Configuration Method for Wafer Placement Rules of Boat Frame for Vertical Furnace Tube Equipment

Abstract

A configuration method for wafer placement rules of a boat rack for a vertical furnace tube device is disclosed in the present invention. This method obtains the remaining situation of different types of wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area, and according to the remaining situation of different types of wafers in the buffer area, obtains the placement methods for each type of wafer to enter the boat rack from a preset placement rule table for different types of wafers. Therefore, it can timely and flexibly adjust the placement methods of different wafers according to the remaining situation of different types of wafers in the buffer area, configure the wafer placement rules, and thus can quickly determine the preferred solutions for the placement of different types of wafers. It is not only simple to operate, but also has high adjustment efficiency and low error rate, can adapt to the requirements of wafer placement on the boat rack in different situations, has high use value and good application prospects.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and relates to a method for configuring a wafer placement rule, specifically to a method for configuring a wafer placement rule for a boat rack of a vertical furnace tube equipment, a method for placing wafers, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Vertical furnace tube equipment is a commonly used equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. In order to improve efficiency, several process wafers are usually placed in one furnace process. At present, most vertical furnace tube equipment only focuses more on what type of wafers need to be placed in each slot of the boat rack, without considering the actual situation of the wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area. Therefore, when the number of wafers in the buffer area is insufficient, it is usually necessary for the operator to temporarily modify the wafer placement method and manually modify the wafer placement positions on the boat rack. This method places higher requirements on the operator, is prone to errors, and is not conducive to the realization of equipment automation. At the same time, the wafers that need to be placed in the boat rack at least include dummy wafers, fill wafers, process wafers, and monitor wafers. If the number of different types of wafers is insufficient at the same time, it is more difficult to adjust the wafer placement rule in a timely and flexible manner, which will not only increase the probability of adjustment errors, but also is not conducive to improving the processing efficiency of the vertical furnace tube equipment. So far, there has been no relevant report on "timely and flexibly adjusting the wafer placement rule according to the actual situation of the wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area". Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a method for configuring a wafer placement rule for a boat rack of a vertical furnace tube equipment, a method for placing wafers, and a storage medium.

[0004] To solve the above technical problem, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0005] A method for configuring a wafer placement rule for a boat rack of a vertical furnace tube equipment, the configuration method includes:

[0006] S1. Obtain the remaining situation of different types of wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area;

[0007] S2. According to the remaining situation of different types of wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of each type of wafer entering the boat rack from a preset placement rule table of different types of wafers; the placement rule table of different types of wafers contains the mapping relationship between the remaining situation of each type of wafer in the buffer area and the corresponding placement method.

[0008] In the above method for configuring a wafer placement rule for a boat rack of a vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, the types of wafers include dummy wafers, fill wafers, process wafers, and monitor wafers.

[0009] The configuration method of the wafer placement rule for the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, when the type of the wafer is a process wafer, obtain the number of cassettes for placing process wafers in the buffer area and the number of process wafers in each cassette.

[0010] The configuration method of the wafer placement rule for the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, when the type of the wafer is a process wafer, according to the number of cassettes for placing process wafers in the buffer area and the number of process wafers in each cassette, obtain the placement method of the process wafers entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the process wafers;

[0011] The placement rule table of the process wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of cassettes for placing process wafers in the buffer area, the number of process wafers in each cassette and the placement method of the process wafers. Specifically:

[0012] When the number of cassettes for placing process wafers in the buffer area ≥ 1 and the number of process wafers in the cassette is greater than or equal to the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the process wafers is any one of the following: Method 1, place the process wafers in other slots in the boat rack except the slots where the dummy wafers and monitor wafers are placed; Method 2, place the process wafers in the designated slots on the boat rack.

[0013] When the number of cassettes for placing process wafers in the buffer area ≥ 1 and the number of process wafers in the cassette is less than the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the process wafers is any one of the following: Method 1, set a central slot on the boat rack, place the process wafers on both sides of the set central slot, and supplement the empty slots with filling wafers; Method 2, place the process wafers in other slots in the boat rack except the slots where the dummy wafers and monitor wafers are placed, and supplement the empty slots with filling wafers; Method 3, give a prompt that the number of process wafers in the buffer area cassette is insufficient.

[0014] The configuration method of the wafer placement rule for the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, when the type of the wafer is a dummy wafer, obtain the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area, and according to the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of the dummy wafers entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the dummy wafers;

[0015] The placement rule table of the dummy wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area and the placement method of the dummy wafers. Specifically:

[0016] When the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area is greater than or equal to the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the dummy wafers is: place the dummy wafers at the top and bottom of the boat rack.

[0017] When the number of baffles in the buffer cassette is less than the required number for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding baffle is any one of the following: Method 1: Place the filling sheet into the preset sheet slot of the baffle on the boat rack; Method 2: Leave the sheet slot on the boat rack without a baffle empty; Method 3: Give a prompt that the number of baffles in the buffer cassette is insufficient.

[0018] For the above configuration method of the wafer placement rule for the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, when the type of the wafer is a monitoring wafer, obtain the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer area, and according to the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of the monitoring wafers entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the monitoring wafers;

[0019] The placement rule table of the monitoring wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer area and the placement method of the monitoring wafers, specifically:

[0020] When the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer area is greater than or equal to the required number for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding baffle is any one of the following: Method 1: Place the monitoring wafer into the corresponding sheet slot on the boat rack; Method 2: Place the monitoring wafer into the designated sheet slot on the boat rack;

[0021] When the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer area is less than the required number for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding baffle is any one of the following: Method 1: Place the filling sheet into the preset sheet slot of the monitoring wafer on the boat rack; Method 2: Do not process and leave the sheet slot on the boat rack without a monitoring wafer empty; Method 3: Give a prompt that the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer cassette is insufficient.

[0022] For the above configuration method of the wafer placement rule for the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, when the wafer is a filling sheet, obtain the number of filling sheets in the buffer area, and according to the number of filling sheets in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of the filling sheets entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the filling sheets;

[0023] The placement rule table of the filling sheets contains the mapping relationship between the number of filling sheets in the buffer area and the placement method of the filling sheets, specifically:

[0024] When the number of filling sheets in the buffer area is greater than or equal to the required number for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding filling sheet is: Place the filling sheet into the sheet slot of the boat rack according to the requirement;

[0025] When the number of filling sheets in the buffer area is less than the required number for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding filling sheet is any one of the following: Method 1: Leave the sheet slot on the boat rack to be filled with the filling sheet empty; Method 2: Give a prompt that the number of filling sheets in the buffer cassette is insufficient.

[0026] The above configuration method for the wafer placement rules of the boat rack for vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, the configuration method further includes: determining the position of the central wafer slot on the boat rack.

[0027] The above configuration method for the wafer placement rules of the boat rack for vertical furnace tube equipment, further improved, in the configuration method, after filling the filling wafers in the boat rack, when there are empty wafer slots on the boat rack between the baffle and the process wafer, it further includes the following disposal of the baffle: moving the baffle towards the central wafer slot of the boat rack to vacate the wafer slots at both ends of the boat rack, or keeping the baffle unmoved and retaining the original empty wafer slots.

[0028] As a general technical concept, the present invention also provides a method for placing wafers, including the following steps:

[0029] (1) According to the above configuration method, obtain the placement methods of wafers of each type;

[0030] (2) According to the placement methods of wafers of each type, combined with the order in which wafers of each type enter the boat rack, place wafers of each type into the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment.

[0031] As a general technical concept, the present invention also provides a storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the above configuration method.

[0032] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are:

[0033] In view of the defect that the prior art does not propose "timely and flexibly adjusting the wafer placement rules according to the actual situation of the wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area", the present invention creatively provides a configuration method for the wafer placement rules of the boat rack of a vertical furnace tube device. First, obtain the remaining situation of different types of wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area, and then according to the remaining situation of different types of wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement methods of each type of wafer entering the boat rack from the preset placement rule table of different types of wafers. In the present invention, during the process of transporting different types of wafers in the buffer area to the boat rack, by obtaining the remaining situation of different types of wafers in the buffer area, the placement rules of different types of wafers can be determined from the preset placement rules, so that according to the obtained placement rules, different types of wafers can be accurately and efficiently placed into the boat rack. In particular, in the case of lack or insufficient number of wafers, the corresponding placement rules can be quickly obtained from the preset placement rules according to the remaining situation of different types of wafers in the buffer area, so as to timely and flexibly adjust the placement methods of different types of wafers. Therefore, different types of wafers that meet the process requirements can be placed at reasonable positions on the boat rack without manually modifying the wafer placement positions, which is beneficial to realizing the automatic placement of wafers by the device. It is not only simple in operation, but also high in adjustment efficiency and low in error rate, and can adapt to the requirements of wafer placement on the boat rack in different situations, with high use value and good application prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of the configuration of the wafer placement rules for the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0036] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the specification and specific preferred embodiments, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

[0037] Embodiment 1:

[0038] A configuration method for the wafer placement rules of the boat rack of a vertical furnace tube device, as Figure 1 shown, includes:

[0039] S1. Obtain the remaining situation of different types of wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area;

[0040] S2. According to the remaining situation of wafers of different types in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of each type of wafer entering the boat rack from the preset placement rule table of different types of wafers, where the placement rule table of different types of wafers contains the mapping relationship between the remaining situation of each type of wafer in the buffer area and the corresponding placement method.

[0041] In this embodiment, different types of wafers include dummy wafers, filler wafers, process wafers, and monitor wafers. Based on this, the placement rules for each different type of wafer are as follows:

[0042] In this embodiment, when the type of the wafer is a process wafer, first obtain the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area and the number of process wafers in each cassette, and then according to the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area and the number of process wafers in each cassette, obtain the placement method of the process wafer entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the process wafer, where the placement rule table of the process wafer contains the mapping relationship between the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area and the number of process wafers in each cassette and the placement method of the process wafer, specifically:

[0043] When the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area ≥ 1 and the number of process wafers in the cassette is greater than or equal to the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the process wafer is any one of the following: Method 1, place the process wafer into other slots in the boat rack except the slots where dummy wafers and monitor wafers are placed; Method 2, place the process wafer into the designated slot on the boat rack.

[0044] When the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area ≥ 1 and the number of process wafers in the cassette is less than the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the process wafer is any one of the following: Method 1, set a central slot on the boat rack, place the process wafers on both sides of the set central slot, and supplement the empty slots with filler wafers. By setting the position of the central slot on the boat rack, when the number of process wafers is insufficient, the process wafers can be quickly placed in reasonable slots, reducing energy consumption and also being beneficial to obtaining better processing effects; Method 2, place the process wafers into other slots in the boat rack except the slots where dummy wafers and monitor wafers are placed, and supplement the empty slots with filler wafers; Method 3, give a prompt that the number of process wafers in the cassette in the buffer area is insufficient.

[0045] In this embodiment, when the type of the wafer is a dummy wafer, first obtain the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area, and then according to the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of the dummy wafer entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the dummy wafer, where the placement rule table of the dummy wafer contains the mapping relationship between the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area and the placement method of the dummy wafer, specifically:

[0046] When the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area is greater than or equal to the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the dummy wafer is: place the dummy wafers on the top and bottom of the boat rack.

[0047] When the number of retaining pieces in the buffer cassette is less than the number required for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding retaining pieces is any one of the following: Method 1: Place the filling piece into the preset slot of the retaining piece on the boat rack; Method 2: Leave the slot on the boat rack where the retaining piece is missing empty; Method 3: Give a prompt that the number of retaining pieces in the buffer cassette is insufficient.

[0048] In this embodiment, when the type of the wafer is a monitoring wafer, first obtain the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer, and then, according to the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer, obtain the placement method of the monitoring wafers entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the monitoring wafers, where the placement rule table of the monitoring wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer and the placement method of the monitoring wafers, specifically:

[0049] When the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer is greater than or equal to the number required for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding retaining pieces is any one of the following: Method 1: Place the monitoring wafer into the corresponding slot on the boat rack; Method 2: Place the monitoring wafer into the designated slot on the boat rack.

[0050] When the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer is less than the number required for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding retaining pieces is any one of the following: Method 1: Place the filling piece into the preset slot of the monitoring wafer on the boat rack; Method 2: Do not process and leave the slot on the boat rack where the monitoring wafer is missing empty; Method 3: Give a prompt that the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer cassette is insufficient.

[0051] In this embodiment, when the wafer is a filling wafer, first obtain the number of filling wafers in the buffer, and then, according to the number of filling wafers in the buffer, obtain the placement method of the filling wafers entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the filling wafers, where the placement rule table of the filling wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of filling wafers in the buffer and the placement method of the filling wafers, specifically:

[0052] When the number of filling wafers in the buffer is greater than or equal to the number required for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding filling wafers is: Place the filling wafers into the slots of the boat rack according to the requirements.

[0053] When the number of filling wafers in the buffer is less than the number required for entering the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding filling wafers is any one of the following: Method 1: Leave the slot on the boat rack where the filling wafer is to be placed empty; Method 2: Give a prompt that the number of filling wafers in the buffer cassette is insufficient.

[0054] In the configuration method of this embodiment, after replenishing the filling wafers in the boat rack, when there are empty slots on the boat rack between the retaining pieces and the process wafers, it further includes the following disposal of the retaining pieces: Move the retaining pieces towards the central slot of the boat rack to make the slots at both ends of the boat rack empty, or keep the retaining pieces unmoved and retain the original empty slots.

[0055] A method for placing wafers, specifically putting the required wafers into the boat of a vertical furnace tube equipment, includes the following steps:

[0056] (1) According to the configuration method in the above-mentioned Embodiment 1 of the present invention, obtain the placement methods of wafers of various types (blanket wafers, filler wafers, process wafers, and monitor wafers).

[0057] (2) According to the placement methods of wafers of various types, and in combination with the order of wafers of various types entering the boat, put wafers of various types into the boat of the vertical furnace tube equipment.

[0058] A storage medium stores a computer program thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the configuration method in the above-mentioned Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0059] In the present invention, first obtain the remaining situation of wafers of different types to be entered into the boat in the buffer area, and then according to the remaining situation of wafers of different types in the buffer area, obtain the placement methods of wafers of various types entering the boat from a preset placement rule table of wafers of different types. In the present invention, during the process of transporting wafers of different types in the buffer area to the boat, by obtaining the remaining situation of wafers of different types in the buffer area, the placement rules of wafers of different types can be determined from the preset placement rules, so as to accurately and efficiently place wafers of different types into the boat according to the obtained placement rules. Particularly, in the case of missing wafers or insufficient number of wafers, the corresponding placement rules can be quickly obtained from the preset placement rules according to the remaining situation of wafers of different types in the buffer area, so as to timely and flexibly adjust the placement methods of wafers of different types. Therefore, wafers of different types that meet the process requirements can be placed at reasonable positions in the boat without manually modifying the wafer placement positions, which is beneficial to realizing the automatic wafer placement of the equipment. It is not only simple in operation, but also high in adjustment efficiency and low in error rate, can adapt to the requirements of wafer placement in the boat under different circumstances, has high use value and good application prospects.

[0060] The above embodiments are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions falling within the idea of the present invention belong to the protection scope of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art in this technical field, improvements and refinements made without departing from the principle of the present invention should also be regarded as within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A configuration method for the wafer placement rules of a boat rack for a vertical furnace tube device, characterized in that, The described configuration method includes: S1. Obtain the remaining situation of different types of wafers to enter the boat rack in the buffer area; the types of the wafers include dummy wafers, fill wafers, process wafers, and monitor wafers; S2. According to the remaining situation of different types of wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of each type of wafer entering the boat rack from the preset placement rule table of different types of wafers; the placement rule table of different types of wafers contains the mapping relationship between the remaining situation of each type of wafer in the buffer area and the corresponding placement method; When the type of the wafer is a process wafer, obtain the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area and the number of process wafers in each cassette; when the type of the wafer is a process wafer, according to the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area and the number of process wafers in each cassette, obtain the placement method of the process wafer entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of process wafers; The placement rule table of the process wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area, the number of process wafers in each cassette, and the placement method of the process wafers, specifically: When the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area ≥ 1 and the number of process wafers in the cassette is greater than or equal to the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the process wafer is any one of the following: Method 1, place the process wafer into other slots in the boat rack except the slots where dummy wafers and monitor wafers are placed; Method 2, place the process wafer into the designated slots on the boat rack; When the number of cassette containing process wafers in the buffer area ≥ 1 and the number of process wafers in the cassette is less than the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the process wafer is any one of the following: Method 1, set a central slot on the boat rack, place the process wafers on both sides of the set central slot, and supplement the empty slots with fill wafers; Method 2, place the process wafers into other slots in the boat rack except the slots where dummy wafers and monitor wafers are placed, and supplement the empty slots with fill wafers; Method 3, give a prompt that the number of process wafers in the cassette in the buffer area is insufficient; When the type of the wafer is a dummy wafer, obtain the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area, and according to the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of the dummy wafer entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of dummy wafers; The placement rule table of the dummy wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area and the placement method of the dummy wafers, specifically: When the number of dummy wafers in the buffer area is greater than or equal to the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the dummy wafer is: place the dummy wafers on the top and bottom of the boat rack; When the number of dummy wafers in the cassette in the buffer area is less than the required number to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the dummy wafer is any one of the following: Method 1: Place the fill wafer into the preset slot of the dummy wafer on the boat rack; Method 2: Leave the slot on the boat rack where the dummy wafer is missing empty; Method 3: Give a prompt that the number of dummy wafers in the cassette in the buffer area is insufficient; When the type of the wafer is a monitor wafer, obtain the number of monitor wafers in the buffer area, and according to the number of monitor wafers in the buffer area, obtain the placement method of the monitor wafer entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of monitor wafers; The placement rule table of the monitor wafers contains the mapping relationship between the number of monitor wafers in the buffer area and the placement method of the monitor wafers, specifically: When the number of buffer monitoring wafers is greater than or equal to the number required to enter the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding baffle is any one of the following: Method 1, place the monitoring wafer into the corresponding wafer slot on the boat rack; Method 2, place the monitoring wafer into the specified wafer slot on the boat rack. When the number of buffer monitoring wafers is less than the number required to enter the boat rack, the placement method of the corresponding baffle is any one of the following: Method 1, place the filling wafer into the preset wafer slot of the monitoring wafer on the boat rack; Method 2, do not process and leave the wafer slot on the boat rack where the monitoring wafer is missing empty; Method 3, give a prompt that the number of monitoring wafers in the buffer cassette is insufficient. When the wafer is a filling wafer, obtain the number of filling wafers in the buffer, and according to the number of filling wafers in the buffer, obtain the placement method of the filling wafer entering the boat rack from the set placement rule table of the filling wafer. The placement rule table of the filling wafer includes the mapping relationship between the number of filling wafers in the buffer and the placement method of the filling wafer, specifically: When the number of filling wafers in the buffer is greater than or equal to the number required to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the filling wafer is: put the filling wafer into the wafer slot of the boat rack according to the requirement. When the number of filling wafers in the buffer is less than the number required to enter the boat rack, the corresponding placement method of the filling wafer is any one of the following: Method 1, leave the wafer slot on the boat rack where the filling wafer is to be placed empty; Method 2, give a prompt that the number of filling wafers in the buffer cassette is insufficient.

2. The configuration method of the wafer placement rule for the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the configuration method, after replenishing the filling wafers in the boat rack, when there are empty wafer slots on the boat rack between the baffle and the process wafer, it also includes the following disposal of the baffle: move the baffle towards the center wafer slot of the boat rack to make the wafer slots at both ends of the boat rack empty, or keep the baffle unmoved and retain the original empty wafer slot.

3. A method for placing a wafer, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: (1) According to the configuration method described in Claim 1 or 2, obtain the placement methods of wafers of each type. (2) According to the placement methods of wafers of each type, combined with the order of wafers of each type entering the boat rack, put wafers of each type into the boat rack of the vertical furnace tube equipment.

4. A storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the configuration method described in Claim 1 or 2.

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