A control method for a manipulator, a manipulator and a semiconductor processing system

Abstract

The present invention discloses a control method for a manipulator, a manipulator and a semiconductor processing system. The control method includes the following steps: controlling the manipulator to drive its operating end to move towards the wafer tray; obtaining position deviation data between the operating end and the wafer tray; determining a correction instruction according to the position deviation data to perform position correction on the operating end; and controlling the operating end to complete the operation of placing or picking up a wafer. By executing these steps of the control method for the manipulator, precise position adjustment can be performed on the left and right operating ends of the manipulator separately or simultaneously, so that they accurately correspond to the center of the wafer tray, thereby making the position of wafer placement / picking more accurate, avoiding uneven subsequent wafer processing, and ensuring the processing result of the wafer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and particularly relates to a control method for a manipulator, a semiconductor processing system, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] At present, for the machine tool of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), the U-shaped arm vacuum manipulator cannot adjust the wafer loading and unloading positions of the left and right hands separately. When the center distance between the wafer trays on both sides of the reaction chamber is greater than or less than the center distance of the U-shaped arm of the manipulator, the wafers cannot be accurately placed at the centers of the wafer trays on both sides of the reaction chamber respectively. Only by adjusting the center distance of the wafer trays can the wafers fall to the centers of the wafer trays. This method of adjusting the wafer trays is not easy to operate and wastes working hours.

[0003] Moreover, in the prior art, the distance between the left and right hands of the U-shaped arm vacuum manipulator is fixed and cannot be adjusted. During the process of wafer loading and / or unloading, it is impossible to perform simultaneous wafer loading and / or unloading operations of the left and right hands by adjusting the loading / unloading positions of the left and right hands simultaneously. In addition, the manipulator cannot perform separate wafer loading and unloading operations of the left and right hands.

[0004] In order to solve the above problems existing in the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for a control technology for a manipulator, which can accurately adjust the left and right operating ends of the manipulator separately or simultaneously, so that they accurately correspond to the centers of the wafer trays, thereby making the positions of wafer placement / picking more accurate, avoiding uneven subsequent wafer processing, and ensuring the processing results of the wafers. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following gives a brief overview of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This overview is not an exhaustive survey of all contemplated aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or decisive elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description to follow.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems existing in the prior art, a first aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a manipulator, including the following steps: controlling the manipulator to drive its operating end to move towards a wafer tray; obtaining position deviation data between the operating end and the wafer tray; determining a deviation correction instruction according to the position deviation data to perform position deviation correction on the operating end; and controlling the operating end to complete the operation of placing or picking up a wafer. By implementing the above control method for the manipulator, accurate position adjustment can be performed on the left and right operating ends of the manipulator separately or simultaneously, enabling it to accurately correspond to the center of the wafer tray, thereby making the position of wafer placement / picking more accurate, avoiding uneven subsequent wafer processing, and ensuring the processing result of the wafer.

[0007] Optionally, in some embodiments, the operating end corresponds to at least one sensor, and the step of obtaining the position deviation data between the operating end and the wafer tray includes: collecting initial position data of the operating end through the at least one sensor; and obtaining the position deviation data between the two according to the deviation value between the initial position data of the operating end and the position data of the wafer tray.

[0008] Optionally, further, the step of determining a deviation correction instruction according to the position deviation data to perform position deviation correction on the operating end includes: judging the magnitude of the position deviation data and the preset position deviation data; determining the position deviation compensation value of the operating end according to the position judgment value of the two to obtain the position deviation correction data corresponding to the operating end, where the position deviation correction data at least includes the sum of the position deviation data and the position deviation compensation value.

[0009] Optionally, further, the manipulator includes a plurality of the operating ends, and the step of determining a deviation correction instruction according to the position deviation data to perform position deviation correction on the operating end includes: obtaining first position deviation data between a first operating end and a first wafer tray, and second position deviation data between a second operating end and a second wafer tray; determining a first deviation correction instruction for the first operating end according to the first position deviation data; and determining a second deviation correction instruction for the second operating end according to the first position deviation data and the second position deviation data.

[0010] Optionally, even further, the step of determining a first deviation correction instruction for the first operating end according to the first position deviation data includes: judging the magnitude of the first position deviation data and the first preset position deviation data; determining the first position deviation compensation value of the first operating end according to the judgment value of the first position to obtain the first position deviation correction data corresponding to the first operating end, where the first position deviation correction data is the sum of the first position deviation data and the first position deviation compensation value.

[0011] Optionally, further, the step of determining a second rectification instruction for the second operating end according to the first position deviation data and the second position deviation data includes: judging the magnitude relationship between the two-end position data of the first operating end and the second operating end and the two-end preset position data of the first wafer tray and the second wafer tray; determining a second position deviation compensation value for the second operating end according to the judgment value of the two-end positions, so as to obtain second position rectification data corresponding to the second operating end, wherein the second position rectification data is the sum of the second position deviation data, the two-end position deviation data of the first operating end and the second operating end, and the second position deviation compensation value.

[0012] Optionally, in some embodiments, the step of controlling the operating end to complete the operation of placing a wafer includes: in response to issuing the rectification instruction to the corresponding operating end of the manipulator, adjusting the operating end to the target position for placing the wafer, and the ejector pins in the wafer tray on the corresponding side of the operating end rise to prepare for receiving the wafer placed by the operating end.

[0013] Optionally, in some embodiments, the step of controlling the operating end to complete the operation of picking up a wafer further includes: in response to issuing the rectification instruction to the corresponding operating end of the manipulator, adjusting the operating end to the target position for picking up the wafer, and after completing the operation of picking up the wafer, the ejector pins in the wafer tray on the corresponding side of the operating end descend.

[0014] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a manipulator, including at least one operating end, a memory and a processor, wherein the processor is connected to the memory and is configured to implement the control method of the manipulator described in any one of the above, so as to control the at least one operating end to complete the operation of placing or picking up a wafer. By implementing the control method of the manipulator provided in the above aspect through the manipulator, the left and right operating ends of the manipulator can be accurately adjusted separately or simultaneously to accurately correspond to the center of the wafer tray, so that the position of wafer placement / picking is more accurate, subsequent uneven wafer processing is avoided, and the processing result of the wafer is ensured.

[0015] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a semiconductor processing system, including the above-mentioned manipulator. By implementing the control method of the manipulator provided in the above aspect through the manipulator in the semiconductor processing system, the left and right operating ends of the manipulator can be accurately adjusted separately or simultaneously to accurately correspond to the center of the wafer tray, so that the position of wafer placement / picking is more accurate, subsequent uneven wafer processing is avoided, and the processing result of the wafer is ensured.

[0016] In addition, another aspect of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which computer instructions are stored. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the control method of the manipulator described in any one of the above is implemented. By implementing the control method of the manipulator, the computer-readable storage medium can accurately adjust the positions of the left and right operation ends of the manipulator separately or simultaneously, so that they accurately correspond to the center of the wafer tray, thereby making the position of wafer placement / pickup more precise, avoiding uneven subsequent wafer processing, and ensuring the processing result of the wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] After reading the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the following drawings, the above features and advantages of the present invention can be better understood. In the drawings, the components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar relevant characteristics or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0018] Figure 1 FIG. shows a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of the manipulator in the semiconductor processing system shown;

[0020] Figure 3 FIG. shows a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 FIG. shows a schematic flowchart of a control method of a manipulator provided according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

[0022] Figure 5A , 5B FIG. shows a schematic diagram of a wafer not falling to the center of the wafer tray.

[0023] REFERENCE NUMERALS:

[0024] 100 Semiconductor processing system;

[0025] 110, 310 Reaction chamber;

[0026] 111, 311 Thimble lifting structure;

[0027] 120, 320 Vacuum transmission mechanism;

[0028] 121, 321 Manipulator;

[0029] 3211 First operation end;

[0030] 3212 Second operation end;

[0031] 130 and 330 atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chambers;

[0032] 140 and 340 atmospheric drive mechanisms;

[0033] 300 wafer processing system of vacuum coating equipment;

[0034] 341 atmospheric manipulator;

[0035] 3121 first wafer tray;

[0036] 3122 second wafer tray;

[0037] 1211 memory;

[0038] 1212 processor;

[0039] Steps S410 to S440. Detailed implementation manners

[0040] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation manners of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of this invention are limited to this implementation manner. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the invention in conjunction with the implementation manner is to cover other alternatives or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deep understanding of the present invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The present invention can also be implemented without using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusing or obscuring the key points of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0041] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0042] In addition, the "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal", and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in this paragraph and the related drawings. This relative term is only for convenience of description and does not mean that the device described needs to be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, so it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0043] It is understood that although terms such as "first", "second", and "third" may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first component, region, layer, and / or part discussed below may be referred to as the second component, region, layer, and / or part without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0044] As described above, in the current machine of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), the U-shaped arm vacuum manipulator cannot achieve separate adjustment of the wafer loading and unloading positions of the left and right hands. When the center distance between the wafer trays on both sides of the reaction chamber is greater than or less than the center distance of the U-shaped arm of the manipulator, the wafers cannot be accurately placed at the centers of the wafer trays on both sides of the reaction chamber respectively. Only by adjusting the center distance of the wafer trays can the wafers fall onto the center of the heating plate. This method of adjusting the wafer trays is not easy to operate and wastes working hours.

[0045] Moreover, in the prior art, the distance between the left and right hands of the U-shaped arm vacuum manipulator is fixed and cannot be adjusted. During the process of wafer loading and / or unloading, it is impossible to perform simultaneous wafer loading and / or unloading operations of the left and right hands by adjusting the loading / unloading positions of the left and right hands simultaneously. In addition, the manipulator cannot perform separate wafer loading and unloading operations of the left and right hands.

[0046] To solve the above problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a control method for a manipulator, a manipulator, a semiconductor processing system, and a computer-readable storage medium, which can accurately adjust the positions of the left and right operation ends of the manipulator separately or simultaneously, so that they accurately correspond to the centers of the wafer trays, thereby making the positions of wafer placement / pickup more accurate, avoiding uneven subsequent wafer processing, and ensuring the processing results of the wafers.

[0047] In some non-limiting embodiments, the above control method for the manipulator provided by one aspect of the present invention can be implemented by the above manipulator provided by another aspect of the present invention. Further, the present invention provides a semiconductor processing system on the other hand, including the manipulator of the above aspect, so that the control method described in the above first aspect can also be implemented.

[0048] The working principles of the above-mentioned manipulator and / or semiconductor processing system will be described below in conjunction with some embodiments of the control methods of the manipulator. Those skilled in the art can understand that these embodiments of the control methods of the manipulator are only some non-limiting implementation manners provided by the present invention, aiming to clearly show the main concept of the present invention and provide some specific solutions convenient for the public to implement, rather than restricting all working manners or all functions of the manipulator and / or semiconductor processing system. Similarly, the manipulator and / or semiconductor processing system are also only a non-limiting implementation manner provided by the present invention, and do not limit the implementation subject of each step in these control methods of the manipulator.

[0049] Specifically, please refer to Figure 1 . Figure 1 FIG. shows a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0050] As Figure 1 shown, in some non-limiting embodiments provided by the present invention, the semiconductor processing system 100 mainly includes an atmospheric transmission mechanism 140, an atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chamber 130, a vacuum transmission mechanism 120, and a reaction chamber 110. The atmospheric transmission mechanism 140 is used to transfer the wafer from the Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) to the atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chamber 130. Through the atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chamber 130, the wafer enters the transfer chamber state, and the conversion between the atmospheric environment and the vacuum environment is performed on it. Subsequently, the wafer is transferred to the vacuum transmission mechanism 120. Inside the vacuum transmission mechanism 120, there is a (vacuum) manipulator 121 with a U-shaped arm, for example, a Qudrafly-type manipulator. The manipulator 121 includes two layers of U-shaped arms, and an operating end is installed at each end of the left and right sides of each layer of U-shaped arms to clamp or hold the wafer, that is, equivalent to a wafer carrier. The manipulator 121 in the vacuum transmission mechanism 120 transports the wafer from the atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chamber 130 to the reaction chamber 110. Inside the reaction chamber 110, there is a thimble lifting structure 111 for receiving and transferring the wafer to the wafer tray.

[0051] Furthermore, please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 which is Figure 1 a schematic diagram of the manipulator in the semiconductor processing system shown.

[0052] As Figure 2As shown, the robot 121 in the semiconductor processing system 100 includes the above-mentioned at least one operating end, as well as a memory 1211 and a processor 1212, wherein the processor 1212 is connected to the memory 1211. The memory 1211 includes, but is not limited to, a computer-readable storage medium provided by another aspect of the present invention, on which computer instructions are stored. The processor 1212 is connected to the memory 1211 and is configured to execute the computer instructions stored on the memory 1211 to implement a control method for a robot provided by the first aspect of the present invention.

[0053] Specific reference may be made to Figure 3 , Figure 3 which shows a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0054] In Figure 3 some non-limiting embodiments provided by the present invention as shown, the semiconductor processing system 100 may be a dual reaction chamber vacuum wafer coating processing system 300. The dual reaction chamber vacuum wafer coating processing system 300 can adjust the two operating ends of the robot respectively during the process of placing or picking up wafers in its left and right chambers.

[0055] The dual reaction chamber vacuum wafer coating processing system 300 includes an atmospheric transmission mechanism 340, an atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chamber 330, a vacuum transmission mechanism 320, and a reaction chamber 310. Inside the vacuum transmission mechanism 320, there is a (vacuum) robot 321. Inside the reaction chamber 310, there are a thimble lifting structure 311 and two wafer trays, a first wafer tray 3121 and a second wafer tray 3122, wherein the wafer trays can be specifically selected as heating plates.

[0056] The working process of the dual-reaction-chamber vacuum wafer coating processing system 300 mainly includes: Two wafers are transferred from the FOUP to the atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chamber 330 by the atmospheric manipulator 341 in the atmospheric transfer mechanism 340. The first operating end 3211 and the second operating end 3212 of the (vacuum) manipulator 321 in the vacuum drive mechanism 320 can take out the two wafers from the atmospheric-vacuum conversion load chamber 330, and then the manipulator 321 extends into the reaction chamber 310. The first operating end 3211 on the left side of the manipulator 321 can correspond to the first wafer tray 3121 also on the left side in the reaction chamber 310, and the second operating end 3212 on the right side of the manipulator 321 can correspond to the second wafer tray 3122 also on the right side in the reaction chamber 310. If the first operating end 3211 of the manipulator 321 corrects the deviation on the left side, the ejector pin in the first wafer tray 3121 on the left side rises to receive the wafer placed by the first operating end 3211 after the deviation correction. If the second operating end 3212 of the manipulator 321 corrects the deviation on the right side, the ejector pin on the second wafer tray 3122 on the right side rises to receive the wafer placed by the second operating end 3212 after the deviation correction. After the wafers are all placed, the manipulator 321 retracts its hand, and the ejector pin lifting structures 311 in the two chambers descend, and the two wafers respectively fall onto the corresponding first wafer tray 3121 and second wafer tray 3122.

[0057] To more clearly introduce the control method of the manipulator to be protected by the present invention, please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 which shows a schematic flowchart of a control method of a manipulator provided according to some embodiments of the present invention. The following will take the dual-reaction-chamber vacuum wafer coating processing system 300 in Figure 3 as an example to introduce the control method of the manipulator 321 therein. The control method of the manipulator 321 mainly includes the following steps:

[0058] Step S410: Control the manipulator to drive its operating end to move towards the wafer tray.

[0059] According to the number of wafers to be placed or picked up, at least one operating end of the manipulator 321 can be controlled to perform the wafer placement or picking-up action.

[0060] Specifically, in some alternative embodiments, two operating ends of the manipulator 321 can be controlled simultaneously. The first operating end 3211 and the second operating end 3212 respectively transfer two wafers in the atmosphere-vacuum conversion load chamber 330 to the first wafer tray 3121 and the second wafer tray 3122 in the reaction chamber 310, performing a two-handed wafer loading action. Alternatively, the first operating end 3211 and the second operating end 3212 of the manipulator 321 can also be controlled simultaneously to take out two wafers from the first wafer tray 3121 and the second wafer tray 3122 in the reaction chamber 310, performing a two-handed wafer unloading action.

[0061] In other alternative embodiments, the first operating end 3211 or the second operating end 3212 in the manipulator 321 can be controlled separately to transfer one wafer in the atmosphere-vacuum conversion load chamber 330 to the first wafer tray 3121 or the second wafer tray 3122 in the reaction chamber 310, performing a single-handed wafer loading action. Alternatively, the first operating end 3211 or the second operating end 3212 of the manipulator 321 can also be controlled separately to take out one wafer from the first wafer tray 3121 or the second wafer tray 3122 in the reaction chamber 310, performing a single-handed wafer unloading action.

[0062] Step S420: Obtain the position deviation data between the operating end and the wafer tray.

[0063] At least one sensor, such as an AWC (Active Wafer Centering) sensor, can be correspondingly arranged at the operating end of the manipulator 321 or in the reaction chamber 310. Through this at least one sensor, the initial position data of the operating end for performing the wafer placement or pick-up action is collected, such as the initial position data of the first operating end 3211 (i.e., it can be AWC data), and the currently collected initial position data of the first operating end 3211 is compared with the position data of the corresponding first wafer tray 3121 in the reaction chamber 310 to obtain the first position deviation data d1 between the two.

[0064] Step S430: Determine a rectification instruction based on the position deviation data to perform position rectification on the operating end.

[0065] Specifically, the preset position deviation data d' between the operating end of the manipulator 321 and the corresponding wafer tray can be input in advance on the machine's human-machine interface (UI interface). For example, the first preset position deviation data d1' between the first operating end 3211 and the first wafer tray 3121, and the second preset position deviation data d2' between the second operating end 3212 and the second wafer tray 3122.

[0066] Based on the first position deviation data d1, a first deviation correction instruction for the first operating end 3211 is determined. Based on the first position deviation data d1 and the second position deviation data d2, a second deviation correction instruction for the second operating end 3122 is determined.

[0067] Specifically, the magnitude of the position deviation data is compared with the preset position deviation data, and based on the position judgment values of both, the position deviation compensation value of the operating end is determined to obtain the position deviation correction data corresponding to the operating end. Among them, the position deviation correction data at least includes the sum of the position deviation data and the position deviation compensation value. Please refer to Figure 5A and 5B , Figure 5A 、 5B which shows a schematic diagram of the wafer not falling to the center of the wafer tray.

[0068] In some embodiments of single-handed wafer placement or picking, for example, when the first operating end 3211 of the manipulator 321 is independently controlled to perform wafer placement or picking actions, position deviation correction can be performed on the first operating end 3211.

[0069] First, as Figure 5A or shown in 5B, the magnitude of the current first position deviation data d1 is compared with the preset first preset position deviation data d1', and based on the position judgment value between the two, the position deviation compensation value for the first operating end 3211 is determined, so as to obtain the first position deviation correction data corresponding to the first operating end 3211. The first position deviation correction data mainly includes the sum of the first position deviation data d1 (i.e., the deviation of the AWC data) and the first position deviation compensation value.

[0070] In some embodiments of two-handed wafer placement or picking, for example, when the first operating end 3211 and the second operating end 3212 of the manipulator 321 are controlled simultaneously or separately and successively to perform wafer placement or picking actions, deviation correction can be performed on both the first operating end 3211 and the second operating end 3212. In this embodiment, for the deviation correction control of the first operating end 3211, as described above, it will not be elaborated here.

[0071] After the position deviation correction of the first operating end 3211 is completed, the position deviation correction of the second operating end 3212 is continued.

[0072] As Figure 5AAs shown in Figure 5A or 5B, first, based on the two-end position data δ between the first operating end 3211 and the second operating end 3212, and the two-end preset position data δ' of the first wafer tray 3121 and the second wafer tray 3122, determine the magnitudes of the above two-end position data δ and the two-end preset position data δ'. According to the judgment values of these two positions, determine the second position deviation compensation value of the second operating end 3212, so as to obtain the second position correction data corresponding to the second operating end 3212. The second position correction data mainly includes the sum of the second position deviation data d2 (i.e., the deviation of the AWC data), the two-end position deviation data between the first operating end 3211 and the second operating end 3212 (i.e., δ - δ' or δ' - δ), and the second position deviation compensation value.

[0073] Step S440: Control the operating end to complete the operation of placing or picking up a wafer.

[0074] Specifically, in response to issuing the first correction instruction and / or the second correction instruction to the corresponding operating ends of the manipulator 321, that is, the first operating end 3211 and / or the second operating end 3212, adjust the first operating end 3211 and / or the second operating end 3212 to the target position for placing the wafer. The ejector pins in the first wafer tray 3121 and / or the second wafer tray 3122 on the corresponding side of the first operating end 3211 and / or the second operating end 3212 rise to prepare to receive the wafer placed by the first operating end 3211 and / or the second operating end 3212.

[0075] Optionally, in response to issuing the first correction instruction and / or the second correction instruction to the corresponding operating ends of the manipulator, that is, the first operating end 3211 and / or the second operating end 3212, adjust the first operating end 3211 and / or the second operating end 3212 to the target position for picking up the wafer. After completing the operation of picking up the wafer, the ejector pins in the first wafer tray 3121 and / or the second wafer tray 3122 on the corresponding side of the first operating end 3211 and / or the second operating end 3212 descend.

[0076] To introduce the control method of the above manipulator in more detail and clearly, please further refer to the following specific embodiments of the wafer placement and wafer picking processes.

[0077] The method of introducing a virtual station can be used to respectively determine the physical positions of the first operating end 3211 (station2) on the left side and the second operating end 3212 (station5) on the right side of the manipulator 321. When the machine transfers wafers, send the physical position of the first operating end 3211 station2 on the left side, and the second operating end 3212 on the right side realizes wafer placement and picking after position correction through the deviation between the two (stn5 - stn2).

[0078] Specifically, the first operating end 3211 and its corresponding first wafer tray 3121 are on the left side, which can be set as side A on the UI interface. The second operating end 3212 and its corresponding second wafer tray 3122 are on the right side, which can be set as side B on the UI interface. When loading or unloading wafers, the preset position deviations between the operating end and the wafer tray can be set on the corresponding side interfaces, such as the first preset position deviation data d1' and the second preset position deviation data d2'. The first wafer tray 3121 on the left side corresponds to the instruction PAN L, and the second wafer tray 3122 on the right side corresponds to the instruction PAN R.

[0079] In the first embodiment, the position adjustment control for the dual-hand wafer loading of the robot arm 321 is to place two wafers at the centers of the corresponding first wafer tray 3121 and second wafer tray 3122 respectively. The specific control process is shown in Table 1 below:

[0080] Table 1

[0081]

[0082]

[0083] In the second embodiment, the position adjustment control for the single-hand wafer loading of the robot arm 321 is to place a wafer at the center of the corresponding wafer tray.

[0084] The specific control process for placing the wafer at the center of the first wafer tray 3121 through the first operating end 3211 is shown in Table 2.1 below:

[0085] Table 2.1

[0086]

[0087] Subsequently, after the wafer is loaded through the first operating end 3211, the specific control process for placing the wafer at the center of the second wafer tray 3122 through the second operating end 3212 is shown in Table 2.2 below:

[0088] Table 2.2

[0089]

[0090]

[0091] In the third embodiment, position adjustment control for the dual-hand wafer picking of the manipulator 321 is performed with the aim of picking two wafers from the centers of the corresponding first wafer tray 3121 and second wafer tray 3122 respectively. In this embodiment, it can also be divided into two cases. One is that the ejector pins in the wafer trays on Side A and side B land simultaneously, and the other is that the ejector pins in the wafer trays on Side A and side B land separately.

[0092] Specifically, the specific control process for dual-hand wafer picking when the ejector pins in the wafer trays on Side A and side B land simultaneously is shown in Table 3.1 below:

[0093] Table 3.1

[0094]

[0095]

[0096] The specific control process for dual-hand wafer picking when the ejector pins in the wafer trays on Side A and side B land separately is shown in Table 3.2 below:

[0097] Table 3.2

[0098]

[0099]

[0100] In the fourth embodiment, position adjustment control for the single-hand wafer picking of the manipulator 321 is performed with the aim of placing a wafer at the center of the corresponding wafer tray.

[0101] The specific control process for placing a wafer at the center of the first wafer tray 3121 through the first operation end 3211 is shown in Table 4.1 below:

[0102] Table 4.1

[0103]

[0104] Subsequently, after the wafer picking is completed by the above-mentioned first operation end 3211, the specific control process for picking a wafer from the center of the second wafer tray 3122 through the second operation end 3212 is shown in Table 4.2 below:

[0105] Table 4.2

[0106]

[0107]

[0108] In summary, the present invention provides a control method for a robotic arm, a robotic arm capable of implementing the control method, and a semiconductor processing system of the above-mentioned robotic arm, which can accurately adjust the left and right operating ends of the robotic arm separately or simultaneously to accurately correspond to the center of the wafer tray, so that the position of wafer placement / pickup is more accurate, avoiding uneven subsequent wafer processing and ensuring the wafer processing result.

[0109] Although the above methods are illustrated and described as a series of actions for simplicity of explanation, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, because according to one or more embodiments, some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions that are illustrated and described herein or that are not illustrated and described herein but are understandable to those skilled in the art.

[0110] Those skilled in the art will understand that information, signals, and data can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips described throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0111] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, boxes, modules, circuits, and steps are described above in terms of their functional form. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in different ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

[0112] The various illustrative logical modules and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0113] The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed in this specification can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read from, and write to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0114] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software as a computer program product, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. The computer-readable medium includes both a computer storage medium and a communication medium including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium.

[0115] The foregoing description of the disclosure has been provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A control method for a manipulator, wherein, The manipulator includes at least a first operating end and a second operating end, and the control method includes the following steps: Control the manipulator to drive its operating end to move towards the wafer tray; Obtain first position deviation data of the first operating end and the first wafer tray, and second position deviation data of the second operating end and the second wafer tray; Determine a first correction instruction for the first operating end according to the first position deviation data to correct the position of the first operating end; and Determine a second correction instruction for the second operating end according to the first position deviation data and the second position deviation data to correct the position of the second operating end; and Control the first operating end and the second operating end to complete the operation of placing or picking up wafers.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The operating end corresponds to at least one sensor, and the step of obtaining the position deviation data between the operating end and the wafer tray includes: Collect initial position data of the operating end through the at least one sensor; and Obtain the position deviation data between the two according to the deviation value between the initial position data of the operating end and the position data of the wafer tray.

3. The control method according to claim 2, characterized in that The step of determining a correction instruction according to the position deviation data to correct the position of the operating end includes: Judge the magnitude of the position deviation data and the preset position deviation data; Determine the position deviation compensation value of the operating end according to the position judgment value of the two to obtain the position correction data corresponding to the operating end, where the position correction data at least includes the sum of the position deviation data and the position deviation compensation value.

4. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of determining a first correction instruction for the first operating end according to the first position deviation data includes: Judge the magnitude of the first position deviation data and the first preset position deviation data; Determine the first position deviation compensation value of the first operating end according to the judgment value of the first position to obtain the first position correction data corresponding to the first operating end, where the first position correction data is the sum of the first position deviation data and the first position deviation compensation value.

5. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of determining a second correction instruction for the second operating end according to the first position deviation data and the second position deviation data includes: Judge the magnitude of the two-end position data between the first operating end and the second operating end and the two-end preset position data between the first wafer tray and the second wafer tray; Determine the second position deviation compensation value of the second operating end according to the judgment value of the two-end position to obtain the second position correction data corresponding to the second operating end, where the second position correction data is the sum of the second position deviation data, the two-end position deviation data between the first operating end and the second operating end, and the second position deviation compensation value.

6. The control method according to claim 1, wherein, The step of controlling the operating end to complete the operation of placing wafers includes: In response to issuing the rectification instruction to the corresponding operation end of the manipulator, the operation end is adjusted to the target position for placing the wafer, and the ejector pins in the wafer tray on the corresponding side of the operation end rise to prepare for receiving the wafer placed by the operation end.

7. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of controlling the operation end to complete the operation of picking up the wafer further includes: In response to issuing the rectification instruction to the corresponding operation end of the manipulator, the operation end is adjusted to the target position for picking up the wafer. After completing the operation of picking up the wafer, the ejector pins in the wafer tray on the corresponding side of the operation end descend.

8. A manipulator, characterized in that, It includes at least one operation end, a memory, and a processor. Among them, the processor is connected to the memory and is configured to implement the control method of the manipulator according to any one of claims 1 to 7 to control the at least one operation end to complete the operation of placing or picking up the wafer.

9. A semiconductor processing system, characterized in that, It includes a manipulator according to claim 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer instruction is executed by the processor, the control method of the manipulator according to any one of claims 1 to 7 above is implemented.

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