Semiconductor process equipment and its wafer transfer system

Abstract

The present invention provides a wafer transmission system, including a transmission chamber, a first transmission component, a loading chamber, a second transmission component and a calibration chamber, wherein the transmission chamber is used to communicate with the reaction chamber; one side of the loading chamber is connected to the transmission chamber, and the other side has a transmission port; the second transmission component is used to transmit the wafer to the tray in the loading chamber through the transmission port, and to remove the wafer from the tray in the loading chamber and transmit the wafer out of the loading chamber; a calibration component is provided in the calibration chamber for calibrating the position of the tray; the first transmission component is used to transmit the tray into the calibration chamber to calibrate the position of the tray, and to remove the calibrated tray from the calibration chamber and transmit it to the loading chamber, and also to remove the tray carrying the wafer from the loading chamber and transmit it to the reaction chamber. In the present invention, the first transmission component can cooperate with the calibration chamber to calibrate the position of the tray, thereby realizing the automated transmission and retrieval of silicon carbide wafers. The present invention also provides a semiconductor process equipment.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor material with unique physical and chemical properties. The silicon-carbon bond energy that makes up the SiC crystal is very large (4.6 eV), and its band gap is wide at 2.3 to 3.3 eV. It also has high hardness, high chemical inertness, a wide band gap, and good thermal stability. This enables SiC power devices to operate at high temperatures of 300°C, and even ensures that the performance of SiC power devices will not decrease even at higher temperatures. Under the same voltage conditions, the on-state resistance of SiC power devices is more than an order of magnitude smaller than that of silicon-based power devices, which also makes the power conversion rate of SiC power devices higher than that of silicon-based power devices. However, precisely because of the special properties of SiC devices, the manufacturing difficulty of SiC devices is high, the yield rate is low, and the device price is high, which limits the pace of their full promotion.

[0003] Epitaxial growth is the first step in the manufacturing process of silicon carbide power semiconductor devices. Unlike the epitaxial temperature of 1000-1200℃ in the silicon epitaxial process, the temperature of silicon carbide epitaxy is usually 1500-1800℃, and the growth time of silicon carbide epitaxy is generally longer. Under these conditions, if the previous method of directly taking the wafer under the conditions of the silicon epitaxial process is adopted, it is easy to increase the surface defects of the silicon carbide wafer. Therefore, the tray loaded with silicon carbide wafers needs to be placed in or out of the process chamber as a whole. That is, the wafer before the process needs to be placed on the tray, and then the tray and wafer are transferred into the reaction chamber as a whole for processing. After the process is completed, the tray and wafer need to be transferred out of the reaction chamber as a whole, and then the wafer is removed from the tray.

[0004] However, in the existing technology, the process steps of placing the wafer on the tray and removing it from the tray require human participation, which greatly reduces the efficiency of the semiconductor process; moreover, manual placement of the wafer can easily cause small particles to fall onto the wafer surface, causing wafer contamination or scratching the wafer surface, affecting the yield of the silicon carbide wafer.

[0005] Therefore, how to provide a transmission system for silicon carbide wafers that can realize automatic wafer transmission and retrieval has become a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a wafer transfer system and semiconductor process equipment including the wafer transfer system, wherein the wafer transfer system can realize the automatic transfer and retrieval of silicon carbide wafers.

[0007] To achieve the above object, as one aspect of the present invention, a wafer transfer system is provided, wherein the wafer transfer system includes a transfer chamber, a first transfer assembly, a loading chamber, a second transfer assembly and a calibration chamber, wherein:

[0008] The transmission chamber has a chamber docking port for communicating with the reaction chamber;

[0009] One side of the loading chamber is in communication with the transmission chamber, and the other side has a selectively openable transmission port;

[0010] The second transfer assembly is used to transfer the wafer to the tray in the loading chamber through the transfer port, and to remove the wafer from the tray in the loading chamber and transfer the wafer out of the loading chamber through the transfer port;

[0011] The calibration chamber is in communication with the transmission chamber, and a calibration component is provided in the calibration chamber, and the calibration component is used to calibrate the position of the tray introduced into the calibration chamber;

[0012] The first transmission component is arranged in the transmission chamber, and is used to transfer the tray into the calibration chamber to cooperate with the calibration component to calibrate the position of the tray, and to take out the calibrated tray from the calibration chamber and transfer it into the loading chamber. It is also used to take out the tray carrying wafers in the loading chamber from the loading chamber and transfer it into the reaction chamber through the chamber docking port, and to take out the tray in the reaction chamber.

[0013] Optionally, the loading chamber includes a cavity, a base, an ejector pin drive assembly and a plurality of ejectors, the base is arranged in the cavity, the base has a bearing surface for bearing the tray, and the ejector pin drive assembly is used to drive the plurality of ejectors to pass upward from below the bearing surface and pass through the plurality of ejector pin holes on the tray one by one, or drive the plurality of ejectors to descend below the bearing surface.

[0014] Optionally, the ejector drive assembly includes a mounting plate, a lifting rod and a lifting drive assembly, a plurality of the ejectors are arranged on the mounting plate, a mounting groove is formed on the bearing surface of the base, a first through hole is formed at the bottom of the mounting groove and extends to the bottom of the base, the mounting plate is arranged in the mounting groove, the top end of the lifting rod is fixedly connected to the mounting plate, and the lifting drive assembly is used to drive the lifting rod to move in the first through hole to drive the mounting plate and the plurality of the ejectors arranged thereon to rise and fall.

[0015] Optionally, a plurality of groups of ejector pins are fixedly provided on the mounting plate, and a plurality of ejector pins in each group are at equal distances from the axis of the base.

[0016] Optionally, the lifting drive assembly is arranged below the cavity, and a second through hole is formed on the bottom wall of the cavity, the bottom end of the lifting rod passes through the second through hole to the outside of the cavity, and the bottom end of the lifting rod has a hemispherical portion, and the lifting drive assembly includes a lifting drive part and an elastic drive part; the top of the lifting drive part has a horizontal contact surface, and the lifting drive part is used to drive the horizontal contact surface to rise, so that the horizontal contact surface pushes the lifting rod to rise along the first through hole and the second through hole, or drives the horizontal contact surface to descend; the elastic drive part is used to drive the lifting rod to descend by elastic force.

[0017] Optionally, the elastic driving portion includes a spring, a retaining ring, and a guide seat, the top surface of the guide seat is formed with a guide hole, the bottom surface of the guide hole is formed with a third through hole coaxial with the guide hole and extending through the bottom surface of the guide seat, the bottom of the guide seat is fixedly connected to the bottom of the cavity, and the third through hole is connected to the second through hole;

[0018] The lifting rod passes through the guide hole and the third through hole of the guide seat, and the retaining ring and the spring are both mounted on the lifting rod. The spring is located in the guide hole and between the retaining ring and the bottom surface of the guide hole, and is used to push the retaining ring and the bottom surface of the guide hole away from each other through elastic force to make the lifting rod descend.

[0019] Optionally, the calibration component includes a pallet calibrator and a rotating seat, the pallet calibrator is used to detect the rotation angle of the pallet passed into the calibration cavity and the horizontal position of the center of the pallet; the first transmission component is used to adjust the horizontal position of the pallet according to the feedback signal of the pallet calibrator after the pallet is passed into the calibration cavity, so that the horizontal position of the center of the pallet is aligned with the horizontal position of the rotation axis of the rotating seat, and then the pallet is placed on the rotating seat; the rotating seat is used to drive the pallet to rotate around the rotation axis until the characteristic structure on the pallet is facing a first preset angle.

[0020] Optionally, the pallet calibrator is located above the rotating base and is capable of emitting a detection signal vertically downward at a preset position, and determining whether the characteristic structure on the pallet is rotated to face the first preset angle based on the reflected signal.

[0021] Optionally, the wafer transfer system further includes a fixed platform, and the loading chamber and the second transfer assembly are both fixedly arranged on the fixed platform.

[0022] Optionally, the wafer transport system further comprises a wafer aligner fixedly disposed on the fixed platform, the wafer aligner being used to calibrate the rotation direction of the wafer so that the characteristic structure on the wafer is rotated to face a second preset angle; the fixed platform further comprises a first cassette fixing position and a second cassette fixing position for setting a cassette, the centers of the second transport component, the loading chamber and the transport chamber are located on the same straight line, and the first cassette fixing position and the second cassette fixing position are respectively located on both sides of the second transport component in a direction perpendicular to a line connecting the second transport component and the loading chamber;

[0023] The second transmission component is used to, after taking the wafer out of the cassette fixed in the first cassette, first transfer the wafer into the wafer aligner, and after the wafer aligner calibrates the rotation direction of the wafer, transfer the wafer to the tray in the loading chamber through the transmission port; and, after taking the wafer out of the loading chamber, first transfer the wafer into the wafer aligner, and after the wafer aligner calibrates the rotation direction of the wafer, transfer the wafer to the cassette fixed in the second cassette.

[0024] Optionally, the wafer transfer system further comprises a tray support block fixedly disposed on the fixed platform, the top of the tray support block having a tray support surface for carrying the tray, and the tray support block is formed with an opening in a direction toward the second transfer assembly;

[0025] The second transmission assembly is further configured to extend into the opening and rise from below the tray support surface to above the tray support surface, so as to remove the tray carried on the tray support surface and then place the tray into the loading cavity.

[0026] Optionally, the wafer transfer system further includes a cooling chamber, which is communicated with the transfer chamber. The first transfer assembly is configured to place the tray containing the wafers into the cooling chamber after removing it from the reaction chamber, and then transfer the tray and the wafers carried thereon to the calibration chamber after the tray and the wafers are cooled to room temperature.

[0027] The line connecting the center of the transmission cavity and the center of the calibration cavity and the line connecting the center of the transmission cavity and the center of the cooling cavity both form an angle of 45° with the line connecting the center of the second transmission component and the center of the transmission cavity.

[0028] As a second aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor process equipment is provided, including a wafer transfer system and a reaction chamber, wherein the wafer transfer system is used to transfer a tray carrying wafers into the reaction chamber and to take the tray carrying wafers out of the reaction chamber, and the wafer transfer system is the wafer transfer system described above.

[0029] In the wafer transmission system and semiconductor process equipment provided by the present invention, the wafer transmission system includes a transmission chamber, a calibration chamber and a loading chamber. The first transmission component can cooperate with the calibration chamber to calibrate the position of the tray and place the calibrated tray into the loading chamber, so that the second transmission component can place the wafer before the process on the calibrated tray, or remove the wafer with a determined position from the calibrated tray, thereby realizing automatic placement of the wafer on the tray and automatic removal of the wafer from the tray. The entire transmission process of the wafer and the tray does not require human intervention, thereby improving the efficiency of the semiconductor process, reducing the probability of wafer contamination or damage caused by particles attached to the wafer surface, and improving the product yield of wafers (for example, silicon carbide wafers). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the following detailed description, they are used to explain the present invention but do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer transfer system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a loading chamber in a wafer transfer system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 3 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a loading chamber in a wafer transfer system provided by an embodiment of the present invention from another perspective;

[0034] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A partial schematic diagram of area A in the middle loading cavity;

[0035] Figure 5 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a mounting plate in a loading chamber of a wafer transfer system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 6 This is a schematic structural diagram of a tray in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 Partial schematic diagram of area A of the middle tray;

[0038] Figure 8Schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the tray and the wafer in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 9 This is a structural diagram of a tray support block in a wafer transfer system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of removing a tray from a tray support block by a second transport component in a wafer transport system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of the first transport component taking out a tray from a loading chamber in the wafer transport system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of the second transmission component in the wafer transmission system provided by an embodiment of the present invention transmitting the wafer to the tray in the loading chamber.

[0043] Description of reference numerals:

[0044] 100: Transmission cavity 200: First transmission component

[0045] 300: Calibration chamber 310: Pallet calibrator

[0046] 400: loading chamber 410: gate valve

[0047] 420: Gate valve drive mechanism 430: Cavity

[0048] 440: Base 450: Ejector

[0049] 460: Mounting plate 461: Connecting part

[0050] 462: Strip portion 463: Connection hole

[0051] 464: Ejector fixing hole 470: Lifting rod

[0052] 471: Hemisphere 480: Lifting drive assembly

[0053] 480a: lifting drive unit 480b: elastic drive unit

[0054] 481: Spring 482: Retaining ring

[0055] 483: Guide seat 500: Second transmission component

[0056] 600: Wafer aligner 700: Pallet support block

[0057] 710: Opening 800: Cooling chamber

[0058] 900: Fixed platform 10: Wafer

[0059] 20: Tray 21: Notch

[0060] 22: Holding tank 30: Reaction chamber

[0061] 40: Film box DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] The following describes the specific embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0063] In order to solve the above technical problems, as one aspect of the present invention, a wafer transfer system is provided. Figure 1 As shown, the wafer transfer system includes a transfer chamber 100, a first transfer assembly 200, a calibration chamber 300, a loading chamber 400, and a second transfer assembly 500, wherein:

[0064] The transmission chamber 100 has a chamber docking port for communicating with the reaction chamber 30;

[0065] One side of the loading chamber 400 is connected to the transfer chamber 100, and the other side has a selectively openable transfer port;

[0066] The second transfer assembly 500 is used to transfer the wafer 10 to the tray 20 in the loading chamber 400 through the transfer port, and to remove the wafer 10 from the tray 20 in the loading chamber 400 and transfer the wafer 10 out of the loading chamber 400 through the transfer port;

[0067] The calibration chamber 300 is in communication with the transfer chamber 100 , and a calibration component is disposed in the calibration chamber 300 . The calibration component is used to calibrate the position of the tray 20 (specifically, the horizontal position of the tray 20 and the rotation angle of the tray 20 ) introduced into the calibration chamber 300 .

[0068] The first transmission component 200 is arranged in the transmission chamber 100, and is used to transfer the tray 20 into the calibration chamber 300 to cooperate with the calibration component to calibrate the position of the tray 20, and to take out the calibrated tray 20 from the calibration chamber 300 and transfer it to the loading chamber 400. It is also used to take out the tray 20 carrying the wafer 10 in the loading chamber 400 from the loading chamber 400 and transfer it to the reaction chamber 30 through the chamber docking interface, and to take out the tray 20 in the reaction chamber 30.

[0069] Exemplarily, the first transmission component 200 is a vacuum manipulator, and the second transmission component 500 is an atmospheric manipulator.

[0070] In an embodiment of the present invention, the wafer transmission system includes a transmission chamber 100, a calibration chamber 300 and a loading chamber 400. The first transmission component 200 can cooperate with the calibration chamber 300 to calibrate the position of the tray 20 and place the calibrated tray 20 into the loading chamber 400, so that the second transmission component 500 can place the wafer 10 before the process on the calibrated tray 20, or remove the wafer 10 with a determined position from the calibrated tray 20, thereby realizing automatic placement of the wafer 10 on the tray 20 and automatic removal of the wafer 10 from the tray 20. The entire transmission process of the wafer 10 and the tray 20 does not require human intervention, thereby improving the efficiency of the semiconductor process, reducing the probability of wafer contamination or damage caused by particles attached to the wafer surface, and improving the product yield of wafers (for example, silicon carbide wafers).

[0071] It should be noted that the transmission cavity 100 has the function of controlling the internal gas pressure. Figures 1 to 3 As shown, a gate valve 410 and a gate valve driving mechanism 420 are provided at the transfer port of the loading chamber 400. The gate valve driving mechanism 420 is used to drive the gate valve 410 to selectively close the transfer port. Before the second transfer component 500 performs a wafer taking and placing operation on the loading chamber 400 (i.e., transferring the wafer 10 into the loading chamber 400 or taking the wafer 10 out of the loading chamber 400), the internal air pressure of the transfer chamber 100 changes from vacuum (or near vacuum) to the same as the external atmospheric pressure, and then the gate valve driving mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to open the transfer port; after the second transfer component 500 performs a wafer taking and placing operation on the loading chamber 400, the gate valve driving mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to close the transfer port, and the transfer chamber 100 is evacuated so that it can be connected with the reaction chamber 30 through the chamber docking interface subsequently, so that the first transfer component 200 can perform wafer taking and placing operations on the reaction chamber 30 under a vacuum environment, thereby preventing particles and pollutants in the atmosphere from entering the reaction chamber 30, thereby improving the cleanliness of the wafer processing environment.

[0072] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, both the wafer 10 and the tray 20 have characteristic structures for distinguishing orientations. By identifying the orientation of the characteristic structure on the wafer 10, the position of the pattern or component (such as a chip) formed on the wafer can be determined. Similarly, by identifying the orientation of the characteristic structure on the tray 20, the rotation direction of the tray 20 can be determined, thereby achieving precise positioning of the wafer 10 carried thereon.

[0073] Specifically, if Figure 6 、 Figure 7 As shown, the characteristic structure on the tray 20 can be a notch 21 formed on the edge of the tray 20; Figure 8 As shown, the characteristic structure on the wafer 10 can be a flat edge f formed on one side edge of the wafer 10; Figure 6 、 Figure 8As shown, a receiving groove 22 for receiving the wafer 10 is formed on the supporting surface of the tray 20. The edge contour of the receiving groove 22 corresponds to the edge contour of the wafer 10, that is, the receiving groove 22 also has a corresponding flat edge g. After the wafer 10 is placed on the tray 20, it is embedded in the receiving groove 22, thereby improving the stability of the relative position between the wafer 10 and the tray 20 when the tray 20 drives the wafer 10 to rotate in the reaction chamber 30.

[0074] Alternatively, as Figure 6 、 Figure 7 As shown, the characteristic structure (eg, notch 21) of the tray 20 is oriented in the same direction as the flat side g of the receiving groove 22. Optionally, the tray 20 may be made of graphite.

[0075] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the calibration assembly includes a tray calibrator 310 and a rotating seat ( Figure 1 The first transmission assembly 200 is used to adjust the horizontal position of the tray 20 according to the feedback signal of the tray calibrator 310 after the tray 20 is introduced into the calibration cavity 300, so that the horizontal position of the center of the tray 20 is aligned with the horizontal position of the rotation axis of the rotating seat, and then the tray 20 is placed on the rotating seat; the rotating seat is used to drive the tray 20 to rotate around the rotation axis until the characteristic structure (for example, the notch 21) on the tray 20 is oriented towards a first preset angle.

[0076] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first transmission component 200 can adjust the horizontal position of the pallet 20 based on the feedback signal from the pallet calibrator 310, so that the horizontal position of the center of the pallet 20 is aligned with the horizontal position of the rotation axis of the rotating base, that is, the projection of the center of the pallet 20 on the horizontal plane coincides with the projection of the rotation axis of the rotating base on the horizontal plane. Specifically, the pallet calibrator 310 can feedback the offset of the horizontal position of the center of the pallet 20 relative to the horizontal position of the rotation axis of the rotating base along the X-axis and Y-axis (the X-axis and Y-axis are the two axes of the XY horizontal rectangular coordinate system established by the pallet calibrator 310) to the first transmission component 200. The first transmission component 200 moves the horizontal position of the pallet 20 based on the feedback information and performs reverse position compensation on the pallet 20 (that is, causes the pallet 20 to move along the X-axis and Y-axis in an equal and opposite direction to the offset), thereby aligning the horizontal position of the center of the pallet 20 with the horizontal position of the rotation axis of the rotating base.

[0077] The rotating seat can drive the tray 20 to rotate around the rotating axis until the characteristic structure (for example, the notch 21) on the tray 20 is oriented towards a first preset angle, thereby calibrating the horizontal position and orientation of the tray 20, and further ensuring the accuracy of the horizontal position and orientation of the tray 20 when the first transmission component 200 takes the tray 20 out of the calibration chamber 300 and sends it into the loading chamber 400.

[0078] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the pallet calibrator 310 detects the characteristic structure on the pallet 20 based on the optical distance measurement principle to determine whether the characteristic structure on the pallet 20 is rotated to face the first preset angle. Specifically, Figure 1 As shown, the pallet calibrator 310 is located above the rotating seat and is capable of emitting a detection signal vertically downward at a preset position, and judging whether the characteristic structure on the pallet 20 is rotated to face the first preset angle based on the reflected signal. The rotating seat stops rotating after the pallet calibrator 310 judges that the characteristic structure is facing the first preset angle based on the reflected signal, thereby realizing calibration of the rotation direction of the pallet 20.

[0079] For example, when the characteristic structure on the tray 20 is the notch 21, the tray calibrator 310 can emit a detection signal vertically downward at the position where the notch 21 is located when it is facing the first preset angle (i.e., the preset position). When the notch 21 has not rotated to face the first preset angle, the detection signal will be reflected on the upper surface of the tray 20 to form a reflection signal. When the notch 21 rotates to the preset position, the detection signal passes through the notch 21 and propagates downward to the object below the tray 20 (such as the bottom wall of the calibration cavity 300, the rotating seat or other objects arranged below the tray 20) and then reflects, thereby changing the reflection signal received by the tray calibrator 310, and then determining that the characteristic structure notch 21 is facing the first preset angle.

[0080] It should be noted that when the second transport assembly 500 picks up the wafer 10, the orientation of the wafer 10 is a certain angle to ensure that the flat edge f of the wafer 10 is aligned with the flat edge g of the receiving slot 22 on the tray 20. Specifically, the wafer 10 before being placed in the loading chamber 400 can be calibrated by other calibration modules in the wafer transport system. For example, as an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 As shown, the wafer transfer system also includes a wafer calibrator 600, which is used to calibrate the rotation direction of the wafer 10 so that the characteristic structure (for example, the flat edge f) on the wafer 10 is rotated to a second preset angle. The second transfer component 500 is used to first transfer the wafer 10 into the wafer calibrator 600 after taking the wafer 10 out of the wafer box 40, and after the wafer calibrator 600 calibrates the rotation direction of the wafer 10, transfer the wafer 10 to the tray 20 in the loading chamber 400 through the transfer port.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present invention, the calibration component in the calibration chamber 300 can calibrate the rotation angle of the tray 20, and the wafer calibrator 600 can calibrate the rotation angle of the wafer 10. The first preset angle and the second preset angle are set so that after the tray 20 with the characteristic structure (for example, the notch 21) facing the first preset angle is taken out from the calibration chamber 300 by the first transmission component 200 and transferred into the loading chamber 400, the flat edge g of its accommodating groove 22 and the wafer 10 with the characteristic structure (for example, the flat edge f) facing the second preset angle are taken out from the wafer calibrator 600 by the second transmission component 500 and transferred into the loading chamber 400, the positions and angles of its flat edge f correspond to each other.

[0082] In order to improve the stability of placing the wafer 10 on the tray 20 or removing it from the tray 20 in the loading chamber 400, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 、 Figure 4 As shown, the loading chamber 400 includes a cavity 430, a base 440, a pin drive assembly and a plurality of pins 450 (PINs). The base 440 is arranged in the cavity 430. The base 440 has a bearing surface for bearing the tray 20. The pin drive assembly is used to drive the plurality of pins 450 to pass upward from the bottom of the bearing surface and pass through the plurality of pin holes on the tray 20 one by one, or to drive the plurality of pins 450 to descend below the bearing surface.

[0083] In an embodiment of the present invention, the loading chamber 400 includes a base 440, an ejector pin driving assembly, and a plurality of ejector pins 450. The ejector pin driving assembly can drive the plurality of ejector pins 450 to pass upward through the bearing surface of the base 440 and pass through the plurality of ejector pin holes on the tray 20, or drive the plurality of ejector pins 450 to retract downward below the bearing surface, so that when the second transmission assembly 500 places the wafer 10 on the tray 20, the ejector pin driving assembly can first drive the plurality of ejector pins 450 to rise, place the wafer 10 on the plurality of ejector pins 450, and then drive the ejector pin driving assembly to retract the plurality of ejector pins 450. The plurality of ejectors 450 descends, allowing the wafer 10 to land smoothly on the tray 20; similarly, when the second transmission component 500 removes the wafer 10 from the tray 20, the ejector drive component first drives the plurality of ejectors 450 to rise, lifting the wafer 10 to detach it from the tray 20, so that the wafer 10 can be removed from the plurality of ejectors 450 by the second transmission component 500, thereby improving the stability of placing the wafer 10 on or removing it from the tray 20 in the loading chamber 400, and ensuring the stability of the position between the wafer 10 and the tray 20.

[0084] In order to ensure the consistency of the height of the tops of the plurality of ejector pins 450 and to improve the levelness of the wafer 10, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4As shown, the ejector drive assembly includes a mounting plate 460, a lifting rod 470 and a lifting drive assembly 480, a plurality of ejectors 450 are arranged on the mounting plate 460, a mounting groove is formed on the bearing surface of the base 440, and a first through hole a is formed at the bottom of the mounting groove and extends to the bottom of the base 440. The mounting plate 460 is arranged in the mounting groove, and the top end of the lifting rod 470 is fixedly connected to the mounting plate 460. The lifting drive assembly 480 is used to drive the lifting rod 470 to move in the first through hole a to drive the mounting plate 460 and the plurality of ejectors 450 arranged thereon to rise and fall.

[0085] In an embodiment of the present invention, multiple ejectors 450 are arranged on a mounting plate 460, and the lifting drive assembly 480 drives the mounting plate 460 through the lifting rod 470 to drive the multiple ejectors 450 to rise and fall, thereby realizing the synchronous movement of the multiple ejectors 450, ensuring the consistency of the feed amount of the multiple ejectors 450 in the vertical direction, and further ensuring the parallelism between the wafer 10 and the tray 20.

[0086] In order to improve the compatibility of the wafer transport system with wafers 10 and trays 20 of different sizes, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 、 Figure 5 As shown, a plurality of groups of ejector pins 450 are fixedly mounted on the mounting plate 460 , and the distances between the plurality of ejector pins 450 in each group and the axis of the base 440 are equal, thereby achieving compatibility with wafers 10 and trays 20 of different sizes.

[0087] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 As shown, the mounting plate 460 includes a connecting portion 461 and three strip portions 462 fixedly arranged around the connecting portion 461 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. A connecting hole 463 is formed in the center of the connecting portion 461, and the top end of the lifting rod 470 is fixed in the connecting hole 463; the strip portion 462 extends radially, and a plurality of ejector fixing holes 464 distributed at intervals along the radial direction are formed on the strip portion 462. Each group of ejector pins 450 includes three ejector pins 450 whose bottom ends are fixedly arranged in three ejector fixing holes 464 on the three strip portions 462 in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0088] That is, for any size of wafer 10 and tray 20, a corresponding three-needle structure can be formed by three ejector pins 450 located on the same graduation circle on the three strip-shaped parts 462. The three-needle structure passes through the three ejector pin holes on the tray 20 and forms a stable positioning of the plane of the wafer 10 through the top of the three pins. The top of each ejector pin 450 is subjected to equal force, and the wafer 10 will not tilt due to uneven force, thereby achieving stable rising and falling of the wafer 10.

[0089] In order to ensure the stability of the movement direction of the plurality of ejector pins 450, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4As shown, the lifting drive assembly 480 is arranged below the cavity 430, and a second through hole b is formed on the bottom wall of the cavity 430. The bottom end of the lifting rod 470 passes through the second through hole b to the outside of the cavity 430, and the bottom end of the lifting rod 470 has a hemispherical portion 471. The lifting drive assembly 480 includes a lifting drive portion 480a and an elastic drive portion 480b; the top of the lifting drive portion 480a has a horizontal contact surface e, and the lifting drive portion 480a is used to drive the horizontal contact surface e to rise, so that the horizontal contact surface e pushes the lifting rod 470 to rise along the first through hole a and the second through hole b, or drives the horizontal contact surface e to descend; the elastic drive portion 480b is used to drive the lifting rod 470 to descend by elastic force.

[0090] In an embodiment of the present invention, the top of the lifting drive part 480a has a horizontal contact surface e, which drives the lifting rod 470 to rise by pushing up the hemispherical part 471 at the bottom end of the lifting rod 470 through the horizontal contact surface e. This can effectively ensure that the lifting drive part 480a only applies a vertical upward lifting force to the lifting rod 470, and will not apply a horizontal force to the lifting rod 470 to cause the direction of the lifting rod 470 to deviate, thereby effectively ensuring the stability of the movement direction of multiple pins 450 and improving the horizontality of the wafer 10.

[0091] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 As shown, the elastic driving portion 480b includes a spring 481, a retaining ring 482, and a guide seat 483. A guide hole d is formed on the top surface of the guide seat 483. A third through hole c is formed on the bottom surface of the guide hole d, which is coaxial with the guide hole d and extends to the bottom surface of the guide seat 483. The bottom of the guide seat 483 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the cavity 430, and the third through hole c is connected to the second through hole b.

[0092] The lifting rod 470 passes through the guide hole d and the third through hole c of the guide seat 483. The retaining ring 482 and the spring 481 are both mounted on the lifting rod 470. The spring 481 is located in the guide hole d and between the retaining ring 482 and the bottom surface of the guide hole d. It is used to push the retaining ring 482 and the bottom surface of the guide hole d away from each other through elastic force to make the lifting rod 470 descend.

[0093] In this embodiment of the present invention, the elastic drive unit 480b includes a spring 481, a retaining ring 482, and a guide seat 483. The spring 481 is mounted on the lifting rod 470 and located in the guide hole d of the guide seat 483, thereby effectively preventing the spring 481 from ejecting outward, thereby improving the overall reliability of the device. Furthermore, under the dual guidance of the lifting rod 470 and the inner wall of the guide hole d, the spring 481 pushes the retaining ring 482 and the bottom surface of the guide hole d away from each other through the elastic force, causing the lifting rod 470 to descend, further reducing the horizontal force component on the lifting rod 470, thereby further ensuring the stability of the movement direction of the multiple ejector pins 450 and improving the levelness of the wafer 10.

[0094] When the semiconductor process is started, for example, when the semiconductor process is performed on the first wafer 10 in the same batch of wafers 10, the tray 20 needs to be transferred from the outside to the transfer chamber 100 through the loading chamber 400. In order to automatically run this step and realize full automated control, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 、 Figure 9 As shown, the wafer transfer system further includes a tray support block 700 . The top of the tray support block 700 has a tray support surface for carrying the tray 20 , and the tray support block 700 has an opening 710 formed in a direction toward the second transfer assembly 500 .

[0095] like Figure 10 As shown, the second transfer assembly 500 is also used to extend into the opening 710 when the semiconductor process begins, and rise from below the tray support surface to above the tray support surface, thereby removing the tray 20 carried on the tray support surface and then placing the tray 20 into the loading chamber 400.

[0096] In order to improve the cooling efficiency of the wafer 10 after the semiconductor process is completed, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, the wafer transfer system further includes a cooling chamber 800, which is connected to the transfer chamber 100. After each wafer 10 is processed, the first transfer assembly 200 removes the tray 20 containing the wafers 10 from the reaction chamber 30 and places it into the cooling chamber 800. After the tray 20 and the wafers 10 carried thereon cool to room temperature, the tray 20 is transferred to the calibration chamber 300 for calibration, and then placed into the loading chamber 400 to separate the wafers 10 from the tray 20.

[0097] In order to ensure the position stability between different chambers, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 As shown, the wafer transfer system further includes a fixed platform 900 , on which the loading chamber 400 , the wafer aligner 600 , the tray support block 700 , and the second transfer assembly 500 are all fixedly disposed.

[0098] Specifically, as an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 As shown, the transmission chamber 100 is a regular octagonal prism structure, the loading chamber 400 and the chamber docking port are respectively located on two opposite sides of the transmission chamber 100, the fixed platform 900 corresponds to the position of the loading chamber 400, and the calibration chamber 300 and the cooling chamber 800 are respectively arranged on the two side walls of the transmission chamber 100 adjacent to the side of the loading chamber 400. Figure 1 On the upper and lower 45° sides of the right side of the middle transfer cavity 100, the line connecting the center of the transfer cavity 100 and the center of the calibration cavity 300, as well as the line connecting the center of the transfer cavity 100 and the center of the cooling cavity 800, both form a 45° angle with the line connecting the centers of the second transfer assembly 500 and the transfer cavity 100; the second transfer assembly 500 is located on the side of the loading cavity 400 facing away from the transfer cavity 100, and the centers of the second transfer assembly 500, the loading cavity 400, and the transfer cavity 100 are located on the same straight line.

[0099] Optionally, the fixing platform 900 further includes two cassette fixing positions for setting the cassette 40, including a first cassette fixing position (at Figure 1 The second cassette fixing position (located above the second transmission assembly 500) Figure 1 Located below the second transmission component 500), it is used to set the wafer box 40 for loading the pre-process wafer and the post-process wafer respectively.

[0100] In order to improve the compactness of the wafer transmission system structure and improve the transmission accuracy and transmission efficiency of the wafer 10, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 As shown, the two cassette fixing positions are respectively located on both sides of the second transmission component 500 in a direction perpendicular to the line between the second transmission component 500 and the loading chamber 400 (ie Figure 1 upper and lower sides of the second transmission assembly 500);

[0101] The second transmission component 500 is used to first transfer the wafer 10 into the wafer aligner 600 after taking the wafer 10 out of the cassette 40 fixed in the first cassette position, and after the wafer aligner 600 calibrates the rotation direction of the wafer 10, transfer the wafer 10 to the tray 20 in the loading chamber 400 through the transmission port; and, after taking the wafer 10 out of the loading chamber, first transfer the wafer 10 into the wafer aligner 600, and after the wafer aligner 600 calibrates the rotation direction of the wafer 10, transfer the wafer 10 to the cassette 40 fixed in the second cassette position.

[0102] Optionally, the tray support block 700 and the wafer aligner 600 are symmetrically arranged relative to the line connecting the second transmission assembly 500 and the loading chamber 400, for example, Figure 1Taking the up, down, left and right directions in as a reference, the tray support block 700 is located at 48° to the upper left of the second transmission component 500, and the opening 710 of the tray support block 700 is facing the center of the second transmission component 500, and the wafer aligner 600 is located at 48° to the lower left of the second transmission component 500.

[0103] It should be noted that, in order to show the positional relationship between the tray 20 or wafer 10 and the chamber or device when it is on the chamber or device station, Figure 1 Each chamber and device is shown as loaded with a tray 20 or wafer 10. For example, the calibration chamber 300, the loading chamber 400, and the cooling chamber 800 are all shown as loaded with a tray 20 and wafers 10 carried thereon. The tray support block 700 is shown as loaded with a tray 20, and the wafer aligner 600 is shown as loaded with a wafer 10. However, in actual use, only some of these chambers and device stations are loaded with trays 20 or wafers 10.

[0104] As a second aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor process equipment is provided, including a wafer transfer system and a reaction chamber 30. The wafer transfer system is used to transfer a tray 20 carrying wafers 10 into the reaction chamber 30 and to take the tray 20 carrying wafers 10 out of the reaction chamber 30. The wafer transfer system is the wafer transfer system provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0105] In the semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention, the wafer transmission system includes a transmission chamber 100, a calibration chamber 300 and a loading chamber 400. The first transmission component 200 can cooperate with the calibration chamber 300 to calibrate the position of the tray 20 and place the calibrated tray 20 into the loading chamber 400, so that the second transmission component 500 can place the wafer 10 before the process on the calibrated tray 20, or remove the wafer 10 with a determined position from the calibrated tray 20, thereby realizing automatic placement of the wafer 10 on the tray 20 and automatic removal of the wafer 10 from the tray 20. The entire transmission process of the wafer 10 and the tray 20 does not require human intervention, thereby improving the efficiency of the semiconductor process, reducing the probability of wafer contamination or damage caused by particles attached to the wafer surface, and improving the product yield of wafers (for example, silicon carbide wafers).

[0106] To facilitate understanding by technicians, the following provides a specific embodiment of using the wafer transfer system provided by an embodiment of the present invention to perform semiconductor processing on the same batch of wafers:

[0107] Before the first process starts (i.e., before the semiconductor process is performed on the first wafer 10), the second transfer assembly 500 extends into the opening 710 of the tray support block 700 and rises from below the tray support surface to above the tray support surface of the tray support block 700 (e.g., Figure 10As shown), thereby removing the tray 20 carried on the tray support surface;

[0108] The gate valve driving mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to open, and the second transmission assembly 500 delivers the tray 20 into the loading chamber 400 and places it on the base 440 (at this time, the rotation direction of the tray 20 is not calibrated).

[0109] The gate valve driving mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to close and isolate the outside atmosphere from the chamber environment, and the first transmission assembly takes out the tray 20 (such as Figure 11 shown).

[0110] The first transport assembly delivers the pallet 20 into the calibration chamber 300 and adjusts the pallet 20's horizontal position based on feedback from the pallet aligner 310 (the offset of the pallet 20's center relative to the swivel base's axis of rotation along the X and Y axes). This aligns the pallet 20's center with the swivel base's axis of rotation. The pallet 20 is then placed on the swivel base, which rotates the pallet 20 until the pallet aligner 310 detects the notch 21 on the driven pallet 20 and stops rotating.

[0111] The first transmission assembly takes the calibrated tray 20 out of the calibration chamber 300 and puts it back onto the base 440 in the loading chamber 400 . The ejector drive assembly drives the plurality of ejector pins 450 upward through the plurality of ejector pin holes on the tray 20 .

[0112] The gate valve driving mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to open, and the second transfer assembly 500 takes the first wafer 10 out of the first cassette 40 fixed in the first cassette position and places it into the wafer aligner 600 to align the rotation direction of the wafer, and then transfers the calibrated wafer 10 to the plurality of ejector pins 450 raised in the loading chamber 400 (such as Figure 12 The gate valve driving mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to close and isolate the outside atmosphere from the chamber environment.

[0113] The ejector pin driving assembly drives the plurality of ejector pins 450 to retract downward, causing the wafer 10 to fall into the receiving slot 22 on the tray 20 .

[0114] The first transfer assembly takes the tray 20 and the wafers 10 carried thereon out of the loading chamber 400 and transfers them into the reaction chamber 30 for semiconductor processing.

[0115] After each wafer 10 completes the semiconductor process, the first transport assembly removes the tray 20 and the processed wafers 10 it carries from the reaction chamber 30 and transfers them to the cooling chamber 800. After the tray 20 and the wafers 10 it carries cool to room temperature, they are transferred to the calibration chamber 300 for calibration before being placed into the loading chamber 400. The ejector pin drive assembly then drives multiple ejector pins 450 upward through the multiple ejector pin holes in the tray 20, separating the wafers 10 from the tray 20.

[0116] The gate valve driving mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to open, and the second transmission component 500 removes the wafer 10 from the multiple ejector pins 450 and places it into the wafer calibrator 600 to calibrate the rotation direction of the wafer, and then transfers the calibrated wafer 10 to the wafer box 40 at the second wafer box fixing position.

[0117] Subsequently, the second transfer assembly 500 removes the next wafer 10 from the cassette 40 held in the first cassette position and places it into the wafer aligner 600 for rotational alignment. The aligned wafer 10 is then transferred to the plurality of ejector pins 450 raised in the loading chamber 400. The gate valve drive mechanism 420 drives the gate valve 410 to close, isolating the outside atmosphere from the chamber environment.

[0118] By repeating the steps of the second transmission component 500 taking the wafer 10 to be processed out of the cassette 40 fixed in the first cassette position and the second transmission component 500 transferring the processed wafer 10 into the cassette 40 fixed in the second cassette position, fully automated production of the wafer 10 can be achieved.

[0119] It will be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments for illustrating the principles of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and substance of the present invention, and such modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer system, characterized in that: The wafer transfer system includes a transfer chamber, a first transfer component, a loading chamber, a second transfer component and a calibration chamber, wherein: The transmission chamber has a chamber docking port for communicating with the reaction chamber; One side of the loading chamber is in communication with the transmission chamber, and the other side has a selectively openable transmission port; The second transfer assembly is used to transfer the wafer to the tray in the loading chamber through the transfer port, and to remove the wafer from the tray in the loading chamber and transfer the wafer out of the loading chamber through the transfer port; The loading chamber includes a chamber body, a base, an ejector pin drive assembly, and a plurality of ejectors. The base is disposed in the chamber and has a bearing surface for bearing the tray. The ejector pin drive assembly is used to drive the plurality of ejectors to pass upward from below the bearing surface and pass through a plurality of ejector pin holes on the tray in a one-to-one correspondence, or to drive the plurality of ejectors to descend below the bearing surface. The ejector drive assembly includes a mounting plate, a plurality of ejectors are arranged on the mounting plate, a mounting groove is formed on the bearing surface of the base, a first through hole is formed at the bottom of the mounting groove and extends to the bottom of the base, and the mounting plate is arranged in the mounting groove; A plurality of groups of ejector pins are fixedly provided on the mounting plate, and the distances between the plurality of ejector pins in each group and the axis of the base are equal; The calibration chamber is in communication with the transmission chamber, and a calibration component is provided in the calibration chamber, and the calibration component is used to calibrate the position of the tray introduced into the calibration chamber; The first transmission component is arranged in the transmission chamber, and is used to transfer the tray into the calibration chamber to cooperate with the calibration component to calibrate the position of the tray, and to take out the calibrated tray from the calibration chamber and transfer it into the loading chamber. It is also used to take out the tray carrying wafers in the loading chamber from the loading chamber and transfer it into the reaction chamber through the chamber docking port, and to take out the tray in the reaction chamber.

2. The wafer transfer system according to claim 1, wherein: The ejector drive assembly further includes a lifting rod and a lifting drive assembly. The top end of the lifting rod is fixedly connected to the mounting plate. The lifting drive assembly is used to drive the lifting rod to move in the first through hole to drive the mounting plate and the plurality of ejectors arranged thereon to rise and fall.

3. The wafer transfer system according to claim 2, wherein: The lifting drive assembly is arranged below the cavity, and a second through hole is formed on the bottom wall of the cavity. The bottom end of the lifting rod passes through the second through hole to the outside of the cavity, and the bottom end of the lifting rod has a hemispherical portion. The lifting drive assembly includes a lifting drive part and an elastic drive part; the top of the lifting drive part has a horizontal contact surface, and the lifting drive part is used to drive the horizontal contact surface to rise, so that the horizontal contact surface pushes the lifting rod to rise along the first through hole and the second through hole, or drives the horizontal contact surface to descend; the elastic drive part is used to drive the lifting rod to descend by elastic force.

4. The wafer transfer system according to claim 3, wherein: The elastic driving portion includes a spring, a retaining ring, and a guide seat. A guide hole is formed on the top surface of the guide seat. A third through hole is formed on the bottom surface of the guide hole, which is coaxial with the guide hole and penetrates to the bottom surface of the guide seat. The bottom of the guide seat is fixedly connected to the bottom of the cavity, and the third through hole is connected to the second through hole. The lifting rod passes through the guide hole and the third through hole of the guide seat, and the retaining ring and the spring are both mounted on the lifting rod. The spring is located in the guide hole and between the retaining ring and the bottom surface of the guide hole, and is used to push the retaining ring and the bottom surface of the guide hole away from each other through elastic force to make the lifting rod descend.

5. The wafer transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The calibration component includes a pallet calibrator and a rotating seat. The pallet calibrator is used to detect the rotation angle of the pallet passed into the calibration cavity and the horizontal position of the center of the pallet; the first transmission component is used to adjust the horizontal position of the pallet according to the feedback signal of the pallet calibrator after the pallet is passed into the calibration cavity, so that the horizontal position of the center of the pallet is aligned with the horizontal position of the rotating axis of the rotating seat, and then the pallet is placed on the rotating seat; the rotating seat is used to drive the pallet to rotate around the rotating axis until the characteristic structure on the pallet is facing a first preset angle.

6. The wafer transfer system according to claim 5, wherein: The pallet calibrator is located above the rotating base and can emit a detection signal vertically downward at a preset position, and determine whether the characteristic structure on the pallet is rotated to face the first preset angle based on the reflected signal.

7. The wafer transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The wafer transfer system further includes a fixed platform, and the loading chamber and the second transfer assembly are both fixedly arranged on the fixed platform.

8. The wafer transport system according to claim 7, wherein: The wafer transfer system further includes a wafer aligner fixedly disposed on the fixed platform, the wafer aligner being used to calibrate the rotation direction of the wafer so that the characteristic structure on the wafer is rotated to face a second preset angle; the fixed platform further includes a first cassette fixing position and a second cassette fixing position for setting a cassette, the centers of the second transfer assembly, the loading chamber, and the transfer chamber are located on the same straight line, and the first cassette fixing position and the second cassette fixing position are respectively located on both sides of the second transfer assembly in a direction perpendicular to a line connecting the second transfer assembly and the loading chamber; The second transmission component is used to, after taking the wafer out of the cassette fixed in the first cassette, first transfer the wafer into the wafer aligner, and after the wafer aligner calibrates the rotation direction of the wafer, transfer the wafer to the tray in the loading chamber through the transmission port; and, after taking the wafer out of the loading chamber, first transfer the wafer into the wafer aligner, and after the wafer aligner calibrates the rotation direction of the wafer, transfer the wafer to the cassette fixed in the second cassette.

9. The wafer transport system according to claim 8, wherein: The wafer transfer system further includes a tray support block fixedly disposed on the fixed platform, the top of the tray support block having a tray support surface for carrying the tray, and the tray support block is formed with an opening in a direction toward the second transfer assembly; The second transmission assembly is further configured to extend into the opening and rise from below the tray support surface to above the tray support surface, so as to remove the tray carried on the tray support surface and then place the tray into the loading cavity.

10. The wafer transport system according to claim 9, wherein: The wafer transfer system further includes a cooling chamber, which is in communication with the transfer chamber. The first transfer assembly is configured to, after removing the tray containing the wafers from the reaction chamber, first place the tray into the cooling chamber, and then transfer the tray and the wafers carried thereon to the calibration chamber after the tray and the wafers are cooled to room temperature. The line connecting the center of the transmission cavity and the center of the calibration cavity and the line connecting the center of the transmission cavity and the center of the cooling cavity both form an angle of 45° with the line connecting the center of the second transmission component and the center of the transmission cavity.

11. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: It includes a wafer transfer system and a reaction chamber, wherein the wafer transfer system is used to transfer a tray carrying wafers into the reaction chamber and to take the tray carrying wafers out of the reaction chamber, and the wafer transfer system is the wafer transfer system described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

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