Silicon wafer flipping device and use method and silicon wafer production system

Abstract

The present invention provides a silicon wafer flipping device and a method for using the same, and a silicon wafer production system, which include: a transmission component; a flipping component, including a driving shaft and a first wheel disc and a second wheel disc symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving shaft, wherein a first side surface of the first wheel disc close to the driving shaft is evenly provided with a plurality of first grooves extending in the radial direction, and a second side surface of the second wheel disc close to the driving shaft is evenly provided with a plurality of second grooves extending in the radial direction, and the first groove and the second groove are symmetrically arranged; a controller, connected to the control ends of the driving shaft, the conveying runway, and the output runway, and the controller is used to control the driving shaft to drive the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously. The flipping of the silicon wafer between different processes can be achieved only through the line contact between the groove and the two sides of the silicon wafer, which greatly avoids the damage to the silicon wafer that may be caused by surface contact, and improves the quality of silicon wafer flipping and production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of industrial production technology, and in particular to a silicon wafer flipping device and a use method thereof, and a silicon wafer production system. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the photovoltaic industry, competition within the industry has intensified, and photovoltaic companies have increasingly higher requirements for improving silicon wafer production capacity and yield rate.

[0003] In the existing silicon wafer production, when the silicon wafer is turned over, a wheel-type flipper is usually used to flip the silicon wafers one by one.

[0004] The existing wheel-type silicon wafer flipping mechanism flips the silicon wafer by surface contact between the silicon wafer and the flipping mechanism, and usually the effective working surface of the silicon wafer contacts the flipping mechanism, which poses a risk of damaging the silicon wafer. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiment of the present invention provides a silicon wafer flipping device and a use method thereof and a silicon wafer production system to solve the technical problem that the existing wheel-type silicon wafer flipping mechanism may damage the silicon wafer.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the specific scheme provided by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a silicon wafer flipping device, comprising:

[0008] a transfer assembly, including a delivery runway and an output runway;

[0009] The turning assembly comprises a driving shaft and a first wheel disc and a second wheel disc symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving shaft, wherein a first side surface of the first wheel disc close to the driving shaft is evenly provided with a plurality of first grooves extending in the radial direction, and a second side surface of the second wheel disc close to the driving shaft is evenly provided with a plurality of second grooves extending in the radial direction, and the first grooves are symmetrically arranged with the second grooves;

[0010] A controller is connected to the control ends of the driving shaft, the conveying runway and the output runway, and the controller is used to control the driving shaft to drive the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously.

[0011] Optionally, both the first groove and the second groove are trapezoidal grooves, and the angle between the side wall of the trapezoidal groove and the center line of the trapezoidal groove is an acute angle.

[0012] Optionally, the angle between the side wall of the trapezoidal groove and the center line of the trapezoidal groove ranges from 2 degrees to 30 degrees.

[0013] Optionally, the distance between the side edge of the silicon wafer extending into the trapezoidal groove and the bottom of the trapezoidal groove ranges from 2 mm to 5 mm.

[0014] Optionally, the flip assembly further includes a sleeve, and both ends of the drive shaft are fixedly connected to the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc respectively through the sleeve.

[0015] Optionally, the sheath is a polyacetal structure.

[0016] Optionally, one side of the sleeve is connected to the drive shaft via a flat key of the drive shaft, and the other side of the sleeve is connected to the first wheel disc or the second wheel disc via a screw.

[0017] Optionally, the conveying runway and the output runway both include: a conveying wheel, a starting mechanism and a flat belt for carrying the silicon wafer; wherein,

[0018] The control end of the starting mechanism is electrically connected to the controller, the transmission end of the starting mechanism is transmission-connected to the transmission wheel, and the flat belt is wrapped around the transmission wheel.

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a silicon wafer production system, a first production process, a second production process, and a silicon wafer flipping device as described in any one of the first aspect;

[0020] The material discharge port of the first production process is communicated with the conveying track of the silicon wafer turning device, and the output track of the silicon wafer turning device is communicated with the material feed port of the second production process.

[0021] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a silicon wafer flipping method, using the silicon wafer flipping device described in any one of the first aspects, the method comprising:

[0022] The conveying runway receives the silicon wafers and conveys the silicon wafers to the first wheel and the second wheel;

[0023] The driving shaft drives the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the conveying runway;

[0024] Controlling the conveying runway to convey the received silicon wafer to both sides of the silicon wafer so as to extend into the first groove and the second groove respectively;

[0025] The driving shaft drives the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the output runway;

[0026] The output track outputs the silicon wafer.

[0027] The silicon wafer flipping device and the method of use and the silicon wafer production system provided by the above-mentioned embodiment of the present invention, the flipping assembly of the silicon wafer flipping device includes a driving shaft and a first wheel disc and a second wheel disc symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving shaft, the first side surface of the first wheel disc close to the driving shaft is evenly provided with a plurality of first grooves extending in the radial direction, the second side surface of the second wheel disc close to the driving shaft is evenly provided with a plurality of second grooves extending in the radial direction, and the first grooves and the second grooves are symmetrically arranged. When flipping the wafer, the controller of the silicon wafer flipping device controls the driving shaft to drive the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously. When flipping the silicon wafer, the flipping of the silicon wafer between different processes can be achieved only by the line contact between the grooves and the two sides of the silicon wafer, which greatly avoids the damage to the silicon wafer caused by surface contact, and improves the quality of silicon wafer flipping and production. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative labor.

[0029] Figure 1 A three-dimensional diagram of a silicon wafer flipping device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 A top view of a silicon wafer flipping device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a silicon wafer flipping device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 A partial schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention is provided.

[0033] Summary of reference numerals:

[0034] Silicon wafer flipping device 100;

[0035] Conveying runway 111, output runway 112, starting mechanism 113, transmission wheel 114, flat belt 115;

[0036] Flip assembly 120;

[0037] A driving shaft 121, a first wheel disc 122, a first side surface 123, and a first groove 124;

[0038] A second wheel disc 125, a second side surface 126, and a second groove 127;

[0039] Sheath 128;

[0040] Silicon wafer 200. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] See also Figure 1 , is a schematic diagram of the structure of a silicon wafer flipping device provided by an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the silicon wafer flipping device 100 mainly includes:

[0043] A transmission assembly, including a delivery runway 111 and an output runway 112;

[0044] The turning assembly 120 includes a driving shaft 121 and a first wheel disc 122 and a second wheel disc 125 symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving shaft 121, a first side surface 123 of the first wheel disc 122 close to the driving shaft 121 is uniformly provided with a plurality of first grooves 124 extending in the radial direction, a second side surface 126 of the second wheel disc 125 close to the driving shaft 121 is uniformly provided with a plurality of second grooves 127 extending in the radial direction, and the first grooves 124 and the second grooves 127 are symmetrically arranged;

[0045] Controller ( Figure 1 ), which is connected to the control ends of the drive shaft 121, the conveying runway 111 and the output runway 112, and the controller is used to control the drive shaft 121 to drive the first wheel disc 122 and the second wheel disc 125 to rotate synchronously.

[0046] The silicon wafer flipping device 100 provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to the silicon wafer 200 production system to realize the flipping of the silicon wafer 200 between two adjacent processes. Specifically, according to the silicon wafer 200 production process, the process at the front end is defined as the first process, and the process at the back end is defined as the second process, and the silicon wafer flipping device 100 is arranged between the discharge port of the first process and the feed port of the second process.

[0047] Specifically, the silicon wafer flipping device 100 includes a transmission component, a flipping component 120 and a controller. The transmission component is used to realize the transmission of the silicon wafer 200 between adjacent processes. The flipping component 120 is a functional component that mainly plays the role of flipping the silicon wafer 200. The controller is the overall control component that controls the flipping and transmission of the silicon wafer 200.

[0048] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the transmission assembly is divided into a conveying track 111 and an output track 112 . The conveying track 111 is located between the first process and the flip assembly 120 , and the output track 112 is located between the flip assembly 120 and the output track 112 .

[0049] In a specific embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, the conveying runway 111 and the output runway 112 may include: a conveying wheel 114, a starting mechanism 113 and a flat belt 115 for carrying the silicon wafer 200; wherein,

[0050] The control end of the starting mechanism 113 is electrically connected to the controller, the transmission end of the starting mechanism 113 is transmission-connected to the transmission wheel 114 , and the flat belt 115 is wrapped around the transmission wheel.

[0051] In this embodiment, the specific structures of the conveying runway 111 and the output runway 112 are further defined. The conveying runway 111 and the output runway 112 are both located between the two wheels, that is, Figure 1 Below the transparent silicon wafer 200 is the conveying runway 111 and the output. The conveying runway 111 and the output runway 112 mainly include a flat belt 115, a pulley and a starting mechanism 113, etc. The common material of the flat belt 115 is polyurethane (PU for short, also known as polyurethane), and the movement of the flat belt 115 is driven by the controller to control the starting mechanism 113.

[0052] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the flip assembly 120 mainly includes a driving shaft 121, a first wheel disc 122 and a second wheel disc 125, and the first wheel disc 122 and the second wheel disc 125 are arranged on both sides of the driving shaft 121 in a mirror-symmetrical manner. A first groove 124 is formed on a first side surface 123 close to the inner side of the first wheel disc 122, and a second groove 127 is formed on a second side surface 126 close to the inner side of the second wheel disc 125, and the first groove 124 and the second groove 127 are arranged symmetrically.

[0053] The two wheels are installed completely symmetrically, and the grooves of the two wheels are also parallel and aligned. When the two symmetrical parallel grooves rotate to be flush with the conveying runway 111, the wheels stop rotating, and the runway conveys the silicon wafer 200 in parallel to the parallel grooves. The wheels rotate, driving the silicon wafer 200 to flip. The specific beat is controlled by the control system, and the entire flipping process is a continuous intermittent motion.

[0054] When implementing it, Figure 4 As shown, both the first groove 124 and the second groove 127 can be trapezoidal grooves, and the angle between the side wall of the trapezoidal groove and the center line of the trapezoidal groove is an acute angle.

[0055] The groove is a trapezoidal groove, and the inclined sidewalls can make the edge of the silicon wafer 200 contact with the sidewalls of the groove to form a line contact. In order to control the degree of line contact and facilitate flipping, the angle between the sidewall of the trapezoidal groove and the center line of the trapezoidal groove is set (such as Figure 4 The range of α shown in FIG. 1 may include: 2 degrees to 30 degrees. Also, the distance between the side edge of the silicon wafer 200 extending into the trapezoidal groove and the bottom of the trapezoidal groove (e.g. Figure 4 The L) range shown in is: 2 mm to 5 mm.

[0056] The specific flipping process of the silicon wafer flipping device 100 can be as follows: when the conveying runway 111 conveys the silicon wafer 200 to the grooves of the wheel discs on both sides, the silicon wafer 200 is not in contact with the grooves; when the wheel discs rotate to a certain angle, the edges of the silicon wafer 200 parallel to the conveying direction contact with the inclined walls of the wheel disc grooves, and line contact is formed between the two; as the wheel discs continue to rotate, the silicon wafer 200 is flipped to the output runway 112, and is transported to the second process by the output runway 112.

[0057] On the basis of the above embodiment, according to another specific implementation manner of the present disclosure, the flip assembly 120 may further include a sheath, and both ends of the drive shaft 121 are fixedly connected to the first wheel disc 122 and the second wheel disc 125 through the sheaths respectively.

[0058] A specific connection scheme may be that one side of the sleeve is connected to the drive shaft 121 via a flat key of the drive shaft 121 , and the other side of the sleeve is connected to the first wheel disc 122 or the second wheel disc 125 via screws.

[0059] In this embodiment, a sleeve is added to fix the two symmetrical wheels. The sleeve is fixedly connected to the drive shaft 121 through a flat key on the shaft, and is detachably fixedly connected to the wheel through screws to connect and fix the two wheels so that the two can rotate synchronously under the rotation of the drive shaft 121. Optionally, the sleeve is a polyacetal (PO) structure.

[0060] Sidewalls of the first trench and the second trench are provided with a protective coating.

[0061] Adding a protective coating can effectively prevent the side of the silicon wafer from being damaged during the contact between the groove and the silicon wafer, thereby improving the yield rate of the silicon wafer.

[0062] The silicon wafer flipping device provided by the above embodiment of the present invention comprises a driving shaft and a first wheel disc and a second wheel disc symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving shaft, wherein a first side surface of the first wheel disc close to the driving shaft is uniformly provided with a plurality of first grooves extending in the radial direction, and a second side surface of the second wheel disc close to the driving shaft is uniformly provided with a plurality of second grooves extending in the radial direction, and the first groove and the second groove are symmetrically arranged. When flipping the wafer, the controller of the silicon wafer flipping device controls the driving shaft to drive the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the conveying runway, controls the conveying runway to convey the received silicon wafer to the two sides of the silicon wafer to extend into the first groove and the second groove respectively, and then controls the driving shaft to drive the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the output runway, so that the output runway outputs the silicon wafer. The flipping of the silicon wafer between different processes can be realized only by the line contact between the groove and the two sides of the silicon wafer, which greatly avoids the damage of the silicon wafer that may be caused by the surface contact, and improves the quality of the silicon wafer flipping and production.

[0063] In addition, the embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a silicon wafer production system, the first production process, the second production process and the above Figures 1 to 4 The embodiment shown provides a silicon wafer flipping device;

[0064] The material discharge port of the first production process is communicated with the conveying track of the silicon wafer turning device, and the output track of the silicon wafer turning device is communicated with the material feed port of the second production process.

[0065] Furthermore, the present disclosure also provides a method for flipping a silicon wafer, the method comprising:

[0066] The conveying runway receives the silicon wafers and conveys the silicon wafers to the first wheel and the second wheel;

[0067] The driving shaft drives the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the conveying runway;

[0068] Controlling the conveying runway to convey the received silicon wafer to both sides of the silicon wafer so as to extend into the first groove and the second groove respectively;

[0069] The driving shaft drives the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the output runway;

[0070] The output track outputs the silicon wafer.

[0071] The specific implementation process of the silicon wafer production system and silicon wafer flipping solution provided in the above embodiments of the present invention can be referred to the above Figures 1 to 4 The specific implementation process of the silicon wafer flipping device provided in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0072] The embodiments of the present invention are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation modes, which are merely illustrative rather than restrictive. Under the guidance of the present invention, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention and the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A silicon wafer flipping device, characterized in that: include: a transfer assembly, including a delivery runway and an output runway; A flip assembly, comprising a driving shaft and a first wheel disc and a second wheel disc symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving shaft, wherein a first side surface of the first wheel disc close to the driving shaft is uniformly provided with a plurality of first grooves extending in the radial direction, and a second side surface of the second wheel disc close to the driving shaft is uniformly provided with a plurality of second grooves extending in the radial direction, and the first grooves and the second grooves are symmetrically arranged; wherein the first grooves and the second grooves are both trapezoidal grooves, so that the inclined side walls of the first grooves and the second grooves contact the edges of the silicon wafer to form a line contact; the angle between the side wall of the trapezoidal groove and the center line of the trapezoidal groove ranges from 2 degrees to 30 degrees; the distance between the side edge of the silicon wafer extending into the trapezoidal groove and the bottom of the trapezoidal groove ranges from 2 mm to 5 mm; A controller connected to the control ends of the drive shaft, the conveying runway and the output runway, and the controller is used to control the drive shaft to drive the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously; The conveying runway and the output runway both include: a transmission wheel, a starting mechanism and a flat belt for carrying the silicon wafer; wherein the control end of the starting mechanism is electrically connected to the controller, the transmission end of the starting mechanism is transmission-connected to the transmission wheel, and the flat belt is wrapped around the transmission wheel; The specific flipping process of the silicon wafer flipping device is as follows: when the conveying runway conveys the silicon wafer to the first groove and the second groove of the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc on both sides, the silicon wafer is not in contact with the first groove and the second groove; when the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc rotate to a certain angle, the edge of the silicon wafer parallel to the conveying direction contacts the inclined wall of the first groove and the second groove of the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc, and a line contact is formed between the two; with the continued rotation of the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc, the silicon wafer is flipped to the output runway and conveyed to the second process by the output runway.

2. The silicon wafer flipping device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The turnover assembly further includes a sheath, and both ends of the drive shaft are fixedly connected to the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc respectively through the sheath.

3. The silicon wafer flipping device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sheath is of polyacetal structure.

4. The silicon wafer flipping device according to claim 3, characterized in that: One side of the sleeve is connected to the driving shaft via a flat key of the driving shaft, and the other side of the sleeve is connected to the first wheel disc or the second wheel disc via screws.

5. A silicon wafer production system, characterized in that: The first production process, the second production process and the silicon wafer flipping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4; The material discharge port of the first production process is communicated with the conveying track of the silicon wafer turning device, and the output track of the silicon wafer turning device is communicated with the material feed port of the second production process.

6. A method for flipping a silicon wafer, characterized in that: Applied to the silicon wafer flipping device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the method comprising: The conveying runway receives the silicon wafers and conveys the silicon wafers to the first wheel and the second wheel; The driving shaft drives the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the conveying runway; Controlling the conveying runway to convey the received silicon wafer to the two sides of the silicon wafer so that the two sides extend into the first groove and the second groove respectively, at this time, the silicon wafer is not in contact with the first groove and the second groove, and when the first wheel disk and the second wheel disk rotate to a certain angle, the edge of the silicon wafer parallel to the conveying direction contacts the oblique wall of the first groove and the second groove of the first wheel disk and the second wheel disk, and a line contact is formed between the two; The driving shaft drives the first wheel disc and the second wheel disc to rotate synchronously until the first groove and the second groove are aligned with the output runway; The output track outputs the silicon wafer.

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