body (110), the telescopic tube (13124) is sleeved outside the top raising portion (13122), and the second end of the telescopic tube (13124) is sealed with the bottom end of the top raising portion (13122), the sealing ring (13125) is clamped between the chamber body (110) and the annular pressure plate (13123), and the lead screw (13121) is matched with the power source (1311) for transmission.

19. The process chamber according to claim 18, characterized in that: The screw transmission mechanism further comprises a connecting plate (13126), a guide rod (13127), a base (13128) and a threaded bushing (13129), wherein the guide rod (13127) is supported between the base (13128) and the annular pressure plate (13123) to drive the annular pressure plate (13123) to press the sealing ring (13125), and the connecting plate (13126) and the guide rod (13127) are connected to each other. 27) sliding fit, the connecting plate (13126) is fixedly connected to the lifting portion (13122), the threaded bushing (13129) is at least partially lined in the lifting portion (13122) and connected to the lifting portion (13122), and the threaded bushing (13129) is threadedly matched with the lead screw (13121) to drive the lifting portion (1322) to rise and fall during the rotation of the lead screw (13121).

20. The process chamber according to claim 19, characterized in that The screw transmission mechanism also includes a first reduction box (13130), the screw (13121) is connected to the first reduction box (13130) by transmission, the first reduction boxes (13130) of two adjacent screw transmission mechanisms are connected by transmission via a connecting shaft (13131), and among the multiple screw transmission mechanisms, the first reduction box (13130) of the lifting transmission mechanism close to the power source (1311) is connected to the power source (1311) by transmission via a second reduction box (13132).

21. The process chamber according to claim 20, characterized in that: The annular pressure plate (13123) is fixedly connected to the chamber body (110).

22. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that The first support block (1321) includes a second calibration slope (13211) and a first horizontal support surface (13212) connected to each other, the second calibration slope (13211) is inclined relative to the first horizontal support surface (13212), the first horizontal support surface (13212) is lower than the second calibration slope (13211), and the second calibration slope (13211) is used to guide the carrier plate (230) to slide onto the first horizontal support surface (13212).

23. The process chamber according to claim 22, characterized in that: The first support block (1321) also includes a second vertical limit surface (13213), which connects the second calibration slope (13211) and the first horizontal support surface (13212), and the second vertical limit surface (13213) is used to limit the contact with the edge of the carrier plate that slides onto the first horizontal support surface (13212).

24. A wafer carrier robot (210), characterized in that: Used in conjunction with the process chamber described in any one of claims 1 to 23, the wafer carrier robot (210) comprises: a finger seat (211) and a plurality of second robot fingers (212) arranged on the finger seat (211); when taking and placing a wafer carrier (230), the plurality of second robot fingers (212) can extend through the opening of the chamber body (110) to the corresponding interlayer between the heating plate (121) and the first support block (1321), and during the descent of the lifting frame (132), the plurality of second robot fingers (212) can contact the wafer carrier (230) carried on the first support block (1321) to carry the wafer carrier (230); during the ascent of the lifting frame (132), the wafer carrier (230) carried on the plurality of second robot fingers (212) can contact the first support block (1321) of the lifting frame (132) to be carried on the first support block (1321).

25. The wafer carrier robot (210) according to claim 24, characterized in that: The wafer carrier (230) is provided with a positioning hole or a positioning groove, and the second mechanical finger (211) is provided with a first positioning protrusion (2121). When the second mechanical finger (212) carries the wafer carrier (230), the first positioning protrusion (2121) is positioned and matched with the positioning hole or the positioning groove.

26. The wafer carrier robot (210) according to claim 25, characterized in that: There are multiple first positioning protrusions (2121), and they are used to position and cooperate with the multiple positioning holes or the multiple positioning grooves on the carrier plate (230) in a one-to-one correspondence.

27. The wafer carrier robot (210) according to claim 24, characterized in that: The second robotic finger (212) is provided with a support pad (213), and the support pad (213) is used to support the wafer carrier (230) so as to isolate the wafer carrier (230) from the second robotic finger (212).

28. The wafer carrier robot (210) according to claim 25, characterized in that: The plurality of second mechanical fingers (212) are distributed in a plurality of columns, and each column of the second mechanical fingers (212) includes a plurality of the second mechanical fingers (212).

29. The wafer carrier robot (210) according to claim 24, characterized in that: The wafer carrier plate manipulator (210) is a manipulator that can be raised and lowered.

30. A wafer carrier temporary storage device (220) for use with the wafer carrier manipulator (210) according to claims 25-29, characterized in that: The wafer carrier plate temporary storage device (220) comprises a second frame (221) and a second support block (222) arranged on the second frame (221); the second frame (221) has a plurality of wafer carrier plate temporary storage spaces, each of the wafer carrier plate temporary storage spaces is provided with a plurality of second support blocks (222) spaced apart from each other; the wafer carrier plate manipulator (210) can transport the plurality of wafer carrier plates (230) it receives to the wafer carrier plate temporary storage space, so that the plurality of wafer carrier plates (230) are respectively received on the plurality of second support blocks (222) in the wafer carrier temporary storage space; or, the wafer carrier plate manipulator (210) can take out the plurality of wafer carrier plates received in the wafer carrier temporary storage space.

31. The wafer carrier robot according to claim 30, characterized in that: The second support block (222) is provided with a second positioning protrusion, and the carrier plate (230) is provided with a positioning hole or a positioning groove, and the second positioning protrusion is used for positioning and cooperating with the positioning hole or the positioning groove.

32. The wafer carrier robot according to claim 31, characterized in that: There are multiple second positioning protrusions, and they are used to position and cooperate with the multiple positioning holes or the multiple positioning grooves in a one-to-one correspondence.

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