A semiconductor device

Abstract

The present application provides a semiconductor equipment, comprising: a semiconductor equipment front end module, a vacuum conveying device, and at least one reaction cavity; the semiconductor equipment front end module is arranged above the vacuum conveying device in a stacking manner and forms a wafer conveying channel in a vertical direction, and the vacuum conveying device is connected to the reaction cavity in a horizontal direction. In the present application, the semiconductor equipment front end module, the vacuum conveying device, and the reaction cavity are assembled in a stacking manner, which reduces the floor area of the semiconductor equipment containing the semiconductor equipment front end module in a clean room, effectively reduces the movement stroke of the OHT when the OHT lowers or lifts a wafer box, improves the turnover efficiency of the wafer box, and can effectively prevent unexpected risks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor devices, and more particularly to a semiconductor device including a semiconductor device front-end module. Background Technology

[0002] The various types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment installed in a fabrication assembly (FAA) typically include Equipment Front End Modules (EFEMs), which, in conjunction with Overhead Hoist Transfer (OHT) vehicles, enable the loading and transport of wafer pods (FOUPs) containing wafers. FAB cleanroom manufacturing is expensive, and existing technologies for equipment front end modules (or EFEM wafer loading devices) or semiconductor equipment containing such modules often fail to effectively utilize the cleanroom's height, resulting in wasted vertical space.

[0003] Meanwhile, existing EFEMs typically have one to four loadports arranged in a straight line directly below the OHT (Output Handling Unit). The rear end of the EFEM connects to a vacuum transfer module (VTM) and at least one reaction chamber, resulting in a significant increase in the longitudinal length of the semiconductor device and consequently a substantial increase in the floor space required for semiconductor devices within the FAB (Fan Embedded Container) cleanroom. This makes it difficult to install a larger number of semiconductor devices within a cleanroom of the same area. Finally, because the stage at the front end of the EFEM in traditional semiconductor devices is relatively low, it increases the travel distance of the robotic arm used to lower or raise the wafer cassette, which negatively impacts wafer cassette turnover efficiency and may pose certain safety risks.

[0004] In view of this, it is necessary to improve the existing semiconductor devices that include the front-end module of the semiconductor device in order to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to disclose a semiconductor device that reduces the floor space occupied by the semiconductor device, including the front-end module, in a cleanroom, while reducing the travel distance of the OHT (Output Handler) when lowering or raising the wafer cassette, improving the wafer cassette turnover efficiency, and effectively preventing accidental risks.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a semiconductor device, comprising:

[0007] A semiconductor device front-end module, a vacuum transfer device, and at least one reaction chamber;

[0008] The semiconductor device front-end module is stacked above the vacuum transfer device and forms a wafer transport channel in the vertical direction. The reaction chamber is connected to the side of the vacuum transfer device.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the front end module of the semiconductor device is provided with at least one forward loading terminal and a forward chip library interface.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, it also includes at least one lateral loading terminal and a lateral chip library interface disposed on the side of the front-end module of the semiconductor device.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the semiconductor device front-end module is internally equipped with an industrial robot for loading wafers, and the forward wafer library interface and the side wafer library interface are movably opened and closed so that the industrial robot can perform wafer loading operations on wafer cassettes placed on the forward loading end and the side loading end.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the semiconductor device front-end module has an equal number of lateral loading ends symmetrically arranged on its side, and the lines connecting the lateral loading ends are parallel to the lines connecting the forward loading ends.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the lateral loading end and the forward loading end are located at the same height in the vertical direction.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the reaction chamber performs Photo process, Etch process, Diffusion process, Thin film process, CMP process or detection process.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0016] In this invention, the semiconductor equipment front-end module, vacuum transfer device and reaction chamber are stacked and assembled, which reduces the floor space of the semiconductor equipment including the semiconductor equipment front-end module in the clean room, effectively reduces the movement stroke of the OHT when lowering or raising the wafer cassette, improves the turnover efficiency of the wafer cassette, and effectively prevents accidental risks. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of a semiconductor device according to the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A top view of a semiconductor device in one embodiment is shown;

[0019] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A top view of a semiconductor device in another embodiment is shown;

[0020] Figure 4 is Figure 1 A perspective view of the front-end module of a semiconductor device as shown Detailed implementation manners

[0021] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are not limitations on the present invention, and any equivalent transformation or substitution in terms of function, method, or structure made by those of ordinary skill in the art based on these embodiments falls within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0022] It should be understood that in each embodiment, the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", "positive direction", "negative direction", etc. indicate the orientation or position relationship based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the technical solution 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 should not be construed as a limitation on the technical solution of the present invention.

[0023] Example 1:

[0024] Refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 An embodiment of a semiconductor device of the present invention disclosed

[0025] As Figure 1 shown, in this embodiment, a semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor device front-end module 30, a vacuum transfer device 40, and at least one reaction chamber 50. The semiconductor device front-end module 30 is stacked above the vacuum transfer device 40 and forms a wafer transfer channel in the vertical direction. The reaction chamber 50 is connected to the side of the vacuum transfer device 40. In this embodiment, the reaction chamber 50 is arranged at the rear end of the vacuum transfer device 40 along the Figure 1 direction shown by arrow A in Figure 1 . Of course, the reaction chamber 50 can also be arranged on one side or both sides (not shown) of the vacuum transfer device 40 along the

[0026] The reaction chamber 50 performs Photo process, Etch process, Diffusion process, Thin film process, CMP process or inspection process. The specific type of semiconductor equipment can be determined depending on the specific process steps performed by the reaction chamber 50. In this embodiment, since the front-end module 30 of the semiconductor equipment is stacked vertically above the vacuum transfer device 40, the movement distance of the robot arm of the OHT for lowering and grasping or loading the wafer cassette 11 is shortened, effectively reducing the movement stroke of the OHT for lowering or lifting and grasping the wafer cassette, improving the turnover efficiency of the wafer cassette, thereby improving the throughput efficiency of the front-end module 30 of the semiconductor equipment for the wafer cassette 11 and the wafer 34 to a certain extent, and being able to prevent potential safety hazards that may occur during the lowering or lifting of the wafer cassette 11, and effectively preventing accidental risks.

[0027] At the same time, since the vacuum transfer device 40 is horizontally connected to at least one reaction chamber 50, the distance of the entire semiconductor equipment in the longitudinal direction (along the Figure 1 directions indicated by arrows A and B) is appropriately shortened, thereby reducing the floor area of the semiconductor equipment in the clean room and enabling more semiconductor equipment to be installed and deployed in the clean room.

[0028] Refer Figure 2 As shown, at least one forward loading end and a forward cassette interface are provided on the front side (along the Figure 1 direction indicated by arrow B) of the front-end module 30 of the semiconductor equipment. An industrial robot 32 for loading wafers is provided inside the front-end module 30 of the semiconductor equipment, and the forward cassette interface 12 is movably opened and closed to perform wafer loading operations on the wafer cassette 11 placed on the forward loading end 10 through the industrial robot. The industrial robot can adopt a telescopic robot arm 32 as shown in Figure 4 to perform picking and loading operations on the wafers 34 in the wafer cassette 11. Refer Figure 4 As shown, a terminal wafer picking device 33 for picking up wafers 34 is provided at the execution end of the telescopic robot arm 32. A frame 35 made of aluminum alloy profiles is configured inside the front-end module 30 of the semiconductor equipment. The front and side parts of the frame 35 are hollowed out to provide a movement space for the terminal wafer picking device 33 to take out or load wafers 34 from the wafer cassette 11.

[0029] In this embodiment, three horizontally arranged (along the Figure 1 directions indicated by arrows C and D) forward loading ends 10, namely forward loading ends 10a to 10c, are provided at the front end of the front-end module 30 of the semiconductor equipment. Of course, more or fewer forward loading ends 10 can also be provided at the front end of the front-end module 30 of the semiconductor equipment. Refer Figure 4As shown, the frame 35 in the semiconductor equipment front-end module 30 constructs the motion space of the telescopic robotic arm 32 and forms a wafer transport channel in the vertical direction, as shown by arrows 38 and 39. A linear guide 37 is formed on the side of the frame 35, and a lifting platform 36 controlled by a servo control system is configured on the linear guide 37. The lifting platform 36 can move up and down in the wafer transport channel in the vertical direction to transport the wafer 34 downwards to the vacuum transfer device 40 for vacuum-to-atmospheric pressure conversion, or to lift the wafer 34 upwards after the reaction chamber 50 completes the corresponding processing, where it is picked up by the end-effector 33 and reloaded into the wafer cassette 11 located on the forward loading end. The technical solution for transferring wafers between the vacuum transfer device 40 and one or more reaction chambers 50 is prior art and will not be described further here.

[0030] Example 2:

[0031] Reference Figure 3 As shown, this embodiment discloses another embodiment of the semiconductor device.

[0032] The main difference between this embodiment and the semiconductor device disclosed in Embodiment 1 is that, in this embodiment, the semiconductor device further includes at least one lateral loading end and a lateral wafer library interface disposed on the side of the semiconductor device front-end module 30. Specifically, in this embodiment, an industrial robot 32 for loading wafers is disposed inside the semiconductor device front-end module 30. The forward wafer library interface 12 (i.e., forward wafer library interface 12a, forward wafer library interface 12b, and forward wafer library interface 12c) and the lateral wafer library interface (i.e., lateral wafer library interface 12f and lateral wafer library interface 12e) are movably opened and closed so that the industrial robot can perform wafer loading operations on the wafer cassettes placed on the forward loading end 10 and the lateral loading ends 10f and 10e.

[0033] It is particularly noteworthy that, in this embodiment, since one or more lateral loading terminals are added to the side of the semiconductor equipment front-end module 30, one or all of the lateral loading terminals can be used as buffer ports to replace or partially replace the number of temporary storage containers used for temporary storage of wafer cassettes 11 in the cleanroom and appropriately reduce the capacity of the temporary storage containers, thereby reducing the construction cost of the temporary storage containers. After the wafer 34 completes the corresponding process (e.g., epitaxial growth) in the reaction chamber 50, it can be stored in the wafer cassette 11, which serves as a buffer port, by an industrial robot, and the wafer cassette 11 is pulled to the loading terminal of the next machine (i.e., semiconductor equipment) according to the overall scheduling of OHT to execute the next semiconductor processing process.

[0034] In this embodiment, the semiconductor device front-end module 30 has an equal number of lateral loading ends (i.e., lateral loading ends 10f and lateral loading ends 10e) symmetrically arranged on its side. The line connecting lateral loading ends 10f and 10e is parallel to the line connecting the forward loading ends 10, thereby simplifying the installation of the OHT track above the semiconductor device. Lateral loading ends 10f and 10e are at the same height as the forward loading ends 10 in the vertical direction, allowing the end effector 33 of the industrial robot 32 to more easily insert or load wafers 34 from the wafer cassette. For the same parts of the semiconductor device disclosed in this embodiment as in Embodiment 1, please refer to Embodiment 1; they will not be repeated here.

[0035] The detailed descriptions listed above are merely specific descriptions of feasible embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. All equivalent embodiments or modifications made without departing from the spirit of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0036] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present 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 its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

[0037] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device, characterized in that, include: A semiconductor device front-end module, a vacuum transfer device, and at least one reaction chamber; The semiconductor device front-end module is stacked above the vacuum transfer device and forms a wafer transport channel in the vertical direction; the reaction chamber is connected to the side of the vacuum transfer device. The front end module of the semiconductor device is provided with at least one forward loading end and a forward chip library interface. The semiconductor equipment front-end module also includes a frame, the side of which forms a linear guide rail. The guide rail is connected to a lifting platform, which can move up and down in the vertical wafer transport channel to transport the wafer downward to the vacuum transport device to perform vacuum-atmospheric pressure conversion. It also includes at least one lateral loading end and a lateral chip library interface disposed on the side of the front-end module of the semiconductor device, wherein the lateral loading end and the forward loading end are located at the same height in the vertical direction; At least one side loading port serves as a cache port.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The semiconductor equipment front-end module is internally equipped with an industrial robot for loading wafers. The forward wafer library interface and the side wafer library interface are movably opened and closed so that the industrial robot can perform wafer loading operations on wafer cassettes placed on the forward loading end and the side loading end.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The semiconductor device front-end module has an equal number of lateral loading terminals symmetrically arranged on its side, and the lines connecting the lateral loading terminals are parallel to the lines connecting the forward loading terminals.

4. The semiconductor device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The reaction chamber performs Photo, Etch, Diffusion, Thin film, CMP, or detection processes.

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