Chip taping apparatus and method for taping multiple chips to a carrier board

Abstract

This application provides a chip mounting apparatus and method for mounting multiple chips onto a carrier board, wherein the chip mounting apparatus includes: a carrier board support unit having at least one support element defining a support plane, and a support frame operable to hold the carrier board on one side of the support plane, the carrier board being parallel to the support plane; a wafer supply unit having a wafer holder operable to hold a diced wafer to separate the diced wafer from the support plane defined by the at least one support element of the carrier board support unit, and to determine the orientation of the diced wafer such that its exposed surface faces the side of the carrier board held by the support plane; and a chip transfer module disposed between the carrier board support unit and the wafer supply unit, operable to transfer chips from the diced wafer to the carrier board.

Description

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Singapore Patent Application No. 10202009617X, filed on September 28, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to apparatus or bonders for chip bonding. Specifically, this disclosure relates to an apparatus or bonder for bonding multiple semiconductor dies from a diced wafer to a carrier, panel, or carrier panel, which can be used in packaging processes such as panel-level semiconductors. This disclosure also relates to a method for bonding multiple chips to a carrier using the aforementioned apparatus or bonder. In particular, this disclosure relates to a method for bonding multiple chips to a carrier using an apparatus or bonder, which can be used, for example, in panel-level semiconductor packaging processes. Background Technology

[0004] In recent years, panel-level packaging (PLP) of semiconductor devices has attracted considerable interest in the industry. This is because it allows for the parallel packaging of more chips compared to traditional wafer-level or substrate-level packaging technologies. Panel-level packaging typically involves attaching individual chips to a large carrier board for chip mounting. This increases packaging throughput and reduces costs. However, panel-level packaging also has some drawbacks, such as dust on the carrier board surface, post-mount chip inspection, reduced throughput during chip mounting on the panel, and total machine uptime loss due to wafer turnaround.

[0005] Therefore, panel-level packaging processes still require more efficient and useful devices and methods to mount multiple chips onto a carrier board. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, this application discloses a chip mounting apparatus. In some embodiments, the chip mounting apparatus includes a carrier support unit having at least one support element defining a support plane, and a support frame operable to rest a carrier against the at least one support element, thereby holding the carrier on one side of the support plane, the carrier being parallel to the support plane; a wafer supply unit having a wafer holder operable to hold a diced wafer to separate the diced wafer from the support plane defined by the at least one support element of the carrier support unit, and to determine the orientation of the diced wafer such that its exposed surface faces the side of the support plane holding the carrier; and a chip transfer module disposed between the carrier support unit and the wafer supply unit, operable to pick up a chip from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and place the chip on the carrier held by the carrier support unit, thereby bonding the chip to the carrier.

[0007] This application also discloses a chip placement machine for mounting multiple chips from a diced wafer onto a carrier board. In some embodiments, the chip placement machine includes a support structure having a base support surface located on a surface supporting the chip placement device; a wafer supply unit configured to hold the diced wafer upright such that the wafer face of the diced wafer is substantially perpendicular to the base support surface; a carrier board support unit having a carrier board holder configured to hold the carrier board such that the chip placement surface of the carrier board is substantially perpendicular to the base support surface; a chip transfer module disposed between the wafer supply unit and the carrier board support unit, configured to transfer the multiple chips from the diced wafer to the carrier board; and a vision system for observing the operation of the chip placement device to provide feedback for controlling the wafer supply unit, the carrier board support unit, and the chip transfer module.

[0008] This application also discloses a chip mounting method for mounting multiple chips onto a carrier board using a chip mounting apparatus. In some embodiments, the mounting method includes the steps of: picking up chips from a diced wafer via a chip transfer module of the chip mounting apparatus, the diced wafer being held by a carrier holder of a carrier support unit of the chip mounting apparatus to space the diced wafer and the carrier board held by the carrier support unit of the chip mounting apparatus apart, and orienting the diced wafer so that its exposed surface faces a mounting surface of the carrier board; and a step of: placing the chips on the mounting surface of the carrier board held by the carrier support unit via the chip transfer module for mounting the chips onto the mounting surface of the carrier board, wherein the chip transfer module is located between the carrier support unit and the wafer supply unit. Attached Figure Description

[0009] In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally refer to the same parts in different views. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, but the emphasis is generally on illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments are described with reference to the following drawings, wherein:

[0010] Figure 1 A schematic side view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0011] Figure 2 A schematic front view of a wafer supply unit according to an embodiment of this application is shown, which is an apparatus or chip mounter for moving a chip along a wafer moving plane.

[0012] Figure 3 A schematic rear view of a carrier support unit according to an embodiment of this application is shown, which is an apparatus or chip mounter for moving a chip along a carrier moving plane.

[0013] Figure 4A A schematic side view of an apparatus or chip mounter configured to perform same-side transfer of a chip mounter according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0014] Figure 4B It shows Figure 4A A schematic top view of a chip placement device or chip placement machine.

[0015] Figure 4C It shows Figure 4A A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine, in which the diced wafer and the carrier are opposite each other and at an angle.

[0016] Figure 5AA schematic side view of an apparatus or chip mounter configured to perform off-side transfer according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0017] Figure 5B It shows Figure 5A A schematic top view of a chip placement device or chip placement machine.

[0018] Figure 5C It shows Figure 5A A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine, in which the diced wafer and the carrier are opposite each other and at an angle.

[0019] Figures 6A to 6F This application illustrates a process for chip placement using a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 7A A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0021] Figure 7B It shows Figure 7A A schematic side view of a chip placement device or chip placement machine.

[0022] Figure 8A A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0023] Figure 8B A schematic side view of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine shown in Figure 7 is illustrated.

[0024] Figures 9A to 9E The use of, as shown Figure 7A and Figure 7B A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine for chip placement process.

[0025] Figure 10A A schematic front view of a dual-wafer exchange device (or dual-wafer exchange station) for a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0026] Figure 10B It shows Figure 10A A schematic side view of the first wafer supply unit of the dual wafer exchange equipment, which is operable to perform chip mounting processes.

[0027] Figure 10C It shows Figure 10A A schematic side view of the second wafer supply unit of a dual wafer exchange device, which is operable for chip mounting processes.

[0028] Figures 11A to 11CA series of schematic diagrams are shown of a wafer rack assembling a diced wafer into a wafer supply unit according to an embodiment of this application.

[0029] Figure 11D It shows Figure 11C A schematic side section.

[0030] Figure 12 A schematic side view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0031] Figure 13A A schematic side view of a wafer erection apparatus according to an embodiment of this application is shown, which can keep the wafer supply unit of a chip placement device or a chip placement machine in a horizontal arrangement.

[0032] Figure 13B It shows Figure 13A The schematic side view of the wafer uprighting equipment in the figure shows that the wafer supply unit of the chip placement device or chip placement machine can be kept in a vertical arrangement.

[0033] Figure 14A A schematic side view of a carrier board erecting device according to an embodiment of this application is shown, which can hold the carrier board support unit of a chip placement device or a chip placement machine in a horizontal arrangement.

[0034] Figure 14B It shows Figure 14A The schematic side view of the carrier board uprighting device shows how to keep the chip placement device or the carrier board support unit of the chip placement machine in a vertical arrangement.

[0035] Figure label:

[0036] 100 - Chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine

[0037] 102-Cut Wafer

[0038] 102a-Wafer Side

[0039] 102b-Cut strip side

[0040] 104 – Chip

[0041] 104a-Chip Moving Plane

[0042] 104-1 – The Next Chip

[0043] 104-2 – Another chip

[0044] 106 – Carrier

[0045] 106a – Patch

[0046] 106b – (Carrier plate 106) Back side

[0047] 108 – Supporting Structure

[0048] 108a – Base support surface

[0049] 109 – Surface (e.g., ground)

[0050] 110 – Carrier Plate Support Unit

[0051] 111 – Support Plane

[0052] 111a – Support plane 111 is used to support one side of the carrier plate 106.

[0053] 112 – Support element

[0054] 112a – Support Roller

[0055] 112b – Guide Roller

[0056] 114-Carrier rack

[0057] 116,126,126-1- Two-axis Cartesian motion mechanism

[0058] 116a, 126a, 126a-1 – First Link

[0059] 116b, 126b – Second Link

[0060] 117a, 117b - Linear Actuators

[0061] 118-Carrier plate moving plane

[0062] 120,120-1-Wafer Supply Unit

[0063] 122-Wafer Frame

[0064] 123 - Predetermined forward loading direction

[0065] 124-Wafer Stretcher

[0066] 124a-Inner Ring

[0067] 124b – Outer Ring

[0068] 125 – Stopper

[0069] 128-Wafer Moving Plane

[0070] 130-Chip Transmission Module

[0071] 130a – First Side

[0072] 130b – Second Side

[0073] 131a, 131b – Pickup Location

[0074] 132a, 132b - Pickup and Movement Unit

[0075] 133a, 133b - Release Position

[0076] 134a, 134a-1, 134b, 134b-1 - Pickup Head

[0077] 135a, 135b - Rotation axis

[0078] 136a, 136b - Bending Path

[0079] 150-Sensing Devices

[0080] 152-Chip Pickup Sensing Device

[0081] 152a – Sensor

[0082] 154-Chip Placement Sensing Device

[0083] 154a - First Sensor

[0084] 154b - Second Sensor

[0085] 154c - Third Sensor

[0086] 154a-1 – First Chip Camera

[0087] 154b-1 – Second Chip Camera

[0088] 154c-1 – Panel Camera

[0089] 160 – Ejector

[0090] 162 – Top of head

[0091] 170-Wafer Vertical Equipment

[0092] 172-Vertical Support

[0093] 180 – Carrier Plate Erection Equipment

[0094] 182-Support Frame

[0095] 174,184 - Linear Actuators

[0096] 174a, 184a - Retractable end

[0097] 176, 186 - Connectors

[0098] 176a, 186a - First end

[0099] 176b, 186b – Second end

[0100] 199 – Sample Images Detailed Implementation

[0101] The embodiments described in the context of the following apparatus are similarly effective for the corresponding methods, and vice versa. Furthermore, it is understood that the embodiments described below can be combined; for example, a portion of one embodiment can be combined with a portion of another embodiment. It should be understood that the terms “upper,” “top,” “bottom,” “lower,” “side,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “front,” “lateral,” “side,” “above,” “below,” etc., when used in the following description, are for convenience and to aid in understanding relative positions or orientations, and are not intended to limit the orientation of any device, or structure, or any part of any device or structure. Similarly, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the word “or” is intended to include “and.”

[0102] Various embodiments of this disclosure seek to provide an efficient chip mounting apparatus and method for mounting multiple semiconductor chips from a diced wafer to a carrier board. These embodiments can offer several advantages, including less dust on the carrier board (e.g., less dust adhering to the tape on the carrier board), less time loss during wafer changeovers, and / or increased overall chip mounting throughput (e.g., the number of chips mounted per unit time).

[0103] In addition to the primary inspection equipment performed after chip placement on the entire carrier board is completed, various embodiments of this disclosure seek to include auxiliary inspection equipment (e.g., sensing equipment) for checking chip placement accuracy during the chip placement process. Therefore, the accuracy of chip placement on the entire carrier board can be pre-detected before chip placement on the entire carrier board is completed. Thus, the risks and / or wasted time of continuing to complete chip placement on the entire carrier board can be reduced, minimized, or eliminated.

[0104] Various embodiments of this disclosure seek to prevent silicon dust and / or other particles from contaminating the carrier substrate by gravity (e.g., silicon dust and / or particles falling onto the carrier substrate with adhesive tape due to gravity). Therefore, various embodiments seek to provide a dust solution to avoid the accumulation or collection of dust during chip mounting on the carrier substrate. According to various embodiments, the carrier substrate can be mounted on a vertical plane relative to the ground. Furthermore, the carrier substrate can be moved along the X-axis (i.e., laterally) and Z-axis (i.e., vertically). According to various embodiments, adhesive tape can be used as a temporary adhesive for mounting the chip onto the carrier substrate. Therefore, the use of adhesive tape allows for vertical mounting of the carrier substrate. Thus, in various embodiments, the contact of silicon dust and / or other particles with the sticky surface of the adhesive tape mounted on the carrier substrate due to gravity can be eliminated or minimized.

[0105] Various embodiments of this disclosure seek to reduce the travel distance of a chip from a wafer to a carrier for chip mounting, thereby reducing the drawbacks of conventional methods where longer travel distances / travel times result in longer chip mounting times across the entire carrier, and reducing or minimizing chip misalignment. According to various embodiments, the chip can move vertically between the wafer and the carrier. Therefore, the chip can move along a plane perpendicular to both the wafer and the carrier. In this way, the chip can be mounted without having to cross or traverse surface areas of the wafer and / or the carrier. In particular, various embodiments seek to provide the shortest travel distance for high throughput. According to various embodiments, the wafer and carrier can be mounted vertically relative to the ground to achieve the shortest travel distance of the chip from the wafer to the carrier. According to various embodiments, the wafer and carrier can face each other. Therefore, the wafer surface of the wafer and the mounting surface of the carrier can face each other. Therefore, the chip can travel laterally between the vertically mounted wafer and carrier without having to cross or traverse the wafer surface of the wafer and / or the mounting surface of the carrier.

[0106] According to various embodiments, the layout and / or vertical arrangement of the wafer and carrier board allows for the inspection and measurement of placement positions awaiting placement (referred to as pre-placement inspection). Furthermore, placed chips can be inspected and measured relative to their placement positions (referred to as post-placement inspection). Therefore, various embodiments seek to provide both pre-placement and post-placement inspections. According to various embodiments, both pre-placement and post-placement inspections can be performed as each chip is placed onto the carrier board, enabling the inspection of all chips (i.e., 100% of the chips) without time loss.

[0107] In various embodiments, this disclosure seeks to reduce or minimize wafer changeover time in order to minimize its impact on the units per hour (UPH) of the chip mounting apparatus and method. Traditionally, changing each wafer can take approximately 60 to 120 seconds, or even longer. While this may seem insignificant when only a small number of wafers need to be changed, the UPH can be significantly affected when a large number of wafers are changed.

[0108] Various embodiments seek to provide dual-wafer exchange stations. According to these embodiments, dual-wafer exchange stations can significantly reduce wafer swapping time losses. According to these embodiments, while the first wafer station is operating or running, the second wafer station can be prepared, for example, including but not limited to loading a new wafer, reading the wafer barcode, downloading the wafer map, stretching the wafer, searching for the wafer center, locating the reference chip, and picking up the first chip. After the second wafer station is ready, and after all chips have been picked up from the first wafer station, the second wafer station can be in a standby state to exchange positions with the first wafer station. According to these embodiments, a camera system can be integrated on each wafer station for reading the wafer map and performing pre-inspections.

[0109] According to various embodiments, a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine may include a carrier support unit for holding the carrier in a vertical orientation relative to the ground.

[0110] According to various embodiments, a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine may include a dual-wafer exchange station. According to various embodiments, a dual-wafer exchange station may include two wafer modules (or two wafer supply units). While one wafer module (or one wafer supply unit) is operating, the other wafer module (or another wafer supply unit) may be prepared simultaneously, including but not limited to loading new wafers and calibration. According to various embodiments, calibration may be automated and may begin after wafer loading.

[0111] According to various embodiments, a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine may include the capture and processing of visual images. According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine may include a camera for pre-capturing chip images, for example, the chip may be stationary or moving during chip image capture. According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine may also include cameras for pre-placement and post-placement inspection. According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine may include a single camera or multiple cameras to capture reference images of the carrier board.

[0112] Figure 1 A schematic side view of a chip mounting apparatus or chip mounter 100 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. According to various embodiments, the chip mounting apparatus or chip mounter 100 can be used to mount a plurality of semiconductor chips (also referred to as dies or dies) 104 from a diced wafer 102 onto a carrier substrate 106. For example, it can be used in panel-level packaging processes for semiconductor components. According to various embodiments, the chip mounting apparatus or chip mounter 100 can be configured to hold the diced wafer 102 and the carrier substrate 106 such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier substrate 106 face each other. Therefore, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier substrate 106 are respectively oriented in directions opposite to each other. According to various embodiments, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier substrate 106 can face each other substantially parallel to each other in a relative manner (e.g., see...). Figure 4B and Figure 5B Alternatively, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 can be arranged face-to-face at an angle to each other (for example, see...). Figure 4C and Figure 5CAccording to various embodiments, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are arranged face-to-face at an angle to each other, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 can form an angle arrangement of less than 180°, or less than 90°, or less than 45°, or less than 30°, or less than 20°, or less than 10°. Therefore, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are arranged face-to-face at an angle to each other, the normal vector of the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the normal vector of the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 can intersect each other.

[0113] According to various embodiments, for example, the wafer dicing 102 may include a plurality of diced semiconductor chips 104 fixed to a dicing tape 105 (e.g., adhesive tape). Thus, the wafer can be adhered to the dicing tape 105 and then diced into a plurality of small particles, for example, the plurality of small particles forming a plurality of diced semiconductor chips 104 on the dicing tape 105. According to various embodiments, the wafer side 102a of the wafer dicing 102 is the opposite side of the wafer dicing 102 to the dicing tape 105. Therefore, the wafer side 102a of the wafer dicing 102 is the exposed surface of the plurality of semiconductor chips 104 facing away from the dicing tape 105. Therefore, the wafer side 102a of the wafer dicing 102 corresponds to the exposed surface of the wafer dicing 102 that does not contact the dicing tape 105, such that each semiconductor chip 104 can be picked up from the wafer side 102a of the wafer dicing 102. Therefore, the wafer side 102a and the dicing strip side 102b of the diced wafer 102 are two opposite sides of the diced wafer 102. According to various embodiments, for example, the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 may be one side of the carrier 106 used for mounting a plurality of semiconductor chips 104. According to various embodiments, the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 may be one side of the carrier 106 coated with an adhesive layer. According to various embodiments, the adhesive layer may include, but is not limited to, tape, adhesive film, adhesive sheet, adhesive paste, or adhesive glue. Therefore, the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 may include an adhesive layer or may be an adhesive surface of the carrier 106.

[0114] According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 may include a carrier support unit 110. According to various embodiments, the carrier support unit 110 may be configured to hold the carrier 106 such that the placement surface 106a of the carrier 106 faces the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102.

[0115] According to various embodiments, the carrier plate support unit 110 may include at least one support element 112 for defining a support plane 111. According to various embodiments, the carrier plate support unit 110 may include a carrier plate holder 104 operable to hold the carrier plate 106 against the at least one support element 112. Thus, the carrier plate 106 may be supported by at least one support element 112. According to various embodiments, the carrier plate 106 may be supported on one side 111a of the support plane 111 defined by the at least one support element 112. According to various embodiments, the carrier plate 106 may be supported by at least one support element 112 such that the carrier plate 106 may be parallel to the support plane 111. According to various embodiments, the carrier plate 106 may be laid flat on the side 111a of the support plane 111, parallel to the support plane 111. According to various embodiments, at least one support element 112 may provide backing support to the carrier plate 106 along the support plane 111. Therefore, when the carrier plate 106 is supported on at least one support element 112, the support plane 111 can be the interface between the support element 112 and the carrier plate 106. According to various embodiments, when the chip 104 is mounted onto the carrier plate 106, the support element 112 can be abutted against the carrier plate 106 along the support plane 111 to support the carrier plate 106. Therefore, the support element 112 can be used to resist the force used for mounting that pushes the chip 104 against the carrier plate 106, thereby supporting the carrier plate 106 along the support plane 111 when the chip 104 is mounted onto the carrier plate 106. Thus, the chip 104 is mounted onto the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110 along a predetermined mounting direction, which may be perpendicular to the side surface 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier plate 106.

[0116] According to various embodiments, the back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106 may rest on at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110, such that the back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106 is adjacent to one side 111a of the support plane 111, thereby supporting the carrier plate 106. The back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106 may be opposite to the patch surface 106a. Therefore, at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110 can provide support for the carrier plate 106 along the support plane 111 by contacting the back surface 106b. According to various embodiments, at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110 may be configured to contact the entirety or at least a portion of the back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106. For example, according to various embodiments, at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110 may have a continuous surface equal to or larger than the back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106, such that the back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106 is entirely flat on at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110. Therefore, in such embodiments, at least one support element 112 may include, but is not limited to, a panel, a flat panel, or a table. As another example, the carrier support unit 110 may include a plurality of support elements 112, each support element 112 having a contact point or a contact area adjacent to a point on the back surface 106b of the carrier 106. The plurality of support elements 112 may be distributed to define a support plane 111, thereby supporting the back surface 106a of the carrier 106 by a plurality of contact points or contact areas distributed along the support plane 111. Therefore, in such embodiments, at least one support element 112 may include, but is not limited to, point support, roller support, wheel support, ball support, bearing support, finger support, etc.

[0117] According to various embodiments, the carrier frame 114 of the carrier support unit 110 may include an attachment mechanism, including but not limited to a vacuum suction mechanism such as a vacuum hole, vacuum cup, or vacuum port, or a gripping mechanism or clamp such as a clamp, or a magnetic mechanism such as an electromagnet. According to various embodiments, when the carrier frame 114 of the carrier support unit 110 includes a vacuum suction mechanism or a magnetic mechanism, the carrier frame 114 may provide an attractive force or magnetic attraction force to press the carrier 106 against at least one support element 112 along the support plane 111. According to various embodiments, when the carrier frame 114 of the carrier support unit 110 includes a clamping mechanism, the clamping mechanism may directly provide a clamping or gripping force on the carrier 106 to push the carrier 106 against at least one support element 112 along the support surface 111; or the gripping mechanism may clamp or hold the carrier 106 and press the carrier 106 against at least one support element 112 along the support surface 111.

[0118] According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 includes a wafer supply unit 120. According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 can be configured to hold a diced wafer 102 such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 can face the mounting surface 106a of the carrier substrate 106. Therefore, since the back surface 106b of the carrier substrate 106 rests against at least one support element 112 of the carrier substrate support unit 110 along the support plane 111, the wafer supply unit 120 can be configured to hold the diced wafer 102 such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 can face at least one support element 112 of the carrier substrate support unit 110 or the support plane 111 used to support one side 111a of the carrier substrate 106. According to various embodiments, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the side of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 can be substantially parallel to each other in a face-to-face manner; or the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 can be generally face-to-face but at an angle to each other. According to various embodiments, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 are arranged opposite each other but at an angle, the angle between the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 can be less than 180°, or less than 90°, or less than 45°, or less than 30°, or less than 20°, or less than 10°. Therefore, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 are opposite each other but arranged at an angle, the normal vector of the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the normal vector of the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 can intersect each other.

[0119] According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 may include a wafer carrier 122. According to various embodiments, the wafer carrier 122 is operable to hold a diced wafer 102 spaced apart from a support plane 111 defined by at least one support element 112 of the carrier support unit 110, and to orient the diced wafer 102 so that its wafer side 102a (i.e., the exposed surface of the diced wafer 102, or one side of the diced wafer 102 opposite to the dicing strip 105, or one side of the plurality of semiconductor chips 104 of the dicing strip 105 away from the diced wafer 102) faces the side of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106. Therefore, the wafer carrier 122 may be spaced apart from the carrier support unit 110 in a direction away from the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106.

[0120] Furthermore, the wafer carrier 122 can be positioned relative to the side of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106, such that the carrier 106 held by the wafer carrier 122 is positioned such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 faces the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106. According to various embodiments, the wafer carrier 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 is operable to hold the diced wafer 102 in such a way that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 is substantially parallel to the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106; or, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 are at an angle such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the side 111a of the support plane 111 used to support the carrier 106 can face each other.

[0121] According to various embodiments, when the diced wafer 102 is properly loaded or held by the wafer rack 122, the wafer rack 122 may have a predetermined forward loading direction 123 in which the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 faces. Regardless of whether the active surfaces of the plurality of chips 104 of the diced wafer 102 are facing away from or away from the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102, the diced wafer 102 may need to be oriented such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 is along the predetermined forward loading direction 123 and in front of the dicing tape 105, so that the diced wafer 102 can be properly loaded or held by the wafer rack 122. Therefore, when the wafer rack 122 properly loads or holds the diced wafer 102, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 may face the predetermined forward loading direction 123 of the wafer rack 122. Therefore, when the wafer rack 122 correctly loads or holds the diced wafer 102, the predetermined forward loading direction 123 of the wafer rack 122 can extend vertically and away from the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102, and the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 can face the predetermined forward loading direction 123 of the wafer rack 123. Thus, when the diced wafer 102 is correctly loaded into the wafer rack 122, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 can serve as the front face of the diced wafer 102, which can face the predetermined forward loading direction 123. According to various embodiments, the wafer rack 122 can be oriented relative to the side 111a of the support plane 111 of the carrier support unit 110 used to support the carrier 106, such that the predetermined forward loading direction 123 of the wafer rack 122 faces or points toward the side 111a of the support plane 111 of the carrier support unit 110 used to support the carrier 106.

[0122] According to various embodiments, wafer rack 122 may include an attachment mechanism, including but not limited to a vacuum suction mechanism such as a vacuum hole or vacuum cup or vacuum port, or a clamping mechanism such as a jig, or a magnetic mechanism such as an electromagnet.

[0123] According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 may include a chip transfer module 130. According to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 may be disposed between the carrier support unit 110 and the wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, when the diced wafer 102 and the carrier 106 are held by the wafer holder 120 and the carrier support unit 110 respectively, the chip transfer module 130 may be located between the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mating surface 106a of the carrier panel 106, which face each other. Therefore, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 may face the chip transfer module 130, and the placement surface 106a of the carrier 106 may face the chip transfer module 130. Therefore, the wafer rack 122 can be oriented relative to the chip transfer module 130 such that the predetermined forward loading direction 123 of the wafer rack 122 faces or points toward the chip transfer module 130, and the support plane 111 of the carrier support unit 110 is used to support one side 111a of the carrier 106 facing or pointing toward the chip transfer module 130.

[0124] According to various embodiments, the carrier support unit 110 and the wafer supply unit 120 may be located on different sides of the chip transfer module 130. For example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 are substantially parallel to each other, the carrier support unit 110 and the wafer supply unit 120 may be located on opposite sides of the chip transfer module 130. As another example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 are at an angle to each other in a manner that is substantially facing each other, the carrier support unit 110 and the wafer supply unit 120 may have a corresponding angular displacement relative to the chip transfer module 130.

[0125] According to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 can be used to pick up a chip 104 from a diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120 and place the chip 104 on a carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110, thereby mounting the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106. Therefore, the chip transfer module 130 can function as a transfer mechanism operating between the carrier plate support unit 110 and the wafer supply unit 120, interacting with the wafer supply unit 120 to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120, and interacting with the carrier plate support unit 110 to place and / or mount the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110. According to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 can interact with the wafer supply unit 120 located on its first side 130a to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120, transfer the chip 104 from the first side 130a of the chip transfer module to its second side 130b, and place the chip 104 on the carrier board support unit 110 held by the carrier board support unit 110 on the second side 130b of the chip transfer module 130, thereby attaching the chip 104 onto the carrier board 106.

[0126] According to various embodiments, the chip delivery module 130 may include one or more pickup heads 134a, 134b (e.g., see...). Figures 4A to 5B The chip transfer module 130 is movable relative to the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 to interact with the wafer supply unit 120 to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120; then transfer the chip 104 from a first side 130a of the chip transfer module 130 to its second side 130b; and interact with the carrier support unit 110 to place the chip 104 onto the carrier 106 held by the carrier support unit 110, thereby attaching the chip 104 onto the carrier 106. For example, according to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 may include at least one pick-up head 134a (see, for example, see...). Figure 4A and Figure 4BThe chip transfer module 130 is movable relative to the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 to interact with the wafer supply unit 120, thereby picking up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120; transferring the chip 104 from a first side 130a of the chip transfer module 130 to its second side 130b; and interacting with the carrier support unit 110 to place the chip 104 onto the carrier 106 held by the carrier support unit 110, thereby attaching the chip 104 onto the carrier 106. As another example, according to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 includes at least two pick-up heads 134a, 134b that are independently movable relative to the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 (see, for example, see...). Figure 5A and Figure 5B Furthermore, the first pickup head 134a of at least two pickup heads interacts with the wafer supply unit 120 to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120, and then the same pickup head 134a moves the chip 104 from the first side 130a of the chip transfer module 130 to the middle position within the chip transfer module 130, and transfers the chip 104 from the first pickup head 134a of the at least two pickup heads to the second pickup head 134b, and then the same second pickup head 134b moves the chip 104 to the second side 130b of the chip transfer module 130, and then the same second pickup head 134b interacts with the carrier support unit 110 to place the chip 104 on the carrier 106 held by the carrier support unit 110, thereby attaching the chip 104 to the carrier 106.

[0127] According to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 can move the chip 104 along a chip movement plane 104a, which intersects the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106. Therefore, one or more pick-up heads 134a, 134b can move along the chip movement plane 104a to interact with the wafer supply unit 120 to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120, move the chip 104 from a first side 130a to a second side 130b of the chip transfer module 130, and interact with the carrier support unit 110 to place the chip 104 onto the carrier 106 held by the carrier support unit 110 to mount the chip 104 onto the carrier 106. According to various embodiments, the chip movement plane 104a can be substantially perpendicular to the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106. According to various embodiments, the chip moving plane 104a may be substantially parallel to a plane substantially perpendicular to the support plane 111 of the carrier 106.

[0128] According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 hold the diced wafer 102 and the carrier 106 respectively such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 face each other, and the chip transfer module 130 is disposed between the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110. The chip transfer module 130 can move the chip 104 across a short travel distance to transfer the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 to the carrier 106, thereby mounting the chip 104 onto the carrier 106, thus achieving high throughput. Therefore, the chip transfer module 130 can laterally move the chip 104 between the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106, without requiring the chip 104 to pass through or cross the area on the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and / or the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106. Therefore, compared to conventional methods that require moving the chip across or over areas on the diced wafer and / or substrate, the time required to move the chip 104 in this disclosure can be significantly reduced, resulting in the advantage of higher throughput.

[0129] According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 may include a support structure 108 that provides a frame for holding various components, including but not limited to a carrier support unit 110, and / or a wafer supply unit 120, and / or a chip transfer module 130, or the entire chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100. Thus, the support structure 108 may connect the various components in a predetermined configuration or arrangement so that the components can operate collaboratively to pick up a plurality of chips 104 from a diced wafer 102, transfer the plurality of chips 104 from the diced wafer 102 to a carrier 106, and place the plurality of chips 104 onto the carrier 106 in the manner described in various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the support structure 108 may include a base support surface 108a resting on a surface 109 for supporting the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100. For example, surface 109 may include a ground or tabletop, base support surface 108a may be placed on the ground or tabletop, and a chip placement device or chip placement machine 100 may be placed thereon. According to various embodiments, carrier support unit 110, and / or wafer supply unit 120, and / or chip transfer module 130 may be mounted to or coupled to support structure 108.

[0130] According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 can be configured to hold the diced wafer 102 such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 is substantially perpendicular to the substrate support surface 108a. Therefore, the wafer supply unit 120 can hold the diced wafer 102 in an orientation such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 is substantially perpendicular to the substrate support surface 108a. Thus, the wafer carrier 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 can hold the diced wafer 102 such that the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 is substantially perpendicular to the substrate support surface 108a.

[0131] According to various embodiments, the carrier plate holder 114 of the carrier plate support unit 110 can be configured to hold the carrier plate 106 with the patch surface 106a of the carrier plate 106 substantially perpendicular to the base support surface 108a. Therefore, the carrier plate holder 114 of the carrier plate support unit 110 can hold the carrier plate 106 in such an orientation that the patch surface 106a of the carrier plate 106 is substantially perpendicular to the base support surface 108a. Thus, the carrier plate 106 can be held by the carrier plate holder 114 of the carrier plate support unit 110 such that the patch surface 106a of the carrier plate 106 is substantially perpendicular to the base support surface 108a. Therefore, when the carrier plate 106 is held by the carrier plate holder 114 of the carrier plate support unit 110, the support plane 111 defined by at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110 abutting against the back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106 is substantially perpendicular to the base support surface 108a.

[0132] According to various embodiments, a chip transfer module 130 disposed between the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 can be configured to transfer a plurality of chips 104 from the diced wafer 102 to the carrier 106. Therefore, the chip transfer module 130 can pick up a plurality of chips 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120, transfer the plurality of chips 104 to the carrier 106 held by the carrier support unit 110, and mount the plurality of chips 104 onto the carrier 106 held by the carrier support unit 110. According to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 can transfer the plurality of chips 104 along a chip movement plane intersecting the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106. For example, according to various embodiments, the chip movement plane can be substantially parallel to the base support surface 108a.

[0133] According to various embodiments, as the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 respectively keep the diced wafer 102 and the carrier 106 perpendicular to the ground (or surface 109), dust contamination of the carrier 106 due to gravity (e.g., silicon dust and / or particles falling onto the carrier with tape due to gravity) can be reduced or eliminated. Therefore, various embodiments avoid the problem of dust accumulation on the carrier 106 during chip mounting. According to various embodiments, with the carrier 106 kept perpendicular to the ground (or surface 109), tape can be used on the carrier 106 as a temporary adhesive for mounting the chip 104 onto the carrier 106, thereby eliminating or minimizing the problem of silicon dust and / or other particles falling due to gravity and coming into contact with the adhesive surface of the tape mounted on the carrier 106.

[0134] According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 may include a sensing device 150, such as a vision system, to observe the operation of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 in order to provide feedback for controlling the wafer feed unit 120, the carrier support unit 110, and the chip transfer module 130. Therefore, the sensing device 150 can be part of feedback control for automated chip placement process operations, from picking up multiple chips 104 to transferring multiple chips 104 and placing multiple chips 104. Thus, the sensing device 150 can provide feedback and guidance to the wafer feed unit 120, the carrier support unit 110, and the chip transfer module 130 to operate collaboratively as described herein.

[0135] According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved along a wafer movement plane 128, parallel to a support plane 111 defined by at least one support element 112 of the carrier support unit 110. According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 can be linearly aligned along two orthogonal axes of the wafer movement plane 128, thereby moving within the wafer movement plane 128. According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved between different positions on the wafer movement plane 128 in the manner described above.

[0136] Figure 2A schematic front view of a wafer supply unit according to one embodiment of this application is shown, representing an apparatus or chip mounter for moving a chip along a wafer movement plane. According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 may be mounted or fitted to a two-axis Cartesian motion mechanism 126. According to various embodiments, the two-axis Cartesian motion mechanism 126 may include two links (or beams) 126a, 126b arranged perpendicularly to each other. According to various embodiments, a linear actuator may be connected to the links 126a, 126b such that it actuates the wafer supply unit 120 to move linearly along the longitudinal axis of the first link 126a, and actuates the first link 126a to move linearly along the longitudinal axis of the second link 126b. Thus, the wafer supply unit 120 can move along two orthogonal axes, thereby moving within the wafer movement plane 128.

[0137] According to various embodiments, the wafer carrier 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 is also operable to rotate the dicing wafer 102 about the center of the dicing wafer 102. Therefore, the wafer carrier 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 can rotate the dicing wafer 102 about a rotation axis passing through the center of the dicing wafer 102 and perpendicular to the dicing wafer 102. According to various embodiments, the rotation axis can be perpendicular to the wafer movement plane 128 of the wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, in addition to linear translation along the two orthogonal axes of the wafer movement plane 128, the dicing wafer 102 can also rotate about a rotation axis perpendicular to the wafer movement plane 128.

[0138] According to various embodiments, when the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer holder 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 is substantially perpendicular to the base support surface 108a or the ground (or surface 109), the two orthogonal axes can be a Z-axis for movement in the height direction and an X-axis for lateral movement.

[0139] According to various embodiments, the carrier plate support unit 110 can be moved along a carrier plate movement plane 118, which is parallel to a support plane 111 defined by at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110. According to various embodiments, the carrier plate support unit 110 can be moved within the carrier plate movement plane 118 by linear translation along two orthogonal axes. According to various embodiments, the carrier plate support unit 110 can be moved between different positions within the carrier plate movement plane 118 by linear translation along two orthogonal axes located in the carrier plate movement plane 118.

[0140] Figure 3A schematic rear view of a carrier support unit according to one embodiment of this application is shown, for a device or chip mounter for moving a chip along a carrier movement plane. According to various embodiments, the carrier support unit 110 may be mounted or fitted to a two-axis Cartesian motion mechanism 116. According to various embodiments, the two-axis Cartesian motion mechanism 116 may include two links (or beams) 116a, 116b arranged perpendicularly to each other. According to various embodiments, linear actuators 117a, 117b may be connected to the links 116a, 11b such that the carrier support unit 110 moves linearly along the longitudinal axis of the first link 116a, and actuates the first link 116a to move linearly along the longitudinal axis of the second link 116b. Thus, the carrier support unit 110 can move along two orthogonal axes, thereby moving within a carrier movement plane 118.

[0141] According to various embodiments, when the carrier 106 held by the wafer rack 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 is substantially perpendicular to the base support surface 108a or the ground (or surface 109), the two orthogonal axes may be a Z-axis for movement in the height direction and an X-axis for lateral movement.

[0142] Figure 4A A schematic side view of an apparatus or chip mounter 100 configured to perform same-side transfer of chip mounters according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 4B It shows Figure 4A A schematic top view of a chip placement device or chip placement machine 100. Figure 4C It shows Figure 4A A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100, wherein a diced wafer 102 and a carrier plate 106 are opposite each other and maintained at an angle. According to various embodiments, same-side transfer refers to the transfer of chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 to the carrier plate 106 in such a way that the side of chip 104 that contacts the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102 contacts the carrier plate 106 after the transfer. Therefore, the side of chip 104 that contacts the carrier plate 106 after transfer is the same side as the side that was attached to the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102 before transfer. Figure 5A A schematic side view of an apparatus or chip mounter 100 configured to perform off-side transfer according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 5B It shows Figure 5A A schematic top view of a chip placement device or chip placement machine 100. Figure 5C It shows Figure 5AA schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100, wherein a diced wafer 102 and a carrier plate 106 are opposite each other and held at an angle. According to various embodiments, opposite-side transfer refers to the transfer of chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 to the carrier plate 106 in such a way that the first side of chip 104 contacts the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102, and the second side contacts the carrier plate 106 after the transfer to the carrier plate 102 are opposite. Therefore, the second side of chip 104 in contact with the carrier plate 106 after the transfer can be opposite to the first side of chip 104 adhered to the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102 before the transfer. As shown, according to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 configured for same-side transfer or opposite-side transfer may differ in the configuration of the chip transfer module 130.

[0143] According to various embodiments, the chip transfer module 130 of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 configured for same-side transfer may include a pick-and-place unit 132a. According to various embodiments, the pick-and-place unit 132a may include at least one pick-up head 134a movable between a pick-up position 131a and a release position 133a. According to various embodiments, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be on different sides of the pick-and-place unit 132a. For example, according to various embodiments, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be on different sides of the pick-and-place unit 132a when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the placement surface 106a of the carrier 106 are substantially parallel to each other. In another example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are at an angle in a generally facing manner, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may have corresponding angular displacements relative to the chip transfer module 130.

[0144] According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134a is in pickup position 131a, at least one pickup head 134a can be pointed at the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120 and aligned with the chip 104 for picking up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134a is in pickup position 131a, it can be pointed at the chip 104 on the diced wafer 102 to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134a is in pickup position 131a, it can be guided or pointed away from the carrier support unit 110 and toward the wafer supply unit 120.

[0145] According to various embodiments, when at least one pick-up head 134a is in the release position 133a, it can be guided away from the diced wafer 102a held by the wafer supply unit 120 and toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110. Therefore, when at least one pick-up head 134a is in the release position 133a, it can be directed toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110. Thus, when at least one pick-up head 134a is in the release position 133a, it can be guided or directed away from the wafer supply unit 120 and toward the carrier plate support unit 110.

[0146] According to various embodiments, a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 is configured for same-side transfer, which can place a chip 104 onto a carrier 106 when at least one pick-up head 134a is in a release position 133a, thereby placing the chip 104 onto the carrier 106. According to various embodiments, the apparatus or chip placement machine 100 configured for same-side transfer of chip placement may include a single pick-up movement unit 132a, which, when at least one pick-up head 134a of the single pick-up movement unit 132a is in a pick-up position 131a, can pick up the chip 104 from a diced wafer 102 held by a wafer supply unit 120, move the chip 104 from the pick-up position 131a to the release position 133a, and place the chip 104 onto the carrier 106 when at least one pick-up head 134a is in the release position 133a, thereby placing the chip 104 onto the carrier 106. Therefore, a single pick-and-move unit 132a can directly pick up, move and place the chip 104 for mounting.

[0147] According to various embodiments, when at least one pick-up head 134a moves from pick-up position 131a to release position 133a, it can be flipped relative to the original orientation of the wafer 104 on the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120. Since the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 faces each other and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106, when the chip 104 moves from pick-up position 131a to release position 133a, by flipping the original orientation of the chip 104 on the diced wafer 102, the chip 104 can be placed and mounted onto the carrier 106, such that the arrangement of the chip 104 relative to the carrier 106 can be the same as when the chip 104 is located on the diced wafer 102. According to various embodiments, when at least one pick-up head 134a moves from pick-up position 131a to release position 133a, the orientation of the chip 104 relative to at least one pick-up head 134a can remain the same. However, when chip 104 is moved to release position 133a by at least one pick-up head 134a, the orientation of chip 104 can be flipped relative to the original orientation of chip 104 on diced wafer 102, so that the side of chip 104 that was previously in contact with the dicing tape 105 of diced wafer 102 is flipped toward the patch surface 106a of carrier 106 facing wafer side 102a of diced wafer 102. For example, when chip 104 is oriented such that its active surface faces upward relative to the diced wafer 102, by flipping chip 104 on diced wafer 102, when chip 104 moves through at least one pick-up head 134a of a single pick-up moving unit 132a of chip transfer module 130, the inactive surface of chip 104 can point toward the bonding surface 106a of carrier 106 when chip 104 is moved to a position where it will be bonded to carrier 106; and chip 104 can be placed and bonded to carrier 106 such that the inactive surface of chip 104 contacts the bonding surface 106a of carrier 106, and the active surface of chip 104 faces upward relative to carrier 106. Therefore, by flipping the chip 104 through the chip transfer module 130, when the chip 104 is transferred from the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 to the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 face each other, and the chip 104 can be placed and mounted onto the carrier 106. When the chip 104 is mounted onto the carrier 106, the arrangement of the chip 104 relative to the carrier 106 can correspond to its arrangement relative to the diced wafer 102 when it is located on the diced wafer 102.

[0148] According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134a is rotatable about a rotation axis 135a parallel to a support plane 111 defined by at least one support element 112 of the carrier support unit 110, so that when the at least one pickup head 134a rotates about the rotation axis 135a, it moves along a curved path 136a from a pickup position 131a to a release position 133a. Therefore, by moving at least one pickup head 134a along the curved path 136a, the chip 104 held by the at least one pickup head 134a can move from the pickup position 131a to the release position 133a, and when the at least one pickup head 134a rotates about the rotation axis 135a, the chip 104 is simultaneously flipped relative to the diced wafer 102. Thus, the chip 104 can be moved and flipped simultaneously by a single rotational movement of at least one pickup head 134a about the rotation axis 135a.

[0149] According to various embodiments, the radial distance of the pickup position 131a on the curved path 136a relative to the rotation axis 135a can be equal to the radial distance of the release position 133a on the curved path 136a relative to the rotation axis 135a. Therefore, the pickup position 131a and the release position 133a can be equidistant from the rotation axis 135a.

[0150] According to various embodiments, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be spaced apart at an angle relative to the rotation axis 135a of the pick-up moving unit 132a. For example, according to various embodiments, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are substantially parallel, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be spaced apart from each other at 180° relative to the rotation axis 135a of the pick-up moving unit 132a. In another example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are face-to-face at an angle, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may form a corresponding angle relative to the rotation axis 135a of the pick-up moving unit 132a.

[0151] According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134a of a single pickup movement unit 132a of a chip transfer module 130 of a chip placement device or chip placement machine 100 configured for same-side transfer is in the release position 133a, at least one pickup head 134a is operable to push the chip 104 toward a carrier plate 106 held by a carrier plate support unit 110 to apply an bonding force to mount the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106. Therefore, at least one pickup head 134a can push the chip 104 toward the mounting surface 106a of the carrier plate 106. According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134a may extend toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110 to push the chip 104 toward the carrier plate 106 and mount the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106. Therefore, at least one pickup head 134a may extend toward the bonding surface 106a of the carrier panel 106. According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134a may extend generally perpendicularly toward the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 to push the chip 104 onto the carrier 106, thereby completing the patching of the chip 104 onto the carrier 106.

[0152] According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100's chip transfer module 130 may be configured for opposite-side transfer, and may include a first pick-and-move unit 132a and a second pick-and-move unit 132b. According to various embodiments, the first pick-and-move unit 132a may include at least one pick-up head 134a, which is movable between a pick-up position 131a and a release position 133a. According to various embodiments, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be on different sides of the first pick-and-move unit 132a. For example, according to various embodiments, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the placement surface 106a of the carrier 106 are substantially parallel to each other, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be on opposite sides of the first pick-and-move unit 132a. In another example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are face-to-face at an angle, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may have corresponding angular displacements relative to the first pick-up moving unit 132a. According to various embodiments, the second pick-up moving unit 132b may include at least one pick-up head 134b movable between the pick-up position 131b and the release position 133b. According to various embodiments, the pick-up position 131b and the release position 133b may be on different sides of the second pick-up and moving unit 132b. For example, according to various embodiments, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are substantially parallel to each other, the pick-up position 131b and the release position 133b may be located on opposite sides of the second pick-up and place unit 132b. In another example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are face to face at an angle, the pick-up position 131b and the release position 133b can have corresponding angular displacements relative to the second pick-up moving unit 132b.

[0153] According to various embodiments, the first pickup moving unit 132a and the second pickup moving unit 132b may be arranged in series. According to various embodiments, the first pickup moving unit 132a may pick up a chip 104 from a diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120 at its pickup position 131a and move the chip 104 to a release position 133a of the first pickup moving unit 132a for transfer to the second pickup moving unit 132b. According to various embodiments, the second pickup moving unit 132b may receive the chip 104 from the first pickup moving unit 132a at its pickup position 131b, move the chip 104 to the release position 133b of the second pickup moving unit 132b, and place the chip 104 on a carrier board 106 for chip mounting to the carrier board 106. Therefore, the chip transfer module 130, which has a first pick-up and move unit 132a and a second pick-up and move unit 132b arranged in series, can pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120 through the first pick-up and move unit 132a; transfer the chip 104 from the first pick-up and move unit 132a to the second pick-up and move unit 132b; and place the chip 104 on the carrier board 106 so that the chip 104 can be attached to the carrier board 106 through the second pick-up and move unit 132b.

[0154] According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a is in the pickup position 131a, the at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can be oriented toward the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120 and aligned with the chip 104 to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134a is in the pickup position 131a, the at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can be pointed toward the chip 104 on the diced wafer 102 to pick up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134a is in pickup position 131a, at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a is guided or pointed away from the carrier support unit 110 and toward the wafer supply unit 120.

[0155] According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a is in the release position 133a, it can be guided away from the diced wafer 102a held by the wafer supply unit 120 and toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134a is in the release position 133a, at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can point toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134a is in the release position 133a, at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can be guided or pointed away from the wafer supply unit 120 and toward the carrier plate support unit 110.

[0156] According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b is in the pickup position 131b, the at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can be oriented toward the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134b is in the pickup position 131b, the at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup and moving unit 132b can be guided or pointed away from the carrier support unit 110 and toward the wafer supply unit 120. According to different embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b is in the pickup position 131b and at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup and release unit 132a is in the release position 133a, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can point to at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a and can be aligned with at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a; thereby, the chip 104 can be transferred from at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a to at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup and moving unit 132b.

[0157] According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b is in the release position 133b, it can be guided away from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120 and toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134b is in the release position 133b, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can point toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110. Therefore, when at least one pickup head 134b is in the release position 133b, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can be guided or pointed away from the wafer supply unit 120 and toward the carrier plate support unit 110.

[0158] According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 is configured for relative side transfer, wherein when at least one pick-up head 134b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b is in the release position 133b, the at least one pick-up head 134b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b can place the chip 104 on the carrier board 106 to mount the chip 104 onto the carrier board 106. According to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 is configured for relative side transfer, which may include two pick-up moving units 132a, 132b for picking up the chip 104 from the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120, transferring the chip 104 from the first pick-up moving unit 132a to the second pick-up moving unit 132b via the first pick-up moving unit 132a, and placing the chip 104 on the carrier board 106, thereby mounting the chip 104 onto the carrier board 106 via the second pick-up moving unit 132b. Therefore, the two pickup and movement units 132a and 132b can work together to pick up, move and place the chip 104 for chip mounting.

[0159] According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup and moving unit 132a moves from the pickup position 131a to the release position 133a, the at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup and moving unit 132a can flip the chip 104 relative to its original orientation on the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120. According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup and moving unit 132b moves from the pickup position 131b to the release position 133b, it can flip the chip 104 again in such a way that the chip 104 returns relative to the diced wafer 102, so that when the chip 104 is on the diced wafer 102 held by the wafer supply unit 120, its orientation relative to the diced wafer 102 at the release position 133b of the second pickup and moving unit 132b corresponds to the original orientation of the chip 104. Since the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 face each other, when the chip 104 moves from the pick-up position 131a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a to the release position 133a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a, the chip 104 is flipped relative to its original orientation on the diced wafer 102. And when the chip 104 moves from the pick-up position 131b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b to the release position 133b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b, the chip 104 is flipped again. The chip 104 can be placed and mounted to the carrier 106 such that the orientation disposition of the chip 104 relative to the carrier 106 is opposite to its orientation disposition relative to the diced wafer 102 when the chip 104 is on the diced wafer 102. According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a moves from the pickup position 131a of the first pickup moving unit 132a to the release position 133a of the first pickup moving unit 132a, the orientation of the chip 104 relative to at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can remain the same. However, the orientation of chip 104 can be flipped relative to its original orientation on the diced wafer 102, such that the side of chip 104 that was previously in contact with the dicing strip 105 of the diced wafer 102 (or facing the diced wafer 102, when held in the pick-up position 131a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a by at least one pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a) can be flipped and oriented away from the diced wafer 102 when the chip 104 is moved to the release position 133a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a by at least one pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a.According to various embodiments, when at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b moves from the pickup position 131b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b to the release position 133b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b, the orientation of the chip 104 relative to at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b can remain the same. However, the orientation of the chip 104 can be flipped again relative to the diced wafer 102, so that when it is held at the pickup position 131b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b by at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b, the side of the chip 104 facing away from the diced wafer 102 can be flipped again relative to the diced wafer 102, and when the chip 104 moves from at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b to the release position 133b of the second pickup and movement unit 132b, it faces the diced wafer 102. For example, the chip 104 is oriented so that its active surface faces upward relative to the diced wafer 102. When the chip 104 moves via at least one pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a, it is flipped (for the first time) relative to the diced wafer 102; and when the chip 102 moves via at least one pick-up head 134b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b, it is flipped (for the second time) relative to the diced wafer 102. The active surface of the chip 104 may face the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106. When the chip 104 is moved to a position for mounting onto the carrier 106, the chip 104 can be placed and mounted onto the carrier 106 so that the active surface of the chip 104 faces downward relative to the carrier 106. In other words, the chip 104 can be mounted so that its active surface faces downward relative to the carrier 106, which is the opposite of when the chip 104 is on the diced wafer 102 with its active surface facing upward. Therefore, when chip 104 is transferred from the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer to the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106, chip 104 is flipped by the first pick-up and move unit 132a and flipped again by the second pick-up and move unit 132b. Thus, the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the mounting surface 106a of the carrier 106 face each other, and chip 104 can be placed and mounted on the carrier 106. This allows the arrangement of chip 104 relative to the carrier 106 to be reversed compared to its arrangement on the diced wafer 102.

[0160] According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can rotate about a rotation axis 135a, which is parallel to the support plane 111 defined by at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110; causing at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a to move along a curved path 136a from the pickup position 131a of the first pickup moving unit 132a to its release position 133a when the at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a rotates about the rotation axis 135 of the first pickup moving unit 132a. Therefore, by moving at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a along the curved path 136a of the first pickup moving unit 132a, the chip 104 held by the at least one pickup head 134a can be moved from the pickup position 131a of the first pickup moving unit 132a to its release position 133a, and simultaneously flipped relative to the diced wafer 102 when the at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a rotates about the rotation axis 135a of the first pickup moving unit 132a. Thus, by a single rotational movement of the at least one pickup head 134a of the first pickup and moving unit 132a about the rotation axis 135a of the first pickup and moving unit 132a, the chip 104 can be simultaneously moved and flipped relative to the diced wafer 102.

[0161] According to various embodiments, the radial distance of the pickup position 131a of the first pickup moving unit 132a relative to its rotation axis 135a on the curved path 136a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can be equal to the radial distance of the release position 133a of the first pickup moving unit 132a relative to its rotation axis 135a on the curved path 136a of the first pickup moving unit 132a. Therefore, the pickup position 131a and the release position 133a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can be equidistant from the rotation axis 135a of the first pickup moving unit 132a.

[0162] According to various embodiments, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be angularly spaced relative to the rotation axis 135a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a. For example, according to various embodiments, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are substantially parallel, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be 180° apart from each other relative to the rotation axis 135a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a. In another example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are at an angle to each other, the pick-up position 131a and the release position 133a may be angularly spaced relative to the rotation axis 135a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a.

[0163] According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can rotate about a rotation axis 135b, which is parallel to the support plane 111 defined by at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110; thereby moving the carrier plate support unit 110 along a curved path 136b from the pickup position 131b of the second pickup moving unit 132b to its release position 133b; when at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b rotates about the rotation axis 135 of the second pickup moving unit 132b. Therefore, by moving at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b along the curved path 136b of the second pickup moving unit 132b, the chip 104 held by the at least one pickup head 134b can be moved from the pick-up and place position 131b of the second pickup moving unit 132b to its release position 133b; simultaneously, it is flipped relative to the diced wafer 102 when the head 134b of the at least one pick-up and place unit 132b rotates about the rotation axis 135b of the second pickup and moving unit 132b. Therefore, when the at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b rotates once about the rotation axis 135b of the second pickup moving unit 132b, the chip 104 can be moved and flipped relative to the diced wafer 102 simultaneously.

[0164] According to various embodiments, the radial distance between the pickup position 131b of the second pickup moving unit 132b and its rotation axis 135b along the curved path 136b of the second pickup moving unit 132b is equal to the radial distance between the release position 133b of the second pickup moving unit 132b and its rotation axis 135b along the curved path 136b of the second pickup moving unit 132b. Therefore, the pickup position 131b and the release position 133b of the second pickup moving unit 132b are equidistant from the rotation axis 135b of the second pickup moving unit 132b.

[0165] According to various embodiments, the pick-up position 131b and the release position 133b may be angularly spaced relative to the rotation axis 135b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b. For example, according to various embodiments, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are substantially parallel, the pick-up position 131b and the release position 133b may be 180° apart from each other relative to the rotation axis 135b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b. In another example, when the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 and the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106 are face-to-face at an angle, the pick-up position 131b and the release position 133b may be angularly spaced relative to the rotation axis 135b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b.

[0166] According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b of the chip transfer module 130 of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 is configured to shift to the opposite side. When in the release position 133b, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup unit 132b is operable to push the chip 104 toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110 to apply an bonding force to mount the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106. Therefore, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can push the chip 104 toward the mounting surface 106a of the carrier plate 106. According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can extend toward the carrier plate 106 held by the carrier plate support unit 110 for pushing the chip 104 toward the carrier plate 106 to mount the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106. Therefore, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b may extend toward the patch surface 106a of the carrier plate 106. According to various embodiments, at least one pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b may extend substantially perpendicularly to the patch surface 106a of the carrier plate 106. The moving unit 132b may extend substantially perpendicularly to the bonding surface 106a of the carrier panel 106 to push the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106, thereby patching the chip 104 onto the carrier plate 106.

[0167] refer to Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 5A and Figure 5BAccording to various embodiments, each pick-and-place unit 132a, 132b may include two or more pick-and-place heads 134a, 134b. According to various embodiments, the two or more pick-and-place heads 134a, 134b of each pick-and-place unit 132a, 132b may be distributed around its rotation axis 135a, 135b. For example, according to various embodiments, the two or more pick-and-place heads 134a, 134b of each pick-and-place unit 132a, 132b may be evenly distributed around its rotation axis 135a, 135b. According to various embodiments, the two or more pick-and-place heads 134a, 134b of each pick-and-place unit 132a, 132b may rotate about its rotation axis 135a, 135b to sequentially pick up multiple chips 104 from the diced wafer 102, transfer the multiple chips 104, and finally mount the multiple chips 104 onto the carrier panel 106.

[0168] According to various embodiments, each pickup head 134a, 134b may include an attachment element for engaging and holding the chip 104. According to various embodiments, the attachment element may include, but is not limited to, a vacuum suction element (such as a vacuum hole, a vacuum cup, or a vacuum port), a clamping element (a clamp or clip, etc.), or a magnetic element such as an electromagnet.

[0169] According to various embodiments, when the picking and moving unit 132a ( Figure 4A &exist Figure 4B ), 132b Figure 5A and Figure 5B At least one pickup head 134a ( Figure 4A & Figure 4B ), 134b Figure 5A & Figure 5B The chip 104 can be pushed toward the carrier board 106. At least one pick-up head 134a, 134b can serve as a bonding head for attaching the chip 104 to the carrier board 106; and such pick-up moving units 132a, 132b can be called die attach units to distinguish them from pick-up moving unit 132a, which can only pick up and transfer the chip 104 but cannot apply a pushing force to attach the chip 104. According to various embodiments, the pick-up moving unit 132a (which is only used for picking up and transferring the chip 104) Figure 5A and Figure 5B This can be referred to as a flip unit to distinguish it from the pick-up and move units 132a and 132b that apply a pushing force. Therefore, the chip transfer module 130 of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 is configured for same-side transfer and may only have a chip bonding unit ( Figure 4A and Figure 4BThe chip transfer module 130 of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 is configured for relative side transfer and has a flipping unit and a chip bonding unit. Figure 5A and Figure 5B ).

[0170] According to various embodiments, in the chip transfer module 130 of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 configured for same-side transfer ( Figure 4A and Figure 4B The chip transfer module 130 may include a die attach unit; wherein the die attach unit may have two or more attach heads distributed around its rotation axis 135a, all of which can rotate around the rotation axis 135a of the die attach unit. When two or more attach heads rotate around the rotation axis 135a of the die attach unit, multiple chips 104 can be sequentially attached to the carrier board 106.

[0171] According to various embodiments, in the chip transfer module 130 of the device or chip placement machine 100 configured for relative side transfer of chip placement ( Figure 5A and Figure 5B The flip unit and the chip bonding unit can be arranged in series from the wafer supply unit 120 to the carrier support unit 110; thus, the flip unit can be between the wafer supply unit 120 and the chip bonding unit, while the chip bonding unit is between the flip unit and the carrier support unit 110. Accordingly, in the chip transfer module 130 of the device or chip placeer 100 for chip placement with opposite side transfer, the chip transfer module 130 may have a flip unit, and the flip unit has two or more pick-up heads 134a distributed around the rotation axis 135a, so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis 135a of the flip unit, to sequentially pick up a plurality of chips 104 from the diced wafer 102, and then transfer the plurality of chips 104 to the two or more bonding heads respectively, when the two or more pick-up heads 134a rotate around the rotation axis 135a of the flip unit. In addition, the chip transfer module 130 may have a chip bonding unit, which may have two or more bonding heads distributed around the rotation axis 135b of the chip bonding unit, and can rotate around the rotation axis 135b of the chip bonding unit; when rotating around the rotation axis 135b of the chip bonding unit, the chip bonding unit will sequentially attach multiple chips 104 onto the carrier board 106.

[0172] refer to Figures 4A to 5BAccording to various embodiments, the sensing device 150 may include a chip pick-up sensing device 152 and a chip placement sensing device 154. According to various embodiments, the chip pick-up sensing device 152 may include at least one sensor 152a to determine the position of the chip 104 relative to a predetermined pick-up location, thereby controlling the movement of the wafer delivery unit 120 along the wafer movement plane 128 to align the chip 104 with the predetermined pick-up location. According to various embodiments, the predetermined pick-up location may coincide with or overlap with the pick-up position 131a of the pick-up head 134a of the pick-up moving unit 132a of the chip transfer module 130. Therefore, the chip pick-up sensing device 152 may provide feedback to the moving wafer delivery unit 120 to move the chip 104 to the predetermined pick-up location for pickup by the chip transfer module 130. According to various embodiments, the chip placement sensing device 154 may include at least one sensor 154a to determine the position of the chip 104 picked up by the chip transfer module 130 relative to the target placement positioning on the carrier 106 held by the carrier support unit 110. This sensor controls the movement of the carrier support unit 110 to move the carrier 106, and controls the movement of the chip transfer module 130 to perform relative movement between the chip 104 and the carrier 106, thereby aligning the target placement positioning on the carrier 106 with the chip 104. This allows the chip transfer module 130 to place the chip 104 on the carrier 106 and mount the chip 104 onto the carrier 106. Therefore, the chip placement sensing device 154 can provide feedback for moving the chip 104 via the chip transfer module 130 and the carrier support unit 110, so that the chip 104 and the target placement positioning on the carrier 106 are aligned, thereby placing and mounting the chip 104 onto the carrier 106. According to various embodiments, sensors 152a and 154a may include, but are not limited to, vision sensors, cameras, photoelectric sensors, laser sensors, line sensors, displacement sensors, contour sensors, etc.

[0173] refer to Figures 4A to 5BAccording to various embodiments, the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 may have an ejector 160. According to various embodiments, the ejector 160 may be disposed on the side of the wafer supply unit 120 away from the chip transfer module 130. Therefore, the wafer supply unit 120 may be located between the ejector 160 and the chip transfer module 130. According to various embodiments, the ejector 160 may be located on the dicing tape side 102b of the diced wafer 102. Therefore, the ejector 160 rapidly ejects from the dicing tape side 102b of the diced wafer 102 and contacts the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102 to eject the chip 104 from the dicing tape 105. According to various embodiments, the ejector 160 may include an ejector head 162. According to various embodiments, the ejector head 162 may extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102. According to various embodiments, the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160 may extend to a predetermined pick-up position of the chip 104. Therefore, since the pickup position 131a of the pickup moving unit 132a is aligned with the predetermined pickup position of the chip 104, the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160 can be aligned with the pickup position 131a of the pickup moving unit 132a. According to various embodiments, the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160 is operable to contact the dicing tape 105 of the dicing wafer 102 from the dicing tape side 102b of the dicing wafer 102, moving the chip 104 located on the wafer side 102a of the dicing wafer 102 from its predetermined pickup position toward the pickup head 134a located at the pickup position 131a, so that the chip 104 can be picked up by the pickup head 134a of the pickup moving unit 132a. Therefore, the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160 and the pickup head 134a of the pickup moving unit 132a can operate cooperatively to pick up the chip 104 from the wafer side 102a of the dicing wafer 102.

[0174] Figures 6A to 6F This application illustrates a chip placement process using a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 according to an embodiment of this application. Figures 6A to 6F In the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100, the chip transfer module 130 has a first pickup moving unit 132a and a second pickup moving unit 132b. Both the first pickup moving unit 132a and the second pickup moving unit 132b have two pickup heads 134a, 134a-1, 134b, and 134b-1 that are directly opposite each other. Furthermore, the sensing device 150 has a chip pickup sensing device 152 and a chip placement sensing device 154; the former has a sensor 152a, while the latter has a first sensor 154a, a second sensor 154b, and a third sensor 154c.

[0175] refer to Figure 6AAccording to various embodiments, the chip mounting process can begin with material loading. During material loading, a diced wafer 102 can be loaded into a wafer supply unit 120, the barcode of the diced wafer 102 can be checked, a wafer map of the diced wafer 102 can be downloaded, and the wafer center and the first chip 104 can be referenced. Subsequently, the wafer supply unit 120 is moved to move the diced wafer 102, aligning the first chip 104 with a predetermined pick-up position and with the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160. Thus, the center of the first chip 104 can be calibrated to intersect or coincide with the center of the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160. Furthermore, the carrier 106 can be moved into place to await the mounting surface 106a of the first chip 104 to be mounted onto the carrier 106.

[0176] refer to Figure 6B According to various embodiments, the chip mounting process can eject the first chip 104 through the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160, and pick up the first chip 104 by the pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a (or flip unit, or flipper). The pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a can rotate about a rotation axis 135a to move the pick-up head 134a carrying the first chip 104 along a curved path 136a. According to various embodiments, the sensor 152a of the chip pick-up sensing device 152 can be pointed to the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 for detecting the chip 104 on the diced wafer 102. According to various embodiments, the sensor 152a of the chip pick-up sensing device 152 can be a camera (or wafer camera). Therefore, the camera (i.e., sensor 152a) can be pointed at the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 to capture an image of the diced wafer 102 at a predetermined pick-up position. According to various embodiments, when the pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a rotates to position the pick-up head 134a outside the field of view of the camera (i.e., sensor 152a), the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved to move the diced wafer 102, thereby aligning the next chip 104-1 with the predetermined pick-up position. The camera (i.e., sensor 152a) can then capture an image of the next chip 104-1 and verify its position before it is picked up. If the position of the next chip 104-1 is not aligned with the predetermined pick-up position (or the center of the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160), the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved to move the diced wafer 102 for correction, adjusting the next chip 104-1 to align with the predetermined pick-up position.

[0177] refer to Figure 6CAccording to various embodiments, the chip mounting process continues, and the first chip 104 is transferred to the pick-up head 134b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b (or die attach unit) or unflip module. While the pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a transfers the first chip 104 to the pick-up head 134b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b, another pick-up head 134a-1 of the first pick-up moving unit 132b can pick up the next chip 104-1. Similarly, the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160 can eject the next chip 104-1 while the other pick-up head 134a-1 of the first pick-up moving unit 132a picks up the next chip 104-1.

[0178] refer to Figure 6D According to various embodiments, after the other pickup head 134a-1 of the first pickup moving unit 132a picks up the next chip 104-1, the first pickup moving unit 132a can be repeatedly rotated to rotate the other pickup head 134a-1 of the first pickup moving unit 132a so that it is outside the field of view of the camera (i.e., sensor 152a). Then, the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved again to move the dicing wafer 102 to align the other chip 104-2 with the predetermined pickup position. The camera (i.e., sensor 152a) can then capture an image of the other chip 104-2 and verify the position of the other chip 104-2 before it is picked up. If the position of the other chip 104-2 is not aligned with the predetermined pickup position (or the center of the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160), the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved again to move the dicing wafer 102 for correction to adjust the other chip 104-2 to align it with the predetermined pickup position.

[0179] Meanwhile, according to various embodiments, the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b carrying the first chip 104 can rotate about the rotation axis 135b. According to various embodiments, the first sensor 154a of the chip placement sensing device 154 can be a first camera (or a first chip camera 154a-1), the second sensor 154b of the chip placement sensing device 154 can be a second camera (or a second chip camera 154b-1), and the third sensor 154c can be a third camera (or a panel camera 154c-1). The pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b carrying the first chip 104 can rotate to a preset angle to align with the first camera (i.e., the first sensor 154a). The first camera can capture images of the first chip 104 in dynamic or static positions. When the first camera captures an image of the first chip 104, the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) can capture an image of the patch surface 106a of the carrier board 106 to obtain the target placement positioning of the first chip 104 on the carrier board 106. Sample images 199 taken by the third camera Figure 6D As shown. According to various embodiments, target placement positioning (or combined positioning) may be marked or represented by a set of four points (or holes). According to various embodiments, carrier board position data captured by a third camera (i.e., third sensor 154c) and chip position data captured by a first camera (i.e., first sensor 154a) may be processed by a controller to calculate relative offset. According to various embodiments, correction may be performed to orient the first chip 104 to the target placement positioning. According to various embodiments, correction may be performed on the carrier board 106 by the carrier board support unit 110, or on the first chip 104 by the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b, or both. For example, according to various embodiments, orientation or angle correction of the first chip 104 may be performed by the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b, and position correction may be performed by moving the carrier board 106 by the carrier board support unit 110.

[0180] refer to Figure 6EAccording to various embodiments, the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can then be rotated to align and position the first chip 104 towards the target. Next, the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b can place the first chip 104 onto the patch surface 106a of the carrier board 106 and push the first chip 104 towards the patch surface 106a of the carrier board 106 to attach the first chip 104 onto the carrier board 106. Simultaneously, the first pickup moving unit 132a can be rotated so that another pickup head 134a-1 of the first pickup moving unit 132a carrying the next chip 104-1 can be aligned with another pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b-a. Therefore, the next chip 104-1 can be transferred from the other pickup head 134a-1 of the first pickup moving unit 132a to the other pickup head 134b-a of the second pickup moving unit 132b. Meanwhile, the pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a can pick up another chip 104-2 from the diced wafer 102.

[0181] refer to Figure 6F According to various embodiments, after the first chip 104 is attached to the carrier board 106, the next chip 104-1 is transferred to another pickup head 134b-1 of the second pickup moving unit 132b, and another chip 104-2 is picked up by the pickup head 134a of the first pickup moving unit 132a. The first pickup moving unit 132a can repeatedly rotate its pickup head 134 to fall outside the field of view of the camera (i.e., sensor 152a), and the second pickup moving unit 132b can repeatedly rotate to align its other pickup head 134b-1 with the second camera (i.e., second sensor 154b). While the first pickup moving unit 132a and the second pickup moving unit 132b are rotating, a third camera (i.e., third sensor 154c) can capture an image of the first chip 104 attached to the carrier board 106 to perform a post-attachment inspection for measuring the attachment position of the first chip 104 relative to the target placement positioning on the carrier board 106. Sample images 198 captured by a third camera for post-patch inspection are also included. Figure 6F As shown in the figure. According to various embodiments, post-placement inspection can be performed when multiple chips 104 are mounted onto the carrier board 106. Therefore, post-placement inspection can be performed before chip mounting is completed on the entire carrier board 106. Therefore, compared with conventional methods that perform post-placement inspection only after chip mounting is completed on the entire carrier board 106, this disclosure can detect inaccuracies or any other defects before chip mounting is completed on the entire carrier board 106.

[0182] According to various embodiments, the two pickup heads 134a, 134a-1, 134b, 134b-1 in the first pickup moving unit 132a and the second pickup moving unit 132b can have the advantage of a reciprocating configuration. According to various embodiments, either the first pickup moving unit 132a or the second pickup moving unit 132b can alternate between clockwise and counterclockwise rotation. In this way, the cables (or wires) and / or vacuum tubes for either pickup head 134a, 134a-1, 134b, 134b-1 in the first pickup moving unit 132a and the second pickup moving unit cannot rotate continuously. Furthermore, the management and data tracking of the pickup heads 134a, 134a-1, 134b, 134b-1 can be simplified. According to various embodiments, a larger number of pickup heads 134a, 134a-1, 134b, 134b-1 can achieve higher throughput. According to various embodiments, a greater number of pickup heads 134a, 134a-1, 134b, 134b-1 may also allow images of chip 104 to be captured in a stationary position.

[0183] According to various embodiments, after the first chip 104 is successfully attached to the carrier board 106, and the second pickup moving unit 132b is rotated to move its pickup head 134b out of the field of view of the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c), the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) captures an image of the target placement position of the next chip 104-1 and sends data to calculate the offset relative to the next chip 104-1. The carrier board support unit 110 is then moved to begin moving the target placement position of the next chip 104-1 into place. Simultaneously, the offset value can be dynamically updated to the carrier board support unit 110, allowing the carrier board support unit 110 to move continuously while moving the target placement position of the next chip 104-1 into place for offset correction. Thus, the carrier board 106 can move to the target placement position of the next chip 104-1, and offset correction is performed in a single movement.

[0184] According to various embodiments, after the first chip 104 is successfully attached to the carrier 106, and the second pickup moving unit 132b is rotated to move its pickup head 134b outside the field of view of the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c), the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) can capture an image of the target placement positioning of the next chip 104-1 and send data to calculate the offset relative to the next chip 104-1. The carrier support unit 110 can wait to receive correction information before moving the carrier 106 to move the target placement positioning of the next chip 104-1 into place, and include offset correction in the movement. According to various embodiments, after the first chip 104 is successfully attached to the carrier 106, and the second pickup moving unit 132b is rotated to move its pickup head 134b outside the field of view of the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c), the carrier support unit 110 can be moved to begin moving the target placement positioning for the next chip 104-1 into place. After the carrier support unit 110 completes its movement, the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) can capture an image of the target placement of the next chip 104-1 and send data to calculate the offset of that position relative to the next chip 104-1. The carrier support unit 110 can wait to receive correction information before moving the carrier 106 again to perform offset correction. Therefore, moving the carrier 106 to move the target placement of the next chip 104-1 into place and moving the carrier 106 to perform offset correction can be two different movements.

[0185] According to various embodiments, the first pickup moving unit 132a may include more than two pickup heads 134a. Similarly, according to various embodiments, the second pickup moving unit 132b may include more than two pickup heads 134b. For example, the first pickup moving unit 132a may include four, six, or eight pickup heads 134a and / or the second pickup moving unit 132b may include four, six, or eight pickup heads 134b.

[0186] According to various embodiments, when the second pickup moving unit 132b has four pickup heads 134a spaced apart at equal angles, the first camera (i.e., the first sensor 154a) and the second camera (i.e., the second sensor 154b) of the chip placement sensing device 154 can be spaced apart at a 90° angle relative to the second pickup moving unit 132b and its bonding position. Therefore, when the first chip 104 is mounted onto the carrier board 106, the first camera (i.e., the first sensor 154a) and the second camera (i.e., the second sensor 154b) of the chip placement sensing device 154 can capture an image of the next chip 104-1. Simultaneously, while the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) of the chip placement sensing device 154 is capturing an image of the first chip 104 for post-mount inspection, the target placement position of the next chip 104-1 is also visible and can therefore be imaged and measured (for pre-mount inspection). When both chip position data and panel position data are available, offset calculations can be performed for the next chip 104-1 while the first chip 104 is mounted onto the carrier board 106.

[0187] According to various embodiments, as a variation, if the subsequent chip used to capture its position data is not yet visible, the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) of the chip placement sensing device 154 can look ahead several target placement positions and store the information in memory for subsequent offset calculations. According to various embodiments, if the first chip 104 that has been mounted is still visible, a post-mount inspection can be performed by the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) of the chip placement sensing device 154 after the carrier support unit 110 has moved the carrier 106 to move the target placement position of the next chip 104-1 into place. According to various embodiments, a post-mount inspection can be performed after the carrier support unit 110 has moved the carrier 106 several times until a clear view of the first chip 104 that has been mounted can be captured by the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) of the chip placement sensing device 154.

[0188] Figure 7A A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 7B It shows Figure 7A A schematic side view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine. Figure 7A and Figure 7BIn the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100, the chip transfer module 130 includes a first pick-and-place unit 132a with two pick-and-place heads 134a and a second pick-and-place unit 132b with eight pick-and-place heads 134b, which are also evenly distributed around the second pick-and-place unit 132b. Furthermore, the sensing device 150 in the figure includes a chip pick-and-place sensing device 152 with one sensor 152a and a chip placement sensing device 154 with a first sensor 154a, a second sensor 154b, and a third sensor 154c. Figure 7A and 7B The arrangement of the sensing device 150 shown is similar to Figures 6A to 6F The arrangements shown differ. According to various embodiments, the sensor 152a of the chip pickup sensing device 152 can be a camera (or a wafer camera). Therefore, the camera (i.e., sensor 152a) can be pointed at the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 to capture an image of the diced wafer 102 at a predetermined pickup position. According to various embodiments, the first sensor 154a of the chip placement sensing device 154 can be a first camera (or a first chip camera), the second sensor 154b of the chip placement sensing device 154 can be a second camera (or a first panel camera), and the third sensor 154c can be a third camera (or a second panel camera). The first camera (i.e., the first sensor 154a) can be used to capture images of the chip 104. The second camera (i.e., the second sensor 154b) and the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) can be used to capture images of the patch surface 106a of the carrier 106, thereby capturing the target placement position. Figure 7A and Figure 7B As shown, the second camera (i.e., the second sensor 154b) and the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) can be arranged side by side. Figure 7B As shown, according to various embodiments, the camera (i.e., sensor 152a) of the chip pickup sensing device 152, as well as the first camera (i.e., first sensor 154a), the second camera (i.e., second sensor 154b), and the third camera (i.e., third sensor 154c), can be disposed above the second pickup moving unit 132b. Furthermore, according to various embodiments, the first pickup moving unit 132a can be suspended downwards, and the second pickup moving unit 132b can be supported upwards.

[0189] Figure 8A A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 8B A schematic side view of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine shown in Figure 7 is illustrated. Figure 8A and Figure 8B The arrangement of the chip placement sensing device 154 and its position in Figure 7A and Figure 7BThe difference in the arrangement is that the second camera (i.e., the second sensor 154b) and the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) of the chip placement sensing device 154 can be stacked, that is, one on top of the other.

[0190] Figures 9A to 9E The use of, as shown Figure 7A and Figure 7B A schematic top view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine for chip placement process.

[0191] refer to Figure 9A According to various embodiments, the chip mounting process can begin with material loading. During material loading, a diced wafer 102 can be loaded into a wafer supply unit 120, the barcode of the diced wafer 102 can be checked, a wafer map of the diced wafer 102 can be downloaded, and the wafer center and the first chip 104 can be referenced. Subsequently, the wafer supply unit 120 is moved, thereby moving the diced wafer 102, aligning the first chip 104 with a predetermined pick-up position and with the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160. Thus, the center of the first chip 104 can be calibrated to intersect or coincide with the center of the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160. Furthermore, the carrier 106 can be moved into place to await the mounting surface 106a of the first chip 104 to be mounted onto the carrier 106.

[0192] refer to Figure 9BAccording to various embodiments, the chip mounting process can eject the first chip 104 through the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160, and pick up the first chip 104 by the pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a (or flip unit, also called flipper). The pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a can rotate about a rotation axis 135a to move the pick-up head 134a carrying the first chip 104 along a curved path 136a. According to various embodiments, the wafer camera (i.e., sensor 152a) of the chip pick-up sensing device 152 can be pointed at the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102 for detecting the chip 104 on the diced wafer 102. Therefore, the camera (i.e., sensor 152a) can capture an image of the diced wafer 102 at a predetermined pick-up position. According to various embodiments, the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132a can be rotated so that the pickup head 134b is outside the field of view of the camera (i.e., sensor 152a). According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved to move the dicing wafer 102, thereby aligning the next chip 104-1 with a predetermined pickup position. The camera (i.e., sensor 152a) can then capture an image of the next chip 104-1 and verify its position before the next chip 104-1 is picked up. If the position of the next chip 104-1 is not aligned with the predetermined pickup position (or the center of the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160), the wafer supply unit 120 can be moved to move the dicing wafer 102 for correction to adjust the next chip 104-1 to align with the predetermined pickup position.

[0193] refer to Figure 9C According to various embodiments, the chip mounting process can continue as the first chip 104 is transferred to the pick-up head 134b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b (or die attach unit, or unflip module). While the pick-up head 134a of the first pick-up moving unit 132a transfers the first chip 104 to the pick-up head 134b of the second pick-up moving unit 132b, another pick-up head 134a-1 of the first pick-up moving unit 132a can pick up the next chip 104-1. Similarly, the ejector head 162 of the ejector 160 can eject the next chip 104-1 while the other pick-up head 134a-1 of the first pick-up moving unit 132a picks up the next chip 104-1. When the first chip 104 is transmitted to the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b, the second camera (i.e., the second sensor 154b) and the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c) of the chip placement sensing device 154 can capture images of the patch surface 106a of the carrier board 106 to capture the target placement and positioning of the first chip 104 on the carrier board 106. Figure 9CIn the captured image, 199 is shown. According to various embodiments, target placement (or patch location) can be marked or represented by a set of four points (or holes). According to various embodiments, carrier board position data can be captured by a second camera (i.e., second sensor 154b) and a third camera (i.e., third sensor 154c).

[0194] refer to Figure 9D According to various embodiments, the first pickup moving unit 132a can repeatedly pick up the chip 104, the wafer supply unit 120 can repeatedly align the chip 104 with a predetermined pickup position, and the first pickup moving unit 132a can repeatedly transfer the chip 104 to the second pickup moving unit 132b. The second pickup moving unit 132b can rotate the chip 104 to a preset angle to align it with the first camera (i.e., the first sensor 154a) so that the first camera can acquire an image of the chip 104 in a dynamic manner or a static position.

[0195] refer to Figure 9E According to various embodiments, carrier board position data captured by the second camera (i.e., the second sensor 154b) and the third camera (i.e., the third sensor 154c), and chip position data captured by the first camera (i.e., the first sensor 154a), can be processed by the controller to calculate the relative offset. According to various embodiments, corrections can be performed to achieve target placement positioning of the chip 104 onto the carrier board 106. According to various embodiments, corrections can be performed by the carrier board support unit 110 on the carrier board 106, or by the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b on the chip 104, or both. For example, according to various embodiments, orientation or angle correction of the first chip 104 can be performed by the pickup head 134b of the second pickup moving unit 132b, and position correction can be performed by moving the carrier board 106 via the carrier board support unit 110. According to various embodiments, the second pickup moving unit 132b can rotate multiple chips 104 to the target placement positioning respectively. Subsequently, the second pickup and moving unit 132b can place and attach multiple chips 104 onto the mounting surface 106a of the carrier board 106.

[0196] Figure 10AA schematic front view of a dual-wafer switching device (or dual-wafer switching station) for chip mounting apparatus or chip mounter according to an embodiment of this application is shown. According to various embodiments, the dual-wafer switching device may include a first wafer supply unit 120 and a second wafer supply unit 120-1. According to various embodiments, the first wafer supply unit 120 and the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can move independently. According to various embodiments, both the first wafer supply unit 120 and the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can be mounted or fitted to independent dual-axis Cartesian motion mechanisms 126, 126-1. According to various embodiments, each of the two-axis Cartesian motion mechanisms 126, 126-1 may have two links (or beams) 126a, 126b, 126a-1 arranged perpendicularly to each other. According to various embodiments, linear actuators can be coupled to each link 126a, 126a-1, 126b to actuate the corresponding wafer supply units 120, 120-1, thereby linearly moving along the longitudinal axis (e.g., a separate Z-axis) of the respective first links 126a, 126a-1, and actuating the corresponding first links 126a, 126a-1 to linearly move along the longitudinal axis (e.g., a common X-axis) of the common second link 126b. Therefore, the dual-axis Cartesian motion mechanisms 126, 126-1 for the first wafer supply unit 120 and the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can share the common second link 126b. In this way, the first wafer supply unit 120 and the second wafer supply unit 120-1 are interchangeable, such that when one is performing a chip placement operation, the other can be in standby mode or undergo loading and preparation. According to various embodiments, the ejector 160 can be fixed along a common second link 126b, such that the first wafer supply unit 120 or the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can be moved to the position of the ejector 160 for chip placement operation.

[0197] According to various embodiments, both the first wafer supply unit 120 and the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can be operated to rotate and dicing the wafer 102 about its center. Thus, the diced wafer 102 can be rotated about respective rotation axes that pass through the center of each diced wafer 102 and are perpendicular to the diced wafer 102.

[0198] According to various embodiments, both the first wafer supply unit 120 and the second wafer supply unit 120-1 may have a wafer stretcher 124 for stretching the diced tape 105 (e.g., see...). Figures 11A to 11B This facilitates the cutting of wafer 102 and its ejection through ejector 160.

[0199] According to various embodiments, a chip picking sensing device 152 having at least one sensor 152a (e.g., a camera) can provide feedback to the first wafer supply unit 120 and / or the second wafer supply unit 120-1 to perform the following operations, including but not limited to: finding the center of the chip 104, determining the orientation of the chip 104, positioning the reference chip 104, positioning the first chip 104, and matching the wafer pattern.

[0200] Figure 10B It shows Figure 10A A schematic side view of the first wafer supply unit of the dual wafer exchange equipment, which is operable to perform chip mounting processes. Figure 10C It shows Figure 10A A schematic side view of the second wafer supply unit of a dual-wafer switching device, operable for chip mounting processes. Figure 10B As shown, according to various embodiments, while the first wafer supply unit 120 is being used for chip mounting, the second wafer supply unit 120-1 may be loading and preparing. According to various embodiments, the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can perform wafer 102 loading, barcode scanning, wafer pattern downloading, stretching of the dicing tape 105 for dicing wafer 102, positioning of the reference chip 104, positioning of the first chip 104, and is in a standby state. Figure 10C As shown in various embodiments, after the first wafer supply unit 120 has completed the chip mounting process, the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can be interchanged with the first wafer supply unit 120. At this time, the first wafer supply unit 120 can be loaded and prepared. According to various embodiments, the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can start the chip mounting process, and the first wafer supply unit 120 can continue to load the diced wafer 102, scan the barcode, download the wafer pattern, stretch the dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102, position the reference chip 104, position the first chip 104, and be in a standby state.

[0201] According to various embodiments, the dual-wafer exchange equipment (or dual-wafer exchange station) of the chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 can significantly reduce time losses during wafer exchange. Therefore, while the first wafer supply unit 120 is operating, the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can be loaded and prepared. After the second wafer supply unit 120-1 is loaded and prepared, and after the chip 104 is picked up from the first wafer supply unit 120, the second wafer supply unit 120-1 can be placed in a standby state to exchange with the first wafer supply unit 120. Therefore, the chip placement operation can continue quickly with minimal interruption.

[0202] Figures 11A to 11CA series of schematic diagrams are shown of a wafer rack assembling a diced wafer into a wafer supply unit according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 11D It shows Figure 11C A schematic side cross-section. According to various embodiments, the wafer carrier 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 may include a wafer stretcher 124. According to various embodiments, the wafer stretcher 124 may include an inner ring 124a and an outer ring 124b. According to various embodiments, a diced wafer 102 may be placed on the inner ring 124a such that a dicing tape 105 of the diced wafer 102 may rest on the inner ring 124a, the backing surface of the dicing tape 105 abutting the inner ring 124a, and the wafer side 102a (i.e., the plurality of chips 104) of the diced wafer 102 may be away from the inner ring 124a (e.g., see...). Figure 11B Subsequently, the outer ring 124b of the wafer stretcher 124 can be placed on the diced wafer 102, such that the outer ring 124b is adjacent to the adhesive surface of the dicing tape 105 (opposite to the backing surface), on which multiple chips are attached, aligned with the inner ring 124a, and configured to surround the inner ring 124a, wherein the dicing tape 105 is stretched backward away from the wafer side 102a of the diced wafer 102. According to various embodiments, by stretching the dicing tape 105 by the wafer stretcher 124, the saw lines between the multiple chips 104 can be loosened, and the stretched state of the dicing tape 105 makes it easier to pick up the chips 104 from the dicing tape 105 when the chip transfer module 130 picks up the chips 104 from the diced wafer 102.

[0203] refer to Figure 11C The wafer carrier 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 may include one or more stops 125 for holding the outer ring 124b of the wafer stretcher 124 in place over the wafer supply unit 120 for dicing the wafer 102. For example, according to various embodiments, the wafer carrier 122 of the wafer supply unit 120 may include three stops 125 for abutting two opposing lateral and bottom sides of the outer ring 124b. In this way, a plurality of chips 104 dicing the wafer 102 can be fully exposed from the wafer side 102a of the dicing wafer 102, and a portion of the dicing tape 105 located within the inner ring 124a can be approached by the ejector 160 to eject the chips (e.g., see...). Figure 11D ).

[0204] Figure 12 A schematic side view of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 12As shown, both the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 are rotatable between a horizontal and a vertical arrangement relative to the ground (or surface 109). According to various embodiments, both the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier support unit 110 can be actuated by an actuator, including but not limited to hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, or mechanical actuators, for rotating from a lateral configuration to a longitudinal configuration. According to various embodiments, in a horizontal arrangement, a diced wafer 102 can be loaded onto the wafer supply unit 120, and a carrier 106 can be loaded onto the carrier support unit 110. According to various embodiments, after loading the diced wafer 102 and the carrier 106 respectively, the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier 106 are operable to change from a horizontal to a vertical arrangement. According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 and the carrier 106 are also operable to align the diced wafer 102 and the carrier 106 with each other in a vertical arrangement.

[0205] Figure 13A A schematic side view of a wafer erecting device 170 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown, which can hold the wafer supply unit 120 of a chip placement device or chip placement machine 100 in a horizontal arrangement. Figure 13B It shows Figure 13AA schematic side view of a wafer erecting device 170, which holds a wafer supply unit 120 of a chip placement apparatus or chip placeer 100 in a vertical arrangement. According to various embodiments, the wafer erecting device 170 may include a vertical support 172. According to various embodiments, the wafer supply unit 120 is rotatably coupled to the vertical support 172. For example, the wafer supply unit 120 is rotatably coupled to an end 172a of the vertical support 172. According to various embodiments, the wafer erecting device 170 may include a linear actuator 174 and a connector 176 interconnecting the linear actuator 174 to the wafer supply unit 120. According to various embodiments, a first end 176a of the connector 176 is rotatably coupled to a retractable end 174a of the linear actuator 174, and a second end 176b of the connector 176 is rotatably coupled to the wafer supply unit 120. According to various embodiments, the linear actuator 174, connector 176, wafer supply unit 120, and vertical support 172 can be connected such that when the linear actuator 174 extends, the wafer supply unit 120 is horizontally arranged; and when the linear actuator 174 retracts, the wafer supply unit 120 is vertically arranged. Therefore, the wafer supply unit 120 can switch between horizontal and vertical arrangements by operating the linear actuator 174 to extend or retract. For example, according to various embodiments, the linear actuator 174 can be a pneumatic actuator having a first air inlet 174b and a second air inlet 174c. According to various embodiments, air pressure from an external compressor can be supplied to the first air inlet 174b to move the internal piston of the pneumatic actuator, thereby extending the retractable end 174a of the linear actuator 174. According to various embodiments, pressure from an external compressor can be supplied to the second air inlet 174c to move the internal piston of the pneumatic actuator and retract the retractable end 174a of the linear actuator 174. Thus, the pneumatic actuator can be operated to extend or retract the retractable end 174a by supplying air to the first air inlet 174b or the second air inlet 174c.

[0206] Figure 14A A schematic side view of a carrier board erecting device 180 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown, which can hold the carrier board support unit 110 of a chip placement device or chip placement machine in a horizontal arrangement. Figure 14B It shows Figure 14AA schematic side view of a carrier erector 180, which holds a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 in a vertical arrangement. According to various embodiments, the carrier erector 180 may include a support frame 182. For example, the support frame 182 may be a box-shaped structure. According to various embodiments, a carrier support unit 110 is rotatably coupled to the support frame 182. For example, the carrier support unit 110 is rotatably connected to the top edge 182a of the support frame 182. According to various embodiments, the carrier erector 180 may have a linear actuator 184 and a connector 186 connecting the linear actuator 184 to the carrier support unit 110. According to various embodiments, a first end 186a of the connector 186 is rotatably connected to a retractable end 184a of the linear actuator 184; while a second end 186b of the connector 186 is rotatably connected to the carrier support unit 110. According to various embodiments, the linear actuator 184, connector 186, carrier plate support unit 110, and support frame 182 can be connected such that when the linear actuator 184 extends, the carrier plate support unit 110 is arranged horizontally; and when the linear actuator 184 retracts, the carrier plate support unit 110 is arranged vertically. Therefore, the carrier plate support unit 110 can switch between horizontal and vertical arrangements by operating the linear actuator 184 to extend or retract.

[0207] refer to Figure 14A and Figure 14BA more detailed example of a carrier support unit 110 of a chip placement apparatus or chip placement machine 100 according to various embodiments is also shown. As shown, according to various embodiments, at least one support element 112 of the carrier support unit 110 may have a plurality of support rollers 112a. According to various embodiments, the support rollers 112a may all be cylindrical rollers. According to various embodiments, the support rollers 112a may all be adjacent to the back surface 106b of the carrier 106. Thus, at least a portion of the cylindrical surface of each support roller 112a may be adjacent to the back surface 106b of the carrier 106. According to various embodiments, portions of the plurality of support rollers 112a adjacent to the back surface 106b of the carrier 106 may define a support plane 111. According to various embodiments, the axis of rotation of each support roller 112a may be parallel to the support plane 111. According to various embodiments, the axes of rotation of the plurality of support rollers 112a may be parallel to each other. Thus, the plurality of support rollers 112a may rotate in the same direction. According to various embodiments, the plurality of support rollers 112a can be used as roller conveyor arrangement for the carrier plate 106, allowing the carrier plate 106 to be conveyed along the support plane 111 and above the plurality of support rollers 112a, thereby facilitating loading and unloading. As the carrier plate 106 moves above the plurality of support rollers 112a, the panel 106 will rotate the plurality of support rollers 112a. According to various embodiments, the carrier plate 106 can be loaded such that its patch surface 106a faces away from the plurality of support rollers 112a. According to various embodiments, the plurality of support rollers 112a can be parallel rollers arranged in a row. According to various embodiments, there can be one or more rows consisting of support rollers 112a.

[0208] As shown in the figure, according to various embodiments, at least one support element 112 of the carrier plate support unit 110 may have a plurality of guide rollers 112b. According to various embodiments, each guide roller 112b may have a continuous endless groove around its circumference and a groove roller between a pair of flanges. According to various embodiments, each guide roller 112b may be orthogonal to a plurality of support rollers 112a. Therefore, the axis of rotation of each guide roller 112b may be perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the plurality of support rollers 112a. According to various embodiments, the plurality of guide rollers 112b may be used to guide the edges of the carrier plate 106. According to various embodiments, the plurality of guide rollers 112b may be arranged in two spaced-apart rows for guiding two opposite edges of the carrier plate 106. According to various embodiments, the grooves of the plurality of guide rollers 112b may be aligned with the portions of the plurality of support rollers 112a adjacent to the back surface 106b of the carrier plate 106 to define a support plane 111. Therefore, multiple support rollers 112 and multiple guide rollers 112b can jointly define the support plane 111.

[0209] Various embodiments have provided an effective and efficient apparatus and method for mounting multiple chips onto a carrier board in a panel-level packaging process. In various embodiments, chip mounting is performed with the diced wafer 102 and carrier board 106 facing each other, minimizing the distance required to transfer the chip from the diced wafer 102 to the carrier board 106 because the chip no longer needs to traverse the width of the diced wafer 102 and / or carrier board 106 for chip mounting. In various embodiments, chip mounting is performed with the diced wafer 102 and carrier board 106 perpendicular to the ground, thus the diced wafer 102 and carrier board 106 are unaffected by any moving mechanisms located above them. Therefore, the risk of silicon dust, particles and dust from cables, cable chains, lubricants, etc., falling onto the surface of the carrier board 106 by gravity is significantly reduced or even eliminated.

[0210] Although the invention has been specifically shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, variations in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims and is thus intended to include all changes falling within the equivalent meaning and scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A chip mounting device, characterized in that, include: A carrier plate support unit has: At least one support element that defines a support plane; A support frame operable to rest a carrier plate against the at least one support element, thereby holding the carrier plate on one side of the support plane, the carrier plate being parallel to the support plane; A wafer supply unit has a wafer holder operable to hold a diced wafer to separate the diced wafer from a support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier support unit, and to determine the orientation of the diced wafer such that its exposed surface faces the side of the carrier that holds the support plane. as well as A chip transfer module disposed between the carrier support unit and the wafer supply unit is operable to pick up a chip from a diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and place the chip on a carrier held by the carrier support unit, thereby attaching the chip to the carrier. A support structure for providing a frame for holding the carrier support unit, wafer supply unit and chip transfer module, which further includes a base support surface; The chip delivery module includes a chip bonding unit, which includes two or more bonding heads distributed around a rotation axis of the chip bonding unit. The bonding heads can rotate around the rotation axis of the chip bonding unit. The rotation axis is parallel to a support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier support unit. As the two or more bonding heads rotate around the rotation axis of the chip bonding unit, the multiple chips can be sequentially bonded to the carrier along a bending path from the pick-up position to the release position. The plane of the bending path is perpendicular to the wafer supply unit and parallel to the base support surface. The diced wafer and the carrier plate are both arranged perpendicularly to the base support surface, and the wafer side of the diced wafer and the patch surface of the carrier plate are arranged face to face in a form that forms an angle with each other. A wafer erecting device can hold a wafer supply unit and switch between horizontal and vertical arrangements; wherein the wafer erecting device includes a vertical support, a first linear actuator, and a first connector interconnecting the first linear actuator to the wafer supply unit, the wafer supply unit being rotatably coupled to an end of the vertical support, a first end of the first connector being rotatably coupled to a retractable end of the first linear actuator, and a second end of the first connector being rotatably coupled to the wafer supply unit; When the first linear actuator extends, the wafer supply unit is horizontally arranged; when the first linear actuator retracts, the wafer supply unit is vertically arranged. The wafer supply unit can switch between horizontal and vertical arrangements by operating the first linear actuator to extend or retract. A carrier plate erecting device can hold a carrier plate support unit and switch between horizontal and vertical arrangements; wherein, the carrier plate erecting device includes a support frame, a second linear actuator, and a second connector connecting the second linear actuator to the carrier plate support unit. The support frame is a box-shaped structure, the carrier plate support unit is rotatably connected to the top edge of the support frame, the first end of the second connector is rotatably connected to the telescopic end of the second linear actuator, and the second end of the second connector is rotatably connected to the carrier plate support unit; When the second linear actuator extends, the carrier plate support unit is arranged horizontally; when the second linear actuator retracts, the carrier plate support unit is arranged vertically. The carrier plate support unit can be switched between horizontal and vertical arrangements by operating the second linear actuator to extend or retract respectively. The first linear actuator and the second linear brake are both pneumatic actuators with air inlets, which operate by supplying air to the air inlets.

2. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The wafer supply unit is operable to hold the diced wafer such that the exposed surface is substantially parallel to the support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier support unit.

3. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The wafer supply unit is movable along a wafer movement plane parallel to a support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier support unit.

4. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The carrier plate support unit is movable along a carrier plate moving plane, which is parallel to the support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier plate support unit.

5. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: A chip pickup sensing device has at least one sensor for determining the position of the chip relative to a predetermined pickup position, and for controlling the movement of the wafer supply unit along the wafer movement plane to align the chip with the predetermined pickup position; as well as A chip placement sensing device includes at least one sensor for determining the position of a chip picked up by the chip transfer module relative to a target placement location on a carrier plate held by the carrier plate support unit, for controlling the movement of the carrier plate support unit to move the carrier plate, and for controlling the movement of the chip transfer module to move the relative position of the chip and the carrier plate, for aligning the target placement location on the carrier plate with the chip, so that the chip transfer module can mount the chip onto the carrier plate.

6. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The chip transfer module includes a pickup moving unit, which has at least one pickup head that can move between a pickup position and a release position. When the at least one pickup head is in the pickup position, it is oriented toward the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and aligned with the chip for picking up the chip from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit. as well as When the at least one pickup head is in the release position, it is oriented away from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and toward the carrier held by the carrier support unit.

7. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 6, characterized in that, When the at least one pickup head moves from the pickup position to the release position, the chip is flipped relative to its original orientation on the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit.

8. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 6, characterized in that, When the at least one pickup head is in the release position, it is operable to push the chip toward the carrier held by the carrier support unit to apply an bonding force to attach the chip to the carrier.

9. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The at least one pickup head is rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to a support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier plate support unit, thereby moving and rotating the pickup head along a curved path from the pickup position to the release position, wherein the pickup position and the release position are radially distanced the same relative to the rotation axis.

10. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The chip transmission module also includes: A first pickup moving unit has a pickup head movable between a first pickup position and a first release position; and A second pickup moving unit has a pickup head movable between a second pickup position and a second release position. The first pickup moving unit and the second pickup moving unit are connected in series, such that the first pickup moving unit picks up the chip from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit at its first pickup position, and moves the chip to its first release position to transfer the chip to the second pickup moving unit; the second pickup moving unit receives the chip from the first pickup moving unit at its second pickup position, and moves the chip to its second release position to place the chip on the carrier held by the carrier support unit, thereby attaching the chip to the carrier.

11. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A dual-wafer switching device includes a first wafer supply unit and a second wafer supply unit. The first and second wafer supply units can move independently. Both the first and second wafer supply units can be installed or assembled into independent dual-axis Cartesian motion mechanisms. Each of the two Cartesian motion mechanisms has a first link and a second link arranged perpendicularly to each other to couple a third linear actuator, thereby actuating the corresponding wafer supply unit to move linearly along the longitudinal axis of the corresponding first link, and actuating the corresponding first link to move linearly along the longitudinal axis of a common second link. The dual-axis Cartesian motion mechanisms for the first and second wafer supply units share a common second link. The first and second wafer supply units are interchangeable, so that when one is performing chip placement operations, the other can be in standby mode or performing loading and preparation.

12. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The wafer rack of the wafer supply unit includes a wafer stretcher, which includes an inner ring and an outer ring. A diced wafer is placed on the inner ring such that a dicing tape is placed on the inner ring, the backing surface of the dicing tape is adjacent to the inner ring, and the wafer side of the diced wafer is away from the inner ring. The outer ring of the wafer stretcher is placed on the diced wafer such that the outer ring is adjacent to the adhesive surface of the dicing tape. Multiple chips are attached to and aligned with the inner ring on the adhesive surface and configured to surround the inner ring. The dicing tape is stretched backward away from the wafer side of the diced wafer, which makes it easier for the chip transfer module to pick up the chips from the dicing tape.

13. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 12, characterized in that, The wafer carrier of the wafer supply unit includes one or more stoppers for holding the outer ring of the associated wafer stretcher in place, thereby holding the diced wafer above the wafer supply unit.

14. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The chip transfer module includes a flipping unit located between the wafer supply unit and the chip bonding unit of the chip transfer module. The flipping unit also includes two or more pick-up heads distributed around a rotation axis to rotate around the rotation axis of the flipping unit, thereby picking up multiple chips sequentially from the diced wafer. As the two or more pick-up heads rotate around the rotation axis of the flipping unit, the chips are respectively transferred to the two or more bonding heads of the chip bonding unit.

15. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A vision system is used to observe the operation of the chip mounting device, thereby providing feedback to control the wafer supply unit, carrier support unit and chip transfer module; The vision system also includes: A wafer camera facing the wafer supply unit is used to determine the position of a plurality of chips on the diced wafer relative to a predetermined pick-up positioning of the chip transfer module; A chip camera, positioned relative to the chip bonding unit, is used to capture images of multiple chips held on the two or more bonding heads as the two or more bonding heads of the chip bonding unit rotate past the chip camera; and A carrier camera facing the carrier support unit is used to determine the positioning of the target patch on the carrier.

16. The chip mounting apparatus as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The wafer supply unit and the carrier support unit are configured to align the diced wafer and the carrier.

17. A chip mounting method for mounting a plurality of chips onto a carrier board using the chip mounting apparatus as described in any one of claims 1-16, characterized in that, include: The chip is picked up from a diced wafer via a chip transfer module of the chip mounting apparatus. The diced wafer is held by a carrier frame of a carrier support unit of the chip mounting apparatus so as to space the diced wafer and the carrier held by the carrier support unit of the chip mounting apparatus apart, and to orient the diced wafer so that its exposed surface faces a mounting surface of the carrier. as well as The chip is placed on the surface of the carrier board held by the carrier board support unit via the chip transfer module, for mounting the chip onto the surface of the carrier board. The chip delivery module is located between the carrier support unit and the wafer supply unit; When the pick-up head of a first pick-up moving unit of the chip transfer module moves the chip from a pick-up position of the first pick-up moving unit to a release position, the chip is flipped relative to its original orientation on the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit. At least one pickup head of the first pickup moving unit can rotate about a rotation axis parallel to a support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier plate support unit; causing at least one pickup head of the first pickup moving unit to move along a curved path from the pickup position of the first pickup moving unit to its release position. Subsequently, through a pickup head of a second pickup moving unit of the chip transfer module, when the pickup head of the second pickup moving unit moves the chip from a pickup position of the second pickup moving unit to a release position, the chip is flipped again, thereby restoring the orientation of the chip relative to the diced wafer at the release position of the second pickup moving unit to its original orientation on the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit; At least one pickup head of the second pickup moving unit can rotate about a rotation axis parallel to the support plane defined by at least one support element of the carrier plate support unit; causing at least one pickup head of the second pickup moving unit to move along a curved path from the pickup position of the second pickup moving unit to its release position. The plane containing the bending path is perpendicular to the carrier plate and parallel to the base support surface.

18. The patching method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, Also includes: Based on the chip's position relative to a predetermined pick-up location, the wafer supply unit is moved along a wafer movement plane parallel to the diced wafer, the position being determined by a chip pick-up sensing device having at least one sensor.

19. The patching method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, Also includes: Based on the position determined by the chip picked up by the chip transfer module relative to a target placement position on the carrier plate held by the carrier plate support unit, the carrier plate support unit is moved along a carrier plate movement plane parallel to the carrier plate to align the target placement position on the carrier plate with the chip picked up by the chip transfer module.

20. The patching method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, Also includes: A pickup head of the chip delivery module flips the chip relative to its original orientation on the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit as the pickup head moves from a pickup position to a release position. When the pickup head is in the pickup position, it is oriented toward the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and aligned with the chip for picking up the chip from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit; when the pickup head is in the release position, it is moved away from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and toward the surface of the substrate held by the substrate support unit.

21. The patching method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, Also includes: Specifically, when the pickup head of the first pickup moving unit is located at the pickup position of the first pickup moving unit, it is oriented towards the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and aligned with the chip, for picking up the chip from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit. When the pickup head of the first pickup moving unit is in the release position of the first pickup moving unit, it moves away from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and toward the carrier plate held by the carrier plate support unit. When the pickup head of the first pickup moving unit is in the release position and the pickup head of the second pickup moving unit is in the pickup position, the pickup head of the second pickup moving unit is oriented towards the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and aligned with the pickup head of the first pickup moving unit. When the pickup head of the second pickup moving unit is in the release position of the second pickup moving unit, it moves away from the diced wafer held by the wafer supply unit and toward the carrier held by the carrier support unit.

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