Wafer transfer system and method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a wafer transfer system and method, wherein a wafer transfer system comprises: a wafer box pick-up and placement unit, the wafer box pick-up and placement unit comprises a loading platform 1, the loading platform 1 is used to receive and carry the wafer box; a box opening unit, the box opening unit comprises a wafer box switch and a clamping mechanism, the wafer box switch is used to carry and open and close the wafer box, the clamping mechanism is used to clamp and lift the wafer box located on the wafer box switch; a wafer box transfer manipulator, the wafer box transfer manipulator is used to transfer the wafer box between the wafer box pick-up and placement unit and the box opening unit. The present invention realizes the rapid opening and closing operation of the wafer box through the cooperation of the wafer box pick-up and placement unit, the box opening unit and the wafer box transfer manipulator, ensures the efficient operation of the wafer box transfer manipulator, and also provides multiple wafer box buffer temporary storage stations, thereby avoiding the blockage of the wafer box loading or unloading, and improving the system operation efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, wafers are generally transferred between different processes by being stored in wafer boxes (FOUP / cassette). Before the process processing equipment, the wafers need to be taken out of the wafer box and put into the processing area. Currently, there are problems in the wafer transfer process, such as low efficiency, cross-contamination of wafers before and after process processing, high wafer breakage rate, and unsatisfactory wafer position status.

[0003] For example, in US20050063799A1, the width extending along the x-axis direction, the height extending along the z-axis direction and the length extending along the y-axis direction are disclosed. The device includes a buffer zone, a wafer transmission system and a processing zone. The buffer zone is only a wafer box transfer robot 200 to transfer the front loading port and the wafer transmission system loading port of the wafer box, that is, the loading port is not fully utilized, and the wafer cannot be temporarily stored, and the wafer transfer efficiency is limited. In CN111783172A, a structural schematic diagram of a cleaning machine device is disclosed, including: a loading platform 2 (LoadPort), a wafer box docking assembly (PDO), a wafer box robot (FOUP Robot), a buffer zone (Stocker), a wafer robot (WTS), a process robot (Process Robot), a process tank (Tank), and a process robot cleaning tank. The same wafer robot is used to pick and place the wafer during the wafer transfer process, resulting in cross contamination of the wafer before and after the process treatment. At the same time, the wafer position state cannot be changed in batches, which affects the docking with the subsequent processing process area equipment.

[0004] 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

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a wafer transfer system to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is:

[0007] A wafer transfer system, comprising:

[0008] A wafer box pick-and-place unit, the wafer box pick-and-place unit comprising a loading platform 1, the loading platform 1 is used to receive and carry the wafer box;

[0009] A box opening unit, the box opening unit comprising a wafer box switch and a clamping mechanism, the wafer box switch is used to carry and open and close the wafer box, and the clamping mechanism is used to clamp and lift the wafer box located on the wafer box switch;

[0010] A wafer box transfer robot, the wafer box transfer robot is used to transfer the wafer box between the wafer box pick-and-place unit and the box opening unit;

[0011] Wherein, the clamping mechanism comprises:

[0012] Clamping mount;

[0013] A top claw disposed on the clamping mounting seat;

[0014] At least two lower claws are arranged opposite to each other, the lower claws are arranged along the circumference of the top claw, the lower claws include an inclined abutting surface for abutting against the bottom surface of the wafer box connector, and the lower claws gradually decrease in the direction close to the center of the top claw, and the minimum distance between the abutting surface and the plane where the top claw is located is adapted to the thickness of the connector; and

[0015] A second driving member is arranged on the clamping mounting seat, and the second driving member is used to drive at least two relatively arranged lower claws to move toward the center direction of the top claw, so as to clamp the connector at the top of the wafer box between the lower claws and the top claws.

[0016] Another technical solution is:

[0017] A wafer transfer method adopts the wafer transfer system described above and comprises the following steps:

[0018] When there is no wafer box on the wafer box switch, the S100 wafer box transfer robot places the wafer box to be operated on the wafer box switch;

[0019] S200: The clamping mechanism clamps the wafer box on which the operation is completed on the wafer box opener and lifts it away from the wafer box opener;

[0020] The S300 wafer box transfer robot transfers the wafer box located on the clamping mechanism to other locations when the wafer box opener and wafer transfer robot are operating.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] The present invention realizes rapid opening and closing operations of the wafer box through the cooperation of the wafer box picking and placing unit, the box opening unit and the wafer box transfer robot, ensures the efficient operation of the wafer box transfer robot, and also provides a plurality of wafer box buffer temporary storage stations, thereby avoiding the blockage of loading or unloading of the wafer box and improving the operation efficiency of the system; further, through the cooperation of the wafer transfer unit and the wafer flipping unit, it is possible to take the wafer out of the wafer box and flip the horizontal wafer to the vertical state, and batch wafer operation can be realized, thereby providing a basis for realizing efficient operation of wafer process processing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] 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.

[0024] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a front-opening wafer transfer box in the prior art;

[0025] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a front-opening wafer transfer box in the prior art from another angle;

[0026] Figure 3 It is a top view schematic diagram of a front-opening wafer transfer box in the prior art;

[0027] Figure 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a wafer transfer system of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a wafer transfer system of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 6 It is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of a loading platform 1 of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 7 It is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer box transfer robot 200 of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 8 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the box opening unit of the present invention in a use state;

[0032] Fig. 9 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the box opening unit of the present invention in a use state from another angle;

[0033] Fig.10 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the loading platform 2 and the box opening mechanism in the present invention;

[0034] Fig.11 for Fig.10 A partial top view schematic diagram of FIG.

[0035] Fig.12 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the clamping mechanism in the present invention;

[0036] Fig.13 for Fig.12 A partial front view schematic diagram of

[0037] Fig.14 for Fig.12 A partial bottom-up schematic diagram of

[0038] Fig.15 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the driving member in the present invention;

[0039] Fig.16 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the lower claw in the present invention;

[0040] Fig.17 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the top claw in the present invention;

[0041] Fig.18 is a schematic diagram of the clamping mechanism of the present invention in a use state;

[0042] Fig.19 is a schematic top view of a storage board in the present invention;

[0043] Fig. 20 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer transfer robot arm of the present invention.

[0044] Fig.21 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a wafer clamp of the present invention;

[0045] Fig. 22 is a schematic top view of a wafer clamp of the present invention;

[0046] Fig.23 It is a three-dimensional enlarged schematic diagram of the claw plate in the present invention;

[0047] Fig.24 It is a structural schematic diagram of the claw block in the present invention;

[0048] Fig.25 It is a structural schematic diagram of a wafer horizontal supporting device of the present invention;

[0049] Fig.26 It is a structural schematic diagram of a claw block in another embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Fig. 27 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the use state of a wafer transfer robot arm in one embodiment;

[0051] Fig.28 for Fig.23 Partial schematic diagram after removing the top plate and top wafer;

[0052] Fig.29 for Fig. 27 Explosion diagram of

[0053] Fig.30 for Fig. 27 Schematic diagram of the middle claw plate module;

[0054] Fig.31 for Fig. 27 A partial schematic diagram after the claw plate module is removed;

[0055] Fig.32 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the use state of a wafer transfer robot arm in another embodiment;

[0056] Fig.33 for Fig.32 Partial schematic diagram after removing the top plate and top wafer;

[0057] Fig.34 for Fig.32 Schematic diagram of a single claw plate and a driving mechanism of a part of a claw group;

[0058] Fig.35 for Fig.34 A side view schematic diagram of

[0059] Fig.36 for Fig.34 A partial structural diagram of

[0060] Fig.37 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer flipping device of the present invention;

[0061] Fig.38 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer flipping device of the present invention with part of the outer shell removed;

[0062] Fig.39 for Fig.38 A partial top view of a diagram;

[0063] 40(a)-(b) are schematic diagrams of the structures of the support comb columns in different embodiments of the wafer flipping device of the present invention;

[0064] Fig.41 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a supporting comb column in one embodiment of a wafer flipping device of the present invention;

[0065] Fig.42 A schematic diagram of a supporting comb column in another embodiment of the wafer flipping device of the present invention;

[0066] Fig.43 for Fig.42 A front view schematic diagram of

[0067] Fig.44 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a clamping comb column of a wafer flipping device of the present invention;

[0068] Fig.45 for Fig.44 A top view schematic diagram of

[0069] Fig.46 for Fig.44 A partial side view schematic diagram of

[0070] Fig.47 It is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer flipping device of the present invention;

[0071] Fig.48 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer carrying device of the present invention in a use state;

[0072] Fig.49 It is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer carrying device of the present invention;

[0073] Fig.50 for Fig.49 A front view schematic diagram of

[0074] Fig.51 It is a partial schematic diagram of the wafer carrying device of the present invention in a use state.

[0075] Figure 52 (a)-(b) are schematic diagrams of two wafer structures in the prior art;

[0076] Fig.53 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0077] Fig.54 It is a partial perspective schematic diagram of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0078] Fig.55 is a schematic top view of a wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0079] Fig.56 It is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0080] Fig.57 It is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0081] 58(a)-(g) are partial front views of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention in different embodiments;

[0082] Fig.59 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a position-limiting wafer comb of a wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0083] Fig.60is a perspective view of a limiting wafer comb of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0084] Fig.61 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the second limiting wafer comb of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0085] Fig.62 is a perspective view of a second limiting wafer comb of the wafer edge-finding device of the present invention;

[0086] Fig.63 It is a schematic structural diagram of a shielding plate driving mechanism of a wafer edge-finding device of the present invention.

[0087] Specifically, 1. wafer; 11. groove; 12. flat groove; 2. main control console; 3. wafer box; 31. box cover; 32. lock hole; 33. protruding edge; 34. connector; 35. notch;

[0088] 100, loading platform 1; 110, carrying plate 1; 111, avoidance groove 1; 120, cover plate; 130, abutment member 1; 131, cover shell; 132, unlocking button;

[0089] 200. Wafer box transfer robot;

[0090] 300, loading platform 2; 310, carrying plate 2; 311, avoidance groove 2; 312, positioning pin; 320, mounting back plate; 330, box opening plate; 331, unlocking assembly; 332, adsorption assembly; 340, abutment member 2;

[0091] 400, storage board; 410, avoidance slot three;

[0092] 500, wafer transfer robot; 510, robot body; 511, mounting platform 1; 512, mounting platform 2; 513, mounting platform 3; 514, drive mechanism 4; 520, wafer fixture; 521, claw plate module; 5211, claw plate; 52111, first avoidance hole; 52112, second avoidance hole; 52113, connecting part; 52114, supporting part; 52115, third avoidance hole; 5212, connecting seat; 52121, overlap Ear; 52122, n-layer support block; 52123, pressure plate; 522, claw block; 5221, limit surface; 5222, support surface; 523, claw group drive mechanism; 5231, drive member 1; 5232, transmission assembly; 5233, connector; 5234, mounting member; 524, push rod; 5241, push rod drive mechanism; 525, sensor; 526, claw plate mounting seat; 5261, support ear plate; 530, wafer horizontal support device;

[0093] 600, wafer flipping device; 610, support comb column; 611, rotating shaft; 612, connecting piece; 613, support plate; 614, driving motor; 615, pulley; 616, belt; 620, clamping comb column; 621, clamping plate; 6211, V-shaped groove; 6212, gap; 622, connecting rod; 6221, waist-shaped hole; 623, transmission piece; 624, limit block; 630, housing; 640, support seat; 650, fixing seat; 651, elastic piece; 652, abutment block;

[0094] 700, wafer carrying device; 710, carrying mounting seat; 720, driving mechanism 1; 730, carrying platform; 731, carrying wafer comb; 740, driving mechanism 2;

[0095] 800, wafer edge-finding device; 810, shell; 811, entrance and exit; 820, baffle plate; 821, baffle plate cylinder; 822, guide rail 2; 823, connecting plate; 830, transfer mechanism; 831, transfer wafer comb; 840, limit mechanism 2; 841, limit wafer comb 2; 8411, limit slot 2; 850, rotation drive mechanism; 851, active roller; 852, driven roller; 853, active roller belt; 854, motor; 855, tensioner; 860, limit mechanism 1; 861, limit wafer comb 1; 8611, cavity; 8612, limit slot 1; 862, blocking rod; 8621, contact surface; 870, reinforcement block;

[0096] 900, temporary storage device; 910, clamping mechanism; 911, clamping mounting seat; 912, top claw; 913, lower claw; 9131, abutment surface; 914, driving member 2; 9141, slider; 915, touch pressure sensor; 9151, mounting groove; 920, lifting mechanism; 921, guide rail 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0097] 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.

[0098] 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.

[0099] 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.

[0100] like Figures 1 to 3 The figure shows a commonly used wafer box 3, namely a front opening unified pod (FOUP). The top of the wafer box 3 is provided with a connector 34, the box cover 31 is provided with two locking holes 32, and the opening edge and the bottom edge are provided with protruding edges 33.

[0101] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the wafer transfer system includes a wafer box pick-and-place unit, a wafer box transfer robot 200, a box opening unit, a wafer transfer unit, a wafer flipping unit, a wafer edge-finding unit and a control unit, which are arranged in sequence, and is preferably connected to the FFU system to provide a clean environment for the wafer 1.

[0102] Specifically, the wafer box taking and placing unit, the box opening unit, the wafer transfer unit, the wafer flipping unit, the wafer edge finding unit and the control unit are located in the main shell, and the interior of the main shell is divided into multiple areas by partitions to respectively place the above units.

[0103] The control unit is used to control the operations of the wafer box pick-and-place unit, the box opening unit, the wafer transfer unit, the wafer flip unit, the wafer carrying unit, and the wafer edge finding unit and control the wafer transfer process. The control unit includes a main control console 2 arranged outside the main housing for easy operation.

[0104] like Figure 4 As shown, the wafer box pick-and-place unit includes a loading platform 100 (LoadPort 1) to provide a loading and unloading position for the wafer box 3. The loading platform 100 can be docked with a fully automatic overhead rail transport system (OHT), an automatic guided vehicle (AGV), a personal guided vehicle (PGV) or any other appropriate transportation equipment to achieve automatic loading and unloading. Manual loading and unloading can also be used. To prevent accidental collision, the wafer box pick-and-place unit includes a grating or other warning device. Further, the loading platform 100 includes a locking mechanism to lock the wafer box 3 placed thereon. Multiple loading platforms 100 can be provided to increase the loading and unloading rate and avoid traffic congestion caused by the transfer of the wafer box 3.

[0105] Specifically, Figure 6 As shown, a carrier plate 110 and a carrier plate driving mechanism are provided on the loading platform 100. The carrier plate 110 is used to place the wafer box 3. A positioning hole or a positioning block is provided at the bottom of the wafer box 3, and a positioning pin 312 is provided on the carrier plate 110 to match the positioning hole or the positioning block of the base of the wafer box 3. The positioning hole or the positioning block is adapted to the positioning pin 312 to limit the horizontal movement of the wafer box 3. In general, the wafer box 3 located on the carrier plate 110 is transferred to the carrier plate 2 310 by the wafer box transfer robot 200. Preferably, the carrier plate 110 is provided with an avoidance groove 111 toward the box opening unit, and the avoidance groove 111 opens toward the box opening unit. The avoidance groove 111 is used to provide an operating space for the wafer box transfer robot 200, specifically for the wafer box transfer robot 200 to enter and support and transfer the wafer box 3 from the bottom of the wafer box 3.

[0106] A cover mechanism is provided on one side of the carrier plate 110 facing the box opening unit to separate the wafer box pick-up and placement unit and the box opening unit. The cover mechanism includes a movable cover 120, which moves to allow the wafer box transfer robot 200 to smoothly perform operations and pick up and place the wafer box 3 on the loading platform 100.

[0107] The carrier plate 110 is also connected to a carrier plate driving mechanism, which is configured to drive the carrier plate 110 to move in at least one direction. Preferably, the carrier plate driving mechanism cooperates with the fully automatic aerial track transmission system, and the carrier plate 110 is driven by the carrier plate driving mechanism to move in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the overhead transport vehicle, so as to accurately cooperate with the fully automatic aerial track transmission system to dock the carrier wafer box 3.

[0108] The loading platform 100 may also be provided with a locking mechanism, which is located on both sides of the carrier plate 110 to lock the wafer box 3 on the carrier plate 110. Specifically, the locking mechanism may include at least one rotatable abutment member 130, which is rotated to the upper edge of the base of the wafer box 3 by the abutment member 130, thereby limiting the vertical movement of the wafer box 3. The abutment member 130 is preferably arranged in a semi-enclosed cover 131 to prevent accidental contact, and the cover 131 opens toward the carrier plate 110 to avoid the operation of the abutment member 130. When the wafer box 3 is placed on the carrier plate 110, the locking mechanism immediately operates to perform the locking operation, and when receiving the unlocking instruction, the locking mechanism performs the unlocking operation, which is generally from the automation control end. Of course, the locking mechanism may also include an unlocking button 132 to manually control the abutment member 130 to rotate away from the wafer box 3 to unlock. The unlocking button 132 may be arranged on the loading platform 100.

[0109] The wafer box 3 is provided with an identification mark, and the loading platform 100 may also be provided with a scanner to identify the information of the wafer box 3, and specifically, wireless radio frequency identification technology or code scanning identification technology may be adopted.

[0110] like Figure 7 As shown, the wafer box transfer robot 200 is preferably a 3-axis robot or a 4-axis robot, and its hand is in a shape that matches the bottom of the wafer box 3, and is provided with a positioning pin 312 that matches the bottom of the wafer box 3. In this embodiment, the hand is a triangle, and each of its top corners is provided with a positioning pin 312. The wafer box 3 is lifted and transferred from the loading platform 1 100 to the loading platform 2 300 or other positions by the wafer box transfer robot 200.

[0111] like Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, the box opening unit includes a wafer box switch and a temporary storage device 900. The temporary storage device 900 is used to lift the empty box or full box on the wafer box switch, shortening the idle time of the wafer box switch, thereby speeding up the wafer box 3 conversion process.

[0112] Specifically, Fig.10 and Fig.11 As shown, the wafer box opener includes a loading platform 2 300 (LoadPort 2) and a port door opener (PDO). The loading platform 2 300 is used to carry the wafer box 3. The port door opener is arranged on the side of the loading platform 2 300 and is used to open and close the wafer box 3.

[0113] The loading platform 2 300 is provided with a carrier plate 2 310 and a carrier plate 2 driving mechanism. The carrier plate 2 310 is used to carry the wafer box 3, and the wafer box 3 is transferred to the carrier plate 2 310 by the wafer box transfer robot 200. Preferably, the carrier plate 2 310 is provided with an avoidance groove 2 311. The avoidance groove 2 311 extends inward from the side of the carrier plate 2 310 facing away from the box mechanism, and the avoidance groove 2 311 runs through the thickness direction of the carrier plate 2 310, that is, the avoidance groove 2 311 opens away from the box mechanism and faces the wafer box transfer robot 200, so that the wafer box transfer robot 200 can lift the wafer box 3 and place the wafer box 3 on the carrier plate 2 310. In the present embodiment, the carrier plate 2 310 is set as a U-shaped plate, and the avoidance groove 2 311 is formed inside the two arms of the U-shaped plate. Of course, plates of other shapes can also be used to meet the above requirements. The second carrier plate 310 is provided with a positioning pin 312 that matches the positioning groove at the bottom of the wafer box 3 to prevent the wafer box 3 placed thereon from moving horizontally. The second carrier plate 310 may also be provided with a sensor to complete the position or state detection of the second carrier plate 310 or the wafer box 3, such as whether the wafer box 3 is placed, whether the second carrier plate 310 is moved to a specified position, etc.

[0114] The second carrier plate driving mechanism is used to drive the second carrier plate 310 to be located at the box opening position to be close to the box opening mechanism, or to be located at the avoidance position to be away from the box opening mechanism, that is, the second carrier plate driving mechanism is configured to drive the second carrier plate 310 to be close to or away from the box opening mechanism so that the wafer box 3 can dock with the box opening mechanism in a set state to realize the door opening and closing operation. In this embodiment, the second carrier plate driving mechanism is arranged in a housing below the second carrier plate 310, and the housing has a shape similar to that of the second carrier plate 310 to avoid the wafer box transfer robot 200.

[0115] In this embodiment, a mounting back plate 320 is provided between the loading platform 2 300 and the box opening mechanism, and an opening is provided on the mounting back plate 320 so that the wafer transfer robot 500 can extend into the wafer box 3 to take and place the wafers. The box opening mechanism is provided on the mounting back plate 320, and the box cover 31 of the wafer box 3 located on the carrier plate 2 310 is opened by the box opening mechanism. The box opening mechanism may also include a mapping sensor and a mapping drive component. After the box is opened, the mapping drive component drives the mapping sensor to enter the wafer box 3 and scan the wafers inside it in the vertical direction to detect the internal wafer conditions.

[0116] The box opening mechanism is selected according to the type of wafer box 3 so that the wafer box 3 can be opened smoothly to expose the wafer inside. Generally speaking, the box opening mechanism specifically includes a box opening plate 330, an unlocking component 331, an adsorption component 332 and a driving component. The box opening plate 330 matches the opening of the mounting back plate 320 to cover the opening, the unlocking component 331 and the adsorption component 332 are arranged on the side of the box opening plate 330 facing the opening to realize the door opening operation of the wafer box 3, the adsorption component 332 adsorbs the cover 31 of the wafer box 3, and the unlocking component 331 cooperates with the lock hole 32 on the cover 31 of the wafer box 3 to unlock. After the unlocking is completed, the box opening plate 330 drives the cover 31 of the wafer box 3 to move a distance away from the wafer box 3 and then move down under the drive of the driving component. It can be understood that the closing process can be operated in the opposite way to the opening process.

[0117] The opening mechanism is preferably provided with a locking assembly on one side of the loading platform 2 300, and the locking assembly is arranged opposite to the carrier plate 2 310, so as to limit the vertical movement of the wafer box 3 through the cooperation of the two, and also to prevent the carrier plate 2 310 from moving backward by mistake when the opening mechanism is in operation, causing the wafer box 3 to be far away from the opening mechanism. Fig.10 As shown, the locking assembly includes at least one rotatable abutment member 340 2, which is matched with the wafer box 3 so as to be rotatably abutted against the protruding edge 33 of the opening side of the wafer box 3 when the wafer box 3 is located at the open box position.

[0118] like Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, the temporary storage device 900 in the system is arranged near the second loading platform 300, and is used to lift the wafer box 3 located on the second loading platform 300 to the temporary storage position. The temporary storage device 900 includes a clamping mechanism 910 for clamping the connector 34 at the top of the wafer box 3 and a lifting mechanism 920 for driving the clamping mechanism 910 to rise and fall, and the lifting mechanism 920 is used to drive the clamping mechanism 910 to move between the second loading platform 300 and the temporary storage position. Preferably, the clamping mechanism 910 is located directly above the avoidance position, so as to facilitate the rapid lifting of the wafer box 3.

[0119] The system may also include multiple Fig.19 The storage plate 400 and the wafer box transfer robot 200 are shown. The wafer box transfer robot 200 is used to transfer the wafer box located on the temporary storage device 900 to the storage plate 400.

[0120] like Fig.19As shown, preferably, the storage plate 400 is provided with a third avoidance groove 410, which extends inward from the free side of the storage plate 400 and runs through the thickness direction of the storage plate 400, so as to facilitate the wafer box transfer robot 200 to lift the wafer box 3 from below for transfer operation. Similarly, the storage plate 400 is provided with a positioning pin 312 adapted to the positioning groove at the bottom of the wafer box 3 to prevent the wafer box 3 from moving horizontally.

[0121] The clamping mechanism 910 used in this system is as follows Figures 12 to 18 As shown, a connector 34 is used to clamp the top of the wafer box 3.

[0122] like Fig.12 As shown, the clamping mechanism 910 includes a clamping mounting seat 911, a top claw 912 and a lower claw 913, so that the top claw 912 and the lower claw 913 cooperate to achieve stable clamping of the connector 34, thereby clamping the wafer box 3. Specifically, the top claw 912 is arranged on the clamping mounting seat 911, and faces downward to abut against the top surface of the connector 34. The lower claw 913 is arranged circumferentially along the top claw 912, and at least two lower claws 913 are arranged oppositely to stably clamp the opposite sides of the connector 34. The clamping mounting seat 911 is also provided with a second driving member 914, which is used to drive at least two oppositely arranged lower claws 913 to move toward the center direction of the top claw 912 to clamp the connector 34 between the lower claw 913 and the top claw 912.

[0123] like Fig.13 and Fig.16 As shown, the lower claw 913 includes abutting surface 9131 for abutting against the bottom surface of the connector 34. The abutting surface 9131 is an inclined surface, and it gradually decreases in the direction close to the center of the top claw 912, that is, the side of the abutting surface 9131 close to the top claw 912 is lower than the side away from the top claw 912. Through this arrangement, when the lower claw 913 moves toward the top claw 912, the connector 34 is gradually lifted by the abutting surface 9131 until it abuts against the top claw 912, thereby achieving progressive clamping of the connector 34, avoiding direct insertion into the bottom of the connector 34 and causing damage to the connector 34, and also ensuring that the connector 34 is tightly clamped between the top claw 912 and the lower claw 913, avoiding a gap between the connector 34 and the top claw 912. Preferably, the minimum distance between the abutment surface 9131 and the plane where the top claw 912 is located is adapted to the thickness of the connecting head 34, so that the connecting head 34 contacts the side wall of the lower claw 913, thereby not only restricting the connecting head 34 between the top claw 912 and the lower claw 913, but also restricting the connecting head 34 between the side walls of the two opposite lower claws 913, avoiding restricting the connecting head 34 only by the cooperation between the abutment surface 9131 and the top claw 912, causing serious wear of the abutment surface 9131.

[0124] like Fig.15As shown, preferably, the second driving member 914 is a slide rail type parallel mechanical claw, and the two sliders 9141 of the second driving member 914 are respectively connected to the two lower claws 913 arranged opposite to each other. The slide rail type parallel mechanical claw is small in size, has its own linear guide, and has precise moving direction. At the same time, the pistons on both sides of it are synchronously moved, and the clamping force is greater than other mechanical clamps with the same cylinder diameter. The slide rail type parallel mechanical claw also contains an induction magnet, which can be conveniently set up with a sensor for precise control.

[0125] like Fig.13 and Fig.14 As shown, preferably, a touch pressure sensor 915 adapted to the notch 35 of the connector 34 is provided on the lower claw 913 and / or the top claw 912 to determine whether the connector 34 is clamped. In this embodiment, the clamping mechanism is provided with two lower claws 913 arranged opposite to each other, and a total of four touch pressure sensors 915 are provided to correspond to the four notches 35 of the connector 34. Two of the four touch pressure sensors 915 are respectively provided on the two lower claws 913, and the other two are respectively provided at both ends of the top claw 912.

[0126] The pressure sensor 915 on the top claw 912 is disposed at one end of the top claw 912 facing the connector 34, and the pressure sensor 915 protrudes from the surface of the top claw 912 by a distance a, so as to be embedded in the recess 35 and contact the inner wall thereof. Furthermore, the height of the abutting surface 9131 is b, and a=b, so that when the connector 34 contacts the surface of the top claw 912, the pressure sensor 915 is embedded in the recess 35 and triggered.

[0127] like Fig.16 As shown, the touch pressure sensor 915 on the lower claw 913 is arranged on the inner side of the lower claw 913 and is located above the abutting surface 9131 to face the notch 35 of the connector 34. At the same time, the trigger end of the touch pressure sensor 915 is located at the same horizontal plane as the high side of the abutting surface 9131, so that when the connector 34 is tightly clamped between the top claw 912 and the lower claw 913, the four touch pressure sensors 915 are triggered at the same time.

[0128] Preferably, a mounting groove 9151 for accommodating the touch pressure sensor 915 is provided on the lower claw 913 and / or the top claw 912, so that the surface of the lower claw 913 and the surface of the top claw 912 can contact the surface of the connector 34, and the connector 34 can be tightly clamped by the lower claw 913 and the top claw 912 to prevent the touch pressure sensor 915 from being over-extruded and damaged. Furthermore, the size of the mounting groove 9151 is larger than the size of the touch pressure sensor 915, so that the touch pressure sensor 915 can adjust its position in the mounting groove 9151, thereby adapting to connectors 34 of different sizes.

[0129] Preferably, the clamping mechanism 910 further comprises an outer cover plate arranged outside the clamping mounting seat 911, so as to cover all the internal components and prevent the particle contamination generated by the back and forth movement of the driving member 2 914 from leaking out.

[0130] The lifting mechanism 920 includes a vertically arranged guide rail 1 921, and the clamping mechanism 910 is lifted and lowered along the guide rail 1 921, so that the clamping mechanism 910 can be arranged directly above the loading platform 2 300 to improve space utilization. A counterweight can also be arranged on one side of the lifting mechanism 920 to achieve stable lifting of the wafer box 3. Furthermore, the positioning accuracy of the lifting mechanism 920 is not less than 0.01 mm.

[0131] When transferring wafers using this system, the following steps can be used:

[0132] When there is no wafer box on the wafer box switch, the wafer box transfer robot 200 places the wafer box to be operated on the wafer box switch;

[0133] The S200 clamping mechanism clamps and lifts the wafer box on the wafer box opener and away from the wafer box opener, that is, lifts it to a temporary storage position;

[0134] S300 The wafer box transfer robot 200 transfers the wafer box located at the temporary storage position to another position when the wafer box switch is operating and the wafer transfer robot arm 500 is operating, that is, takes away the wafer box 3 on the clamping mechanism.

[0135] For example, when the system is loading, when the wafer transfer robot arm of the process equipment moves the wafer out of the wafer box 3 and continues to move the wafer into the process equipment, the carrier plate 2 310 retreats from the box opening position to the avoidance position, and the temporary storage device 900 vertically lifts the empty box (that is, the wafer box 3 on the wafer box switch that has completed the operation during loading) by clamping the connector 34 above the wafer box 3, and gives up the carrier plate 2 310 to allow the wafer box transfer robot 200 with a full box to immediately place the full box (that is, the wafer box 3 to be operated during loading) on ​​the carrier plate 2 310, and the carrier plate 2 310 is moved to the box opening position. While the box opening mechanism is opening the box and the wafer transfer robot arm is performing the wafer transfer action, the wafer box transfer robot 200 can transfer the empty box above the loading platform 2 300 from the temporary storage device 900 to other positions, which can be the storage board 400 or other wafer box storage positions. That is, the system allows the wafer box transfer robot 200 to synchronously move the full box from the storage position to the carrier plate 2 310 to wait while the process equipment transfers the wafer, first placing the full box and then taking the empty box, which effectively shortens the loading and unloading time of the wafer box 3. It can be understood that when unloading, the temporary storage device 900 temporarily stores the full box.

[0136] The wafer transfer system also includes a wafer transfer unit, which is used to transfer the wafer in a horizontal state between the box opening unit and the wafer flipping unit.

[0137] In this embodiment, the wafer transfer unit includes a wafer transfer robot arm 500 , which reaches into the wafer box 3 opened by the box opening mechanism and takes out the wafer 1 from the wafer box 3 , or puts the wafer 1 into the wafer box 3 .

[0138] More specifically, in one embodiment, if Fig. 20 As shown, the wafer transfer robot 500 includes a wafer clamp 520 and a robot body 510, wherein the wafer clamp 520 is disposed on the robot body 510, and the robot body 510 is used to drive the wafer clamp 520 to translate and / or rotate. More specifically, in this embodiment, preferably, the wafer transfer robot 500 includes two wafer clamps 520, and the two wafer clamps 520 are both disposed on the robot body 510 to respectively support wafers 1 in different states, thereby avoiding cross contamination of wafers 1 in different states. Furthermore, the two wafer clamps 520 are symmetrically disposed on the robot body 510, so that the wafers 1 in different states can be controlled by rotating 180°, which is convenient for operation.

[0139] Specifically, the robot body 510 includes a mounting platform 1 511, a mounting platform 2 512, and a mounting platform 3 513. A driving mechanism 1 is provided in the mounting platform 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 located thereon with the wafer 1 to be accommodated. A driving mechanism 2 is provided in the mounting platform 2 512, and the driving mechanism 2 is connected to the mounting platform 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 platform 3 513, and the driving mechanism 3 is connected to the mounting platform 2 512 to drive it to move up and down, so as to realize that the wafer clamp 520 lifts the wafer 1 upward and separates it from the original carrier. Further, the robot body 510 also includes a driving mechanism 4 514, and the driving mechanism 4 514 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 four 514 is perpendicular to the moving path of the robot body 510 driven by the driving mechanism two, thereby saving horizontal space.

[0140] The method of transferring the wafer 1 using the wafer transfer robot 500 comprises the following steps:

[0141] When transferring a wafer 1 in a state, S100 controls a wafer clamp 520 to face the wafer 1 to be transferred;

[0142] S101 controls the push rod 524 to move away from the receiving space;

[0143] S102 controls the claw plate 5211 to move to the bottom of the corresponding wafer 1;

[0144] S103 controls the claw plate 5211 to move upward and lift the wafer 1;

[0145] S104: Control the push rod 524 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 524 and the claw block;

[0146] 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.

[0147] like Fig.21 and Fig. 22 As shown, the wafer clamp 520 in this embodiment includes a limiting device and at least one claw plate 5211. The limiting device further clamps the wafer 1 located in the receiving space and limits it between the push rod 524 and the claw block 522, thereby preventing the wafer 1 from shaking in the receiving space due to inertia or even escaping from the receiving space when the wafer clamp 520 moves the wafer 1, thereby improving the safety of the transfer of the wafer 1, and is conducive to increasing the transfer speed of the wafer 1, thereby improving the overall wafer 1 processing efficiency.

[0148] 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, Fig. 22 The range enclosed by the middle dotted circle.

[0149] like Fig.21 As shown, the limiting device includes a push rod 524 and a push rod driving mechanism 5241, and the push rod driving mechanism 5241 is used to drive the push rod 524 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 524 and the claw block 522. Preferably, the push rod 524 moves horizontally toward the receiving space. Furthermore, the straight line where the moving path of the push rod 524 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. The push rod driving mechanism 5241 is preferably a cylinder, and the push rod 524 is controlled to move forward or backward by the cylinder. Furthermore, a cylinder is provided at both ends of the push rod 524 to improve the stability of the movement of the push rod 524.

[0150] Of course, the clamp may further include a claw plate mounting seat 526, and the limiting device is disposed in the claw plate mounting seat 526. Fig.23 As shown, the claw plate 5211 includes a supporting portion 52114 and a connecting portion 52113 . The connecting portion 52113 is connected to the claw plate mounting seat 526 . The supporting portion 52114 is located outside the claw plate mounting seat 526 , and the claw block 522 is disposed on the supporting portion 52114 .

[0151] In this embodiment, a third avoidance hole 52115 for accommodating the push rod 524 is opened on the claw plate 5211. The push rod 524 is inserted into the third avoidance hole 52115 and enters and exits the accommodating space along the length direction of the third avoidance hole 52115 under the drive of the push rod driving mechanism 5241, so as to save space and facilitate the supporting operation of the claw plate 5211.

[0152] like Fig.23 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.

[0153] like Fig.24 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.

[0154] 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. Fig.24 (a) and Fig.24 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. Fig.24 (c) and Fig.24 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.

[0155] 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 524 can be more flexible, thereby preventing the push rod 524 from completely pushing the wafer 1 out of the receiving space.

[0156] The supporting surface 5222 can be set horizontally to stably support the wafer 1. Fig.24As 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, and at this time, the supporting surface 5222 is a curved surface adapted to the circumference of the wafer 1.

[0157] like Fig.24 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.

[0158] Of course, if Fig.24 As 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 also guide the wafer 1 to slide toward the supporting surface 5222, 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 524 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.

[0159] 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 524 and the limiting surface 5221 .

[0160] 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.

[0161] Generally speaking, the wafer clamp 520 is provided with 25 claw plates 5211 to correspond to the 25 wafers 1 in the 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.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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 wafer clamp 520 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 circumferential diameter formed by the connection between the multiple supporting surfaces 5222 and the limiting surface 5221.

[0164] 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 524 so that they are located on the same axis, which is beneficial to subsequent process processing.

[0165] like Fig. 22 As shown, the wafer clamp 520 also includes a sensor 525 to detect whether there is a wafer 1 on the claw plate 5211. Specifically, the transmitting end and the receiving end of the sensor 525 are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the thickness direction of the claw plate 5211, and a first avoidance hole 52111 is arranged on the claw plate 5211 corresponding to the detection station of the sensor 525. The first avoidance hole 52111 can be arranged to overlap with the third avoidance hole 52115. Further, the sensor 525 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.

[0166] 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:

[0167]

[0168] Wherein, D is the diameter of the receiving space, d is the diameter of the wafer 1 to be received, and x 1 is the tolerance distance of the receiving space on the diameter, x 2 is the horizontal offset distance of wafer 1 in the original carrier, w 1 is the width of the orthographic projection of the supporting surface 5222 on the horizontal plane, w 2It 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.

[0169] Furthermore, x 2 ≤x 1 ≤1.5x 2 , thereby making the size of the accommodation space more appropriate, avoiding the wafer clamp 520 being too large, and preventing the subsequent push rod 524 from pushing the wafer 1 to move too long, causing excessive friction and damage to the wafer 1 on the supporting surface 5222.

[0170] The wafer clamp 520 preferably includes a plurality of claw plates 5211 stacked in sequence and spaced apart, and can be stacked layer by layer in a conventional manner. More preferably, a plurality of claw plate modules 521 stacked in sequence and spaced apart are used (see below for details) to facilitate disassembly, assembly and adjustment.

[0171] In another embodiment, the wafer transfer robot 500 includes a wafer horizontal support device 530 and a robot body 510. The wafer horizontal support device 530 is also arranged on the robot body 510 like the wafer clamp 520 in the previous embodiment. The robot body 510 is used to drive the wafer horizontal support device 530 to translate and / or rotate, thereby transferring the wafer 1 between different carriers and workstations.

[0172] The difference between the wafer horizontal supporting device 530 and the wafer clamp 520 is that the claw block 522 in the wafer horizontal supporting device 530 can form at least two accommodating spaces to distinguish wafers 1 in different carrying states. Therefore, the wafer transfer robot 500 only needs to be equipped with one wafer horizontal supporting device 530, while in the previous embodiment, the wafer transfer robot 500 needs to be equipped with two wafer clamps 520, so that the wafer transfer robot 500 in this embodiment occupies less space.

[0173] Specifically, Fig.25 As shown, the wafer horizontal supporting device 530 includes a claw group driving mechanism 523 and at least one claw plate 5211. Two claw groups are arranged on the claw plate 5211, and both claw groups include at least one claw block 522 to form a receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer 1. The claw group driving mechanism 523 is connected to at least one claw group, and is used to drive a claw group to move, so as to adjust the receiving space to match the wafer to be received, and the diameter of the receiving space can be changed by the claw group driving mechanism 523, so as to realize a variety of receiving spaces, and thus suitable for wafers 1 of different states or sizes.

[0174] like Fig.26As shown, the claw block 522 is stepped and includes at least two supporting surfaces 5222 along its height direction, thereby forming at least two receiving spaces to distinguish wafers 1 in different states. Specifically, the corresponding supporting surfaces 5222 in the two claw groups are at the same height relative to the claw plate 5211 to support the wafer 1. Preferably, a limiting surface 5221 is provided on the side of the supporting surface 5222 away from the claw plate, and the limiting surface 5221 faces the center of the receiving space to limit the deviation of the wafer 1 located on the corresponding supporting surface 5222. That is, the limiting surface 5221 and the supporting surface 5222 intersect, the supporting surface 5222 is used to carry the wafer 1, and the limiting surface 5221 is used to limit the circumferential direction of the wafer 1 to prevent it from excessive horizontal movement. And the specific structure of the supporting surface 5222 and the limiting surface 5221 in this embodiment can be the same as the supporting surface 5222 and the limiting surface 5221 in the wafer clamp 520 in the previous embodiment.

[0175] In this embodiment, the claw block 522 is a two-layer stepped structure, including an upper group and a lower group, that is, two receiving spaces are formed, and the wafer 1 in the wafer box can be taken out by docking the corresponding supporting surface 5222 in the upper group or the lower group with the wafer box. Specifically, a claw block 522 group can be driven by the claw group driving mechanism 523 to move along the disk surface (i.e., horizontal direction) of the claw plate 5211 so that the upper group or the lower group forms an appropriate receiving space to accommodate the wafer 1. The upper group and the lower group can form a receiving space of the same diameter to accommodate wafers 1 of the same size, and the upper group and the lower group can respectively carry the wafers 1 before and after the processing process. Of course, the upper group and the lower group can also form receiving spaces of different diameters to accommodate wafers 1 of different sizes.

[0176] In this embodiment, Figures 27 to 31 As shown, the wafer horizontal support device 530 includes a plurality of claw plates 5211, and the plurality of claw plates 5211 are sequentially stacked and arranged at intervals, so as to be able to carry wafers 1 in batches at one time. Generally speaking, the device is provided with 25 claw plates 5211 to correspond to 25 wafers 1 in the wafer box, and take them out at one time. Of course, it is not limited to this, and the device may include only one claw plate 5211, or more or less than 25 claw plates 5211.

[0177] Generally speaking, the claw group driving mechanism 523 is used to drive one claw group to translate or rotate relative to the other claw group along the surface of the claw plate 5211 to form a receiving space. More specifically, the two claw groups are a fixed claw group and a movable claw group that are concentrically arranged, and the arc length formed by the movable claw group is greater than the arc length formed by the fixed claw group, so that when the wafer 1 is subsequently pushed, the force on the wafer 1 is dispersed, and the movement of the wafer 1 is more stable. The fixed claw group is fixedly arranged on the claw plate 5211, and the movable claw group is connected to the claw group driving mechanism 523, and is driven by it to translate toward the fixed claw group to form a receiving space.

[0178] In this embodiment, the two claw groups of the wafer horizontal support device 530 each include two claw blocks 522, and the two claw groups are arranged in parallel. However, it is not limited thereto, and the two claw groups may each include one claw block 522, and the two claw blocks 522 are arranged along the straight line where the diameter of the wafer 1 is located; or the two claw groups include at least three claw blocks 522 in total. It is sufficient to ensure that the center of gravity of the wafer 1 falls within the closed figure formed by the two claw groups, thereby ensuring stable support of the wafer 1.

[0179] like Fig.29 As shown, in this embodiment, the plurality of claw plates 5211 of the wafer horizontal support device 530 are assembled by modules, specifically, they are composed of a plurality of claw plate modules 521 which are sequentially stacked and spaced apart. Fig.30 As shown, 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 along the height direction of the connecting seat 5212. Specifically, five claw plate modules 521 are provided in the present embodiment, and each claw plate module 521 includes five claw plates 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. It is understandable that the wafer clamp 520 can adopt the same claw plate module 521 structure.

[0180] 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.

[0181] Specifically, Fig.31 As shown, the inner side of the wafer horizontal support device 530, that is, the claw plate mounting seat 526, is provided with a plurality of support ear plates 5261 along the height direction to install the corresponding modules. The spacing between the support ear plates 5261 is adjusted according to the height of each group of modules to ensure that after each group of modules is installed, there is still a small amount of adjustment space for adjusting the horizontality of the entire group. Each layer of the support ear plates 5261 is provided with screw holes for fixing and steel sheets for top screws, which are respectively used to fix and adjust each group of modules. Each module is installed independently, and can be independently adjusted in terms of height and horizontality. If one of the claw plates 5211 needs to be replaced, it is only necessary to replace the module including the claw plate 5211, which solves the cumbersome operation of disassembling and assembling the traditional claw plates 5211 layer by layer when replacing them. During the specific installation, such as Fig.30As shown, each module group is composed of n claw plates 5211, a layer of support blocks, a second layer of support blocks, a third layer of support blocks, ..., n layers of support blocks 52122, and a pressing plate 52123. First, install a claw plate 5211 on a layer of support blocks, and then install the second layer of support blocks, adjust the height and level of the claw plate 5211, and then 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 of this layer, and then 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 pressing plate 52123 on top of them to tighten 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 remaining groups of claw plates 5211. Install a group of claw plates 5211 on the vertical plate, let the corresponding overlapping ears 52121 of the top support block or other layers of support blocks overlap with the support ear plate 5261, and align the mounting holes. Measure the height of the claw plates 5211 at different positions of the group, and adjust the top screws on the top support block according to the height difference until the height of each point is consistent and the screws are tightened after the requirements are met. At this time, it is necessary to continue to monitor the height of the claw plates 5211 at different positions of the group. 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 required, 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.

[0182] like Fig.29 The claw group driving mechanism 523 includes a driving member 5231, a transmission assembly 5232 connected to the driving member 5231, a connecting member 5233 connected to the transmission assembly 5232, and a mounting member 5234 connected to the connecting member 5233 and used for mounting any claw group.

[0183] In this embodiment, the claw group driving mechanism 523 may include a mounting member 5234, and the corresponding claw groups of the plurality of claw plates 5211 are all connected to the mounting member 5234. Fig.31 As shown, the mounting member 5234 is similar to a rectangular frame structure, and the claw assembly is installed on the side of the mounting member 5234.

[0184] Preferably, the transmission assembly 5232 is a small lead screw transmission assembly 5232, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the drive. Further, the driving member 5231 is a motor with an absolute encoder, thereby further improving the accuracy of the drive, making the moving distance of the claw group more small and accurate.

[0185] like Figure 33 to Figure 35 As shown, the claw group driving mechanism 523 includes a plurality of mounting members 5234, and the corresponding claw groups of the plurality of claw plates 5211 are respectively connected to the corresponding mounting members 5234, that is, an alternately stacked installation method of a layer of claw plates 5211 and a layer of mounting members 5234 is adopted during installation. Fig.34 and Fig.35 As shown, in order to save space, the tail of the mounting member 5234 passes through the claw plate 5211 to connect with the mounting member 5234 below, and a second avoidance hole 52112 is provided at the corresponding position of the claw plate 5211 for the mounting member 5234 to pass through and move in the second avoidance hole 52112 to drive the claw group to move.

[0186] Preferably, if Fig.36 As shown, taking the bottom supporting surface 5222 supporting wafer 1 as an example, to ensure that wafer 1 can be taken, preferably, the bottom diameter of the receiving space, that is, the diameter of the maximum circumference a formed by the edge of the bottom supporting surface 5222, is greater than the diameter of wafer 1. The claw group driving mechanism 523 is driven so that the diameter of the hollow circle formed by the corresponding supporting surfaces 5222 in the two claw groups, that is, the diameter of the minimum circumference b formed by the edge of the bottom supporting surface 5222, is smaller than the diameter of wafer 1. Through the coordination of these two sizes, even if wafer 1 is horizontally offset in the original carrier, the device can still take wafer 1, and wafer 1 will not fall.

[0187] In this embodiment, four claw blocks 522 arranged in an isosceles trapezoid are provided on the claw plate 5211. The four claw blocks 522 are located on the same plane and have the same curvature. The size of the receiving space also satisfies the following requirements as the wafer fixture 520:

[0188] Wherein, D is the diameter of the receiving space, d is the diameter of the wafer 1 to be received, and x 1 is the tolerance distance of the receiving space on the diameter, x 2 is the horizontal offset distance of wafer 1 in the original carrier, w 1 is the width of the orthographic projection of the supporting surface 5222 on the horizontal plane, w 2 It 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.

[0189] Furthermore, x 2 ≤x 1 ≤1.5x 2 , thereby making the size of the accommodating space more appropriate, avoiding the wafer horizontal supporting device 520 being too large, and preventing the subsequent claw group from pushing the wafer 1 to move too long, causing excessive friction and damage to the wafer 1 on the supporting surface 5222.

[0190] The wafer horizontal support device 530 may also include a regularizing rod and a regularizing driving mechanism. The regularizing rod is arranged on one side of the claw plate 5211, and the regularizing driving mechanism is used to drive the regularizing rod to push the wafer 1 located on the claw plate 5211 to move toward one side and contact the wafer 1, so that the multiple wafers 1 supported by the device can be coaxially aligned, thereby improving the efficiency of subsequent process operations; and by contacting the wafer 1, the restriction on it is increased to avoid the wafer 1 being thrown out during the movement of the device and causing damage, and relatively, the movement speed of the device is also increased, thereby increasing the transfer rate of the wafer 1. Of course, in this embodiment, the regularizing rod and the regularizing driving mechanism are additionally arranged to achieve the purpose of regularizing and limiting the wafer 1, but since the claw group of the device itself can move, it can also be driven by the claw group driving mechanism 523 after the claw group supports the wafer 1, so as to further move toward the center of the circle, thereby contacting the wafer 1, achieving the purpose of regularization and restriction, and being able to simplify the structure. At the same time, in order to ensure that the wafer 1 does not leave the receiving space, the minimum distance between two adjacent limiting surfaces 5221 in the same receiving space is preferably smaller than the diameter of the wafer 1 .

[0191] The following steps are used when the wafer 1 is supported by the wafer horizontal supporting device 530:

[0192] S101: When a wafer 1 in a state is carried, the claw group driving mechanism 523 is controlled to drive a claw group to move, so as to adjust a supporting surface 5222 to match the wafer 1 in the state, that is, a first receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer 1 is formed by corresponding to the supporting surface 5222;

[0193] S102: When carrying another state wafer 1, the claw group driving mechanism 523 is controlled to drive a claw group to move, so as to adjust another supporting surface 5222 to match the wafer 1 in this state, that is, a second receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer 1 is formed through another corresponding supporting surface 5222;

[0194] S200 controls the wafer horizontal supporting device 530 to extend into the wafer box and move upward, so that the corresponding wafer 1 falls into the corresponding receiving space and is supported by the corresponding supporting surface 5222 .

[0195] S300 controls the claw group driving mechanism 523 to drive a claw group to move, so as to push the wafer 1 in the receiving space to move toward one side and be clamped between the two claw groups.

[0196] The wafer transfer system further includes a wafer flipping unit to convert the wafer 1 between a horizontal state and a vertical state, thereby facilitating subsequent operations.

[0197] More specifically, Figure 37 to Figure 39 As shown, the wafer flipping unit includes a wafer flipping device 600 for flipping the wafer 1 arbitrarily between 0° and 360°, and the wafer flipping device 600 includes a wafer fixing mechanism.

[0198] The wafer fixing mechanism includes a horizontal support mechanism and a circumferential clamping mechanism. The horizontal support mechanism includes two support combs 610 arranged opposite to each other to support the wafer in a horizontal state, and a channel for the wafer to enter and exit is formed between the two support combs 610. The circumferential clamping mechanism includes at least two clamping combs arranged at both ends of the channel, and at least two clamping combs cooperate with the support combs to clamp the wafer on the support combs.

[0199] The wafer flipping device 600 may further include a housing 630 for accommodating the above mechanisms and a rotating mechanism for driving the housing 630 to rotate. Of course, a detection mechanism may also be included to detect the wafer status and the status of each mechanism in the device to ensure the accuracy of the operating position.

[0200] The wafer fixing mechanism is disposed in the housing 630 , and openings for the wafer to enter and exit are disposed at both ends of the housing 630 corresponding to the channel.

[0201] like Fig.39 As shown, the wafer 1 moves in and out of the wafer flipping device 600 along the direction of the arrow. It can be understood that the wafer 1 can be moved in from one side and moved out from the other side, and of course, can also be moved in or out from the same side.

[0202] The horizontal support mechanism and the circumferential clamping mechanism are arranged in the housing 630 to fix the wafer 1. The rotating mechanism drives the wafer 1 in the housing 630 to flip arbitrarily between 0-360 degrees. In particular, the rotating mechanism drives the horizontal wafer 1 to rotate 90 degrees clockwise to a vertical state, or 90 degrees counterclockwise to a vertical state.

[0203] Specifically, the housing 630 is a rectangular frame structure, including an upper fixing plate and a lower fixing plate that are relatively arranged to install a horizontal support mechanism and a circumferential clamping mechanism, and two relatively arranged rotating fixing plates that are connected to the rotating mechanism to realize overall flipping.

[0204] The rotating mechanism includes two oppositely arranged support seats 640 and a driving mechanism arranged in any support seat 640. The driving mechanism is preferably a hollow rotary motor to achieve precise automatic adjustment of the rotation angle. The housing 630 is arranged between the two support seats 640 and is driven to rotate by a rotary motor with a brake and an encoder, so as to achieve any flip between 0°-360°, that is, to rotate around an axis parallel to the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the channel, so that the channel is parallel or perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

[0205] Preferably, the support seat 640 is connected to the external support structure through a bottom plate, and a waist-shaped hole is provided on the bottom plate to achieve left-right position adjustment, and a top screw may also be provided to achieve up-and-down position adjustment.

[0206] like Fig.38 and Fig.39 As shown, the horizontal support mechanism includes two supporting comb columns 610 arranged opposite to each other and a driving component 1 for driving the two supporting comb columns 610 to rotate.

[0207] Two support comb columns 610 are arranged opposite to each other. The support comb column 610 includes a rotating shaft 611, a connecting member 612 extending along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 611, and a plurality of support plates 613 arranged along the height direction of the connecting member 612. The connecting member 612 and the plurality of support plates 613 thereon form a comb-like structure. The axial direction of the rotating shaft 611 is perpendicular to the in-and-out direction of the wafer 1, so that a plurality of wafers 1 can be placed on the plurality of support plates 613 accordingly. The support plate 613 is used to carry the wafer 1. Preferably, the support plate 613 is an inclined structure, and the support surface is inclined toward the bottom surface of the channel to reduce the contact area with the wafer 1, that is, when the wafer enters the channel, the channel is parallel to the horizontal plane, and the support surface is inclined toward the bottom surface of the channel, so that the support surface is in line contact or point contact with the wafer. Generally speaking, one side of the connecting piece 612 is provided with support plates 613 equal to the number of wafers 1 stored in the wafer box 3 to completely accommodate a box of wafers 1. Specifically, 25 support plates 613 are provided to respectively carry 25 wafers 1. Of course, it is not limited to this, and the number of support plates 613 can be less than 25, or more than 25.

[0208] When it is necessary to carry the wafer 1, the two support comb columns 610 rotate to the supporting position for the wafer 1 to be inserted and the edge is seated on the support plate 613, that is, the shaft 611 rotates an angle to drive the support plate 613 to rotate to the supporting position and then carry the wafer 1; when it is not necessary to carry the wafer 1 or to avoid the movement of the wafer 1, the two support comb columns 610 rotate to the avoidance position to avoid the wafer 1, that is, the shaft 611 rotates an angle to drive the support plate 613 to rotate to the avoidance position and then away from the wafer 1.

[0209] In order to carry wafers 1 differently before and after the processing or to carry wafers 1 alternately, preferably, the support comb column 610 can be rotated to support position 1 and support position 2 to carry wafers 1 in different states respectively or to carry wafers 1 alternately.

[0210] The plurality of support plates 613 may be arranged in at least two rows along the circumference of the rotating shaft 611, and any one of the two rows of support plates 613 supports the wafer. Fig.41 As shown, in one embodiment, two rows of support plates 613 are respectively arranged along the height direction on opposite sides of the support comb column 610. Of course, the two rows of support plates 613 may not be arranged opposite to each other, and only need to form an angle between the two so that when the wafer contacts one of the two, it does not contact the other. In this embodiment, the 180° setting is conducive to controlling the conversion of the support position and the avoidance position.

[0211] The two rows of support plates 613 correspond to wafers 1 in different states, respectively. The distance D between the two rows of support plates 613, the length L of the support plates 613 and the position of the rotating shaft 611 cooperate to make the support comb column 610 turn 90° and then disengage from the contact with the wafer 1. Specifically, when the two support comb columns 610 are both in the initial state, one row of support plates 613 of the two support comb columns 610 is in a relative state to contact with and carry the wafer 1, that is, at this time, the support comb column 610 is in the first support position; the two support comb columns 610 are both rotated 90° around the axis from the initial state, and the support plates 613 of the two support comb columns 610 are disengaged from the contact with the wafer 1, that is, at this time, the support comb column 610 is in the avoidance position; the two support comb columns 610 continue to turn 90° in the same direction around the axis, and the other row of support plates 613 of the two support comb columns 610 is in a relative state to contact with and carry the wafer 1, that is, at this time, the support comb column 610 is in the second support position. Of course, when the two rows of support plates 613 are not symmetrically arranged, they are rotated at corresponding angles according to their positions to switch to different workstations.

[0212] A plurality of support plates 613 may also be arranged in a row along the circumference of the rotating shaft 611, and any end of the support plate 613 supports the wafer. Referring to FIG40(b), in another embodiment, only one side of the support comb column 610 is provided with 25 support plates 613 along its height direction, and the two ends of the support plate 613 respectively correspond to the wafer 1 in different states, and the length L of the support plate 613, its width W and the position of the rotating shaft 611 are matched so that the support comb column 610 is out of contact with the wafer 1 after rotating a certain angle. Specifically, when the two support comb columns 610 are in the initial state, one end of the support plates 613 of the two support comb columns 610 are in a relative state to contact with the wafer 1 and support the wafer 1, that is, at this time, the support comb columns 610 are in the support position one; the two support comb columns 610 are rotated around the axis by a certain angle from the initial state, and the support plates 613 of the two support comb columns 610 are out of contact with the wafer 1, that is, at this time, the support comb columns 610 are in the avoidance position; the two support comb columns 610 continue to rotate around the axis in the same direction by a certain angle, and the other ends of the support plates 613 of the two support comb columns 610 are in a relative state to contact with the wafer 1 and support the wafer 1, that is, at this time, the support comb columns 610 are in the support position two.

[0213] refer to Fig.42 and Fig.43 In order to reduce the size of the support plate 613 and facilitate the support plate 613 to detach from the contact with the wafer 1, the support comb column 610 in the above two embodiments can be provided with an escape space. Specifically, the support plate 613 is connected to the rotating shaft 611 through the connecting member 612, and an escape space is provided between the connecting member 612 and any end of the support plate 613, and the escape space is used to avoid the wafer when the support plate 613 is detached from the wafer. There is a certain distance between the connecting member 612 and the end of the support plate 613, that is, the connecting member 612 is connected to part of the support plate 613. In one embodiment, Fig.42 In the solid line portion, the connecting member 612 is shorter than the supporting plate 613, increasing the space between the connecting member 612 and the supporting plate 613. When the supporting comb column 610 drives the supporting plate 613 to rotate, the wafer 1 gradually approaches the end of the connecting member 612 and then breaks away from the supporting comb column 610. In another embodiment, Fig.42 In the middle dotted line part, the thickness of the connecting member 612 gradually decreases along the direction a toward the direction b, thereby increasing the space between the connecting member 612 and the support plate 613. When the support comb column 610 drives the support plate 613 to rotate, the wafer 1 gradually approaches the end of the connecting member 612 and then loses contact with the support comb column 610.

[0214] Furthermore, the end of the connecting member 612 is reduced from the side away from the support plate 613 to the side close to the support plate 613, so that the end of the support plate 613 is not connected to the connecting member 612, and the contact area between the connecting member 612 and the support plate 613 is as large as possible, thereby improving the strength of the connection between the two and further improving the stability of the supporting wafer 1.

[0215] like Fig.47 As shown, the driving component 1 includes a driving motor 614, a pulley 615, and a belt 616. Specifically, pulleys 615 are respectively provided at the same end of the two supporting comb columns 610, and the two are connected by a belt 616 to achieve synchronous rotation. The pulley 615 on any supporting comb column 610 is connected to the driving motor 614 through the belt 616 to drive the two supporting comb columns 610 to rotate synchronously. The driving motor 614 can be a servo motor or a stepping motor. In order to ensure the rotation balance of the two supporting comb columns 610, a cylinder lock pin is respectively provided near the two supporting comb columns 610 to control the rotation. The lock pin rises to allow rotation and is locked after reset.

[0216] like Fig.38 and Fig.39 As shown, the circumferential clamping mechanism includes four clamping comb columns 620 and a driving assembly 2 for driving the four clamping comb columns 620 to rotate. In this embodiment, two driving assemblies 2 are used to respectively drive two corresponding clamping comb columns 620. The center position of the circumscribed circle of the closed figure formed by the four clamping comb columns 620 coincides with the center position of the two supporting comb columns 610.

[0217] Of course, the circumferential clamping mechanism may also include two clamping comb columns 620 disposed at both ends of the channel, and the center positions of the two clamping comb columns 620 are matched with the center positions of the two supporting comb columns 610, so as to achieve the clamping and fixation of the wafer located on the supporting comb columns 610.

[0218] Alternatively, the circumferential clamping mechanism includes at least three clamping comb columns 620 disposed at both ends of the channel, and the center position of the circumscribed circle of the closed figure formed by the at least three clamping comb columns 620 is adapted to the center position of the two supporting comb columns 610, thereby achieving the clamping and fixation of the wafer located on the supporting comb columns 610.

[0219] The clamping comb column 620 can rotate to drive the clamping plate 621 to move away from and avoid the wafers entering and exiting the channel, or to move closer to and cooperate with each other to clamp the wafers located on the supporting comb column 610. In this embodiment, four clamping comb columns 620 are arranged on both sides of the two supporting comb columns 610 to clamp multiple wafers 1 located on the two supporting comb columns 610 after rotation. At the same time, the rotating arrangement of the clamping comb column 620 facilitates the rotation to avoid the wafer 1 when the wafer 1 enters the channel, so that it can be smoothly placed on the horizontal support mechanism.

[0220] like Figures 44 to 46 As shown, the clamping comb column 620 is provided with a plurality of clamping plates 621 along its height direction to respectively clamp a plurality of wafers 1. Generally, 25 clamping plates 621 are provided to respectively clamp 25 wafers 1, but not limited thereto. The number of clamping plates 621 is generally consistent with the number of single-side support plates 613 to correspondingly clamp all wafers 1 located on the support plate 613.

[0221] The clamping plate 621 is provided with a V-shaped groove 6211 on one side facing the wafer 1 to match the edge of the wafer 1. Generally speaking, the maximum width of the V-shaped groove 6211 is slightly larger than the thickness of the wafer to clamp the wafer. The V-shaped groove 6211 is arranged so that the clamping plate 621 and the wafer 1 are in point contact, and the contact surface is extremely small, thereby preventing the wafer 1 from contaminating the clamping plate 621, so that the wafer 1 before and after the processing process can be clamped and moved by the same clamping plate 621.

[0222] There is a gap 6212 between adjacent clamping plates 621 , and the gap 6212 cooperates with the wafer to allow the wafer to pass through, so as to cooperate with the subsequent device to take away the wafer 1 flipped to a vertical state.

[0223] like Fig.47 As shown, the second driving assembly includes a driving member, a connecting rod 622 connected to the driving member, and a transmission member 623 connected to the rotating shaft of the clamping comb column 620.

[0224] Both ends of the connecting rod 622 are provided with waist-shaped holes 6221, one end of the transmission member 623 is connected to the rotating shaft of the clamping comb column 620, and the other end is slidably arranged in the waist-shaped hole 6221. The driving member drives the connecting rod 622 to move along the in-and-out direction of the wafer 1, thereby causing the transmission member 623 to slide in the waist-shaped hole 6221, and then drives the clamping comb column 620 to rotate around its rotating shaft to clamp or move away from the wafer 1 located on the supporting comb column 610. The two clamping comb columns 620 located at the same end of the in-and-out direction of the wafer 1 are controlled by a driving component 2. More specifically, the two connecting rods 622 move in opposite directions so that the four clamping comb columns 620 clamp the wafer 1, and the two connecting rods 622 move relative to each other so that the four clamping comb columns 620 are out of contact with the wafer 1. The driving member is preferably a cylinder.

[0225] Limiting blocks 624 are preferably provided at both ends of the connecting rod 622 in the moving direction to limit the moving distance of the connecting rod 622 .

[0226] The circumferential clamping mechanism also includes a buffer assembly, which is arranged on the moving path of the connecting rod 622 to limit the separation of the clamping comb column 620 from the wafer. Specifically, a buffer mechanism is provided on the side of the connecting rod 622 close to the outside of the channel, and the buffer mechanism includes a fixed seat 650 fixed to the housing 630, and the fixed seat 650 is provided with an elastic member 651 toward the connecting rod 622, and preferably, a resistance block 652 is provided at the front end of the elastic member 651. When the clamping comb column 620 is in a clamping state, the side of the connecting rod 622 abuts against the resistance block 652, so that when the wafer 1 in the clamped state is subjected to a radial force, it can be buffered by the buffer mechanism to avoid damage to the wafer 1. Preferably, the maximum compression amount of the elastic member 651 matches the lifting distance of the wafer 1. Further, the resistance block 652 is a sleeve, and a guide shaft is provided on the connecting rod 622, and the guide shaft is slidably connected to the sleeve, thereby further improving the stability of the movement of the connecting rod 622. The elastic member 651 is preferably a compression spring.

[0227] Of course, the buffer assembly can also be disposed on the rotation trajectory of the clamping comb column 620 away from the wafer to limit the clamping comb column 620 from separating from the wafer.

[0228] When installing, the horizontal support mechanism and the circumferential clamping mechanism can use the wafer positioning tooling corresponding to the size and shape of the wafer 1 to achieve the alignment of the support heights of the support comb columns 610 on both sides, as well as the alignment of the arc centers and heights of the four clamping comb columns 620, so that the wafer 1 in the entire mechanism is centrally aligned with the support comb columns 610 and the clamping comb columns 620 after clamping, and the height is consistent.

[0229] The detection mechanism includes a wafer presence sensor, a comb column position sensor, a drive member position sensor, etc., to detect the state of the wafer 1, the state of the comb column and the state of the drive member.

[0230] More specifically, the upper and lower fixed plates are respectively equipped with wafer presence sensors, using a beam sensor, wherein the front and rear pairs are used to detect the position of the wafer to determine whether the wafer is in the centering state, and the middle pair is used to detect the presence of the wafer to determine the next step of operation. The comb column position sensor is set on a pulley 615 of the driving component to confirm the rotation angle of the supporting comb column 610.

[0231] The wafer flipping unit may further include a wafer carrying device 700 , and the wafer carrying device 700 is used to carry the wafer flipped into a vertical state by the wafer flipping device 600 .

[0232] like Fig.49As shown, the wafer carrying device 700 includes at least two sets of nested wafer carrying comb groups, and at least one set of wafer carrying comb groups can be raised and lowered relative to other wafer carrying comb groups. Specifically, the wafer carrying comb group includes two wafer carrying combs 731 arranged opposite to each other to respectively clamp the opposite side edges of the wafer in a vertical state and cooperate with the wafer carrying.

[0233] The wafer carrier 700 may further include a carrier platform 730 and at least one driving mechanism 3 760 disposed in the carrier platform 730 . The driving mechanism 3 760 is connected to any carrier wafer comb group to drive it to rise and fall relative to other carrier wafer comb groups.

[0234] In a specific embodiment, the wafer carrier 700 includes a carrier mounting seat 710, a driving mechanism 1 720 for driving the carrier mounting seat 710 to move, a carrier platform 730 disposed on the carrier mounting seat 710, a driving mechanism 2 740 for driving the carrier platform 730 to move, and a driving mechanism 3.

[0235] The support mount 710 can move horizontally under the drive of the driving mechanism 1 720, that is, the support mount 710 can move horizontally between the initial position and the position for taking and placing the wafer 1 under the drive of the driving mechanism 1 720. The driving mechanism 1 720 can be a linear module to drive the support mount 710 to move forward and backward along a straight line.

[0236] The carrier 730 is arranged at the top of the carrier mounting seat 710 to carry the wafer 1. The second drive mechanism 740 is arranged in the carrier mounting seat 710, and is used to lift and rotate the carrier 730 so that the carrier 730 can be further moved to the corresponding position for wafer 1 placement, and is used to lift and lower the carrier 730 to a corresponding height to cooperate with the wafer scanning device 750 to scan the wafer 1. The second drive mechanism 740 can specifically include a vertically arranged linear module to achieve lifting and lowering, and a cylinder connected to the linear module for rotation.

[0237] like Fig.49 and Fig.50 As shown, the carrier 730 includes at least two nested wafer comb groups to respectively carry wafers 1 in different states. The wafer comb group includes two wafer combs 731 arranged opposite to each other, so that the wafer 1 is vertically clamped between the two wafer combs 731.

[0238] Take two wafer comb groups as an example, including an inner wafer comb group and an outer wafer comb group, the two wafer combs 731 of the outer wafer comb group are respectively located outside the two wafer combs 731 of the inner wafer comb group, and the inner and outer wafer comb groups are connected with a driving mechanism 3 to change the working state of the inner and outer layers, for example Fig.51As shown. The driving mechanism three can be a cylinder, which drives the inner and outer layers to rise and fall to replace different groups of wafer combs. Specifically, the inner wafer comb 731 is connected to the cylinder adapter plate through the inner wafer comb mounting plate, and the cylinder adapter plate is connected to the cylinder through the cylinder upper plate. A box structure composed of a box cover, a box side plate and a box bottom plate is provided below the wafer comb mounting plate, that is, the carrier 730. When the outer wafer comb 731 is used, the cylinder is in the initial position, that is, the inner wafer comb 731 is at a position lower than the outer wafer comb 731 by a certain distance. The cylinder adapter plate and part of the inner wafer comb mounting plate are located in the lower part of the box structure, and are also at a certain distance from the box bottom plate. When the inner wafer comb 731 is used, the cylinder is lifted, and the wafer comb 731 is driven to rise together through the cylinder adapter plate, and its height is higher than the outer wafer comb 731 by a certain distance. Considering the aesthetics and installation space, the cylinder is fixed to the bottom plate of the box through the cylinder bracket horizontal plate, the left and right cylinder vertical plates and the cylinder fixing plate, and is located in the cylinder that rises and falls with the lifting linear module. On the cylinder, openings are set on the side of the cylinder for the cylinder speed regulating valve and sensor, and a cylinder cover is provided. When using, just remove the cover.

[0239] The wafer comb 731 is provided with a plurality of slots along its length so that the edge of the wafer 1 is embedded in the slot to fix the position. Specifically, the wafer comb 731 is provided with 50 slots to receive two groups of 25 wafers 1, so as to achieve a single processing volume of 50 wafers 1. It is preferred to load a group of 25 wafers 1 in front and back, and the two groups are arranged alternately, that is, a group of 25 wafers 1 is first loaded and arranged at intervals on the 50 slots, and the latter group of 25 wafers 1 is inserted between the two adjacent wafers 1 of the previous group, that is, the two groups of wafers 1 are distributed alternately.

[0240] like Fig.44 As shown, the wafer carrier 700 can also be connected to a wafer scanning device 750 to scan and map the state of the wafer 1 on the wafer carrier 700. Specifically, a wafer scanning device 750 is arranged near the initial position of the wafer carrier 700, and the wafer scanning device 750 includes a scanning sensor, and the scanning sensor can move along the length direction of the wafer comb group to fully scan the wafer 1 clamped therein, and quickly detect the information of the wafer 1, the position state of the wafer 1, etc.

[0241] In this system, the wafer carrying device 700 is used to dock with the wafer flipping device 600 to transfer the vertical wafer 1 between the two. Taking wafer 1 as an example, the operation process is as follows:

[0242] The wafer flipping device 600 flips the 25 wafers 1 from a horizontal state to a vertical state, and the support comb column 610 rotates to an avoidance position, that is, it is out of contact with the wafer 1. The wafer 1 is clamped and fixed by four clamping comb columns 620 to avoid friction between the surface of the wafer 1 and the support surface of the support comb column 610 during the subsequent wafer removal process, thereby preventing the wafer 1 from being damaged by friction;

[0243] The driving mechanism 1 720 drives the carrying mounting seat 710 to move to the bottom of the wafer flipping device 600, and the driving mechanism 3 drives the corresponding required carrying wafer comb group to rise and prepare to carry wafer 1;

[0244] The second driving mechanism 740 drives the carrier 730 to rotate to a corresponding angle, generally 0° or 180°, so that the two groups of wafers 1 can face each other with different faces, for example, the two groups of wafers 1 can face each other with their front surfaces face to face, face each other with their rear surfaces back to back, face each other with their front surfaces and rear surfaces face to back, etc.;

[0245] The second driving mechanism 740 drives the carrier 730 to rise, and the wafer comb 731 contacts the wafer 1 clamped in the wafer flipping device 600, and further slightly lifts the wafer 1. Due to the buffer mechanism on the wafer flipping device 600, the wafer 1 will not be damaged;

[0246] The clamping comb column 620 close to the carrier 730 rotates away from the wafer 1, so that the wafer 1 is seated on the carrier wafer comb group on the carrier 730, and the clamping comb group away from the carrier 730 rotates away from the wafer 1, so that the wafer 1 is completely seated on the carrier wafer comb group;

[0247] The second driving mechanism 740 drives the carrying platform 730 to descend, completing the film removal;

[0248] When taking the second group of wafers 1, the driving mechanism 1 720 drives the carrying mounting seat 710 to move a distance so that the vacant position on the carrying wafer comb 731 is aligned with the wafer flipping device 600, and the moving distance is matched with the spacing between the adjacent clamping plates 621 of the wafer flipping device 600 to avoid the first group of wafers 1 from colliding with the clamping comb column 620;

[0249] The driving mechanism 1 720 drives the supporting mounting seat 710 to return to the initial position, and the wafer scanning device 750 starts to scan the wafer 1 .

[0250] The above method uses the wafer supporting device 700 to rotate horizontally 180° to achieve face-to-face wafers. Of course, the wafer flipping device 600 can also be used to rotate clockwise / counterclockwise alternately to achieve face-to-face wafers.

[0251] The wafer transfer system may also include a wafer edge finding device 800. As shown in FIG52, in order to locate the direction of the wafer 1, the wafer 1 is generally provided with a groove 11 (notch) or a flat groove 12 (flat) on the edge. The groove 11 in the figure is arc-shaped, but not limited to this, and may also be V-shaped or other shapes. Before the processing, an edge finding device is required to find and regularize the edges of multiple wafers 1 so that the grooves 11 or flat grooves 12 are in the same direction to facilitate subsequent processes.

[0252] In this embodiment, the wafer edge finding device 800 includes:

[0253] A rotation drive mechanism, the rotation drive mechanism comprising a driving roller and a driven roller, the driving roller and the driven roller are arranged in parallel and at intervals to carry a wafer in a vertical state, and the wafer can rotate around its own axis under the drive of the driving roller;

[0254] a blocking rod, wherein the blocking rod is arranged in parallel between the active roller and the driven roller, and the blocking rod can be raised and lowered to lift the wafer on the active roller and the driven roller and deflect it toward the active roller or the driven roller; and

[0255] A limiting mechanism 1, wherein the limiting mechanism 1 comprises a limiting wafer comb 1, and the limiting wafer comb 1 is arranged in parallel between the active roller and the driven roller to clamp the edge of the wafer;

[0256] When the blocking rod lifts the wafer, the orthographic projection of the blocking rod on the plane where the circumferential cross section of the active roller is located is located within the orthographic projection of the limiting wafer comb on the plane.

[0257] Specifically, Figure 53 to Figure 55 As shown, the wafer edge finding device 800 includes a housing 810 to protect the internal mechanism, and the wafer 1 completes the edge finding operation inside the housing 810 to avoid accidental contact with external equipment or personnel. Preferably, an entrance 811 for the wafer 1 to enter and exit is provided on the top of the housing 810, and the wafer 1 enters in a vertical state. A shielding plate 820 is provided above the entrance 811 to open and close the entrance 811. Fig.63 As shown, the shielding plate 820 can be driven by a shielding plate cylinder 821 to move along the plane where the entrance and exit 811 is located to open and close the entrance and exit 811. The shielding plate 820 can also be slidably connected to the guide rail 2 822 through a connecting plate 823 arranged at its rear end to enhance the stability of movement.

[0258] like Fig.56 As shown, the wafer edge-finding device 800 includes a rotation driving mechanism 850 , a blocking rod 862 and a limiting mechanism 860 , which are arranged inside a housing 810 .

[0259] The rotating drive mechanism 850 includes an active roller 851 and a driven roller 852, which are arranged in parallel and at intervals to carry the wafer 1 in a vertical state. Since the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 have a certain length, they can carry a batch of wafers 1. In this embodiment, the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 are also on the same horizontal plane to more stably carry the wafer 1, and at the same time facilitate the subsequent control of the blocking rod 862 to lift the wafer 1 to deflect it. When the wafer 1 is placed on the rotating drive mechanism 850, the edge of the wafer 1 contacts the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 at the same time, so that the vertical wafer 1 is located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, and will not deviate radially, that is, as shown in Figure 58, the wafer 1 is prevented from deviating left and right. At the same time, the limiting mechanism 1 860 is used to clamp the wafer 1 to prevent it from excessive axial deviation, so that the wafer 1 remains in a basically vertical state.

[0260] The wafer 1 can rotate around its axis driven by the active roller 851, and in this embodiment, the driven roller 852 is rotatably connected to the housing 810, so that the wafer 1 drives the driven roller 852 to rotate during the rotation process, so as to reduce the friction between the wafer 1 and the driven roller 852. Fig.57 As shown, the active roller 851 can be driven by a motor 854 and an active roller belt 853. When the motor 854 is working, the active roller belt 853 is driven to rotate. The active roller belt 853 rotates and drives the active roller 851 to rotate. A tensioning wheel 855 is provided near the active roller belt 853 to adjust the tightness of the active roller belt 853. Of course, the driving method of the active roller 851 is not limited to this.

[0261] The blocking rod 862 is arranged parallel between the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, and the blocking rod 862 can be raised and lowered to lift the wafer 1 on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 and deflect it toward the active roller 851 or the driven roller 852 for edge finding.

[0262] The limiting mechanism 860 includes a limiting wafer comb 861, which is arranged in parallel between the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, that is, located at the bottom of the wafer 1 to clamp the bottom edge of the wafer 1, so as to better limit the overall axial tilt angle of the wafer 1. Specifically, the limiting wafer comb 861 is provided with a plurality of limiting grooves 8612 along its length direction, and the edge of the wafer 1 is inserted into the limiting groove 8612. It can be understood that in this field, due to the need to minimize contact with the surface of the wafer 1, clamping is not limited to a close fit, and a V-shaped groove is generally used for the edge of the wafer 1 to be inserted so that it is limited to a range to limit the axial tilt angle of the wafer 1. At the same time, the clamping in this application, unless otherwise specified, refers to limiting the edge of the wafer 1 within a range to limit its axial tilt angle.

[0263] In order to further limit the axial tilt of the wafer 1, the device preferably also includes a second limiting mechanism 840, which includes two second limiting wafer combs 841, which are respectively arranged in parallel on the outside of the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, that is, the length directions of the four are consistent, thereby further improving the stability of the vertical wafer 1 and maintaining its basically vertical state. Fig.59 and Fig.60 As shown, the limiting wafer comb 841 is provided with a plurality of limiting slots 8411 along its length direction, and the two corresponding limiting slots 8411 are used for inserting the edge of the wafer 1 to limit the wafer 1 left and right, thereby preventing the wafer 1 located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 from tilting along its axial direction, ensuring that the wafer 1 will not deviate during the rotation process, and further ensuring the edge-finding effect. Preferably, when the wafer 1 is located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, the edge of the wafer 1 is respectively inserted into the corresponding limiting slots 8411 on both sides, and there is a gap between the edge of the wafer 1 and the bottom of the limiting slot 8411, so that the wafer 1 has a certain displacement space in the vertical direction, ensuring that the wafer 1 can deviate when in contact with the blocking rod 862, thereby breaking away from the contact with the active roller 851.

[0264] In this embodiment, the device is particularly such that when the blocking rod 862 lifts the wafer 1, the orthographic projection of the blocking rod 862 on the plane where the circumferential cross section of the active roller 851 is located is located within the orthographic projection of the limiting wafer comb 861 on the plane. Referring to FIG. 58(a), the illustrated plane is the plane where the circumferential cross section of the active roller 851 is located. As the wafer 1 rotates, its groove 11 or flat groove 12 approaches the blocking rod 862, and finally the blocking rod 862 blocks the groove 11 or flat groove 12 to prevent the wafer 1 from continuing to rotate, thereby completing the edge search. At this time, since the wafer 1 in the rotating state suddenly changes its motion state, it generates axial shaking, and the axial shaking amplitude generated near the blocking rod 862 is the largest. The limiting wafer comb 861 set adjacent to the blocking rod 862 limits the place where the wafer 1 is most likely to generate axial shaking and tilting (i.e., irregular rotation) during the edge search process within a controllable range to prevent it from colliding with the adjacent wafer 1. Furthermore, when the blocking rod 862 lifts the wafer 1, the orthographic projection of the blocking rod 862 on the plane where the circumferential cross section of the active roller 851 is located is located on the center line of the orthographic projection of the contact surface 8621 on the plane. Referring to FIG. 58(a), the center line is d 1 and d 2The dotted line between them is a straight line. During the rotation process, the wafer 1 generates axial shaking due to contact with the blocking rod 862, and the blocking rod 862 is set in the middle of the limiting wafer comb 861, so that the shaking is uniformly limited and weakened by both sides of the limiting wafer comb 861 at the first time, further improving the rotation stability of the wafer 1. At the same time, the blocking rod 862 is set in the middle of the limiting wafer comb 861, which also minimizes the shaking amplitude of the restricted wafer 1, thereby preventing the wafer 1 from being out of contact with the blocking rod 862, resulting in edge finding errors.

[0265] In this embodiment, the blocking rod 862 is arranged along the length direction of the limiting wafer comb 861 and penetrates the limiting wafer comb 861, and rises and falls on the circumferential cross section of the limiting wafer comb 861. At this time, the blocking rod 862 penetrates a plurality of limiting slots 8612 to contact the edge of the wafer 1. Preferably, as Fig.61 and Fig.62 As shown, a cavity 8611 for accommodating the upward and downward movement of the blocking rod 862 is provided in the limiting wafer comb 861 , and the cavity 8611 is connected to the limiting slot 8612 .

[0266] The limiting mechanism 860 can also be provided with a driving mechanism for driving the limiting wafer comb 861 to rise and fall. At this time, the blocking rod 862 is fixed in the limiting wafer comb 861, and the blocking rod 862 is driven to rise and fall by the limiting wafer comb 861. Furthermore, a reinforcement block 870 is provided under the limiting wafer comb 861, and one end of the reinforcement block 870 abuts against the blocking rod 862, thereby increasing the strength of the blocking rod 862 and preventing it from being bent by the wafer 1, causing the wafers 1 of the same batch of edge finding operations to be uneven, affecting the final edge finding effect.

[0267] The distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 1 and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 2 The size is adapted to the state of the wafer 1 when it is lifted by the blocking rod 862, so that after the wafer 1 in the rotating state is blocked by the blocking rod 862, it is offset toward the direction close to the driven roller 852. That is, after the wafer 1 in the rotating state is blocked by the blocking rod 862, the direction of the resistance it encounters is toward the direction close to the driven roller 852.

[0268] Since the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 1 and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 2 The sizes of the wafers 1 and 2 are different, so that when the blocking rod 862 rises to a certain height, the wafer 1 located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 is lifted by the blocking rod 862 and offset toward the active roller 851 or the driven roller 852, thereby sitting on the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851, or sitting on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852.

[0269] The use of the wafer edge finding device 800 can be specifically divided into two types: when the active roller 851 does not rotate, the blocking rod 862 rises; and when the active roller 851 rotates, the blocking rod 862 rises. When the active roller 851 does not rotate, the blocking rod 862 rises as described below:

[0270] When the active roller 851 does not rotate, and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is 1 Greater than the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 2 . Wafer 1 is initially located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852. The blocking rod 862 rises a certain distance to contact the wafer 1 and further lifts the wafer 1, so that the center of gravity of the wafer 1 in the static state is offset toward the active roller 851, and then the wafer 1 located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 is offset toward the active roller 851 and is located on the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851. Then the active roller 851 rotates to drive the wafer 1 to rotate. As the wafer 1 rotates, the edge of the wafer 1 continuously passes the blocking rod 862. When the groove 11 of the wafer 1 rotates to the top of the blocking rod 862, the groove 11 of the wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862 and the blocking rod 862 is embedded in the groove 11. The blocking rod 862 prevents the wafer 1 from rotating. Due to its rotational inertia, the wafer 1 is offset in the direction close to the driven roller 852, so that it is separated from the contact with the active roller 851 and is located on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, completing the edge finding of the single wafer 1. The active roller 851 continues to rotate until the grooves 11 of all wafers 1 located thereon touch and are stopped by the blocking rod 862. All wafers 1 are offset toward the driven roller 852 due to the action of rotational inertia, thereby breaking away from contact with the active roller 851 and sitting on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, thus completing the edge finding of all wafers 1.

[0271] For example, referring to FIG. 58( a ), the active roller 851 is disposed on the right side of the wafer 1 , and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is 1 >Distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 2 The active roller 851 does not rotate, the blocking rod 862 rises and lifts the wafer 1, and the wafer 1 sits on the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851. The active roller 851 starts to rotate clockwise, driving the wafer 1 to rotate counterclockwise. When the groove 11 of the wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862 and is stopped by the blocking rod 862, the wafer 1 deviates toward the driven roller 852 due to inertia, thereby breaking away from the contact with the active roller 851 and sitting on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, completing the single-wafer edge search. Repeat this process until all wafers 1 complete the edge search.

[0272] 58( b ), the active roller 851 is disposed on the left side of the wafer 1 , and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is1 >Distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 2 The active roller 851 does not rotate, the blocking rod 862 rises and lifts the wafer 1, and the wafer 1 sits on the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851. The active roller 851 starts to rotate counterclockwise, driving the wafer 1 to rotate clockwise. When the groove 11 of the wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862 and is stopped by the blocking rod 862, the wafer 1 deviates toward the driven roller 852 due to inertia, thereby breaking away from the contact with the active roller 851 and sitting on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, completing the single-wafer edge search. Repeat this process until all wafers 1 complete the edge search.

[0273] When the active roller 851 rotates, the blocking rod 862 rises, as described in detail as follows:

[0274] When the active roller 851 rotates, and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 1 is smaller than the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 2 . In the initial state, the wafer 1 is located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, and rotates with the rotation of the active roller 851. The blocking rod 862 rises a certain distance to contact the wafer 1 and further lifts the wafer 1, so that the center of gravity of the rotating wafer 1 is shifted toward the direction close to the driven roller 852, and then the wafer 1 located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 is shifted toward the driven roller 852 and is located on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, and is out of contact with the active roller 851. The inertial force when the wafer 1 is separated from the active roller 851 is matched with the friction force after the wafer 1 is separated from the active roller 851, so that the wafer 1 located on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 continues to rotate under the action of its rotational inertia, and rotates at least one circle so that the groove 11 of the wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862, and then the blocking rod 862 is embedded in the groove 11 to prevent the wafer 1 from rotating to complete the edge finding of the single wafer 1. The remaining wafers 1 continue to rotate until the grooves 11 of the wafers 1 touch the blocking rods 862 , and then the blocking rods 862 are embedded in the grooves 11 to prevent the wafers 1 from rotating, thereby completing the edge finding of all the wafers 1 .

[0275] For example, referring to FIG. 58( c ), the active roller 851 is located on the right side of the wafer 1 , and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is 1 <Distance d between the blocking lever 862 and the driven roller 852 2. The active roller 851 rotates clockwise, and its speed can make the wafer 1 continue to rotate at least one circle by inertia after it breaks away from contact with it. Wafer 1 is located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, and rotates counterclockwise as the active roller 851 rotates clockwise. The blocking rod 862 rises and lifts the wafer 1, so that the center of the wafer 1 shifts toward the driven roller 852, and then the wafer 1 shifts to sit on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852. The inertial force when the wafer 1 breaks away from the active roller 851 is compatible with the friction force that the wafer 1 is subjected to after it breaks away from the active roller 851, so that the wafer 1 continues to rotate counterclockwise for at least one circle by its rotational inertia. When the groove 11 of the wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862, the blocking rod 862 is embedded in the groove 11 to prevent the wafer 1 from rotating, and the edge finding of the single wafer 1 is completed. The remaining wafers 1 continue to rotate until the grooves 11 of the wafers 1 touch the blocking rods 862 , and then the blocking rods 862 are embedded in the grooves 11 to prevent the wafers 1 from rotating, thereby completing the edge finding of all the wafers 1 .

[0276] 58( d ), the active roller 851 is located on the left side of the wafer 1 , and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is 1 <Distance d between the blocking lever 862 and the driven roller 852 2 . The active roller 851 rotates counterclockwise, and its speed can make the wafer 1 continue to rotate at least one circle by inertia after it breaks away from contact with it. Wafer 1 is located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, and rotates clockwise as the active roller 851 rotates counterclockwise. The blocking rod 862 rises and lifts the wafer 1, so that the center of the wafer 1 shifts toward the driven roller 852, and then the wafer 1 shifts to sit on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852. The inertial force when the wafer 1 breaks away from the active roller 851 is compatible with the friction force that the wafer 1 is subjected to after it breaks away from the active roller 851, so that the wafer 1 continues to rotate clockwise for at least one circle by relying on its rotational inertia. When the groove 11 of the wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862, the blocking rod 862 is embedded in the groove 11 to prevent the wafer 1 from rotating, and the edge finding of the single wafer 1 is completed. The remaining wafers 1 continue to rotate until the grooves 11 of the wafers 1 touch the blocking rods 862 , and then the blocking rods 862 are embedded in the grooves 11 to prevent the wafers 1 from rotating, thereby completing the edge finding of all the wafers 1 .

[0277] More specifically, in Figures 58(a) to (d), the blocking rod 862 is preferably configured as a circular rod having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the groove 11 of the wafer 1. When the blocking rod 862 rises and lifts the wafer 1, the blocking rod 862 contacts the wafer 1, and the wafer 1 rotates at least one circle. Within one circle, the groove 11 of the wafer 1 rotates to the position of the blocking rod 862. Since the blocking rod 862 is a rolling rod having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the groove 11 of the wafer 1, the blocking rod 862 is embedded in the groove 11 of the wafer 1 and stops the wafer 1, so that the wafer 1 completes edge finding.

[0278] In addition, in order to find the edge of the wafer 1 with the flat groove 12, the blocking rod 862 is arranged close to the active roller 851, and a contact surface 8621 matching with the flat groove 12 of the wafer 1 is arranged on the side of the blocking rod 862 away from the active wheel, that is, the contact surface 8621 between the blocking rod 862 and the wafer 1 is inclined toward the direction close to the driven roller 852. The specific matching is: the inclination angle of the contact surface 8621 is adapted to the distance between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, so that when the flat groove 12 of the wafer 1 is in contact with the contact surface 8621, the center of gravity of the wafer 1 is located between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852.

[0279] The wafer 1 is seated on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852. When the active roller 851 rotates, the wafer 1 rotates along with the active roller 851. The distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is 1 is smaller than the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 2 The blocking rod 862 rises a certain distance until the contact surface 8621 contacts the wafer 1 and further lifts the wafer 1, so that the center of gravity of the wafer 1 shifts toward the driven roller 852, and then the wafer 1 located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 shifts toward the driven roller 852 and sits on the contact surface 8621 of the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, breaking away from the contact with the active roller 851. The inertial force of wafer 1 when it is separated from the active roller 851 is matched with the friction force of wafer 1 after it is separated from the active roller 851, so that wafer 1 located on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852 continues to rotate under the action of its rotational inertia, and rotates at least one circle so that the flat groove 12 of wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862 and then fits with the contact surface 8621, and at this time, the center of gravity of wafer 1 is located between the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, and the surface contact between the flat groove 12 and the contact surface 8621 prevents wafer 1 from continuing to rotate to complete the edge finding of single wafer 1. The final state is shown in FIG. 58(g), and the remaining wafers 1 continue to rotate until the flat groove 12 of wafer 1 fits with the contact surface 8621, and then the surface contact between the flat groove 12 and the contact surface 8621 prevents wafer 1 from continuing to rotate to complete the edge finding of all wafers 1. Furthermore, the active roller 851 drives the wafer 1 to rotate along the high side of the contact surface 8621 toward the low side thereof, so that the flat groove 12 of the wafer 1 can slide down along the inclined contact surface 8621 and finally contact it, thereby improving the edge finding effect.

[0280] 58( e ), the active roller 851 is located on the right side of the wafer 1 , and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is 1 <Distance d between the blocking lever 862 and the driven roller 852 2The active roller 851 rotates counterclockwise and drives the wafer 1 to rotate, and the inertial force when the wafer 1 is separated from the active roller 851 is adapted to the friction force of the wafer 1 after it is separated from the active roller 851, so that the wafer 1 continues to rotate at least one circle by relying on its own inertia after it breaks away from contact with it. Wafer 1 sits on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, and rotates clockwise as the active roller 851 rotates counterclockwise. The blocking rod 862 rises and lifts the wafer 1, so that the center of the wafer 1 shifts toward the driven roller 852, and then the wafer 1 shifts to sit on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852. Wafer 1 continues to rotate clockwise for at least one circle by its rotational inertia, and when the flat groove 12 of wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862 and then fits with the contact surface 8621, and at this time, the center of gravity of wafer 1 is biased toward the direction of driven roller 852, the flat groove 12 is in surface contact with the contact surface 8621 to prevent wafer 1 from continuing to rotate, so as to complete the edge finding of a single wafer 1. The remaining wafers 1 continue to rotate until the flat groove 12 of wafer 1 fits with the contact surface 8621, and then the flat groove 12 is in surface contact with the contact surface 8621 to prevent wafer 1 from continuing to rotate, so as to complete the edge finding of all wafers 1.

[0281] 58( f ), the active roller 851 is located on the left side of the wafer 1 , and the distance d between the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 is 1 <Distance d between the blocking lever 862 and the driven roller 852 2 . The active roller 851 rotates clockwise, and the inertial force of the wafer 1 when it is separated from the active roller 851 is matched with the friction force of the wafer 1 after it is separated from the active roller 851, so that the wafer 1 continues to rotate at least one circle by inertia after it is separated from the active roller 851. The wafer 1 is located on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852, and rotates counterclockwise as the active roller 851 rotates counterclockwise. The blocking rod 862 rises and lifts the wafer 1, so that the center of the wafer 1 is offset toward the driven roller 852, and then the wafer 1 is offset to be located on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852. The wafer 1 continues to rotate counterclockwise for at least one circle by its rotational inertia. When the flat groove 12 of the wafer 1 touches the blocking rod 862 and then fits with the contact surface 8621, and at this time, the center of gravity of the wafer 1 is biased toward the direction of the driven roller 852, the flat groove 12 is in surface contact with the contact surface 8621 to prevent the wafer 1 from continuing to rotate to complete the edge finding of the single wafer 1. The remaining wafers 1 continue to rotate until the flat groove 12 of the wafer 1 fits with the contact surface 8621 , and then the surface contact between the flat groove 12 and the contact surface 8621 stops the wafer 1 from rotating further to complete the edge finding of all wafers 1 .

[0282] The wafer edge-finding device 800 may further include a transfer mechanism 830 to support the wafer 1 in and out of the entrance and exit 811 to dock with external equipment to transfer the wafer 1, for example, docking with a wafer 1 robot arm to transfer multiple wafers 1 in a vertical state.

[0283] The transfer mechanism 830 includes two symmetrically arranged transfer wafer combs 831, and the transfer wafer combs 831 are provided with a plurality of slots along their length direction to clamp the wafer 1, and the length direction of the two transfer wafer combs 831 is consistent with the length direction of the second limiting wafer comb 841, so as to facilitate the placement of the wafer 1. The two transfer wafer combs 831 can be raised and lowered to enter and exit the entrance 811 and place the wafer 1 on the rotating drive mechanism 850. A set of corresponding sensors are preferably symmetrically arranged on the two transfer wafer combs 831 to confirm whether the wafer 1 is carried.

[0284] The transfer mechanism 830 and the second limiting mechanism 840 are nested, that is, the two transfer wafer combs 831 are both located on the inner side of the two limiting wafer 1 combs, or are respectively located on the outer side of the two limiting wafer 1 combs. In this embodiment, the transfer mechanism 830 is arranged on the inner side of the second limiting mechanism 840. At the same time, in the edge-finding operation, the transfer wafer comb 831 preferably also clamps the wafer 1. Of course, it can be understood that there is a gap between it and the second limiting mechanism 840 and the edge of the wafer 1 to facilitate the radial offset transfer of the wafer 1 without contacting the active roller 851 or the driven roller 852.

[0285] In this embodiment, the device simultaneously adopts a limiting mechanism 1 860, a limiting mechanism 2 840 and a transfer mechanism 830. Through the limiting wafer comb 1 861, the limiting wafer comb 2 841 and the transfer wafer comb, accidental touching of wafer 1 causing excessive radial displacement of wafer 1 is avoided, and its vertical state stability is improved, while irregular rotation during edge finding is reduced. That is, the axial shaking of wafer 1 caused by blocking rod 862 is limited to a smaller range through wafer combs 1 arranged step by step along the circumference of wafer 1 to avoid touching adjacent wafer 1 and escaping from blocking rod 862.

[0286] The working process of the wafer edge finding device 800 is as follows:

[0287] S1 When it is necessary to dock with the external wafer 1 robot to transfer the wafer 1, the transfer mechanism 830 rises to the top of the second limiting mechanism 840 and passes through the entrance 811 to receive the wafer 1.

[0288] S2 After the wafer 1 is taken, the transfer mechanism 830 descends, so that the wafer 1 is seated on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 , and the edge of the wafer is inserted into the second limiting groove 8411 .

[0289] S3 The transfer mechanism 830 continues to descend and is out of contact with the wafer 1 , and the wafer 1 is completely seated on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852 .

[0290] S4 limits the wafer comb 861 to rise to a certain height so that the wafer 1 is offset and sits on the blocking rod 862 and the active roller 851 or the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, and the edge finding is completed.

[0291] S5: The wafer comb 861 is limited to descend so that the wafer 1 is offset and positioned on the active roller 851 and the driven roller 852.

[0292] S6 starts the active roller 851 again as needed, so that the wafers 1 are uniformly rotated to a certain angle.

[0293] S7 The transfer mechanism 830 rises and takes away the wafer 1 with a regular angle.

[0294] S4 is specifically:

[0295] Find the edge of wafer 1 in groove 11:

[0296] S200: If the wafer 1 is in a stationary state when being lifted by the blocking rod 862, then steps S300-S310 are executed; if the wafer 1 is in a rotating state when being lifted by the blocking rod 862, then steps S400-S410 are executed;

[0297] S300: The blocking rod 862 is arranged close to the driven roller 852, so that the lifted wafer 1 is carried on the blocking rod 862 and the driving roller 851;

[0298] S310: Control the active roller 851 to rotate, so as to drive the wafer 1 to rotate, and after the groove 11 of the wafer 1 is embedded in the blocking rod 862, the wafer 1 deviates toward the direction close to the driven roller 852 until it is carried on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852, and stops rotating;

[0299] S400: The blocking rod 862 is arranged close to the active roller 851, so that the lifted wafer 1 is carried on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852;

[0300] S410 After the groove 11 of the wafer 1 is embedded in the blocking rod 862, the wafer 1 deviates toward the direction close to the driven roller 852 and stops rotating.

[0301] Finding the edge of flat groove 12 wafer 1:

[0302] S510 The active roller 851 drives the wafer 1 to rotate;

[0303] S520 The blocking rod 862 lifts the wafer 1 in the rotating state, and the lifted wafer 1 is carried on the blocking rod 862 and the driven roller 852;

[0304] S530 After the flat groove 12 of the wafer 1 is in contact with the contact surface 8621 , the wafer 1 stops rotating.

[0305] 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.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer system, characterized in that: include: A wafer box pick-and-place unit, the wafer box pick-and-place unit comprising a loading platform 1, the loading platform 1 is used to receive and carry the wafer box; A box opening unit, the box opening unit comprising a wafer box switch and a clamping mechanism, the wafer box switch is used to carry and open and close the wafer box, and the clamping mechanism is used to clamp and lift the wafer box located on the wafer box switch; A wafer box transfer robot, the wafer box transfer robot is used to transfer the wafer box between the wafer box pick-and-place unit and the box opening unit; Wherein, the clamping mechanism comprises: Clamping mount; A top claw disposed on the clamping mounting seat; At least two lower claws are arranged opposite to each other, the lower claws are arranged along the circumference of the top claw, the lower claws include an inclined abutting surface for abutting against the bottom surface of the wafer box connector, and the lower claws gradually decrease in the direction close to the center of the top claw, and the minimum distance between the inclined abutting surface and the plane where the top claw is located is adapted to the thickness of the connector; and A second driving member is arranged on the clamping mounting seat, and the second driving member is used to drive at least two relatively arranged lower claws to move toward the center direction of the top claw, so as to clamp the connector at the top of the wafer box between the lower claws and the top claws.

2. The wafer transfer system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer box switch includes a loading platform 2 for carrying the wafer box and a box opening mechanism for opening and closing the wafer box. A carrying plate 2 and a carrying plate 2 driving mechanism are arranged on the loading platform 2. The carrying plate 2 is used to carry the wafer box. The carrying plate 2 is provided with an avoidance groove 2, which extends inward from the side of the carrying plate 2 away from the box opening mechanism, and the avoidance groove 2 runs through the thickness direction of the carrying plate 2. The carrying plate 2 driving mechanism is used to drive the carrying plate 2 to be located in the box opening position to be close to the box opening mechanism, or to be located in the avoidance position to be away from the box opening mechanism, and the clamping mechanism is located directly above the avoidance position.

3. The wafer transfer system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower claw and the top claw are provided with touch pressure sensors matched with the notch of the connector; the touch pressure sensors are arranged on the inner side of the lower claw and located above the abutting surface to face the notch of the connector.

4. The wafer transfer system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second driving member is a slide rail type parallel mechanical claw, and the two sliding blocks of the second driving member are respectively connected to the two lower claws arranged opposite to each other.

5. The wafer transfer system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes multiple storage plates, each of which is provided with an avoidance groove three, which extends inward from the free side of the storage plate and runs through the thickness direction of the storage plate. The wafer box transfer robot is used to transfer the wafer box on the clamping mechanism to the storage plate.

6. The wafer transfer system according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a wafer flip unit and a wafer transfer unit, wherein the wafer flip unit is used to convert the wafer between a horizontal state and a vertical state, and the wafer transfer unit is used to transfer the wafer in a horizontal state between the box opening unit and the wafer flip unit; wherein the wafer flip unit includes a wafer fixing mechanism, and the wafer fixing mechanism includes: A horizontal support mechanism, the horizontal support mechanism comprising two support comb columns arranged opposite to each other to cooperate with supporting the wafer in a horizontal state, and a passage for the wafer to enter and exit is formed between the two support comb columns; A circumferential clamping mechanism comprises at least two clamping comb columns respectively arranged at two ends of the channel, and at least two of the clamping comb columns cooperate with the supporting comb columns to clamp the wafer located on the supporting comb columns.

7. The wafer transfer system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The circumferential clamping mechanism comprises two clamping comb columns respectively arranged at two ends of the channel, and the center positions of the two clamping comb columns are matched with the center positions of the two supporting comb columns; or, The circumferential clamping mechanism comprises at least three clamping comb columns respectively arranged at both ends of the channel, and the center position of the circumscribed circle of the closed figure formed by the at least three clamping comb columns is matched with the center position of the two supporting comb columns; or, The circumferential clamping mechanism comprises four clamping comb columns which are arranged in pairs at both ends of the channel, and the center position of the circumscribed circle of the closed figure formed by the four clamping comb columns coincides with the center position of the two supporting comb columns.

8. The wafer transfer system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The supporting comb column includes a plurality of supporting plates, which are stacked in sequence and spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to a horizontal plane to horizontally support a plurality of wafers; the clamping comb column includes a plurality of clamping plates, which cooperate with the corresponding supporting plates to contact the edges of the wafers on the corresponding supporting plates.

9. The wafer transfer system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The supporting comb column also includes a rotating shaft arranged along the height direction of the channel, and a plurality of supporting plates are connected to the rotating shaft so as to approach and support the wafer, or move away from and avoid the wafer under the rotation of the rotating shaft; the clamping comb column can rotate to drive the clamping plates to move away from and avoid the wafer entering and exiting the channel, or approach and cooperate with each other to clamp the wafer located on the supporting comb column.

10. The wafer transfer system according to claim 8, characterized in that: The end of the clamping plate is provided with a V-shaped groove matched with the thickness of the wafer; a gap is provided between adjacent clamping plates, and the gap matches with the wafer to allow the wafer to pass through.

11. The wafer transfer system according to claim 9, characterized in that: A plurality of the support plates are arranged in a row along the circumference of the rotating shaft, and any end of the support plate supports the wafer; or, The plurality of support plates are arranged in at least two rows along the circumference of the rotating shaft, and the support plates in any one of the two rows support the wafer.

12. The wafer transfer system according to any one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that: The wafer flipping unit also includes: A housing, the wafer fixing mechanism is arranged in the housing, and the housing is provided with openings for the wafer to enter and exit at two ends corresponding to the channel; and, The housing is connected to the execution end of the driving mechanism and is driven by the driving mechanism to rotate around an axis parallel to the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the channel, so that the channel is parallel to or perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

13. The wafer transfer system according to claim 12, characterized in that: The wafer flipping unit also includes: A wafer carrying device, which is used to carry the wafer flipped to a vertical state by the wafer flipping device, and the wafer carrying device includes at least two groups of nested carrying wafer comb groups, and at least one group of the carrying wafer comb groups can be raised and lowered relative to other carrying wafer comb groups.

14. The wafer transfer system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The wafer transfer unit includes a wafer transfer robot arm, the wafer transfer robot arm includes a wafer clamp, and the wafer clamp includes: At least one claw plate, on which at least two claw blocks are arranged to form a receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer; The limiting device includes a push rod and a push rod driving mechanism, wherein the push rod driving mechanism is used to drive the push rod to move 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.

15. The wafer transfer system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The wafer transfer unit includes a wafer transfer robot arm, the wafer transfer robot arm includes a wafer horizontal support device, and the wafer horizontal support device includes: At least one claw plate, on which two claw groups are arranged, and each of the claw groups includes at least one claw block to form a receiving space for accommodating and supporting the wafer; The claw group driving mechanism is connected to at least one of the claw groups and is used to drive the claw group to move so that the accommodating space is adapted to the wafer to be accommodated.

16. The wafer transfer system according to claim 14, characterized in that: The wafer transfer robot arm includes two wafer clamps.

17. The wafer transfer system according to claim 14, characterized in that: The claw block is stepped and includes at least one set of mutually connected supporting surfaces and limiting surfaces to form at least one receiving space, wherein the supporting surface is used to support the wafer, and the limiting surface is used to limit the horizontal movement of the wafer.

18. The wafer transfer system according to claim 15, characterized in that: The claw block is stepped and includes at least two supporting surfaces along its height direction. The corresponding supporting surfaces in the two claw groups are adapted to support the wafer. A limiting surface is provided on the side of the supporting surface away from the claw plate, and the limiting surface faces the center of the receiving space to limit the deviation of the wafer located on the corresponding supporting surface. The claw group driving mechanism is used to drive one of the claw groups to move so that the corresponding supporting surface is adapted to the wafer to be received.

19. The wafer transfer system according to claim 15, characterized in that: The claw group driving mechanism includes a driving member 1, a transmission assembly connected to the driving member 1, a connecting member connected to the transmission assembly, and a mounting member connected to the connecting member and used to mount any one of the claw groups; the transmission assembly is a small lead screw transmission assembly; the driving member 1 is a motor with an absolute encoder.

20. The wafer transfer system according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that: The bottom diameter of the accommodating space is larger than the diameter of the wafer.

21. The wafer transfer system according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that: It comprises a plurality of claw plate modules which are stacked in sequence and spaced apart from each other, wherein the claw plate module comprises a connecting seat and a plurality of claw plates connected to the connecting seat, and the plurality of claw plates are stacked in sequence and spaced apart from each other along the height direction of the connecting seat; 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.

22. The wafer transfer system according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that: The claw plate is provided with two claw blocks, and the receiving space is formed with the straight line where the two claw blocks are located as the diameter; or, At least three claw blocks are arranged on the claw plate; or, The claw support plate is provided with four claw support blocks, and two claw support blocks are arranged in parallel at two ends of the claw support plate.

23. The wafer transfer system according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The supporting surface is arranged horizontally, or the supporting surface is arranged inclined relative to the horizontal plane toward the claw plate and the center of the receiving space; 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.

24. The wafer transfer system according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The limiting surface is an arc-shaped surface adapted to the circumference of the wafer.

25. A wafer transfer method, characterized in that: The wafer transfer system according to claim 1 is used, and includes the following steps: When there is no wafer box on the wafer box switch, the S100 wafer box transfer robot places the wafer box to be operated on the wafer box switch; S200: The clamping mechanism clamps the wafer box on which the operation is completed on the wafer box opener and lifts it away from the wafer box opener; The S300 wafer box transfer robot transfers the wafer box located on the clamping mechanism to other locations when the wafer box opener and wafer transfer robot are operating.

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