Unloading Device for Wafer Carrier and Unloading Method Thereof

Abstract

An unloading device and an unloading method for a wafer carrier. A carrier, a main calibration mechanism, a wafer calibration mechanism and a material placing mechanism are respectively built within the movement ranges of the first and second robotic arms. An image capturing component and a wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism are provided on the first robotic arm, and a wafer picking and placing mechanism is provided on the second robotic arm. The main calibration mechanism is used to respectively calibrate the image capturing component, the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism and the wafer picking and placing mechanism to the correct positions. The first robotic arm drives the image capturing component to move above one of the wafer disks of the carrier and adjusts the position to correctly correspond to the wafer disk. Then, the first robotic arm drives the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism to move onto the wafer disk and removes the wafer positioning part retaining ring on the periphery of the wafer disk. Additionally, the second robotic arm drives the wafer picking and placing mechanism to move the wafer on the wafer disk to the wafer calibration mechanism. After reading the code of the wafer, the wafer is then placed into the material placing mechanism.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an unloading device and method for a wafer carrier, and more particularly to an unloading device and method that can reduce labor costs and efficiently transfer wafers from a carrier to a loading mechanism. Background Art

[0002] The manufacturing process of general integrated circuits (ICs) mainly includes three major parts: silicon wafer manufacturing, integrated circuit fabrication, and integrated circuit packaging. After a silicon ingot is cut into wafers, it still needs to go through many complicated processes such as photolithography, epitaxy, etching, and chemical mechanical polishing to complete the fabrication of integrated circuits. During the above manufacturing process, when wafers are undergoing processes such as testing, cleaning, evaporation, drying, or soaking in organic solvents, in order to effectively fix the wafers for processing, each wafer needs to be fixed on a separate wafer carrier, and each wafer carrier carries each wafer to perform the above processing operations.

[0003] The basic structure of a prior art wafer carrier is a disk body with an area slightly larger than the outer diameter of the wafer. An annular frame that can be separated is provided above the disk body, defining a position for accommodating the wafer. At least two fastening mechanisms are provided on the periphery of the disk body, and these fastening mechanisms can be used to clamp the annular frame to form positioning by pressing on the periphery of the wafer.

[0004] In actual applications, in order to process a relatively large number of wafers at the same time, usually at least two wafer carriers are arranged on a large-area carrier. The carrier can accommodate multiple wafer carriers and simultaneously move them to different processing procedures to effectively improve the efficiency of wafer processing.

[0005] With the gradual popularization of automated processing, using a robotic arm to perform the pick-and-place operations between each wafer and each wafer carrier in the carrier can not only save a large amount of labor, but also reduce production costs and improve processing efficiency. This has become an inevitable trend. Since general wafers are extremely fragile and have extremely high requirements for processing precision, how to overcome the requirements and limitations of the material properties and precision of the wafers themselves under the operation requirements of using a robotic arm to pick and place each wafer has become an urgent issue for relevant industries to strive for.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art in unloading wafers from the carrier, the inventor studied and improved the solutions for these disadvantages, and finally the present invention was developed. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The main object of the present invention is to provide an unloading device and an unloading method for a wafer carrier. Specifically, an image capturing component and a wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism are provided on a first robotic arm, and a wafer picking and placing mechanism is provided on a second robotic arm. Moreover, a carrier, a main calibration mechanism, and a material placing mechanism are respectively established within the movement ranges of the first and second robotic arms. The main calibration mechanism first calibrates the relative position coordinates between the image capturing component and the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism. Then, the first robotic arm drives the image capturing component above the carrier to obtain an image of one of the wafer disks on the carrier and adjusts it to the correct corresponding position. Next, the first robotic arm drives the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism to align with the wafer disk with reference to the relative position coordinates, and takes out the wafer positioning member pre-fixed on the periphery of the wafer disk. Subsequently, the main calibration mechanism calibrates the operating position of the wafer picking and placing mechanism, and the second robotic arm drives the wafer picking and placing mechanism to transfer the wafer on the wafer disk to the wafer calibration mechanism. After the wafer calibration mechanism obtains the code of the wafer, the wafer is then transferred to the material placing mechanism, thereby completing an automated processing operation of correctly and quickly transferring each wafer on the carrier to the material placing mechanism.

[0008] To achieve the above object and effect, the technical means implemented by the present invention include: an unloading device for a wafer carrier, at least including: a first robotic arm, connected and driven by a control module, and at least an image capturing component is provided at the movable end of the first robotic arm; a second robotic arm, connected and driven by the control module, and a wafer picking and placing mechanism is provided at the movable end of the second robotic arm; a carrier, arranged within the movement ranges of the first and second robotic arms, and connected and driven by the control module, and at least one wafer disk for placing wafers is provided on the carrier; a wafer calibration mechanism, arranged within the movement range of the second robotic arm, and connected and driven by the control module, for reading the code of the placed wafer and adjusting the notch of the wafer; a main calibration mechanism, arranged within the movement ranges of the first and second robotic arms, and connected and driven by the control module, for respectively calibrating the positions of the image capturing component and the wafer picking and placing mechanism; a material placing mechanism, arranged within the movement range of the second robotic arm, for the second robotic arm to place the processed wafers unloaded from the carrier.

[0009] According to the above structure, each wafer is respectively fixed to the wafer disk through a lockable wafer positioning member, and a wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism for loading and unloading the wafer positioning member is further provided at the movable end of the first robotic arm.

[0010] According to the above structure, the image capturing component has an upper image capturing component that can generate illumination light. The main calibration mechanism has a lower image capturing component. Above the lower image capturing component, there is a transparent sheet, and on the transparent sheet, there is a standard scale serving as a positioning reference. The wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism has a positioning surface, and on the positioning surface, there is a positioning scale. The wafer picking and placing mechanism has a wafer suction cup that can suck the wafer, and on the wafer suction cup, there is an indicating scale.

[0011] According to the above structure, at least two laser light sources are provided on the outer side beside the positioning surface of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism.

[0012] According to the above structure, a ranging laser light source is provided beside the lower image capturing component of the main calibration mechanism.

[0013] According to the above structure, the material placing mechanism is a material placing box with a receiving space inside. The material placing box is arranged on a lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is connected to and driven by the control module to adjust the height of the material placing box.

[0014] According to the above structure, the carrier plate is arranged on a sliding mechanism. The sliding mechanism has a sliding seat, and the sliding seat can move along at least two parallel extending sliding guide rails. On the sliding seat, there is a pivot seat for placing the carrier plate.

[0015] According to the above structure, an outer cover is provided above the carrier plate. There is a concave notch on the outer cover, which can expose a partial wafer disk on the carrier plate to the outside.

[0016] According to the above structure, the wafer calibration mechanism has a placing seat for placing the wafer, and above the placing seat, there is an image capturing unit.

[0017] The technical means implemented by the present invention further includes: a unloading method using the aforementioned unloading device, which at least includes: a "loading tray positioning" step of positioning a loading tray carrying at least one wafer disk, on which a processed wafer is fixed by a wafer positioning member; an "image capturing component correcting imaging range" step of driving the image capturing component by the first robotic arm to move onto the main correction mechanism to correct the imaging range of the image capturing component to the correct position; a "wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism correcting working position" step of driving the positioning surface of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism by the first robotic arm to move onto the main correction mechanism to adjust and correct the working position of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism, and the control module can compare and memorize the relative position coordinates between the working position of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism and the imaging range obtained by the image capturing component; an "image capturing component correctly corresponding to the wafer disk" step of driving the image capturing component by the first robotic arm to move above the loading tray and correcting the position to accurately correspond to one of the wafer disks on the loading tray; a "wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism removing the wafer positioning member from the wafer disk" step of the control module referring to the relative position coordinates, driving the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism by the first robotic arm to align the positioning surface with the wafer disk, and removing the wafer positioning member pre-set on the periphery of the wafer disk; a "wafer picking and placing mechanism correcting working position" step of driving the wafer picking and placing mechanism by the second robotic arm to move onto the main correction mechanism to correct the working position of the wafer picking and placing mechanism; a "wafer picking and placing mechanism removing the wafer from the wafer disk and reading the code of the wafer" step of driving the wafer picking and placing mechanism by the second robotic arm to move onto the wafer disk of the loading tray to remove the wafer and placing the wafer into the wafer correction mechanism to read the code of the wafer; a "wafer picking and placing mechanism placing the wafer into the material placing mechanism" step of the wafer picking and placing mechanism moving the wafer to the material placing mechanism.

[0018] According to the above method, a lower image capturing component is built in the main correction mechanism, a transparent sheet is provided above the lower image capturing component, and a standard scale is provided on the transparent sheet as a positioning reference; an upper image capturing component is built in the image capturing component. If there is a position deviation between the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the upper image capturing component and the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the lower image capturing component, the control module drives the image capturing component to adjust the position by the first robotic arm, so that the positions of the standard scales in the imaging ranges of the upper and lower image capturing components overlap, and thus the imaging range of the image capturing component can be corrected to the correct position.

[0019] According to the above method, an imaging component is built in the main calibration mechanism. A transparent sheet is provided above the imaging component, and a standard scale is provided on the transparent sheet as a positioning reference. An indicating scale is provided on the wafer picking and placing mechanism. If there is a position deviation between the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the imaging component and the indicating scale on the wafer picking and placing mechanism, the control module drives the wafer picking and placing mechanism to adjust its position through the second robotic arm, so that the indicating scale overlaps with the standard scale, and the operating position of the wafer picking and placing mechanism can be calibrated to the correct position.

[0020] According to the above method, an imaging component is built in the main calibration mechanism. A transparent sheet is provided above the imaging component, and a standard scale is provided on the transparent sheet as a positioning reference. A positioning scale is provided on the positioning surface of the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism. If there is a position deviation between the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the imaging component and the positioning scale on the positioning surface, the control module drives the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism to adjust its position through the first robotic arm, so that the positioning scale overlaps with the standard scale, and the operating position of the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism can be calibrated to the correct position.

[0021] According to the above method, a ranging laser light source is built in the main calibration mechanism. The ranging laser light source can generate a laser beam to measure the distances between the image capturing component, the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism, and the wafer picking and placing mechanism and the imaging component respectively, so as to adjust the lens focal length of the imaging component through the control module.

[0022] According to the above method, at least three laser light sources are built around the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism. In the step of "removing the wafer positioning component from the wafer disk by the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism", the control module drives the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism to adjust its position through the first robotic arm, so that the laser beams of the same length generated by each laser light source can be jointly projected onto the wafer disk, so as to correctly align the wafer positioning component loading and unloading mechanism with the wafer disk.

[0023] To obtain a more specific understanding of the above objects, effects and features of the present invention, the following is an illustration with reference to the accompanying drawings. Description of the Drawings

[0024] FIG. 1 is a complete three-dimensional exploded view of the carrier of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged schematic view of the main calibration mechanism of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the unloading method of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the state where the image capturing component is calibrated above the main calibration mechanism of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the state of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism of the present invention at the calibration position above the main calibration mechanism.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the state of the image capturing component of the present invention correctly corresponding to the wafer disk above the carrier.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the state of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism of the present invention moving to the wafer disk to grasp the wafer positioning member.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the state of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism of the present invention removing the wafer positioning member.

[0032] FIG. 9 is a partial enlarged schematic view of part A in FIG. 8.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the state of the wafer picking and placing mechanism of the present invention at the calibration position above the main calibration mechanism.

[0034] FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing the state of the wafer picking and placing mechanism of the present invention removing the wafer from the wafer disk.

[0035] FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the state of the wafer calibration mechanism of the present invention reading the wafer code.

[0036] FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the state of the wafer picking and placing mechanism of the present invention placing the wafer into the material placing mechanism.

[0037] Description of reference numerals.

[0038] 1 First robotic arm

[0039] 11 Image capturing component

[0040] 111 Upper imaging component

[0041] 12 Wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism

[0042] 121 Positioning surface

[0043] 122 Positioning scale

[0044] 123 Clamping member

[0045] 124 Laser light source

[0046] 2 Second robotic arm

[0047] 21 Wafer picking and placing mechanism

[0048] 211 Index scale

[0049] 3 Carrier

[0050] 31 Wafer disk

[0051] 311 Wafer positioning part

[0052] 32 Outer cover

[0053] 321 Concave notch

[0054] 33 Sliding mechanism

[0055] 331 Sliding seat

[0056] 332 Sliding guide rail

[0057] 333 Pivoting seat

[0058] 4 Main correction mechanism

[0059] 41 Distance measuring laser light source

[0060] 411 Laser beam

[0061] 42 Lower imaging component

[0062] 43 Transparent sheet

[0063] 431 Standard scale

[0064] 5 Wafer correction mechanism

[0065] 51 Carrying seat

[0066] 52 Imaging unit

[0067] 6 Loading mechanism

[0068] 60 Wafer

[0069] 61 Lifting mechanism

[0070] S11 Place the carrier in position

[0071] S12 The image capturing component corrects the imaging range

[0072] S13 The mechanism corrects the operation position

[0073] S14 The image capturing component correctly corresponds to the wafer disk

[0074] S15 The wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism removes the wafer positioning part from the wafer disk

[0075] S16 The wafer picking and placing mechanism corrects the operation position

[0076] S17 The wafer picking and placing mechanism removes the wafer from the wafer disk and reads the wafer code

[0077] S18 The wafer picking and placing mechanism places the wafer into the loading mechanism Specific implementation manner

[0078] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen that the main structure of the present invention includes: a first robotic arm 1, a second robotic arm 2, a carrier 3, a main calibration mechanism 4, a wafer calibration mechanism 5, and a material placement mechanism 6, etc.; wherein the first robotic arm 1 is connected and driven by a control module (which can be a computer with computing functions, not shown), and an image capturing component 11 and a wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12 are provided on the movable end of the first robotic arm 1.

[0079] In a feasible embodiment, the image capturing component 11 has an upper image capturing component 111 (which can be a CCD camera) that can generate illumination light; a positioning surface 121 is provided on the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12, a positioning scale 122 (or hole) is provided at the center of the positioning surface 121, at least two opposite clamping parts 123 are provided on the outer peripheral side of the positioning surface 121, and at least two uniformly distributed laser light sources 124 are provided on the periphery of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12, and the at least two laser light sources 124 are respectively arranged at at least three points outside the positioning surface 121.

[0080] The second robotic arm 2 is connected and driven by the control module, and a wafer picking and placing mechanism 21 (which can be a wafer suction cup) that can adsorb the wafer 60 is provided on the movable end of the second robotic arm 2; in a feasible embodiment, an indicating scale 211 is provided on the wafer picking and placing mechanism 21.

[0081] The carrier 3 is arranged within the movable ranges of the first and second robotic arms 1 and 2, and is connected and driven by the control module. At least two wafer disks 31 are provided at different positions on the carrier 3, and processed wafers 60 are respectively provided on each wafer disk 31. Each wafer 60 is fixed to the wafer disk 31 by a lockable wafer positioning part 311 (which can be a retaining ring).

[0082] In a feasible embodiment, the carrier 3 is arranged on a sliding mechanism 33. The sliding mechanism 33 has a sliding seat 331. The sliding seat 331 is arranged on at least two parallel extending sliding guide rails 332. A pivoting seat 333 for carrying the carrier 3 is provided on the sliding seat 331; and an outer cover 32 is fixedly provided above the carrier 3. A concave notch 321 is provided on the outer cover 32, so that a partial wafer disk 31 on the carrier 3 is externally exposed. By operating the sliding mechanism 33 with the control module, the sliding seat 331 can drive the pivoting seat 333 to slide between the two ends of the sliding guide rail 332, and the carrier 3 can be driven to pivot through the pivoting seat 333.

[0083] The main calibration mechanism 4 is arranged within the movable ranges of the first and second robotic arms 1 and 2, and is connected and driven by the control module to respectively calibrate the image capturing component 11, the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12, and the wafer picking and placing mechanism 21 to keep them in the correct positions respectively.

[0084] In a feasible embodiment, the main calibration mechanism 4 has a lower imaging component 42 that can generate illumination light and at least one ranging laser light source 41 with ranging function; the lower imaging component 42 can be a CCD camera, and a transparent sheet 43 is provided above the lower imaging component 42, and a standard scale 431 is provided in the center of the transparent sheet 43.

[0085] The wafer calibration mechanism 5 is arranged within the movement range of the second robotic arm 2, and is connected to and driven by the control module; in this embodiment, the wafer calibration mechanism 5 has a placement seat 51 for placing the wafer 60, and an imaging unit 52 is provided above the placement seat 51.

[0086] The material placement mechanism 6 (which can be a material placement cassette) is arranged within the movement range of the second robotic arm 2, and has a space inside for accommodating at least two wafers 60.

[0087] In actual application, a lifting mechanism 61 can be provided below the material placement mechanism 6 (material placement cassette) as needed, and the lifting mechanism 61 can drive the material placement mechanism 6 to raise or lower its position.

[0088] Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the unloading method of the present invention includes: "placing the carrier in position" S11, "calibrating the imaging range of the imaging component" S12, "calibrating the working position of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism" S13, "correctly corresponding the imaging component to the wafer disk" S14, "removing the wafer positioning member from the wafer disk by the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism" S15, "calibrating the working position of the wafer picking and placing mechanism" S16, "removing the wafer from the wafer disk by the wafer picking and placing mechanism and reading the code of the wafer" S17, and "putting the wafer into the material placement mechanism by the wafer picking and placing mechanism" S18, etc.; the following will respectively describe the above steps with reference to FIGS. 4 to 13 and in conjunction with the structures of FIGS. 1 and 2:

[0089] First, in the step of "placing the carrier in position" S11, the sliding seat 331 of the sliding mechanism 33 is moved outward along the sliding guide rail 332, and the carrier 3 carrying at least two wafer disks 31 is placed on the pivot seat 333 of the sliding mechanism 33, and the processed wafers 60 are respectively fixed on each wafer disk 31 through wafer positioning members 311; then, the sliding seat 331 is moved inward along the sliding guide rail 332 to below the outer cover 32, and one of the wafer disks 31 is located below the concave notch 321 to be exposed.

[0090] In the step of "calibrating the imaging range of the imaging component" S12, the first robotic arm 1 drives the imaging component 11 to move onto the main calibration mechanism 4 (as shown in FIG. 4) to adjust and calibrate the imaging range obtained by the imaging component 11 to the correct position.

[0091] In this embodiment, when the first robotic arm 1 drives the image capturing assembly 11 to approach above the main calibration mechanism 4, the lower image capturing component 42 directly obtains the position of the standard scale 431 on the transparent sheet 43, and the main calibration mechanism 4 projects the laser light generated by the ranging laser light source 41 onto the image capturing assembly 11 to measure the distance of the image capturing assembly 11 for adjusting the lens focal length of the image capturing assembly 11; the image capturing assembly 11 obtains the position of the standard scale 431 on the transparent sheet 43 through the upper image capturing component 111. The control module compares the difference between the position of the standard scale 431 obtained by the lower image capturing component 42 and the position of the standard scale 431 obtained by the image capturing assembly 11. The first robotic arm 1 adjusts the position of the image capturing assembly 11 to make the position of the standard scale 431 obtained by the lower image capturing component 42 coincide with the position of the standard scale obtained by the upper image capturing component 111. Then, the control module memorizes the coordinates of the correct image capturing range of the image capturing assembly 11 to achieve the purpose of calibrating the image capturing range of the image capturing assembly 11.

[0092] In the step S13 of "calibrating the operation position of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism", the first robotic arm 1 drives the positioning surface 121 of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12 to move onto the main calibration mechanism 4 (as shown in Figure 5) to adjust and calibrate the operation position of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12, and the control module can compare and memorize the relative position coordinates between the operation position of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12 and the image capturing range obtained by the image capturing assembly 11.

[0093] In this embodiment, when the first robotic arm 1 drives the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12 to approach above the main calibration mechanism 4, the main calibration mechanism 4 projects the laser beam 411 generated by the ranging laser light source 41 onto the positioning surface 121 to measure the distance of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12 for adjusting the lens focal length of the lower image capturing component 42; and the lower image capturing component 42 can visually observe the position difference between the standard scale 431 on the transparent sheet 43 and the positioning scale 122 (or hole) on the positioning surface 121. The control module drives the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12 to adjust the position through the first robotic arm 1 to make the positioning scale 122 (or hole) on the positioning surface 121 overlap with the position of the standard scale 431, so that the operation position of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism 12 can be calibrated to the correct position.

[0094] In the step S14 of "correctly corresponding the image capturing assembly to the wafer tray", the first robotic arm 1 drives the image capturing assembly 11 to move above the carrier 3 (as shown in Figure 6) to confirm the position of the wafer tray 31 and inspect the condition on the wafer tray 31 (whether there are residual wafer 60 debris or fragments).

[0095] In step S15 of "removing the wafer positioning member from the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism", the control module refers to the relative position coordinates, and drives the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism 12 to approach the wafer disk 31 through the first robotic arm 1. The control module drives the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism 12 through the first robotic arm 1 to adjust the position, so that the laser beams of the same length generated by at least two (at least three) laser light sources 124 can be jointly projected onto the wafer disk 31, so as to align (parallel to) the positioning surface 121 with the wafer disk 31 (as shown in Figure 7). After unlocking the wafer positioning member 311 preset on the periphery of the wafer disk 31, the wafer positioning member 311 is taken out by the clamping member 123 and maintained in a clamped state (as shown in Figures 8 and 9).

[0096] In step S16 of "calibrating the operation position of the wafer pick-and-place mechanism", the second robotic arm 2 drives the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 to move onto the main calibration mechanism 4 (as shown in Figure 10. For the convenience of inspecting the main calibration mechanism 4, the wafer calibration mechanism 5 is not shown), so as to calibrate the position of the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21.

[0097] In this embodiment, when the second robotic arm 2 drives the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 to approach above the main calibration mechanism 4, the main calibration mechanism 4 projects the laser light generated by the ranging laser light source 41 onto the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 to measure the distance of the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21, so as to adjust the lens focal length of the lower imaging component 42; and the lower imaging component 42 can visually observe the position difference between the standard scale 431 on the transparent sheet 43 and the indicating scale 211 on the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21, and the control module drives the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 to adjust the position through the second robotic arm 2, so that the indicating scale 211 on the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 overlaps with the standard scale 431, and the operation position of the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 can be calibrated to the correct position.

[0098] In step S17 of "removing the wafer from the wafer disk by the wafer pick-and-place mechanism and reading the code of the wafer", the second robotic arm 2 drives the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 to move onto the wafer disk 31 of the carrier 3 (exposed below the concave notch 321) to suck the wafer 60 (as shown in Figure 11); and the wafer 60 is moved onto the bearing seat 51 of the wafer calibration mechanism 5, and the code of the wafer 60 is read through the imaging unit 52 (as shown in Figure 12), and the control module records the code of the wafer 60.

[0099] In step S18 of "putting the wafer into the material placing mechanism by the wafer pick-and-place mechanism", the second robotic arm 2 drives the wafer pick-and-place mechanism 21 to take the wafer 60 off the bearing seat 51, and cooperate with the lifting mechanism 61 to drive the material placing mechanism 6 to lift, and the wafer 60 can be put into the space of the material placing mechanism 6 (as shown in Figure 13).

[0100] Then, the pivot base 333 drives the carrier 3 to rotate, so that the wafer plate 31 with the removed wafer 60 is rotated under the outer cover 32, and another wafer plate 31 carrying the wafer 60 is moved under the concave notch 321 of the outer cover 32 to be exposed, so as to sequentially repeat the above steps S14, S15, S17, S18, etc., to respectively move the wafers 60 on different wafer plates 31 into the loading mechanism 6; finally, after all the wafers 60 on the carrier 3 have been removed, the sliding seat 331 of the sliding mechanism 33 slides outward along the sliding guide rail 332, so as to facilitate the removal of the emptied carrier 3 and place another carrier 3 with wafers 60 on the pivot base 333.

[0101] In summary, the unloading device and method of the wafer carrier of the present invention can indeed achieve the effects of reducing labor costs and improving the efficiency of removing wafers from the wafer plates and moving them to the loading mechanism, and it is truly an invention with novelty and progressiveness. Therefore, an application for a patent for invention is filed in accordance with the law; however, the content described above is only a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Any changes, modifications, alterations, or equivalent substitutions extended by the technical means and scope of the present invention should also fall within the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

Claims

1. An unloading device for a wafer carrier, characterized in that, At least including: A first robotic arm, connected and driven by a control module, and at least one image capturing component is provided at the movable end of the first robotic arm; A second robotic arm, connected and driven by the control module, and a wafer pick-and-place mechanism is provided at the movable end of the second robotic arm; A carrier, disposed within the movable ranges of the first and second robotic arms, and connected and driven by the control module, and at least one wafer carrier for placing wafers is provided on the carrier; A wafer alignment mechanism, disposed within the movable range of the second robotic arm, and connected and driven by the control module, the wafer alignment mechanism has a placement seat for placing a wafer, and an imaging unit is provided above the placement seat for reading the code of the placed wafer and adjusting the notch of the wafer; A main alignment mechanism, disposed within the movable ranges of the first and second robotic arms, and connected and driven by the control module for respectively aligning the positions of the image capturing component and the wafer pick-and-place mechanism; A material placement mechanism, disposed within the movable range of the second robotic arm, for the second robotic arm to place the processed wafers unloaded from the carrier.

2. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each wafer is respectively fixed on the wafer carrier by a lockable wafer positioning member, and a wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism for loading and unloading the wafer positioning member is further provided at the movable end of the first robotic arm.

3. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 2, wherein, The image capturing component has an upper imaging component for generating illumination light, the main alignment mechanism has a lower imaging component, a transparent sheet is provided above the lower imaging component, and a standard scale serving as a positioning reference is provided on the transparent sheet; the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism has a positioning surface, and a positioning scale is provided on the positioning surface; the wafer pick-and-place mechanism has a wafer suction cup for sucking wafers, and an indicating scale is provided on the wafer suction cup.

4. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 3, wherein, At least two laser light sources are provided on the outer side beside the positioning surface of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism.

5. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 3, characterized in that, A ranging laser light source is provided beside the lower imaging component of the main alignment mechanism.

6. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, characterized in that, The material placement mechanism is a material placement box having a receiving space inside, the material placement box is disposed on a lifting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism is connected and driven by the control module to adjust the height of the material placement box.

7. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, characterized in that, The carrier is disposed on a sliding mechanism, the sliding mechanism has a sliding seat, the sliding seat can move along at least two parallel extending sliding guide rails, and a pivot seat for placing the carrier is provided on the sliding seat.

8. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 6, wherein, The carrier is disposed on a sliding mechanism, the sliding mechanism has a sliding seat, the sliding seat can move along at least two parallel extending sliding guide rails, and a pivot seat for placing the carrier is provided on the sliding seat.

9. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 7, characterized in that, An outer cover is provided above the carrier, and a concave notch is provided on the outer cover, so that a partial wafer carrier on the carrier is externally exposed.

10. The unloading device of the wafer carrier according to claim 8, characterized in that, An outer cover is provided above the carrier, and a concave notch is provided on the outer cover, so that a partial wafer carrier on the carrier is externally exposed.

11. A unloading method for a unloading device of a wafer carrier, wherein the unloading device comprises: A first robotic arm, connected to and driven by a control module, and at least one image capturing component is provided at the movable end of the first robotic arm; a second robotic arm, connected to and driven by the control module, and a wafer picking and placing mechanism is provided at the movable end of the second robotic arm; a carrier plate, disposed within the movable ranges of the first and second robotic arms, and connected to and driven by the control module, and at least one wafer carrier is provided on the carrier plate; a wafer alignment mechanism, disposed within the movable range of the second robotic arm, and connected to and driven by the control module, for reading the code of the placed wafer and adjusting the notch of the wafer; a main alignment mechanism, disposed within the movable ranges of the first and second robotic arms, and connected to and driven by the control module, for respectively aligning the positions of the image capturing component and the wafer picking and placing mechanism; a material placing mechanism, disposed within the movable range of the second robotic arm, for the second robotic arm to place the processed wafers unloaded from the carrier plate; each wafer is fixed on the wafer carrier by a lockable wafer positioning member, and a wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism for loading and unloading the wafer positioning member is further provided at the movable end of the first robotic arm; the image capturing component has an upper image capturing component capable of generating illumination light, the main alignment mechanism has a lower image capturing component, a transparent sheet is provided above the lower image capturing component, and a standard scale serving as a positioning reference is provided on the transparent sheet; the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism has a positioning surface, and a positioning scale is provided on the positioning surface; the wafer picking and placing mechanism has a wafer suction cup capable of sucking the wafer, and an indicating scale is provided on the wafer suction cup; it is characterized in that the unloading method at least includes: A "carrier plate positioning" step of positioning the carrier plate carrying at least one wafer carrier, and the processed wafers are fixed on the wafer carrier by wafer positioning members. An "image capturing component alignment of imaging range" step of driving the image capturing component by the first robotic arm to move onto the main alignment mechanism to align the imaging range of the image capturing component to the correct position. A "wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism alignment of working position" step of driving the positioning surface of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism by the first robotic arm to move onto the main alignment mechanism to adjust and align the working position of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism, and the control module can compare and memorize the relative position coordinates between the working position of the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism and the imaging range obtained by the image capturing component. An "image capturing component correctly corresponding to the wafer carrier" step of driving the image capturing component by the first robotic arm to move above the carrier plate and correcting the position to accurately correspond to one of the wafer carriers on the carrier plate. A "wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism removing the wafer positioning member from the wafer carrier" step of the control module referring to the relative position coordinates, driving the wafer positioning member loading and unloading mechanism by the first robotic arm to align the positioning surface to the wafer carrier, and taking out the wafer positioning members preset on the periphery of the wafer carrier. A "wafer picking and placing mechanism alignment of working position" step of driving the wafer picking and placing mechanism by the second robotic arm to move onto the main alignment mechanism to align the working position of the wafer picking and placing mechanism. A step of "removing a wafer from a wafer tray and reading the code of the wafer" by the wafer pick-and-place mechanism. The second robotic arm drives the wafer pick-and-place mechanism to move to the wafer tray on the carrier tray to remove the wafer, and then places the wafer into the wafer alignment mechanism to read the code of the wafer. A step of "placing the wafer into the material placement mechanism" by the wafer pick-and-place mechanism. The wafer pick-and-place mechanism moves the wafer to the material placement mechanism.

12. The unloading method according to claim 11, wherein A lower imaging component is built in the main alignment mechanism. A transparent sheet is provided above the lower imaging component, and a standard scale is provided on the transparent sheet as a positioning reference. An upper imaging component is built in the image capturing component. If there is a position deviation between the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the upper imaging component and the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the lower imaging component, the control module drives the image capturing component to adjust its position through the first robotic arm, so that the positions of the standard scales in the imaging ranges of the upper and lower imaging components overlap, and thus the imaging range of the image capturing component can be corrected to the correct position.

13. The unloading method according to claim 11, wherein A lower imaging component is built in the main alignment mechanism. A transparent sheet is provided above the lower imaging component, and a standard scale is provided on the transparent sheet as a positioning reference. An indicating scale is provided on the wafer pick-and-place mechanism. If there is a position deviation between the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the lower imaging component and the indicating scale on the wafer pick-and-place mechanism, the control module drives the wafer pick-and-place mechanism to adjust its position through the second robotic arm, so that the indicating scale overlaps with the standard scale, and thus the working position of the wafer pick-and-place mechanism can be corrected to the correct position.

14. The unloading method according to claim 11, wherein A lower imaging component is built in the main alignment mechanism. A transparent sheet is provided above the lower imaging component, and a standard scale is provided on the transparent sheet as a positioning reference. A positioning scale is provided on the positioning surface of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism. If there is a position deviation between the position of the standard scale in the imaging range of the lower imaging component and the positioning scale on the positioning surface, the control module drives the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism to adjust its position through the first robotic arm, so that the positioning scale overlaps with the standard scale, and thus the working position of the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism can be corrected to the correct position.

15. The unloading method according to claim 11, characterized in that, A ranging laser light source is built in the main alignment mechanism. The ranging laser light source can generate a laser beam to measure the distances between the image capturing component, the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism, and the wafer pick-and-place mechanism and the lower imaging component respectively, so as to adjust the lens focal length of the lower imaging component through the control module.

16. The unloading method according to claim 11, wherein At least three laser light sources are built around the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism. In the step of "removing the wafer positioning part from the wafer tray" by the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism, the control module drives the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism to adjust its position through the first robotic arm, so that the laser beams of the same length generated by each laser light source can be jointly projected onto the wafer tray, so as to correctly align the wafer positioning part loading and unloading mechanism with the wafer tray.

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