Apparatus, system, and method for providing a flipper for a substrate in process

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method for a substrate flipper capable of accommodating substrates of different sizes. The apparatus, system, and method can include a base housing providing at least a portion of a rotational feature, an arm housing rotatably associated with the rotational feature and providing at least one arm actuator and at least one gripper actuator, two arms located at two substantially distal points along the arm housing relative to each other, each of the two arms being communicatively associated with the at least one arm actuator, and a gripper associated with each of the two arms distally from the arm housing, communicatively associated with the at least one gripper actuator, and capable of gripping one of the substrates upon actuation of the gripper. Actuation of the at least one arm actuator effects a change in the distance between the central longitudinal axes of each of the two arms.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 975,604, filed February 12, 2020, entitled “Apparatus, System, and Method for Providing a Flipper for a Substrate in Process,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. Background Technology Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates to the transfer and handling of articles such as semiconductor wafers, and more particularly, to an apparatus, system and method for providing a flipper for a substrate in process.

[0005] Background Information

[0006] The use of robotics is well-established as a manufacturing tool, particularly in applications where human handling is inefficient and / or undesirable. One such application is in the semiconductor industry, where robots and automated stations are used to handle and hold wafers during various processing steps. These steps, for example, can include chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), etching, deposition, passivation, and a variety of other processes, where a sealed and / or “clean” environment must be maintained to limit the possibility of contamination and ensure that various specific processing conditions are met.

[0007] Current practices in semiconductor technology for mechanically handling these wafers typically involve using flippers / aligners operatively attached to mechanical devices, for example, to load semiconductor wafers from a loading stack into various processing ports that correspond to the aforementioned exemplary processing steps. The robot is used to configure the flipper / aligner to retrieve wafers from a particular port or stack, for example, before and / or after processing in the relevant processing chamber, and / or to associate wafers with stations, such as station chucks on which wafers are placed.

[0008] Therefore, wafers can be moved between stations by robots connected to flippers / aligners for additional processing. When a given wafer processing is complete, the robot can move the processed wafer from its station and return the processed semiconductor wafer to the loading port. Typically, stacks of semiconductor wafers are processed in this way during each processing run using the movement of flippers / aligners to stations.

[0009] Known technologies include robotics for flipping and rotating wafers and similar substrates, for example, for inspection during or after processing. However, such known flippers typically cannot handle multiple wafer / substrate sizes. As cited throughout the text, not only do silicon wafer sizes vary significantly, but the sizes of other substrates that may require the flipper to handle also vary significantly. Therefore, the limitation on the substrate sizes that known flippers can handle, along with the lack of independent control inputs to change the substrate handling size of the known flipper during processing, limits the applicability of known flippers to different substrates and different processes, and renders those known flippers completely unscalable.

[0010] Furthermore, known flippers have a substantially open design, meaning the robot is at least partially unenclosed, and therefore particles are necessarily generated by known flippers. Thus, known flippers are not designed for cleaning and are unsuitable for use in cleanroom environments.

[0011] Therefore, there is a need for an upgradeable substrate flipper that provides functionality that largely meets cleanroom standards. Summary of the Invention

[0012] Some embodiments are and include an apparatus, system, and method for accommodating substrate flippers of different sizes. The apparatus, system, and method may include: a base housing providing at least a portion of a rotating feature; an arm housing rotatably associated with the rotating feature and providing at least one arm actuator and at least one gripper actuator; two arms located at two substantially distal points relative to each other along the arm housing, each of the two arms communicatively associated with the at least one arm actuator; and a gripper associated with each of the two arms distal from the arm housing, communicatively associated with the at least one gripper actuator, and capable of gripping one of the substrates when the gripper is actuated. Actuation of the at least one arm actuator achieves a change in the distance between the central longitudinal axes of each of the two arms.

[0013] Therefore, the present invention provides at least one apparatus, system, and method for providing a substrate flipper that is scalable and provides functionality substantially compliant with cleanroom standards.

[0014] Brief description of the attached figures

[0015] Exemplary combinations, systems, and methods will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of non-limiting example only, wherein:

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the substrate processing system;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper;

[0019] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper;

[0021] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper;

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper;

[0023] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper;

[0024] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of various aspects of the substrate flipper; and

[0025] Figure 10 Various aspects of the substrate flipper are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The accompanying drawings and descriptions provided herein may have been simplified to illustrate aspects relevant to a clear understanding of the apparatuses, systems, and methods described herein, while other aspects that may be found in typical similar apparatuses, systems, and methods have been omitted for clarity. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that other elements and / or operations may be desired and / or necessary for implementing the apparatuses, systems, and methods described herein. However, because such elements and operations are known in the art and do not contribute to a better understanding of this disclosure, a discussion of such elements and operations may not be provided herein for the sake of brevity. Nevertheless, this disclosure is still considered to include all such elements, variations, and modifications to the described aspects that are known to those skilled in the art.

[0027] Examples are provided throughout this disclosure to make it thorough and fully convey the scope of the disclosed embodiments to those skilled in the art. Numerous specific details, such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of this disclosure. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain specific details disclosed are not required and that embodiments may be implemented in different forms. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure. As noted above, in some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies may not be described in detail.

[0028] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. For example, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” as used herein may also be intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” and “having” are inclusive and thus specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. Unless specifically determined as a preferred or desired order of execution, the steps, processes, and operations described herein should not be construed as requiring them to be performed in the particular order discussed or shown. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed in place of or in combination with the disclosed aspects.

[0029] When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “above,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, unless otherwise explicitly stated, it may be directly on, above, connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer, or there may be intermediate elements or layers present. Conversely, when an element or layer is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intermediate elements or layers present. Other terms used to describe relationships between elements should be interpreted in a similar manner (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). Furthermore, as used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0030] Furthermore, although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and / or portions, these elements, components, regions, layers, and / or portions should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or portion from another. Therefore, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms, when used herein, do not imply order or sequence. Thus, the first element, component, region, layer, or portion discussed below may be referred to as the second element, component, region, layer, or portion without departing from the teachings of the embodiments.

[0031] Figure 1An automated processing system 100 is shown, adapted to precisely process semiconductor wafers, thin films, or similar substrates 102 of varying diameters, compositions, and physical properties. The processing system 100 is capable of rapidly and sequentially processing the substrates 102. The supplied substrates 102 can be manipulated or transferred between various fixed points 103, partly by robotic techniques (e.g., robotic armature 104) equipped with an edge gripping system 106 suitable for performing the aforementioned manipulation and transfer. The fixed points 103 may include one or more chucks, for example, to grip the substrates 102 when they are placed onto the chucks. Such gripping can be performed, for example, by using one or more vacuum devices 105.

[0032] Not only can the shape or diameter of the substrates 102 vary, but they are also typically manufactured according to standardized specifications. In addition to dimensional tolerances including diameter, these specifications may require that the surface of the anchor point 103 used to receive the substrate 102 be substantially planar, such as having a flatness of 1.5 micrometers or less. For example, the substrate can be a silicon wafer, such as a 200mm silicon wafer, which may have a standard diameter of 200 + / - 0.2 mm and a standard thickness of, for example, 675 + / - 25 micrometers. The typical wafer thickness after processing can be from about 500 micrometers to about 700 micrometers. Therefore, maintaining the flatness of the substrate 102 during its interaction with the anchor point 103 and with the robot 104 and edge gripper 106 is crucial for achieving acceptable substrate yield and waste levels in the processing system 100.

[0033] Figure 2 A side view of the disclosed substrate flipper 200 is shown. As shown, the flipper 200 may include power and electronic interfaces 202 (P and E interfaces) and power active clamps 204 at the distal ends of each of the two movable arms 206. A rotation feature 208 is further shown, which allows the flipper arms 206 to rotate simultaneously, for example, from the co-residing arm 206 to a horizontal passage along a vertical axis. As shown, the rotation feature 208 is typically located at the distal end of the arm 206 away from the clamps 204, and aspects of the rotation feature 208 are located within a main housing 212, which also includes the aforementioned P and E interfaces 202.

[0034] The disclosed flipper 200 may have a programmable adjustable arm offset distance 220, which is offset from a center point between the arms 206, which correspondingly adjusts the distance between the grippers 204 to allow the processed items 102 ( Figure 2The dimensions of the items being handled (not shown) are variable. For example, the items being handled may include film frames, bare or processed wafers, glass reticles, or other substrates in processing. For example, the disclosed embodiments may allow handling film frames in the range of 200 mm to 300 mm and wafers in a similar size range. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand from the discussion herein that, by way of non-limiting example, adjustable arm offset may allow scalability to handle items of 450 mm or larger.

[0035] More specifically, Figure 3 A front view of the flipper 200 according to an embodiment is shown. As shown, the offsets 220a, b between the arms can be programmably adjusted and are preferably synchronized over a given offset stroke. As an example, the offset stroke can be in the range of 150mm to 250mm, specifically 190mm.

[0036] The labyrinthine gripper base housing 330 is also shown. Notably, as the arm 206 is adjusted outward, the labyrinthine housing 330 continues to enclose the rotating feature 208 and the electronic and mechanical components for arm offset adjustment, thereby enhancing the cleanliness of the workstation.

[0037] Figure 3 The clamps 204 located at the distal end of arm 206, as shown, can also provide cleanroom-level workstation cleanliness. These clamps 204 may include vacuum-cleaning roller bearings 332, for example, to enhance clamping and cleanliness. Furthermore, clamps 204 may include fault-protected off and on features 334, for example, that can interact with a closed-loop sensing system 336. As an example, the sensing system 336 may include beam sensing, programmable pressure sensing, weight transducers, or other sensing aspects as shown, or which are obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0038] Figure 4 It shows the relationship with Figure 3 The embodiment is similar to the one described above, but the arm offset 220 is adjusted to grip a smaller item 102 (not shown). That is, the labyrinthine housing 330 is less exposed when the arm travel is programmably adjusted to bring the arms 206 closer together. Figure 4 The image also shows a clamp 204 with a rubber pad 402. This pad provides improved gripping of the clamped item, as well as static dissipation during handling and processing. Figure 4 Also noteworthy is the optional flatness adjustment 404 for the base housing 212.

[0039] Figure 5A rear top view of the flipper 200 according to an embodiment is shown. As shown, the base 502 of the arm 206 is suitably enclosed within a housing 330 and rotatably associated with a rotating feature 208. The rotating feature 208, as well as aspects for the electrical and electronic components of the arm 206 and the clamp 204, are at least partially enclosed within the main housing 504. This housing 504 and / or the arm base housing 330 can provide a cleanroom-level enclosure that retains particles therein without the risk of contaminating the workspace. Thus, the arm base housing 330 and the main housing 504 can include vacuum and / or be vacuum-purified, and can be formed of a suitable material to maintain cleanliness, such as stainless steel. Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that the disclosed embodiments including, for example, stainless steel, can be additionally powder-coated.

[0040] Figure 6 A side view of the disclosed flipper 200 is shown, having an arm 206 that rotates from co-residence at a horizontal inlet to substantially co-residence along a vertical inlet. As discussed throughout, this rotation is applied by a rotation feature 208. As a non-limiting example, the rotation feature 208 can provide rotation from 0° (i.e., both arms co-reside at the horizontal inlet) to 180° + / - 0.5°. The rotation feature 208, the main housing 504, and / or the arm base 330 may include, as a non-limiting example, a travel stop 602 to maintain the repeatability of the rotating arm's position. For example, the rotation axis can have highly precise repeatability, such as in the range of 1 to 5 μm, or more specifically in the range of 2 μm.

[0041] Figure 7 The image shows an aspect within the main housing 504 (not shown) after the main housing 504 has been removed. As shown, a rotating feature 208 may be disposed within a rigid base 702, such as a blank aluminum base. The rotating feature 208 may include a gear head 704 having a bearing 706 rotatably in communication with the front end 708 of the rotating feature 208, and a motor 710 providing the disclosed rotation. While the illustrated motor 710 includes a servo motor that can rotate on a high-load-capacity crossed roller bearing, this motor is shown only by way of non-limiting example. For example, those skilled in the art will also understand that stepper or servo motor drivers may be employed in the embodiments, and motor coding for precise position evaluation may also be included. The disclosed gear head 704 may include backlash compensation, for example, in a range of less than one arcminute.

[0042] For example, the disclosed arm 206 can provide support, and the rotating feature 208 can be rotated to scale up to a payload of 2 kg or more. The main housing 504 also includes, and schematically shows, a pneumatic control 720, and one or more devices adapted to... Figure 2 The P and E interfaces 202 shown are connected to the programmable controller 722.

[0043] Figure 8 Various aspects within the main housing 504 (not shown) are further illustrated. Figure 8 The diagram shows a rotating feature front end 708 and an actively wound electronic wiring harness 802 to hold the power and electronic / data lines from the P and E interfaces 202 in position within the main housing 504, passing through the rotating interface 208a for the rotating feature 208 to the gripper base housing 330, and ultimately to the arm 206 and / or the gripper 204. The wiring harness 802 shown allows for different modular treatments of various aspects of the disclosed flipper 200. That is, the mechanical and electrical independence of the various modules can be maintained, thereby providing enhanced flexibility of use and the ability to add additional functionality to different modules supplied from the wiring harness, such as increased gripping or control, object sensing, etc.

[0044] Figure 9 A more detailed illustration of an exemplary arm base 330 is provided. As shown above and as described above, a labyrinth seal plate 902 may be included to seal the arm base 330 when the arm 206 is adjusted, and / or otherwise seal in conjunction with the movement of the arm. Thus, the non-contact plate 902 overlapping in the labyrinth seal prevents particle escape and additionally allows a vacuum to exist in both the arm base housing 330 and the main housing 504.

[0045] Figure 10 An exemplary synchronization of arms 206 (not shown) is illustrated. In the illustration, the aforementioned synchronization is made possible by using a synchronization belt 1002 that is clamped to opposite sides within the arm base housing 330 and associated with the bases of the two arms 206a, 206b. By way of non-limiting example, the synchronization belt 1002 may be a polyurethane structure.

[0046] The foregoing apparatus, systems, and methods may also include control over the various robotic and vacuum functionalities mentioned herein. As a non-limiting example, such control may include manual control using one or more user interfaces, such as controllers, keyboards, mice, touchscreens, etc., to allow the user to input instructions to be executed by software code associated with the robot and the systems discussed herein. Additionally, as is well known to those skilled in the art, system control may also be fully automated, for example, where manual user interaction occurs only for functions referred to in “setting up” and programming; that is, the user may initially program or upload computational code to execute a predetermined sequence of movements and operations discussed herein. In manual or automatic embodiments, or any combination thereof, the controller may be programmed, for example, to associate known positions of the substrate, the robot, anchor points, and their relative positions.

[0047] It should be understood that the systems and methods described herein can operate and / or be controlled by any computing environment, and therefore the computing environment employed does not limit the implementation of the systems and methods described herein to computing environments with different components and configurations. In other words, the concepts described herein can be implemented in any computing environment across a variety of computing environments using any of the various components and configurations.

[0048] Furthermore, the description provided in this disclosure is intended to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications to the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to limit itself to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A substrate flipper capable of accommodating substrates of different sizes, comprising: A base housing, the base housing providing at least a portion of a rotational feature; An arm housing, rotatably associated with the rotating feature, and providing: At least one arm actuator; as well as At least one gripper actuator; Two arms, located at two substantially distal points relative to each other along the arm housing, each of the two arms being communicatively associated with the at least one arm actuator; as well as A gripper, which is associated with each of the two arms remote from the arm housing, communicatively associated with the at least one gripper actuator, and capable of gripping one of the substrates when the gripper is actuated; as well as Labyrinthine sealing panel; Wherein, the actuation of the at least one arm actuator enables a change in the distance between the central longitudinal axes of each of the two arms, and wherein the rotation feature allows the arm to rotate along a horizontal path of the vertical axis; The arm housing is vacuum-cleared, the base housing is vacuum-cleared, the rotational features and the electrical and electronic components for the arm and the gripper are at least partially enclosed in the base housing, the base of the arm is enclosed in the arm housing, and the sealing plate seals the arm housing when the arm is adjusted.

2. The substrate flipper according to claim 1, wherein the base includes a power and electronic data interface.

3. The substrate flipper according to claim 1, wherein the rotation includes 180 degrees with respect to the horizontal axis.

4. The substrate flipper of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises one selected from the group consisting of a thin film frame, a bare wafer, a processed wafer, and a glass reticle.

5. The substrate flipper according to claim 4, wherein the diameter of the thin film frame is in the range of 200 mm to 300 mm.

6. The substrate flipper according to claim 4, wherein the processed wafer has a diameter in the range of 200 μm to 300 mm.

7. The substrate flipper according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the substrate is in the range of 200 mm to 450 mm.

8. The substrate flipper of claim 1, wherein the actuation of the at least one arm actuator is programmable and automatic.

9. The substrate flipper of claim 8, further comprising at least one size sensor of the substrate, wherein automatic actuation is responsive to the output of the size sensor.

10. The substrate flipper of claim 1, wherein the distance variation is in the range of 150 mm to 250 mm.

11. The substrate flipper of claim 10, wherein the distance variation is 190 mm.

12. The substrate flipper of claim 1, wherein the arm housing comprises a labyrinthine housing.

13. The substrate flipper according to claim 1, wherein the clamp is vacuum-cleaning.

14. The substrate flipper of claim 13, wherein the clamp comprises a vacuum-cleaning roller bearing.

15. The substrate flipper of claim 1, wherein the clamp includes closed-loop sensing.

16. The substrate flipper of claim 15, wherein the closed-loop sensing comprises at least one of beam sensing, programmable pressure sensing, and weight transducer.

17. The substrate flipper of claim 1, wherein the clamp comprises a rubber clamp.

18. The substrate flipper of claim 1, wherein the base and the arm housing comprise stainless steel.

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