V-shaped centering self-adapting clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers and application method thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a V-shaped centering self-adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers and an application method thereof, two U-shaped grooves are formed on a frame plate to form a V-shaped distribution. The opening and closing size of the clamping mechanism can be adjusted by adopting the sliding mode of the rollers in the grooves, and the clamping of wafers of different sizes can be adapted. The bottom rollers rotate to drive the rotation of the wafers, so that dead angles existing at the contact positions between the wafers and the rollers can be avoided, and the wafers can be completely cleaned and dried. Compared with a traditional three-jaw positioning device, the application has the advantages that wafers of different specifications can be clamped, the efficiency is not low due to the frequent replacement of clamps for processing wafers of different sizes, and the problem of insufficient cleaning and drying of the wafers is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers and its application method. Background Technology

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, existing wafer clamping devices do not have automatic adjustment functions, which means that wafer clamps need to be changed constantly when processing wafers of different sizes. This results in low processing efficiency and high manpower consumption, thus increasing production costs.

[0003] Existing wafer clamping devices have the following problems: (1) Because the rollers of the clamping device are in a fixed position, they cannot accommodate wafers of various specifications; (2) The rollers installed on the clamping mechanism cannot rotate automatically, and the wafers are in a stationary state, which is not conducive to the development of post-processing processes. The existence of these problems restricts the efficiency of wafer post-processing processes and cannot meet the requirements of enterprises for high-efficiency wafer production.

[0004] In 2019, Shen Linghan invented a wafer cleaning and drying device (authorization announcement number: CN111092036B). The advantages of this patent lie in the wafer cleaning chamber, which has an opening at the top for wafers to enter and exit; a support mechanism inside the chamber to hold the wafers, which is adjustable in height; and a spray pipe at the opening for spraying drying gas onto the cleaned wafer surface. This wafer cleaning and drying device dries the wafer surface by spraying drying gas onto the cleaned wafers through the spray pipe at the opening of the chamber. It can be understood that this method utilizes the Marangoni effect, that is, using the surface tension gradient difference to remove water adhering to the wafer surface. The disadvantages are that this device can only perform the cleaning process and cannot perform a subsequent drying process, making its function limited. Furthermore, the wafer positioning device during cleaning cannot accommodate wafers of various sizes.

[0005] In 2021, Wang Jian invented a wafer cleaning method and a wafer cleaning device (authorization announcement number: CN112233971B). The advantage of this patent lies in installing cleaning brushes at reference positions determined by the alignment operation, where two roller brush fixtures simultaneously contact the wafer fixture, and controlling the cleaning brushes to move to the corresponding cleaning positions; controlling the cleaning brushes to perform rolling brushing on both sides of the wafer at the cleaning positions. The disadvantage is that this device can only perform the cleaning process, and during cleaning, the positioning device for fixing the wafer cannot adapt to multiple wafer sizes. If cleaning other sizes of wafers is required, the wafer clamping device needs to be replaced.

[0006] In summary, although existing methods can also perform wafer cleaning and drying, the wafer clamping devices used can only adapt to wafers of the same size. If processing wafers of a different size, multiple wafer clamping devices of different sizes need to be prepared, which increases costs, and frequent replacements also prevent efficiency from being improved. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism and its application method for multi-size wafers, solving the problem that existing wafer fixtures are not capable of clamping multi-size wafers and improving the efficiency of wafer cleaning and drying.

[0008] The objective of this invention is achieved in one aspect as follows: a V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers, comprising a support frame, a water collection tank, a V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism, and a roller brush transmission mechanism; the water collection tank is placed on the support frame, the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism is installed inside the water collection tank, the roller brush transmission mechanism is fixed on the support frame, and the roller brush transmission mechanism is equipped with a roller brush and a nitrogen spray pipe; the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism clamps the wafer, and the roller brush transmission mechanism transports the roller brush to both sides of the wafer to clean and dry the wafer.

[0009] To adjust the roller position according to the size of the wafer to be processed, the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism includes a frame plate, two connecting rods, and three rollers. The frame plate has U-shaped grooves on both sides, with a left roller and a right roller positioned within each groove. The upper parts of the two connecting rods are connected to the left and right rollers respectively via rotating pins. The tails of the two connecting rods are mounted on the same slider. The slider moves up and down along a guide rail via the rotation of a lead screw, thereby causing the two connecting rods to move the left and right rollers along the U-shaped grooves, dragging them to the accurate position.

[0010] In order to enable the left and right rollers to stop at the required size position for wafers of different specifications and to play a positioning role, a baffle is installed on the slider and a sensor is installed on one side of the guide rail.

[0011] To drive the wafers to rotate for easy cleaning and drying, a motor is installed on the rack plate. The motor is connected to the bottom rollers via a pulley device. The bottom rollers are fixed to the rack plate and rotated by the pulleys.

[0012] In order to calculate the linear movement distance of the slider on the guide rail based on the movement distance of the left and right rollers in the U-shaped groove, and to set sensors at the corresponding spacing positions; the left roller, right roller and bottom roller are arranged in an isosceles triangle on the frame plate.

[0013] To facilitate precise cleaning of wafers of various sizes, the roller brush transmission mechanism includes a lateral sliding mechanism, a longitudinal sliding mechanism, and a roller brush fixing frame. The lateral sliding mechanism is mounted on a support frame, and the longitudinal sliding mechanism is mounted on a lateral adjustment mechanism via a slider. The longitudinal sliding mechanism is equipped with a slidable connecting plate, which is connected to a cover plate. The cover plate is provided with a pair of sliders and a motor. The roller brush fixing frame is fixed to the sliders with bolts. The roller brush is mounted on the roller brush fixing frame, and the roller brush fixing frame is moved in position controlled by the motor.

[0014] Another aspect of the objective of this invention is achieved as follows: A method for applying a V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers, characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0015] Step 1) Determine the position of the sensor on one side of the guide rail of the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism, which is used to position the slider and adapt to the clamping of wafers of various specifications;

[0016] Step 2) The lead screw of the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism rotates, driving the slider to move. The left and right rollers move along the U-groove to the wafer of the corresponding specification. The wafer is placed between the three rollers. The baffle on the slider cooperates with the sensor to play a positioning role. The bottom roller is driven to rotate through the pulley device, thereby making the wafer rotate.

[0017] Step 3) The roller brush transmission mechanism transports two roller brushes to both sides of the wafer to clean and wash the wafer;

[0018] Step 4) After washing, hot nitrogen gas is sprayed onto the wafer surface through the nitrogen nozzle to dry the wafer.

[0019] Furthermore, the determination of the sensor position on one side of the guide rail in step 1) specifically includes the following process: draw a two-dimensional coordinate axis according to the wafer size of different specifications; based on the fixed position of the bottom roller, set the origin of the coordinate axis at the center of the bottom roller; draw different wafer diameters; based on the invariance of the length of the connecting rod, one end is along the direction of the U-shaped groove and the other end is along the direction of the lead screw, which is the direction of the Y-axis; based on the drawing of different circles, calculate according to the Pythagorean theorem theory, and finally obtain the points of the negative half axis of the Y-axis, which are the sensor placement positions.

[0020] Compared with existing technologies, the present invention, employing the above technical solution, offers the following advantages: 1) It adopts a V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism with two U-shaped grooves on the frame plate. Two connecting rods drive the left and right rollers to move along the U-shaped grooves, accommodating wafers of various sizes. This solves the problem of non-adjustable clamping devices currently used for wafer cleaning and drying. This device can accommodate 12-inch, 8-inch, and 6-inch wafers, offering advantages such as quick and convenient adjustment and accurate positioning; 2) It integrates the wafer cleaning and drying processes into a single container, eliminating the need for handling after cleaning and allowing the wafers to continue drying within their original container. This avoids wafer wear, scratches, and dust accumulation during handling. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a left view of the wafer size adjustment mechanism of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 4 This is a perspective view of the roller brush transmission mechanism of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 5 The coordinate diagram is for the V-shaped wafer size adjustment plate of the present invention.

[0026] The components include: 1. Support frame; 2. Water collection tank; 3. V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism; 31. Stand plate; 310, 311, 312. Sensors; 32. Lead screw; 33. Guide rail; 34. Slider; 341. Baffle; 35. Connecting rod; 36. Rotating pin; 37. Motor; 38. Pulley device; 39. Bottom roller; 4. Roller brush transmission mechanism; 41. Lateral sliding mechanism; 42. Longitudinal sliding mechanism; 43. Connecting plate; 44. Cover plate; 45. Slider; 46. Roller brush fixing frame; 5. Nitrogen spray pipe; 6. Wafer; 7. Roller brush. Detailed Implementation

[0027] like Figure 1 The integrated cleaning and drying device for multi-size wafers based on a V-shaped centering clamp, as shown, includes a support frame 1, a water collection tank 2, a V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism 3, and a roller brush transmission mechanism 4. The water collection tank 2 is placed on the support frame 1 and is used to collect wastewater from washing the wafers 6. The V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism 3 is installed inside the water collection tank 2. The roller brush transmission mechanism 4 is fixed on the support frame 1 and is equipped with roller brushes 7 and nitrogen spray pipes 5. The wafers 6 are clamped by the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism 3, and the roller brushes 7 are transported to both sides of the wafers 6 by the roller brush transmission mechanism 4 to clean and dry the wafers.

[0028] like Figure 2 As shown, the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism 3 includes a frame plate 31, two connecting rods 35, and three rollers. U-shaped grooves are formed on both sides of the frame plate 31, with a left roller and a right roller positioned within each groove. The upper parts of the two connecting rods 35 are connected to the left and right rollers respectively via rotating pins 36. The tails of the two connecting rods 35 are mounted on the same slider 34. The slider 34 moves up and down along the guide rail 33 via the rotation of the lead screw 32, thereby causing the two connecting rods 35 to move the left and right rollers along the U-shaped grooves, dragging them to the accurate position to achieve the size adjustment function. A baffle 341 is mounted on the slider 34, and a sensor is mounted on one side of the guide rail 33.

[0029] like Figure 3 As shown, since the specific components have already been described in the previous section, they will not be repeated here. This description serves as a supplement to the above section. A motor 37 is installed on the rack 31. The motor 37 is connected to the bottom roller 39 via a pulley device 38. The bottom roller 39 is fixed on the rack 31 and rotates via the pulley device 38. The main function of the pulley device 38 is to drive the bottom roller 39 to rotate, which in turn drives the wafer 6 to rotate, facilitating the cleaning and drying of the wafer 6.

[0030] The left, right, and bottom rollers 39 are arranged in an isosceles triangle on the shelf. The distance between the left and right rollers is set to 400mm, which is exactly the diameter of a 12-inch wafer. The bottom roller 39 is fixed in position. By moving along the U-shaped groove at the extreme positions of the left and right rollers, the distances between the left and right rollers can always be found to be 203.2mm and 152.4mm. These two values ​​are the diameters of 8-inch and 6-inch wafers, respectively. Therefore, based on the distance the rollers move in the U-shaped groove, the linear movement distance of the slider 34 on the guide rail 33 can be calculated, and a sensor can be placed at the corresponding distance position.

[0031] like Figure 4As shown, the roller brush transmission mechanism 4 includes a lateral sliding mechanism 41, a longitudinal sliding mechanism 42, and a roller brush fixing frame 46. The lateral sliding mechanism 41 is mounted on the support frame 1 and plays a role in the overall lateral movement of the entire roller brush transmission mechanism 4. The longitudinal sliding mechanism 42 is mounted on the lateral adjustment mechanism via a slider and plays a role in the overall longitudinal movement of the entire roller brush transmission mechanism 4. This facilitates the precise cleaning of wafers of various sizes. The longitudinal sliding mechanism 4 is equipped with a slidable connecting plate 43, which is connected to a cover plate 44. The cover plate 44 is provided with a pair of sliders 45 and a motor. The roller brush holder 46 is fixed to the slider 45 by bolts; the roller brush 7 is installed on the roller brush holder 46, and the roller brush holder 46 is controlled by a motor to move the two roller brush holders 46 to achieve centering; the cover plate 44 is equipped with a roller brush position adjuster to determine whether the roller brush 7 has touched the wafer 6, so as to avoid the wafer 6 breaking due to inaccurate centering; the nitrogen spray pipe 5 is installed on the roller brush holder 46 by a retainer; after the wafer 6 is cleaned, hot nitrogen gas is sprayed to dry the surface of the wafer 6; the cleaning and drying effects can be integrated.

[0032] An application method for a V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers includes the following steps:

[0033] Step 1) Determine the position of the sensor on one side of the guide rail 33 of the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism 3, which is used to position the slider 34 to accommodate the clamping of wafers of various specifications; draw a two-dimensional coordinate axis according to the wafer size of different specifications. Based on the fixed position of the bottom roller 39, set the origin of the coordinate axis at the center of the bottom roller 39, draw different wafer diameters, and according to the invariance of the length of the connecting rod, one end is along the direction of the U-shaped groove and the other end is along the direction of the lead screw, which is the direction of the Y-axis; based on the drawing of different circles, calculate according to the Pythagorean theorem theory, and finally obtain the points of the negative half axis of the Y-axis, which are the sensor placement positions.

[0034] like Figure 5 As shown, the support plate 31 has two U-shaped slots. The upper and lower extreme positions of the U-shaped slots correspond to the positions of the clamping rollers for 12-inch and 6-inch wafers, respectively. Now, we determine the distance the bottom slider 34 moves when clamping an 8-inch wafer, and place the sensor 311 at its position. Establish a coordinate system with the center of the bottom roller as the origin, with the origin at O. Given: when the left roller is used to hold a 12-inch wafer, the coordinates of the center A are (-210, 210); when the left roller is used to hold an 8-inch wafer, the coordinates of the center B are (-111.6, 111.6). The length of the connecting rod remains constant. By the Pythagorean theorem, we can obtain: Assuming that when the slider's center moves to point B1, the left and right rollers can precisely clamp the 8-inch wafer, we can also apply the Pythagorean theorem to obtain: Therefore, the coordinates of point B1 (0, 162.5) can be obtained, and the position of sensor 311 can be determined. Similarly, we can obtain... The coordinates of point C1 (0, 198.5) can be obtained, so the position of sensor 312 can be determined when the left and right rollers are used to place a 6-inch wafer. When the left and right rollers are used to place a 12-inch wafer, the origin O is the position of sensor 310.

[0035] Step 2) The lead screw 32 of the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism 3 rotates, driving the slider 34 to move. The left and right rollers move along the U-shaped groove to the corresponding wafer size position. The wafer is placed between the three rollers. The baffle 341 on the slider cooperates with the sensor to play a positioning role. Therefore, the left and right rollers can stop at the required size position for different wafer sizes. The bottom roller 39 is driven to rotate by the pulley device 38, thereby making the wafer 6 rotate, which facilitates the cleaning and drying of the wafer.

[0036] Step 3) The roller brush transmission mechanism transports the two roller brushes to both sides of the wafer. The longitudinal sliding mechanism 42 and the transverse sliding mechanism 41 start to move, transporting the two roller brushes 7 to both sides of the wafer 6. Then, the motor device on the cover plate 44 makes fine adjustments so that the roller brushes move to the correct position to clean the wafer.

[0037] Step 4) After washing, hot nitrogen gas is sprayed onto the wafer surface through the nitrogen nozzle 5 to achieve wafer drying, thus integrating the wafer cleaning and drying processes; then the roller brush 7 is moved to a different position by the longitudinal sliding mechanism 42 and the transverse sliding mechanism 41 to facilitate the removal of the wafer 6 later.

[0038] This invention integrates the cleaning and drying processes, solving the problem of separate wafer cleaning and drying processes in existing systems. The designed V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers has great market potential and promotional value.

[0039] This invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Based on the technical solutions disclosed in this invention, those skilled in the art can make some substitutions and modifications to some of the technical features without creative effort, and all such substitutions and modifications are within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. An application method for a V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1) Determine the position of the sensor on one side of the guide rail of the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism. This sensor is used to position the slider and accommodate wafers of various sizes. The specific steps for determining the sensor position include: drawing a two-dimensional coordinate axis based on different wafer sizes; setting the origin of the coordinate axis at the center of the bottom roller due to its fixed position; drawing different wafer diameters; and, based on the invariant length of the connecting rod, aligning one end along the direction of the U-groove and the other end along the direction of the lead screw (i.e., the Y-axis); and, based on the Pythagorean theorem, calculating the points on the negative half of the Y-axis to determine the sensor placement positions. Step 2) The lead screw of the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism rotates, driving the slider to move. The left and right rollers move along the U-shaped groove to the wafer of the corresponding specification. The wafer is placed between three rollers. The baffle on the slider works with the sensor to play a positioning role. The bottom roller is driven to rotate by the pulley device, thereby making the wafer rotate. Step 3) The roller brush transmission mechanism transports two roller brushes to both sides of the wafer to clean and wash the wafer; Step 4) After washing, hot nitrogen gas is sprayed onto the wafer surface through the nitrogen nozzle to dry the wafer.

2. A V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers, used to implement the application method of the V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The device includes a support frame, a water collection tank, a V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism, and a roller brush transmission mechanism. The water collection tank is placed on the support frame, the V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism is installed inside the water collection tank, and the roller brush transmission mechanism is fixed on the support frame. The roller brush transmission mechanism is equipped with a roller brush and a nitrogen spray pipe. The V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism clamps the wafer, and the roller brush transmission mechanism transports the roller brush to both sides of the wafer to clean and dry it. The V-shaped wafer size adjustment mechanism includes a frame plate, two connecting rods, and three rollers. The frame plate has U-shaped grooves on its left and right sides, and a left roller and a right roller are installed in the U-shaped grooves. The upper parts of the two connecting rods are connected to the left roller and the right roller respectively through rotating pins. The tails of the two connecting rods are mounted on the same slider. The slider moves up and down along the guide rail through the rotation of the lead screw, thereby causing the two connecting rods to drive the left roller and the right roller to move along the U-shaped grooves, dragging the left roller and the right roller to the accurate position.

3. The V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers according to claim 2, characterized in that, A baffle is installed on the slider, and a sensor is installed on one side of the guide rail.

4. The V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers according to claim 2, characterized in that, A motor is installed on the frame plate, and the motor is connected to the bottom rollers through a pulley device. The bottom rollers are fixed on the frame plate and rotated by the pulley device.

5. The V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers according to claim 4, characterized in that, The left roller, right roller, and bottom roller are arranged in an isosceles triangle on the frame plate.

6. The V-shaped centering adaptive clamping mechanism for multi-specification wafers according to claim 2, characterized in that, The roller brush transmission mechanism includes a lateral sliding mechanism, a longitudinal sliding mechanism, and a roller brush fixing frame. The lateral sliding mechanism is mounted on a support frame, and the longitudinal sliding mechanism is mounted on a lateral adjustment mechanism via a slider. The longitudinal sliding mechanism is equipped with a slidable connecting plate, which is connected to a cover plate. A pair of sliders and a motor are provided on the cover plate. The roller brush fixing frame is fixed to the sliders by bolts. A roller brush is mounted on the roller brush fixing frame, and the roller brush fixing frame is moved in position by motor control.

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