Wafer cassette changing device

Abstract

The application provides a wafer cassette replacing device, which comprises a supporting structure, a first supporting table and a second supporting table arranged on the supporting structure. A push piece unit is arranged below the first supporting table, which is used for pushing a wafer in a first wafer cassette upwards out of the first wafer cassette. A grabbing and moving unit for grabbing the wafer pushed out by the push piece unit is further arranged on the supporting structure, which is further used for conveying the grabbed wafer to an upper position of a second wafer cassette. A receiving unit is further arranged below the second supporting table, which can be extended upwards to the upper position of the second wafer cassette to receive the wafer grabbed by the grabbing and moving unit; the receiving unit is further used for moving downwards to place the received wafer in the second wafer cassette after receiving the wafer. The automation degree in the wafer manufacturing process is improved, and the wafer cassette misloading accidents caused by the operator's mistake in the manual replacing process are prevented.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular to a wafer cassette replacing device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the process of semiconductor manufacturing, one of the processing procedures is to place the wafer in a wafer cassette into a cleaning device for chemical cleaning. In the process of chemical cleaning, high-concentration and high-temperature chemical agents are needed to be used to chemically clean the wafer in the wafer cassette. Because the material of the normal wafer cassette is not suitable for soaking in high-concentration and high-temperature chemical agents, the wafer needs to be taken out from the normal wafer cassette and placed into a special wafer cassette before the procedure. The existing operation mode is to manually take the wafer out from the normal wafer cassette and place it into the special wafer cassette by the operator. Because the manual mode is adopted, the wafer cassette misloading accident caused by the operator's mistake is prone to occur, and the labor cost in the process of semiconductor manufacturing is also increased. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application provides a wafer cassette replacing device to facilitate taking the wafer out from one wafer cassette and placing it into another wafer cassette, and replacing the wafer cassette.

[0004] The present application provides a wafer cassette replacing device, which comprises a support structure, and a first support table and a second support table arranged on the support structure, wherein the first support table is used to place a first wafer cassette, and the second support table is used to place a second wafer cassette. A push piece unit is arranged below the first support table, which is used to push the wafer in the first wafer cassette upward out of the first wafer cassette. A grabbing and moving unit for grabbing the wafer pushed out by the push piece unit is further arranged on the support structure, which is also used to deliver the grabbed wafer to a position above the second wafer cassette. A receiving unit is further arranged below the second support table, which can be extended upward above the second wafer cassette to receive the wafer grabbed by the grabbing and moving unit; and the receiving unit is also used to move downward after receiving the wafer to place the received wafer in the second wafer cassette.

[0005] In the above-mentioned scheme, by arranging the two support tables, the push piece unit, the receiving unit, and the grabbing and moving unit, the wafer can be taken out from the first wafer cassette and placed into the second wafer cassette in an automatic mode. Compared with the manual replacing mode in the prior art, the mode of the present application is performed by the wafer cassette replacing device to improve the automation degree in the wafer manufacturing process, prevent the wafer cassette misloading accident caused by the operator's mistake in the manual replacing process, and thus improve the yield of wafer manufacturing.

[0006] In one embodiment, each of the first support table and the second support table has a first support unit and a second support unit, the first support unit is used to support a wafer cassette of a first size, the second support unit is used to support a wafer cassette of a second size, and the first size is larger than the second size. The pusher unit includes a first sub-push unit and a second sub-push unit, wherein the first sub-push unit is used to push a wafer in the wafer cassette of the first size out of the wafer cassette of the first size, and the second sub-push unit is used to push a wafer in the wafer cassette of the second size out of the wafer cassette of the second size. The grabbing and moving device includes a first sub-grabbing and moving unit used to grab the wafer pushed out by the first sub-push unit, and a second sub-grabbing and moving unit used to grab the wafer pushed out by the second sub-push unit, and the first sub-grabbing and moving unit and the second sub-grabbing and moving unit are capable of moving the grabbed wafer to a position above the second support table. The receiving unit includes a first sub-receiving unit and a second sub-receiving unit, wherein the first sub-receiving unit is capable of extending upward above the wafer cassette of the first size to receive the wafer grabbed by the first sub-grabbing and moving unit, and moving downward to place the received wafer in the wafer cassette of the first size; and the second sub-receiving unit is capable of extending upward above the wafer cassette of the second size to receive the wafer grabbed by the second sub-grabbing and moving unit, and moving downward to place the received wafer in the wafer cassette of the second size. By arranging two sets of support units, two sets of sub-push units, two sets of sub-grabbing and moving devices, and two sets of receiving units, the wafer cassette changing device can better handle wafers in wafer cassettes of different sizes, and the compatibility of the wafer cassette changing device is improved.

[0007] In one embodiment, the first support unit includes two support plates fixed on the support structure and spaced apart, and the two support plates are used to support two support bars at the bottom of the wafer cassette of the first size. The second support unit includes a frame located between the two support plates and used to support two support bars at the bottom of the wafer cassette of the second size, and the frame is slidingly assembled on the support structure, so that the frame does not block the first sub-push unit and the first sub-receiving unit from extending through the wafer cassette of the first size. By using two support plates spaced apart and fixed on the support structure as the first support unit, and using the second support unit located between the two support plates and slidingly assembled, the mutual blocking between the two support units is prevented, and the mutual blocking between the support units, the sub-push units, and the sub-receiving units is prevented.

[0008] In one specific embodiment, the frame is capable of sliding between a first set position and a second set position; when the frame slides to the first set position, the frame is located directly above the pusher unit or the receiving unit; when the frame slides to the second set position, the frame does not overlap with the first sub-push unit or the first sub-receiving unit in the vertical direction. This simplifies the movement of the frame while preventing the frame from blocking the movement of the first sub-push unit or the first sub-receiving unit.

[0009] In one specific embodiment, the first sub-push unit and the first sub-receiving unit include two first push plates located between the two support plates and spaced apart, and two first push rods located below the two first push plates and fixedly connected with the two first push plates respectively, the two first push plates are used to clamp wafers in the wafer box of the first size, and the two first push rods are capable of sliding up and down in the vertical direction synchronously. This simplifies the structure of the first sub-push unit and the first sub-receiving unit.

[0010] In one specific embodiment, the second sub-push unit and the second sub-receiving unit include a second push plate located between the two first push plates, and a second push rod located below the second push plate and fixedly connected with the second push plate, wherein the second push plate is used to clamp wafers in the wafer box of the second size, and the second push rod is capable of sliding up and down in the vertical direction. By arranging the second push plate between the two first push plates, the operation between the first push plate and the second push plate does not block each other.

[0011] In one specific embodiment, the first sub-grabbing and moving unit includes a guide rail arranged on the support structure and located between the first support table and the second support table, and a first grabber slidingly assembled on the guide rail and used to grab the wafers pushed out by the first sub-push unit. This facilitates the arrangement of the first sub-grabbing and moving unit.

[0012] In one specific embodiment, the second sub-grabbing and moving unit includes a second grabber slidingly assembled on the guide rail and used to grab the wafers pushed out by the second sub-push unit. And the two ends of the guide rail also pass through the two sides of the first support table and the second support table respectively, so that one of the first grabber and the second grabber is located above one of the two support tables, and the other grabber can slide to the end position of the guide rail outside the support table. This prevents the non-working grabber from blocking the movement of the working grabber.

[0013] In one specific embodiment, the second sub-grabbing and moving unit includes a second grabber used to grab the wafers pushed out by the second sub-push unit, and a robot used to move the second grabber between directly above the first support table and directly above the second support table. This prevents the movement of the two sub-grabbing and moving units from blocking each other.

[0014] In one specific embodiment, the wafer cassette changing device further comprises a sealed chamber fixed on the support structure; wherein the first support table, the second support table, the push piece unit, the receiving unit, the grabbing and moving unit are all arranged in the sealed chamber. The wafer pollution phenomenon caused by exposure to the outside of the equipment during the replacement of the wafer cassette is prevented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 A structure schematic diagram of a wafer cassette changing device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 2 A structure schematic diagram of a conventional wafer cassette in the prior art;

[0017] Figure 3 A structure schematic diagram of a wafer transferred by a push piece unit and a grabbing and moving unit provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 4 A structure schematic diagram of a wafer transferred by a grabbing and moving unit and a receiving unit provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 5 A top view schematic diagram of a first support unit supporting a wafer cassette of a first size provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 6 A top view schematic diagram of a second support unit supporting a wafer cassette of a second size provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 7 A top view schematic diagram of a support table comprising a first support unit and a second support unit supporting a wafer cassette of a second size provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 8 A side view schematic diagram of a push piece unit and a receiving unit provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 9 A top view schematic diagram of a support table, a wafer cassette, a push piece unit and a grabbing and moving unit provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] REFERENCE SIGNS:

[0025] 10 - support structure 11 - sealed chamber 21 - first support table 211 - support plate

[0026] 22 - second support table 221 - frame 30 - push piece unit 311 - first push plate

[0027] 312 - second push plate 321 - first push rod 322 - second push rod

[0028] 40 - gripping and moving unit 41 - first gripper 42 - second gripper

[0029] 50 - receiving unit 60 - wafer cassette 61 - first wafer cassette 62 - second wafer cassette

[0030] 601 - wafer cassette of first size 602 - wafer cassette of second size

[0031] 603 - frame 604 - support bar 605 - wafer DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0033] In order to facilitate the understanding of the wafer cassette replacement device provided by the embodiments of the present application, the application scenario of the wafer cassette replacement device provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described first below. The wafer cassette replacement device is used to take out the wafer from the general wafer cassette and place it into the special wafer cassette before the process of cleaning the wafer by using chemical agents. The wafer cassette replacement device will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0034] Reference Figure 1The wafer cassette replacement device provided by the embodiment of the present application comprises a support structure 10, which can be a frame structure or other structure having a support function. Two support tables are arranged on the support structure 10, and are used to place two wafer cassettes. For the convenience of the following description, the two support tables are defined as a first support table 21 and a second support table 22, a wafer cassette placed on the first support table 21 is a first wafer cassette 61, and a wafer cassette placed on the second support table 22 is a second wafer cassette 62. Before the wafer 605 is cleaned by using a chemical agent, during the process of placing the wafer 605 from a common wafer cassette into a special wafer cassette, the first wafer cassette 61 can be a common wafer cassette, which is used in the process of placing the wafer 605 normally; the second wafer cassette 62 can be a special wafer cassette, which can be a wafer cassette made of polytetrafluoroethylene material (Teflon Cassette), and is used to place the wafer 605 and can be soaked in the chemical cleaning liquid of the cleaning cavity together with the wafer 605. After the wafer 605 is cleaned by using a chemical agent, during the process of placing the wafer 605 from the special wafer cassette into the common wafer cassette, the first wafer cassette 61 is the special wafer cassette, and the second wafer cassette 62 is the common wafer cassette.

[0035] It should be explained that the common wafer cassette and the special wafer cassette are the wafer cassettes used to place the wafer 605 in the prior art, such as a wafer cassette 60 shown in Figure 2 which generally comprises a frame 603 used to accommodate the wafer 605, and a wafer 605 inlet arranged above the frame 603, which is used to place the wafer 605 into the frame 603. A plurality of opposite grooves are arranged on the opposite two side walls of the frame 603, which are used to fix the wafer 605 by clamping. An opening is arranged below the frame 603, which is used to push the wafer 605 out of the frame 603 from below. Two support strips 604 are arranged on the two sides of the bottom of the frame 603, which are used as the support structure 10 of the wafer cassette 60, and are used to support the whole frame 603. When the common wafer cassette and the special wafer cassette are placed on the first support table 21 and the second support table 22, the two support strips 604 at the bottom of the wafer cassette are pressed against the support tables.

[0036] Please continue to refer to Figure 1 and Figure 3A pusher unit 30 is arranged below the first support table 21, and is used to push the wafer 605 in the first wafer box 61 upwards out of the first wafer box 61. The pusher unit 30 generally comprises a plate body structure with a plurality of grooves, and a push rod that drives the plate body structure to move up and down. The push rod is slidingly assembled on the support structure 10, and can be extended and retracted in the vertical direction. In a specific implementation, the piston rod of a cylinder assembled on the support structure 10 can be used as the push rod, or a guide rail extending in the vertical direction and assembled on the support structure 10 can be used as the slide of the push rod, and the push rod is slidingly assembled on the guide rail. The pusher unit 30 is raised upwards from the opening directly below the first wafer box 61, so that the wafer 605 in the first wafer box 61 is also located in the plurality of grooves of the pusher unit 30. As shown in Figure 3 , then the pusher unit 30 continues to extend upwards, pushes the wafer 605 to the opening directly above the first wafer box 61, and pushes the entire wafer 605 out of the first wafer box 61.

[0037] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3 , a grabbing and moving unit 40 for grabbing the wafer 605 pushed out by the pusher unit 30 is also arranged on the support structure 10. That is, after the wafer 605 is pushed out of the first wafer box 61 by the pusher unit 30, the pusher unit 30 does not immediately fall downwards, but waits until the wafer 605 is grabbed by the grabbing and moving unit 40, and then falls downwards to reset. As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 4 , the grabbing and moving unit 40 is also used to convey the grabbed wafer 605 to a position above the second wafer box 62, so as to transport the grabbed wafer 605 above the second wafer box 62, and facilitate the placement of the wafer 605 in the second wafer box 62. When the grabbing and moving unit 40 is arranged, the grabbing and moving unit 40 has two functions. One function is to grab the wafer 605, and the structure for realizing this function is a mechanism capable of grabbing the wafer 605 in the prior art. The other function is to move the grabbed wafer 605, and the way to realize this function can be realized by a guide rail, or by a telescopic cylinder, or by a mechanical hand.

[0038] Continuing to refer to Figure 1 and Figure 4A receiving unit 50 is also provided below the second support table 22, which can extend upward above the second wafer cassette 62 to receive the wafer 605 grabbed by the grabbing and moving unit 40. The receiving unit 50 is also used to move downward to place the received wafer 605 in the second wafer cassette 62 after receiving the wafer 605. That is, the grabbing and moving unit 40 does not directly place the wafer 605 in the wafer cassette, but first transfers the wafer 605 to the receiving unit 50, and the receiving unit 50 places the wafer 605 in the second wafer cassette 62. When the receiving unit 50 is provided, the structure of the receiving unit 50 is basically the same as that of the push piece unit 30 described above, which has a push plate structure and a push rod that moves the push plate structure up and down. The push rod can be a piston rod of a cylinder assembled on the support structure 10, or can be a slidingly assembled guide rail on the support structure 10, which extends in the vertical direction to enable the push rod to slide up and down.

[0039] By providing two support tables, the push piece unit 30, the receiving unit 50, and the grabbing and moving unit 40, the wafer 605 can be taken out of the first wafer cassette 61 and placed in the second wafer cassette 62 in an automated manner. Compared with the manual replacement method in the prior art, the method of the present application is performed by the wafer cassette replacement device to improve the automation degree in the wafer 605 manufacturing process and prevent the wafer cassette misloading accident caused by the operator's mistake in the manual replacement process, thereby improving the yield of the wafer 605 manufacturing.

[0040] With continued reference to Figure 1 A sealed chamber 11 can also be provided on the support structure 10, and the first support table 21, the second support table 22, the push piece unit 30, the receiving unit 50, and the grabbing and moving unit 40 are all arranged in the sealed chamber 11. This prevents the wafer 605 from being exposed to the outside of the equipment during the replacement of the wafer cassette, which can cause contamination of the wafer 605. Nitrogen can also be introduced into the sealed chamber 11 to prevent the surface layer of the wafer cassette from being oxidized.

[0041] In addition, when the supporting table, the pushing piece unit 30, the receiving unit 50, and the grabbing and moving unit 40 are arranged, two sets of supporting units, two sets of sub pushing piece units, two sets of sub grabbing and moving devices, and two sets of sub receiving units are arranged, and the two sets of components are arranged in a similar nested manner, so that the wafer cassette changing device can change wafers 605 of different sizes. Specifically, each of the first supporting table 21 and the second supporting table 22 has a first supporting unit and a second supporting unit, the first supporting unit is used to support a wafer cassette 601 of a first size, the second supporting unit is used to support a wafer cassette 602 of a second size, and the first size is greater than the second size. The wafer cassette 601 of the first size can be a wafer cassette for containing 8-inch wafers 605, and the wafer cassette 602 of the second size can be a wafer cassette for containing 6-inch wafers 605. Similarly, the pushing piece unit 30 includes a first sub pushing piece unit and a second sub pushing piece unit, the first sub pushing piece unit is used to push the wafers 605 in the wafer cassette 601 of the first size out of the wafer cassette 601 of the first size, and the second sub pushing piece unit is used to push the wafers 605 in the wafer cassette 602 of the second size out of the wafer cassette 602 of the second size. Similarly, the grabbing and moving device includes a first sub grabbing and moving unit for grabbing the wafers 605 pushed out by the first sub pushing piece unit, and a second sub grabbing and moving unit for grabbing the wafers 605 pushed out by the second sub pushing piece unit, and the first sub grabbing and moving unit and the second sub grabbing and moving unit can move the grabbed wafers 605 to a position above the second supporting table 22. Similarly, the receiving unit 50 includes a first sub receiving unit and a second sub receiving unit, the first sub receiving unit can be extended upward above the wafer cassette 601 of the first size to receive the wafers 605 grabbed by the first sub grabbing and moving unit, and can be moved downward to place the received wafers 605 in the wafer cassette 601 of the first size; the second sub receiving unit can be extended upward above the wafer cassette 602 of the second size to receive the wafers 605 grabbed by the second sub grabbing and moving unit, and can be moved downward to place the received wafers 605 in the wafer cassette 602 of the second size. By arranging two sets of supporting units, two sets of sub pushing piece units, two sets of sub grabbing and moving devices, and two sets of receiving units, the wafer cassette changing device can better change the wafers 605 in wafer cassettes of different sizes, and the compatibility of the wafer cassette changing device is improved.

[0042] In the arrangement of the first supporting unit described above, reference is made to Figure 5The first supporting unit can include two supporting plates 211 fixed on the supporting structure 10 and spaced apart, and used for supporting the two supporting strips 604 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 601 of the first size. That is, two spaced-apart supporting plates 211 are used as the first supporting unit. Since the wafer cassette 601 of the first size is larger in size than the wafer cassette 602 of the second size, the spacing between the two supporting strips 604 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 601 of the first size is larger, and the spacing between the two supporting strips 604 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 602 of the second size is smaller. The two supporting plates 211 are spaced apart, and the spacing between the two supporting plates 211 is greater than the spacing between the two supporting strips 604 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 602 of the second size, so that the second supporting unit can be arranged between the two supporting plates 211, and the first sub-pushing unit and the first sub-receiving unit can also be extended upward into the wafer cassette 601 of the first size or through the wafer cassette 601 of the first size.

[0043] When the second supporting unit is arranged, referring to Figure 6 and Figure 7 , the second supporting unit can include a frame 221 located between the two supporting plates 211 and used for supporting the two supporting strips 604 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 602 of the second size. When the wafer cassette 602 of the second size is placed on the frame 221, the two supporting strips 604 at the bottom of the wafer cassette 602 of the second size are pressed against the two opposite edges of the frame 221. The frame 221 is slidingly assembled on the supporting structure 10, so that the frame 221 does not block the extension of the first sub-pushing unit and the first sub-receiving unit and the passage of the first sub-pushing unit and the first sub-receiving unit through the wafer cassette 601 of the first size. That is, when the first wafer cassette 601 of the larger size is placed on the two supporting plates, the frame 221 needs to be slid aside so that the frame 221 does not block the upward extension of the first sub-pushing unit and the first sub-receiving unit into the wafer cassette 601 of the first size. When the wafer cassette 602 of the second size is needed to be placed on the supporting plates, the frame 221 is reset so that the second sub-pushing unit and the second sub-receiving unit located below can pass through the opening in the middle of the frame 221 and extend upward into the wafer cassette 602 of the second size. By using two spaced-apart supporting plates 211 fixed on the supporting structure 10 as the first supporting unit, and using the second supporting unit located between the two supporting plates 211 and slidingly assembled, the mutual blocking between the two supporting units is prevented, and the mutual blocking between the supporting units and the sub-pushing unit and the sub-receiving unit is also prevented.

[0044] When the specific implementation frame 221 slides, the frame 221 can slide between a first set position and a second set position. When the frame 221 slides to the first set position, the frame 221 is located directly above the push piece unit 30 or the receiving unit 40, and at this time, the second size wafer box 602 with a smaller size is placed on the first support table 21 and the second support table 22, so that the second sub-push piece unit or the second sub-receiving unit located below can work normally. When the frame 221 slides to the second set position, the frame 221 does not overlap with the first sub-push piece unit or the first sub-receiving unit in the vertical direction, and at this time, the first size wafer box 601 with a larger size is placed on the first support table 21 and the second support table 22, so that the first sub-push piece unit or the first sub-receiving unit located below can normally extend into the first size wafer box 601. In this way, the movement of the frame 221 is simplified, and the movement of the first sub-push piece unit or the first sub-receiving unit is prevented from being blocked. The specific implementation of the sliding of the frame 221 between the first set position and the second set position can be realized in the form of a sliding rail.

[0045] When the first sub-push piece unit and the first sub-receiving unit are arranged, the first sub-push piece unit and the first sub-receiving unit include two first push plates 311 located between the two support plates 211 and spaced apart, and two first push rods 321 located below the two first push plates 311 and fixedly connected with the two first push plates 311 respectively, the two first push plates 311 are used for clamping the wafer 605 in the first size wafer box 601, and the two first push rods 321 can slide up and down in the vertical direction synchronously. In this way, the structure of the first sub-push piece unit and the first sub-receiving unit is simplified. That is, the two first push plates 311 arranged at intervals are used as the structure for clamping the wafer 605 in the first size wafer box 601, so that the space between the two first push plates 311 is used for arranging the second sub-push piece unit and the second sub-receiving unit. When the two first push rods 321 slide up and down in the vertical direction are specifically implemented, a connecting rod can be rigidly connected with the two first push rods 321, and the connecting rod is fixedly connected with a piston rod extending in the vertical direction, so that the two first push rods 321 slide up and down synchronously under the driving of the piston rod. Of course, the connecting rod can also be slidingly assembled on a sliding rail extending in the vertical direction, and a driving mechanism for driving the connecting rod to slide on the sliding rail is also arranged, so as to realize the synchronous up-down sliding of the two first push rods 321.

[0046] Continuing to refer to Figure 8The second sub-push piece unit and the second sub-accepting unit include a second push plate 312 between the two first push plates 311, and a second push rod 322 below the second push plate 312 and fixedly connected with the second push plate 312, wherein the second push plate 312 is used to clamp the wafer 605 in the wafer box 602 of the second size, and the second push rod 322 can slide up and down in the vertical direction. That is, the second sub-push piece unit and the second sub-accepting unit are in the mode of one push plate and one push rod, so as to simplify the structure and make the operation between the first push plate 311 and the second push plate 312 not block each other. The mode of sliding up and down in the vertical direction of the first push rod 321 can be in the mode of telescopic rod, piston rod, or slide rail plus driving mechanism.

[0047] With reference to Figure 9 When the first sub-grasping and moving unit is arranged, a guide rail (not shown in the figure) between the first support table 21 and the second support table 22 can be arranged on the support structure 10, and the first gripper 41 for grasping the wafer 605 pushed out by the first sub-push piece unit is assembled on the guide rail. When the first gripper 41 needs to grasp the wafer 605, the first gripper 41 slides along the guide rail to the upper side of the first support table 21 to grasp the wafer 605. After the first gripper 41 grasps the wafer 605, the first gripper 41 slides along the guide rail to the upper side of the second support table 22 to transfer the grasped wafer 605 to the first sub-accepting unit. In this way, the first sub-grasping and moving unit is arranged.

[0048] When the second sub-grasping and moving unit is arranged, the second gripper 42 for grasping the wafer 605 pushed out by the second sub-push piece unit can also be assembled on the guide rail. The two ends of the guide rail also pass through the two sides of the first support table 21 and the second support table 22, respectively, so that one of the first gripper 41 and the second gripper 42 is located above one of the two support tables, and the other gripper can slide to the end position of the guide rail outside the support table. That is, the length of the guide rail is relatively long, each end of the guide rail extends to the outside of the support table, and the slide rail is long enough to make one of the first gripper 41 and the second gripper 42 slide to the end position of the guide rail outside the support table, and the other gripper can slide between the first support table 21 and the second support table 22, so that the sliding between the two grippers does not interfere with each other, to prevent the non-working gripper from blocking the movement of the working gripper.

[0049] With reference to Figure 9The second gripper 42 can also be moved by a mechanical arm. Specifically, the second gripper 42 can be assembled on a mechanical arm, and the mechanical arm can drive the second gripper 42 to move between the top of the first support table 21 and the top of the second support table 22. Specifically, the mechanical arm can drive the second gripper 42 to move upward to avoid the first support table 21, or the mechanical arm can drive the second gripper 42 to move to the edge of the support table to avoid the second support table 22. In this way, the two sub-gripping and moving units do not block each other's movement.

[0050] The two support tables, the push piece unit 30, the receiving unit 50, and the gripping and moving unit 40 are arranged to automatically take out the wafer 605 from the first wafer cassette 61 and place it into the second wafer cassette 62. Compared with the manual replacement method in the prior art, the wafer cassette replacement device of the present application can improve the automation degree of the wafer 605 manufacturing process and prevent the wafer cassette from being misloaded due to the operator's mistake during the manual replacement process, thereby improving the yield of the wafer 605 manufacturing.

[0051] The above description is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A wafer cassette replacement device, characterized in that, include: Support structure; A first support platform and a second support platform are disposed on the support structure, wherein the first support platform is used to place a wafer cassette of a first size, and the second support platform is used to place a wafer cassette of a second size. A wafer pusher unit is disposed below the first support platform, the wafer pusher unit being used to push the wafers in the wafer cassette of the first size upwards out of the wafer cassette of the first size; A gripping and moving unit is disposed on the support structure and used to grip the wafer pushed out by the pusher unit. The gripping and moving unit is also used to transfer the gripped wafer to a position above the wafer cassette of the second size. A receiving unit is disposed below the second support platform. The receiving unit can extend upward to above the wafer cassette of the second size to receive the wafer grasped by the gripping and moving unit. The receiving unit is also used to move downward after receiving the wafer to place the received wafer into the wafer cassette of the second size. Each of the first support platform and the second support platform has a first support unit and a second support unit. The first support unit is used to support a wafer cassette of a first size, and the second support unit is used to support a wafer cassette of a second size; and the first size is larger than the second size. The wafer pusher unit includes: a first sub-puller unit for pushing wafers out of the first-size wafer cassette and a second sub-puller unit for pushing wafers out of the second-size wafer cassette. The receiving unit includes a first sub-receiving unit and a second sub-receiving unit; wherein the first sub-receiving unit can extend upward above the wafer cassette of the first size; The first support unit includes two support plates fixed to the support structure and spaced apart, the two support plates being used to support two support bars at the bottom of the wafer cassette of the first size; The second support unit includes: a frame of two support bars located between the two support plates and used to support the bottom of the wafer cassette of the second size; and the frame is slidably mounted on the support structure so that the frame does not obstruct the first sub-push unit and the first sub-receiving unit from extending and passing through the wafer cassette of the first size; The frame is slidable between a first set position and a second set position; when the frame slides to the first set position, the frame is located directly above the pusher unit or the receiving unit; when the frame slides to the second set position, the frame and the first sub-pusher unit or the first sub-receiving unit have no overlapping parts in the vertical direction.

2. The wafer cassette replacement device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The gripping and moving device includes: a first sub-gripping and moving unit for gripping the wafer pushed out by the first sub-pushing unit, and a second sub-gripping and moving unit for gripping the wafer pushed out by the second sub-pushing unit; and both the first sub-gripping and moving unit and the second sub-gripping and moving unit are capable of moving the gripped wafer to a position above the second support platform. The first sub-receiving unit can extend upward above the wafer cassette of the first size to receive the wafer grasped by the first sub-grip and move unit, and move downward to place the received wafer into the wafer cassette of the first size; the second sub-receiving unit can extend upward above the wafer cassette of the second size to receive the wafer grasped by the second sub-grip and move unit, and move downward to place the received wafer into the wafer cassette of the second size.

3. The wafer cassette replacement device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first sub-push unit and the first sub-receiver unit include: Two first push plates are located between the two support plates and spaced apart, the two first push plates being used to hold the wafer in the wafer cassette of the first size; Two first push rods are located below the two first push plates and are fixedly connected to the two first push plates respectively, and both first push rods can slide up and down synchronously in the vertical direction.

4. The wafer cassette replacement device as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The second sub-push unit and the second sub-receiving unit include: A second pusher plate located between the two first pusher plates, the second pusher plate being used to hold the wafer in the wafer cassette of the second size; A second push rod is located below the second push plate and is fixedly connected to the second push plate, and the second push rod can slide up and down in the vertical direction.

5. The wafer cassette replacement device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The first sub-grabbing and moving unit includes: A guide rail is installed on the support structure and located between the first support platform and the second support platform; A first gripper is slidably mounted on the guide rail and used to grip the wafer pushed out by the first sub-puller unit.

6. The wafer cassette replacement device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The second sub-grip and move unit includes a second gripper that is slidably mounted on the guide rail and used to grip the wafer pushed out by the second sub-push unit; Furthermore, both ends of the guide rail pass through the sides of the first support platform and the second support platform respectively, so that when one of the first gripper and the second gripper is above one of the two support platforms, the other gripper can slide to the end of the guide rail located outside the support platform.

7. The wafer cassette replacement device as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The second sub-grabbing and moving unit includes: A second gripper used to grab the wafer pushed out by the second sub-ejector unit; A robotic arm that moves the second gripper between directly above the first support platform and directly above the second support platform.

8. The wafer cassette replacement device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a sealed chamber fixed on the support structure; wherein the first support platform, the second support platform, the pusher unit, the receiving unit, and the gripping and moving unit are all disposed in the sealed chamber.

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