Wafer transfer robot, transfer method and wafer clamp

Abstract

The present invention discloses a wafer transfer robot arm, comprising: a wafer clamp, the wafer clamp comprises a limiting device and at least one claw plate, the claw plate is provided with at least two claw blocks, the limiting device comprises a push rod and a driving mechanism, the driving mechanism is used to drive the push rod to move horizontally toward a receiving space, so that the edge of the wafer located in the receiving space is clamped between the push rod and the claw block; and a robot body, the wafer clamp is arranged on the robot body, and the robot body is used to drive the wafer clamp to translate and / or rotate. The present invention clamps and limits the wafer located in the receiving space between the push rod and the claw block by arranging the limiting device, thereby preventing the wafer from shaking in the receiving space due to inertia or even escaping from the receiving space during the process of the wafer clamp driving the wafer to move, thereby improving the safety of wafer transfer and facilitating the wafer transfer speed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a wafer transfer robot arm, a transfer method and a wafer clamp. Background Art

[0002] In the current semiconductor industry, on the one hand, the fixture for carrying and fixing horizontal wafers generally includes a claw plate with multiple claw blocks on it, which support the wafer. However, in order to cooperate with the original wafer carrier, the height of the claw blocks is generally set very low, slightly larger than the thickness of the wafer to form a groove that can accommodate the wafer. At the same time, in order to allow the wafer to fall into the groove smoothly, the diameter of the groove needs to be slightly larger than the diameter of the wafer, resulting in the wafer in the wafer fixture being easily slipped out of the groove due to inertia during movement, thereby causing the wafer to be bumped and damaged. In particular, in order to increase production capacity and shorten process time, the operating speed of wafer transfer needs to be increased, which aggravates the occurrence of this situation.

[0003] On the other hand, in the process of wafer handling, most of them use a single claw tray to carry one wafer at a time. For certain specific process flows, such as cleaning, surface heat treatment, edge finding, counting and other high-capacity process technologies, the operation of one wafer at a time is not only time-consuming for the entire process, but also cannot make good use of the space resources of the equipment. In addition, repeated operations are too frequent, which also faces the problem of wear and service life for the mechanical components.

[0004] In some processes, wafers are divided into dirty wafers and clean wafers. In order to prevent clean wafers from being contaminated, dirty wafers and clean wafers need to be transported separately. When transporting wafers, if the same claw tray is used to pick up and place wafers, the dirty wafers will contaminate the claws on the claw tray, causing the clean wafers to be contaminated by contact with the claws when the claw tray is transporting the clean wafers, which is not conducive to the subsequent process.

[0005] Therefore, in view of the above problems, it is necessary to propose further solutions to at least solve one of the problems. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a wafer transfer robot arm, a transfer method and a wafer clamp to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is:

[0008] A wafer transfer robot arm, comprising:

[0009] A wafer clamp, the wafer clamp includes a limiting device and at least one claw plate, the claw plate is provided with at least two claw blocks, the claw blocks are stepped and include at least one set of mutually connected supporting surfaces and limiting surfaces to form at least one receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer, the supporting surface is used to support the wafer, the limiting surface is used to limit the horizontal movement of the wafer, and the minimum distance between two adjacent limiting surfaces in the same receiving space is less than the diameter of the wafer, the limiting device includes a push rod and a driving mechanism, the driving mechanism is used to drive the push rod to move horizontally toward the receiving space, so that the edge of the wafer located in the receiving space is clamped between the push rod and the claw block; and

[0010] A robot body, the wafer clamp is arranged on the robot body, and the robot body is used to drive the wafer clamp to translate and / or rotate.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, two wafer clamps are included, and both of the two wafer clamps are arranged on the robot arm body.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the two wafer clamps are symmetrically arranged on the robot arm body.

[0013] Another technical solution is:

[0014] A wafer transfer method, using any of the wafer transfer robotic arms described above, comprises the following steps:

[0015] S100: when transferring a wafer in a state, controlling a wafer clamp to face toward the wafer to be transferred;

[0016] S101 controls the push rod to move away from the receiving space;

[0017] S102: controlling the claw plate to move to the bottom of the corresponding wafer;

[0018] S103 controls the claw plate to move upward and lift the wafer;

[0019] S104: Control the push rod to move toward the receiving space to push the wafer therein to move to one side, and the edge of the wafer is clamped between the push rod and the claw block;

[0020] When transferring another wafer in another state, in S200 , another wafer clamp is controlled to face the wafer to be transferred, and steps S101 - S104 are repeated.

[0021] Another technical solution is:

[0022] A wafer chuck, comprising:

[0023] At least one claw plate, the claw plate is provided with at least two claw blocks, the claw blocks are stepped and include at least one set of supporting surfaces and limiting surfaces connected to each other to form at least one receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer, the supporting surface is used to support the wafer, the limiting surface is used to limit the horizontal movement of the wafer, and the minimum distance between two adjacent limiting surfaces in the same receiving space is less than the diameter of the wafer;

[0024] The limiting device includes a push rod and a driving mechanism, wherein the driving mechanism is used to drive the push rod to move horizontally toward the accommodating space so that the edge of the wafer located in the accommodating space is clamped between the push rod and the claw block.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the straight line on which the moving path of the push rod lies coincides with any diameter of the accommodating space.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bottom diameter of the accommodating space is larger than the diameter of the wafer.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a first avoidance hole for accommodating the push rod is opened on the claw plate, and the push rod is inserted into the first avoidance hole and enters and exits the accommodating space along the length direction of the first avoidance hole under the drive of the driving mechanism.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it comprises a plurality of claw plates which are sequentially spaced and stacked.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it includes a plurality of claw plate modules which are sequentially stacked and spaced apart from each other. The claw plate module includes a connecting seat and a plurality of claw plates connected to the connecting seat, and the plurality of claw plates are sequentially stacked and spaced apart from each other along the height direction of the connecting seat.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the relative heights of the plurality of claw plate modules are adjustable, and / or the relative heights of the plurality of claw plates in the same claw plate module are adjustable.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, two claw blocks are provided on the claw plate, and the accommodating space is formed with a straight line where the two claw blocks are located as a diameter.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least three claw blocks are provided on the claw plate.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, four claw blocks are provided on the claw plate, and pairs of claw blocks are arranged in parallel at both ends of the claw plate.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supporting surface is horizontally arranged, or the supporting surface is inclined relative to the horizontal plane toward the claw plate and the center of the accommodating space.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the limiting surface extends along the height direction of the claw block; or the limiting surface extends along the height direction of the claw block and toward the outside of the accommodating space.

[0036] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the limiting surface is an arc-shaped surface adapted to the circumference of the wafer.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

[0038] A sensor is used to detect whether the wafer is on the claw plate.

[0039] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transmitting end and the receiving end of the sensor are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the thickness direction of the claw plate, and a second avoidance hole is provided on the claw plate corresponding to the detection station of the sensor.

[0040] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensor can slide relative to the receiving space so that its orthographic projection on the horizontal plane is located inside or outside the receiving space.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it also includes:

[0042] A housing, wherein the limiting device is arranged in the housing,

[0043] The claw plate comprises a supporting portion and a connecting portion, wherein the connecting portion is connected to the shell, the supporting portion is located outside the shell, and the claw block is arranged on the supporting portion.

[0044] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0045] (1) The present invention further clamps and limits the wafer in the receiving space between the push rod and the claw block by providing a wafer clamp including a limiting device, thereby preventing the wafer from shaking in the receiving space due to inertia or even falling out of the receiving space when the wafer clamp moves the wafer, thereby improving the safety of wafer transfer and facilitating increasing the wafer transfer speed.

[0046] (2) The present invention achieves the arrangement of multiple claw plates by arranging a claw plate module, thereby improving the assembly efficiency and accuracy of the claw plates, and improving the efficiency of adjusting and replacing a single claw plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0048] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer transfer robot arm of the present invention.

[0049] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a wafer clamp of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 3 is a schematic top view of a wafer clamp of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 4 It is a three-dimensional enlarged schematic diagram of the claw plate in the present invention;

[0052] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the claw block in the present invention;

[0053] Figure 6 FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a wafer clamp in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0054] Specifically, 1. wafer;

[0055] 500, wafer transfer robot; 510, robot body; 511, mounting platform one; 512, mounting platform two; 513, mounting platform three; 514, driving mechanism four; 520, wafer clamp; 521, claw plate module; 5211, claw plate; 52111, first avoidance hole; 52112, second avoidance hole; 52113, connecting part; 52114, supporting part; 5212, connecting seat; 52121, n-layer support block; 52122, pressure plate; 52123, lap ear; 522, claw block; 5221, limit surface; 5222, supporting surface; 523, push rod; 524, driving mechanism; 525, shell; 5251, supporting ear plate; 526, sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] 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 only 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.

[0057] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, features defined as "first", "second", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0058] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by specific circumstances.

[0059] like Figure 1 As shown, a wafer transfer robot 500 includes a wafer clamp 520 and a robot body 510. The wafer clamp 520 is arranged on the robot body 510, and the robot body 510 is used to drive the wafer clamp 520 to translate and / or rotate.

[0060] Preferably, two wafer clamps 520 are included, and both wafer clamps 520 are arranged on the robot body 510 to respectively support wafers 1 in different states. Further, the two wafer clamps 520 are symmetrically arranged on the robot body 510, so that they can control and support wafers 1 in different states by rotating 180°.

[0061] Specifically, the robot body 510 includes a mounting platform 1 511 , a mounting platform 2 512 , and a mounting platform 3 513 .

[0062] A driving mechanism 1 is provided in the mounting table 1 511, and the driving mechanism 1 is connected to the wafer clamp 520 to drive it to rotate horizontally, so as to face different workstations or to align different wafer clamps 520 thereon with the wafer 1 to be received. A driving mechanism 2 is provided in the mounting table 2 512, and the driving mechanism 2 is connected to the mounting table 1 511 to drive it to move horizontally, so as to approach or move away from the original carrier of the wafer 1. A driving mechanism 3 is provided in the mounting table 3 513, and the driving mechanism 3 is connected to the mounting table 2 512 to drive it to move up and down, so as to realize that the wafer clamp 520 lifts the wafer 1 upward to separate it from the original carrier.

[0063] Furthermore, the robot body 510 further includes a driving mechanism 4 514, which is connected to the mounting platform 3 513 to drive it to move horizontally. Preferably, the moving path of the robot body 510 driven by the driving mechanism 4 514 is perpendicular to the moving path of the robot body 510 driven by the driving mechanism 2, thereby saving horizontal space.

[0064] The method of transferring the wafer 1 using the wafer transfer robot 500 comprises the following steps:

[0065] When transferring a wafer 1 in a state, S100 controls a wafer clamp 520 to face the wafer 1 to be transferred;

[0066] S101 controls the push rod 523 to move away from the receiving space;

[0067] S102 controls the claw plate 5211 to move to the bottom of the corresponding wafer 1;

[0068] S103 controls the claw plate 5211 to move upward and lift the wafer 1;

[0069] S104: Control the push rod 523 to move toward the receiving space to push the wafer 1 therein to move to one side, and the edge of the wafer 1 is clamped between the push rod 523 and the claw block;

[0070] When transferring another wafer 1 in S200 , another wafer clamp 520 is controlled to face the wafer 1 to be transferred, and steps S101 - S104 are repeated.

[0071] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a wafer clamp 520 includes a limiting device and at least one claw plate 5211, so as to further clamp and limit the wafer 1 located in the receiving space between the push rod 523 and the claw block 522, so as to prevent the wafer 1 from shaking in the receiving space due to inertia or even escaping from the receiving space when the wafer clamp 520 drives the wafer 1 to move, thereby improving the safety of the transfer of the wafer 1 and facilitating to increase the transfer speed of the wafer 1.

[0072] Specifically, at least two claw blocks 522 are provided on the claw plate 5211 to form a receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer 1, that is, Figure 2 The range enclosed by the middle dotted circle.

[0073] The limiting device includes a push rod 523 and a driving mechanism 524, and the driving mechanism 524 is used to drive the push rod 523 to move toward the receiving space, so that the edge of the wafer 1 located in the receiving space is clamped between the push rod 523 and the claw block 522. Preferably, the push rod 523 moves horizontally toward the receiving space. Furthermore, the straight line where the moving path of the push rod 523 is located coincides with any diameter of the receiving space, thereby improving the stability of the movement of the wafer 1 during the pushing process.

[0074] The driving mechanism 524 is preferably a cylinder, which controls the push rod 523 to move forward or backward. Further, a cylinder is provided at both ends of the push rod 523 to improve the stability of the movement of the push rod 523.

[0075] Of course, the clamp may also include a shell 525, a limiting device is arranged inside the shell 525, the claw plate 5211 includes a supporting portion 52114 and a connecting portion 52113, the connecting portion 52113 is connected to the shell 525, the supporting portion 52114 is located outside the shell 525, and the claw block 522 is arranged on the supporting portion 52114.

[0076] In this embodiment, a first avoidance hole 52111 for accommodating the push rod 523 is opened on the claw plate 5211. The push rod 523 is inserted into the first avoidance hole 52111 and enters and exits the accommodating space along the length direction of the first avoidance hole 52111 under the drive of the driving mechanism 524, so as to save space and facilitate the supporting operation of the claw plate 5211.

[0077] like Figure 4 As shown, four claw blocks 522 are provided on the claw plate 5211, and two claw blocks 522 are provided in parallel at both ends of the claw plate 5211 to achieve stable support for the wafer 1. However, it is not limited to this, and only two claw blocks 522 can be provided on the claw plate 5211. In this case, a receiving space is formed with the straight line where the two claw blocks 522 are located as the diameter to achieve stable support for the wafer 1. Three, five or more claw blocks 522 can also be provided on the claw plate 5211, as long as the center of gravity of the wafer 1 falls into the closed figure formed by them, so as to ensure stable support of the wafer 1.

[0078] like Figure 5 As shown, the claw block 522 is stepped and includes at least one set of interconnected supporting surfaces 5222 and limiting surfaces 5221 to form at least one receiving space, the supporting surface 5222 is used to support the wafer 1, and the limiting surface 5221 is used to limit the horizontal movement of the wafer 1.

[0079] It can be understood that, at this time, the receiving space is in the shape of a groove formed by the corresponding supporting surfaces 5222 and the limiting surfaces 5221 of the plurality of claw blocks 522. Figure 5 (a) and Figure 5 As shown in (b), the claw block 522 includes a set of mutually connected supporting surfaces 5222 and limiting surfaces 5221, forming a receiving space. Figure 5 (c) and Figure 5 As shown in (d), the claw block 522 includes two sets of mutually connected supporting surfaces 5222 and limiting surfaces 5221, forming two receiving spaces with different diameters. Of course, it is not limited to this, and the claw block 522 can also be provided with more sets of mutually connected supporting surfaces 5222 and limiting surfaces 5221, forming more receiving spaces with different diameters, so as to be able to accommodate wafers 1 of two sizes.

[0080] The minimum distance between two adjacent limiting surfaces 5221 in the same receiving space is smaller than the diameter of the wafer 1 , so that the position of the push rod 523 is more flexible, thereby preventing the push rod 523 from completely pushing the wafer 1 out of the receiving space.

[0081] The supporting surface 5222 can be set horizontally to stably support the wafer 1. Figure 5 As shown, the supporting surface 5222 is inclined relative to the horizontal plane toward the claw plate 5211 and the center of the receiving space. That is, the supporting surface 5222 is preferably an inclined surface, and its high side intersects with the limiting surface 5221, and the low side faces the center of the circle. The supporting surface 5222 gradually tilts from the limiting surface 5221 toward the surface of the claw plate 5211, and is relatively horizontally arranged. The inclined supporting surface 5222 makes the bottom surface of the wafer 1 and the supporting surface 5222 in point contact or line contact, reducing the contact surface to prevent the surface of the wafer 1 from being damaged. Preferably, the bottom surface of the wafer 1 and the supporting surface 5222 are in line contact to ensure the stability of the wafer 1. At this time, the supporting surface 5222 is a curved surface that matches the circumference of the wafer 1.

[0082] like Figure 5 As shown in (a), the limiting surface 5221 can extend along the height direction of the claw block 522, that is, perpendicular to the horizontal plane, so as to limit the deviation of the wafer 1.

[0083] Of course, if Figure 5As shown in (b), the limiting surface 5221 can also extend along the height direction of the claw block 522 and toward the outside of the receiving space, thereby forming a trumpet-like shape, so that the limiting surface 5221 can guide the wafer 1 to slide toward the supporting surface 5222 at the same time, so that when the wafer 1 deviates from the center of the receiving space, the wafer 1 can still be lifted upward by the device and fall into the receiving space. At this time, a resistance surface is preferably connected between the supporting surface 5222 and the limiting surface 5221, and the resistance surface extends along the height direction of the claw block 522, that is, the resistance surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, so that in the subsequent steps, the push rod 523 pushes the wafer 1 to contact the resistance surface, avoiding the wafer 1 from contacting the inclined limiting surface 5221 and pushing the wafer 1 to move upward.

[0084] Preferably, the limiting surface 5221 is an arc-shaped surface adapted to the circumference of the wafer 1 , so as to stably clamp the wafer 1 between the push rod 523 and the limiting surface 5221 .

[0085] The material of the claw block 522 is generally selected according to the process requirements, and commonly used materials include PEEK, PFA, Teflon, etc., but are not limited to the above-mentioned ones.

[0086] The clamp preferably includes a plurality of claw plates 5211 which are stacked in sequence and spaced apart from each other, and a conventional layer-by-layer stacking method can be adopted. Figure 6 As shown, the clamp includes a plurality of claw plate modules 521 which are sequentially stacked and spaced apart, and the claw plate module 521 includes a connecting seat 5212 and a plurality of claw plates 5211 connected to the connecting seat 5212, and the plurality of claw plates 5211 are sequentially stacked and spaced apart along the height direction of the connecting seat 5212. Specifically, in the present embodiment, a claw plate module 521 is provided, and each claw plate module 521 includes a claw plate 5211. By modularly arranging a plurality of claw plates 5211, it is more convenient to load, unload and adjust the claw plates 5211. When replacing a claw plate 5211, it is only necessary to remove the claw plate module 521, and then remove the corresponding claw plate 5211 in the claw plate module 521, thereby reducing the number of disassembly times.

[0087] Generally speaking, the fixture is provided with 25 claw plates 5211 to correspond to 25 wafers 1 in a wafer box 1, and take them out at one time. Of course, it is not limited to this, and the device can include only one claw plate 5211, or more or less than 25 claw plates 5211.

[0088] It is understandable that, in order to take out wafers 1 in batches at one time, taking wafers 1 in a wafer 1 box as an example, the spacing between the plurality of claw plates 5211 matches the spacing between the plurality of wafers 1 in the wafer 1 box, so that the claw plates 5211 extend between adjacent wafers 1 and lift the wafers 1 to take them out. More specifically, the sum of the thickness of the claw plates 5211 and the height of the claw blocks 522 matches the spacing between adjacent wafers 1.

[0089] Preferably, the relative heights of multiple claw plate modules 521 are adjustable, and / or the relative heights of multiple claw plates 5211 in the same claw plate module 521 are adjustable, so as to achieve uniformity and facilitate one-time batch loading and placement of wafers 1.

[0090] Specifically, the inner side of the device, that is, the mounting seat, is provided with a plurality of support ear plates 5251 along the height direction to install the corresponding modules. The spacing of the support ear plates 5251 is adjusted according to the height of each module group to ensure that there is a small amount of adjustment space after each module group is installed, which is used to adjust the level of the whole group. Each layer of support ear plates 5251 is provided with screw holes for fixing and steel sheets for top screws, which are respectively used to fix and adjust each module group. Each module is installed independently and can be adjusted independently in terms of height and level. If one of the claw plates 5211 needs to be replaced, only the module including the claw plate 5211 needs to be replaced, which solves the cumbersome operation of disassembling and assembling the traditional claw plate 5211 layer by layer when it is replaced. When installing specifically, as shown in the figure, each module group is composed of n claw plates 5211, a first layer of support blocks, a second layer of support blocks, a third layer of support blocks, ..., n layers of support blocks 52121, and a pressing plate 52122. First, install a claw plate 5211 on the first layer of support blocks, and then install the second layer of support blocks, adjust the height and level of the claw plate 5211 and lock it. Install the second claw plate 5211 on the second layer of support blocks, and install the third layer of support blocks, adjust the height and level of the claw plate 5211 on this layer and lock it. And so on, install the remaining claw plates 5211 and support blocks. After the n layers of claw plates 5211 are installed, install a pressure plate 52122 on top of them to fasten the last layer of claw plates 5211. In this way, a group of claw plates 5211 is assembled, and at this time, the relative height and level of each claw plate 5211 in the group are consistent. According to the same method, assemble the claw plates 5211 of the remaining groups. Install a group of claw plates 5211 on the vertical plate, let the corresponding overlapping ears 52123 of the topmost support block or other layers of support blocks overlap with the support ear plate 5251, and align the mounting holes. Measure the heights of different positions of the group of claw plates 5211, and adjust the top screws on the topmost support block according to the height difference, until the heights of all points are consistent and meet the requirements, then tighten the screws. At this point, it is necessary to continue to monitor the heights of different positions of the group of claw plates 5211. If the height difference exceeds the required range, it is necessary to loosen the screws and continue to adjust the top screws at the corresponding positions until the height difference of each point of the claw plate 5211 is within the required range after locking. In this way, a group of claw plates 5211 is installed. Repeat the above steps to install the remaining groups of claw plates 5211. When replacement is needed, just remove the corresponding group of claw plates 5211 and replace it. After replacement, the height of the group needs to be re-tested and adjusted to ensure that its levelness is qualified.

[0091] When carrying wafers 1 in batches, the wafers 1 may not be arranged regularly in the original carrier, and their axes may deviate in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the bottom diameter of the receiving space of the clamp is larger than the diameter of the wafer 1, so as to ensure that the wafers 1 can be taken out, especially when taking out batches of wafers 1, all wafers 1 in the original carrier can be taken out at one time. The bottom diameter of the receiving space is the diameter of the circle formed by the connection between the multiple supporting surfaces 5222 and the limiting surface 5221.

[0092] In particular, when supporting a batch of wafers 1, the wafers 1 that are offset in the horizontal direction can be straightened through the subsequent push rod 523 so that they are located on the same axis, which is beneficial to subsequent process processing.

[0093] like Figure 3 As shown, the clamp also includes a sensor 526 to detect whether there is a wafer 1 on the claw plate 5211. Specifically, the transmitting end and the receiving end of the sensor 526 are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the thickness direction of the claw plate 5211, and a second avoidance hole 52112 is arranged on the claw plate 5211 corresponding to the detection station of the sensor 526. The second avoidance hole 52112 can be arranged to overlap with the first avoidance hole 52111. Furthermore, the sensor 526 can slide relative to the receiving space so that its orthographic projection on the horizontal plane is located inside or outside the receiving space to avoid the clamp from taking and placing the wafer 1.

[0094] In this embodiment, four claw blocks 522 arranged in a rectangular shape are provided on the claw plate 5211. The four claw blocks 522 are located on the same plane and have the same curvature and meet the following conditions:

[0095]

[0096] Wherein, D is the diameter of the receiving space, d is the diameter of the wafer 1 to be received, x1 is the tolerance distance of the receiving space on the diameter, x2 is the horizontal offset distance of the wafer 1 in the original carrier, w1 is the width of the orthographic projection of the supporting surface 5222 on the horizontal plane, and w2 is the width of the orthographic projection of the limiting surface 5221 on the horizontal plane. By limiting the size of the claw block 522 and the receiving space formed by it, it is ensured that the wafer 1 can fall into the receiving space and will not fall from the receiving space.

[0097] Furthermore, x2≤x1≤1.5x2, so that the size of the accommodating space is more appropriate, avoiding the wafer clamp 520 from being too large, and preventing the subsequent push rod 523 from pushing the wafer 1 to move too long, causing excessive friction and damage to the wafer 1 on the supporting surface 5222.

[0098] To summarize, the present invention further clamps and limits the wafer in the receiving space between the push rod and the claw block by setting a limiting device, thereby preventing the wafer from shaking in the receiving space due to inertia or even falling out of the receiving space when the wafer clamp moves the wafer, thereby improving the safety of wafer transfer and facilitating increasing the wafer transfer speed.

[0099] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims be included in the invention. Any reference numeral in a claim should not be considered as limiting the claim to which it relates.

[0100] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer robot, characterized in that: include: The wafer clamp comprises a limiting device and at least one claw plate, at least two claw blocks are arranged on the claw plate, the claw block is stepped and comprises at least one group of mutually connected supporting surfaces and limiting surfaces to form at least one receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer, the supporting surface is used to support the wafer, the supporting surface is horizontally arranged, or the supporting surface is inclined relative to the horizontal plane toward the claw plate and the center of the receiving space, the limiting surface is used to limit the horizontal movement of the wafer, the limiting surface extends along the height direction of the claw block and toward the outside of the receiving space, and the minimum distance between two adjacent limiting surfaces of the same receiving space is less than the diameter of the wafer, the limiting device comprises a push rod and a driving mechanism, the driving mechanism is used to drive the push rod to move horizontally toward the receiving space, so that the edge of the wafer located in the receiving space is clamped between the push rod and the claw block; and A robot body, the wafer clamp is arranged on the robot body, and the robot body is used to drive the wafer clamp to translate and / or rotate; and, The claw plate is provided with four claw blocks arranged in a rectangular shape, the four claw blocks are located on the same plane, have the same curvature, and satisfy: Among them, D is the diameter of the receiving space, d is the diameter of the wafer to be received, x1 is the tolerance distance of the receiving space on the diameter, x2 is the horizontal offset distance of the wafer in the original carrier, w1 is the width of the direct projection of the supporting surface on the horizontal plane, and w2 is the width of the direct projection of the limiting surface on the horizontal plane.

2. The wafer transfer robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: It comprises two wafer clamps, and both of the two wafer clamps are arranged on the robot arm body.

3. The wafer transfer robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The two wafer clamps are symmetrically arranged on the robot arm body.

4. A wafer transfer method, characterized in that: Using the wafer transfer robot as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising the following steps: S100: when transferring a wafer in a state, controlling a wafer clamp to face toward the wafer to be transferred; S101 controls the push rod to move away from the receiving space; S102: controlling the claw plate to move to the bottom of the corresponding wafer; S103 controls the claw plate to move upward and lift the wafer; S104: Control the push rod to move toward the receiving space to push the wafer therein to move to one side, and the edge of the wafer is clamped between the push rod and the claw block; When transferring another wafer in another state, in S200 , another wafer clamp is controlled to face the wafer to be transferred, and steps S101 - S104 are repeated.

5. A wafer clamp, characterized in that: include: At least one claw plate, at least two claw blocks are arranged on the claw plate, the claw blocks are stepped and include at least one set of mutually connected supporting surfaces and limiting surfaces to form at least one receiving space for accommodating and supporting wafers, the supporting surface is used to support the wafer, the supporting surface is horizontally arranged, or the supporting surface is inclined relative to the horizontal plane toward the claw plate and the center of the receiving space, the limiting surface is used to limit the horizontal movement of the wafer, the limiting surface extends along the height direction of the claw block and toward the outside of the receiving space, and the minimum distance between two adjacent limiting surfaces of the same receiving space is less than the diameter of the wafer; A limiting device, the limiting device comprising a push rod and a driving mechanism, the driving mechanism being used to drive the push rod to move horizontally toward the receiving space so that the edge of the wafer located in the receiving space is clamped between the push rod and the claw block; and The claw plate is provided with four claw blocks arranged in a rectangular shape, the four claw blocks are located on the same plane, have the same curvature, and satisfy: Among them, D is the diameter of the receiving space, d is the diameter of the wafer to be received, x1 is the tolerance distance of the receiving space on the diameter, x2 is the horizontal offset distance of the wafer in the original carrier, w1 is the width of the direct projection of the supporting surface on the horizontal plane, and w2 is the width of the direct projection of the limiting surface on the horizontal plane.

6. The wafer chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that: The straight line where the moving path of the push rod is located coincides with any diameter of the receiving space.

7. The wafer chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that: The bottom diameter of the accommodating space is larger than the diameter of the wafer.

8. The wafer chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that: The claw plate is provided with a first avoidance hole for accommodating the push rod. The push rod is inserted into the first avoidance hole and moves in and out of the accommodating space along the length direction of the first avoidance hole under the drive of the driving mechanism.

9. The wafer chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that: It comprises a plurality of claw plates which are sequentially spaced and stacked.

10. The wafer chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that It comprises a plurality of claw plate modules which are sequentially stacked and spaced apart from each other. The claw plate module comprises a connecting seat and a plurality of claw plates connected to the connecting seat. The plurality of claw plates are sequentially stacked and spaced apart from each other along the height direction of the connecting seat.

11. The wafer chuck according to claim 10, characterized in that The relative heights of the plurality of claw plate modules are adjustable, and / or the relative heights of the plurality of claw plates in the same claw plate module are adjustable.

12. The wafer chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that: The limiting surface is an arc-shaped surface adapted to the circumference of the wafer.

13. The wafer chuck according to claim 5, characterized in that: Also includes: A sensor is used to detect whether the wafer is on the claw plate.

14. The wafer chuck according to claim 13, characterized in that: The transmitting end and the receiving end of the sensor are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the thickness direction of the claw plate, and a second avoidance hole is arranged on the claw plate corresponding to the detection station of the sensor.

15. The wafer chuck according to claim 13, characterized in that: The sensor can slide relative to the receiving space so that its orthographic projection on the horizontal plane is located inside or outside the receiving space.

16. The wafer clamp according to any one of claims 5 to 15, characterized in that: Also includes: A housing, wherein the limiting device is arranged in the housing, The claw plate comprises a supporting portion and a connecting portion, wherein the connecting portion is connected to the shell, the supporting portion is located outside the shell, and the claw block is arranged on the supporting portion.

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