Material transport control method, process chamber module, and semiconductor process apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a material conveying control method, a process chamber module and a semiconductor process equipment. The method is applied to the semiconductor process equipment, and material information transmission can be performed along with material taking or placing actions of a robot. In the embodiment of the application, material information transmission and data transfer can be realized in the flowing process of the material. With the taking or placing of the material by the robot, the material carrying state information is also transmitted synchronously, the position of the material can be determined, and the loss or disorder of the material information can be avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and more specifically, to a material transport control method, a process chamber module, and semiconductor process equipment. Background Technology

[0002] As electronic components advance to nanoscale processes, the demand for high-capacity semiconductor processing equipment is increasing. To improve equipment throughput and chamber utilization, semiconductor processing equipment, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, needs to process multiple wafers simultaneously. Taking ALD equipment as an example, its low growth rate, long cycle time, and extended execution time severely impact throughput and chamber utilization, leading to a growing demand for high-capacity equipment. For instance, a four-chamber rig is employed, comprising four independent vacuum system reaction chambers (RC).

[0003] In related technologies, software calculates the destination of materials (e.g., wafers) and directly assigns the material information to the corresponding destination RC. Then, the wafer transfer is completed through the combined action of a vacuum turn robot (VTR) and a chamber turn robot (CTR). However, during the information transmission process controlling material transfer, there may be issues with the loss or corruption of wafer material information. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The problem solved by this invention is the loss or corruption of wafer material information during the information transmission process of material transfer controlled by existing software.

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a material transfer control method applied to a process chamber module of a semiconductor process equipment. The process chamber module includes at least two process positions and a rotary manipulator. The rotary manipulator has at least two robotic arms and is used to transfer materials between the process positions. The method includes: acquiring material carrying status information for each process position and each robotic arm, the material carrying status information including an occupied state and an idle state; when a material-picking action of the rotary manipulator is detected, acquiring the correspondence between each robotic arm and each process position of the picked material, updating the material carrying status information of each robotic arm to the corresponding material carrying status information of the process position, and setting the material carrying status information of each process position to an idle state; or when a material-placing action of the rotary manipulator is detected, acquiring the correspondence between each robotic arm and each process position of the placed material, updating the material carrying status information of each process position to the corresponding material carrying status information of the robotic arm, and setting the material carrying status information of each robotic arm to an idle state.

[0006] As one possible implementation, the number of robotic arms is the same as the number of process stations.

[0007] As a feasible implementation, when the material-picking action of the rotary manipulator is detected, the method further includes: updating the material identification information of each of the manipulators to the material identification information of the corresponding process position, wherein the material identification information includes at least one of the following: material source information, material number information, and material name information; or when the material-releasing action of the rotary manipulator is detected, the method further includes: updating the material identification information of each of the process positions to the material identification information of the corresponding manipulator.

[0008] As a possible implementation, before updating the material identification information of the corresponding process position or the robotic arm, the method further includes: determining whether the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotary robotic arm are valid based on whether the material carrying status information and the material identification information match; if valid, performing the step of updating the material carrying status information of the corresponding process position.

[0009] As a feasible implementation, the material carrying status information also includes an unknown state; the step of determining whether the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are valid based on whether each of the material carrying status information and the material identification information matches includes: if the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is empty, or the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is not empty, then it is determined to be a match, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are valid; if the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is not empty, or the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is empty, then it is determined to be a mismatch, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are invalid; if the material carrying status information is unknown, then it is determined that the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are invalid.

[0010] As a possible implementation, the method further includes: if input material identification information is received, updating the material identification information of the process station or the rotary robot corresponding to the destination of the input material identification information to the input material identification information.

[0011] As a possible implementation, the method further includes: when the rotating robot performs a material picking action but does not perform a material placing action, if the initialization action of the rotating robot is obtained, the process position and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the rotating robot remain unchanged.

[0012] As a possible implementation, the method further includes: if the material placement action of the rotating robot is obtained and the process position does not receive material, then the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position remain unchanged, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the rotating robot are cleared, and an alarm message is output.

[0013] As one possible implementation, the semiconductor process equipment further includes a transfer robot for picking up and placing materials into the process chamber module. The method further includes: if the transfer robot is detected to place materials at the process position, then the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position where the materials are placed are updated to the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the transfer robot are cleared; or if the transfer robot is detected to pick up materials from the process position, then the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot are updated to the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position where the materials are picked up, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position where the materials are picked up are cleared.

[0014] This invention provides a process chamber module, comprising: at least two process stations; a rotary manipulator having at least two robotic arms for transferring materials between the process stations; and a controller including a memory and a processor, wherein when the memory is read by the processor, the above-described material transfer control method is executed.

[0015] As one possible implementation, the number of robotic arms is the same as the number of process stations.

[0016] In one feasible implementation, the robotic arms of the rotary manipulator are evenly arranged in the circumferential direction, and the process positions are also evenly arranged in the circumferential direction. When the rotary manipulator is not performing any action, the controller controls each robotic arm to be positioned between each process position. When the rotary manipulator performs a material picking operation, the controller controls the ejector pins of each process position to rise and controls the manipulator to rotate, so that each robotic arm is positioned at its respective process position, and then controls the robotic arms to rise to lift the material. When the rotary manipulator performs a material placing operation, the controller controls the manipulator to rotate, so that each robotic arm is positioned at its respective process position, controls the ejector pins of each process position to rise to receive the material, then controls the manipulator to rotate so that each robotic arm is positioned between each process position, and controls the ejector pins of each process position to descend to place the material at the process position.

[0017] As one possible implementation, each of the process stations is a process reaction chamber with an independent vacuum system.

[0018] This invention provides a semiconductor process apparatus, including: a transfer chamber; at least one of the aforementioned process chamber modules disposed around the transfer chamber; and a transfer robot disposed within the transfer chamber for picking up and placing materials into the process chamber modules.

[0019] The material transfer control method, process chamber module, and semiconductor process equipment provided in this invention realize material information transmission and data transfer during the material flow process. As the robot picks up and puts in the material, the material carrying status information is also transmitted synchronously, which can clearly identify the material position and avoid material information loss or confusion. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a top view of the four-cavity machine tool.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chamber manipulator;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a typical wafer information transmission and material transport process;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart of a material transfer control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the information transmission process of the windmill robot arm in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the data transfer process in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a material transfer control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

[0029] Taking a four-chamber machine as an example, its transmission system structure consists of a wafer cassette loading device (LoadPort, LP), an air turn robot (ATR), a pre-vacuum chamber (Loadlock, LL), a vacuum robot (VTR), and a process chamber module (ProcessModule, PM). The PM includes four process positions, each of which can be, for example, a process reaction chamber (RC) with an independent vacuum system. Figure 1 A top view of the four-cavity equipment is shown, illustrating three wafer cassette loading devices LP1, LP2, and LP3, four pre-vacuum chambers arranged in a double-layer configuration (LLA and LLB on the upper layer, LLC and LLD on the lower layer), and three process chamber modules, each with four process positions RC1, RC2, RC3, and RC4. Those skilled in the art will understand that the number of process positions in each process chamber module is not limited to four; more or fewer process positions are feasible.

[0030] The wafer is transferred within the four-chamber chamber by the lifting and rotation of the chamber rotary manipulator (CTR). Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the chamber manipulator is shown. Figure 2 Taking a windmill robot with four mutually perpendicular robotic arms as an example, with the initial direction of CTR pointing towards VTR as the reference, it is named arm1, and the others are named arm2, arm3, and arm4 in clockwise order. Those skilled in the art should understand that the number of robotic arms in a rotating robot is not limited to four; more or fewer robotic arms are feasible, and the number of robotic arms is the same as the number of process positions in the process chamber module.

[0031] Figure 3 This illustrates a typical wafer information transfer and material handling process. The software calculates the wafer's destination, directly assigns the wafer information parameters to the corresponding destination RC, and completes the transfer. The destinations for the two wafers on the VTR are RC2 and RC3. Based on the software scheduling calculation, information for wafer A is assigned to RC3, and information for wafer B is assigned to RC2. The VTR first transfers wafers A and B to positions RC1 and RC4 of the PM, respectively. The CTR then rotates 180 degrees clockwise, completing the wafer transfer.

[0032] A typical film transfer process is as follows:

[0033] 1. The chamber isolation door is opened. After the VTR removes two wafers from the LL at the same time, it is placed on the pins at positions RC1 and RC4 of the PM.

[0034] 2. The CTR rotates clockwise from the low position to below the wafer, rises to pick up the wafer, rotates 180 degrees, and lowers to place it on the pins of RC2 and RC3 (at this time, the wafer is transferred to the positions of RC2 and RC3). Then it rotates counterclockwise 45 degrees to hide the wafer.

[0035] 3. Take two more VTR chips and place them in positions RC1 and RC4;

[0036] 4. The chamber isolation door is closed.

[0037] The above process has at least the following problems:

[0038] 1. The material information in the chamber is only related to the input and output actions of the VTR. By default, the CTR can transfer the wafer to the correct position, and the material information does not transfer with the internal rotation of the CTR. If the CTR is manually rotated to change the position of the wafer, the material information cannot be transferred correctly, making the usage inflexible.

[0039] 2. If the CTR rotation generates an abnormal alarm or fails to rotate to the designated position as instructed, it will result in the loss or corruption of wafer material information. For example... Figure 3 As shown, material information A and B have been synchronized to positions RC3 and RC2. If the CTR rotation process is abnormally interrupted, the CTR will be manually initialized and returned to the initial Home position. Wafers A and B will then return to their initial positions, but the material information will still record the wafer positions as RC3 and RC2.

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic flowchart of a material transfer control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The method is applied to a process chamber module of a semiconductor process apparatus, which includes at least two process stations and a rotary manipulator having at least two robotic arms. The rotary manipulator is used to transfer materials between the process stations. Optionally, the number of robotic arms is the same as the number of process stations.

[0041] S402, obtain material loading status information for each process station and each robotic arm.

[0042] For example, the material carrying status information includes an occupied status and an idle status. The occupied status indicates that there is material at the process station or on the robot, while the idle status indicates that there is no material at the process station or on the robot. For example, the process station is a process chamber.

[0043] S404, when the material picking action of the rotary robot is detected, the correspondence between each robot arm and each process position of the picked material is obtained, the material carrying status information of each robot arm is updated to the material carrying status information of the corresponding process position, and the material carrying status information of each process position is set to idle state.

[0044] If a material-grabbing action by the robotic arm is detected, it indicates that the material has been picked up by the robotic arm from a certain process station and is now inside the robotic arm. At this point, it is necessary to synchronously update the material loading status information of that process station and the corresponding robotic arm. Specifically, the material loading status information of each robotic arm can be updated to the material loading status information of the corresponding process station, and the material loading status information of each process station can be set to an idle state, thereby achieving synchronization of material information transfer and position transfer.

[0045] S406, when the material-releasing action of the rotating robot is detected, the correspondence between each robot arm and each process position of the material being placed is obtained, the material loading status information of each process position is updated to the material loading status information of the corresponding robot arm, and the material loading status information of each robot arm is set to idle state.

[0046] If a material-releasing action by the robotic arm is detected, it indicates that the material has been transferred from the robotic arm to the process station. At this time, it is necessary to synchronously change the material loading status information of the process station and the corresponding robotic arm. Specifically, the material loading status information of each process station can be updated to the material loading status information of the corresponding robotic arm, and the material loading status information of each robotic arm can be set to an idle state, thereby realizing the synchronization of material information transfer and position transfer.

[0047] The material transfer control method provided in this embodiment of the invention realizes material information transmission and data transfer during the material flow process. As the robot picks up and puts in the material, the material carrying status information is also transmitted synchronously, which can clearly identify the material position and avoid material information loss or confusion.

[0048] During the update of the aforementioned material carrying status information, material identification information can also be transferred. This material identification information is used to identify the material's identity and may include at least one of the following: material source information, material number information, and material name information. It should be noted that the aforementioned material information can be stored in the controller of the process chamber module. By changing the material identification information corresponding to each process station and the robotic arm, the transfer of material identification information and data ferry can be achieved. Based on this, the above method may also include:

[0049] When a material-picking action by a rotary robotic arm is detected, the material identification information of each robotic arm is updated to the corresponding material identification information of the process station; or,

[0050] When the material placement action of the rotating robot is detected, the material identification information of each process station is updated to the corresponding material identification information of the robot arm.

[0051] Considering that the data at the process station or robotic arm may be abnormal or erroneous, continuing information transmission would lead to wider information corruption. Therefore, this embodiment also provides a verification step to confirm the validity of the aforementioned data. Specifically, before updating the material identification information to the corresponding process station or robotic arm, the method may further include the following steps:

[0052] Based on whether the material loading status information and material identification information match, determine whether the material loading status information and material identification information of the aforementioned process station and rotary robot are valid. If valid, execute the above steps to update the material loading status information to the corresponding process station. This material loading status information also includes unknown states.

[0053] If the material identification information is valid, the material carrying status information cannot be unknown, and it must match the material identification information; that is, occupied material identification information corresponds to available material identification information, and idle material identification information corresponds to unavailable material identification information. Specifically, the validity of the material information of the process station and the robot is determined by the following methods:

[0054] If the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is empty, or the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is not empty, then it is determined to be a match, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotary robot are valid.

[0055] If the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is not empty, or if the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is empty, then it is determined to be a mismatch, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotary robot are invalid.

[0056] If the material carrying status information is unknown, then the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are invalid.

[0057] If a material-grabbing action by the robotic arm is detected, it indicates that the material has been picked up by the robotic arm from a certain process station and is now inside the robotic arm. At this point, the material identification information of the material needs to be synchronously stored in the corresponding material identification information of the robotic arm. Specifically, the material identification information of the robotic arm can be updated to the material identification information of the process station where the material was picked up, thereby achieving synchronization of material information transfer and position transfer. Correspondingly, the material identification information of the process station is then cleared.

[0058] If a material-picking action by the robotic arm is detected, it indicates that the material has been transferred from the robotic arm to the process station. At this point, the material identification information of the material needs to be synchronously stored in the corresponding material identification information of the process station. Specifically, the material identification information of the process station can be updated to the material identification information of the robotic arm, thus synchronizing the information transfer and position transfer of the material. Correspondingly, the material identification information of the robotic arm that placed the material is cleared.

[0059] Semiconductor process equipment typically includes various devices with material transfer functions, such as the ATR, VTR, and CTR of the aforementioned four-chamber machine. Besides the CTR, which can transfer materials, the VTR can remove two wafers from the LL and place them into the RC1 and RC4 positions of the PM. If the semiconductor process equipment also includes a transfer robot for picking up and placing materials into the process chamber module, the above method may further include the following steps:

[0060] If the action of the transfer robot placing material at the process station is detected, the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station where the material is placed will be updated to the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the transfer robot will be cleared; or if the action of the transfer robot taking material from the process station is detected, the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot will be updated to the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station where the material is taken, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station where the material is taken will be cleared.

[0061] Clearing the material carrying status information means setting it to an idle state.

[0062] Continuing with the previous example, VTR places the wafer on RC1 and RC4. It is necessary to update the material identification information of RC1 and RC4 with the material identification information of the wafer, and correspondingly change the material carrying status information to realize data transmission and transfer.

[0063] During the material transfer process by the robotic arm, there may also be situations where materials are placed manually, including placing them at a specific process station or within the robotic arm, with the direct placement location being the material's destination. In this case, the destination and material information can be manually input. Based on this, the method may further include the following steps:

[0064] If input material identification information is received, the process station at the destination or the material information of the robot corresponding to the input material identification information will be updated to the input material identification information.

[0065] If a rotational anomaly alarm occurs during robot operation, or if the robot fails to rotate to the designated position as instructed, the robot will not complete the material placement action, requiring manual initialization and posing a risk of material information transmission errors. Therefore, the above method further includes: if the rotating robot performs a material picking action but not a material placement action, and an initialization action of the rotating robot is obtained, then the process position and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the rotating robot remain unchanged. Since in the above initialization case, the robot returns to the initial position carrying the material without transferring the material, the process position and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the robot are not changed, thus preventing information corruption.

[0066] If a placement error occurs during the operation of the robotic arm, resulting in materials not being correctly placed at a certain process station, there is a risk of material information transmission errors. Therefore, the above method further includes: if the material placement action of the rotating robotic arm is detected but the process station does not receive the material, then the material loading status information and material identification information of the process station remain unchanged, while the material loading status information and material identification information of the rotating robotic arm are cleared, and an alarm message is output.

[0067] The following embodiments use a material information transmission and data transfer control method of a windmill robot as an example for illustration. The software updates information in a timely manner based on the rising (picking up) and falling (placing up) actions of the windmill robot to clarify the material position and realize the free transfer of materials inside the chamber.

[0068] In such Figure 2 The cavity shown has four RC (Resistant Controllers) arranged in a 2x2 matrix. The VTR (Variable Relay Transmission) cannot directly place the wafer onto two RC positions that are too far apart. The windmill-like robotic arm consists of four mutually perpendicular robotic arms, which rotate to achieve synchronous transfer of all wafers. During transport, there are eight possible wafer placement positions: four RC pins and four CTR robotic arm arms.

[0069] The software provides eight slots for the chamber: four RCSlots and four ArmSlots, to represent the material status information of the Pin and Arm. The material information for each slot is encapsulated in a structure, as shown in Table 1.

[0070] Material Information illustrate Slot Material carrying status: -1 (Unknown), 0 (Absent), 1 (Present) LotID (batch number) The source of the material is displayed as empty if no wafer is available; if a wafer is available, the wafer's LotID is displayed. MaterialID The material number will be left blank if no wafer is available; if a wafer is available, the wafer's MaterialID will be displayed. MaterialName The material name will be left blank if no wafer is available; if a wafer is available, the wafer's MaterialName will be displayed.

[0071] Table 1

[0072] According to semiconductor factory automation standards, LotID, MaterialID, and MaterialName in Table 1 are unique information for each wafer and are therefore unique.

[0073] In this embodiment of the invention, the software refines the movement behavior (rise and fall) of the CTR, tracks the wafer position in real time, updates material information, and achieves data synchronization, thereby forming a software control method for data transfer. Figure 5 The flowchart illustrating the information transmission process of the windmill robotic arm is shown, including the following steps:

[0074] S501, software scheduling calculates the destination chamber for wafer transport.

[0075] S502, determine whether the contents of the 8 Slot structures in this chamber are valid.

[0076] Specifically, the Slot should not be "Unknown". When the Slot status is "Absent", other information items (LotID, MaterialID, MaterialName) must be empty; when the Slot status is "Present", other information items must not be empty. If the above conditions are met, it is valid and S503 or S504 is executed; otherwise, an alarm message is output directly.

[0077] S503: When the software subscribes to an increase in CTR (chip pick-up action), it updates the material information of the corresponding ArmSlot and clears the RCSlot.

[0078] S504: When the software subscribes to a CTR decrease (film release action), it updates the material information of the corresponding RCSlot and clears the ArmSlot.

[0079] If valid, the following data is recorded based on the hardware behavior of CTR. When the software subscribes to a rise in CTR (chip pick-up action), the RCSlot signal is sent to the ArmSlot, and the RCSlot is cleared, indicating successful chip pick-up; when the software subscribes to a fall in CTR (chip play-off action), the logic flow is reversed, the ArmSlot signal is sent to the RCSlot, and the ArmSlot is cleared, indicating successful chip play-off.

[0080] S505: Determine if the CTR action has ended. If yes, end; otherwise, return to execute S502.

[0081] When the process detects that the CTR continues to move, the control process will repeatedly execute the above steps.

[0082] The following embodiments use the transfer process of two wafers as an example to introduce the control system flow for the transfer of wafer and material information. Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the data transfer process is shown.

[0083] like Figure 6 As shown, there are two wafers (A and B) on the VTR. According to the software scheduling calculation, their destinations are RC2 and RC3, respectively. The transmission steps are as follows:

[0084] 1. Check if the status of each slot in the chamber is valid. If there is no wafer in the chamber, that is, the status of all 8 slots is 0, and the other material information is empty. VTR first transfers wafers A and B to the RC1 and RC4 positions of PM respectively, and at the same time updates the structure material information of RCSlot1 and RCSlot4, where the slot status value of RCSlot1 and RCSlot4 is 1, and the other 6 slots are 0.

[0085] 2. The CTR rotates 45 degrees clockwise from the low position, the robotic arm partially surrounds the pin, rises to the high position to lift the wafer, and simultaneously transfers the material information from the RCSlot to the corresponding ArmSlot. That is, the Slot status of ArmSlot1 and ArmSlot4 is 1, and all RCSlot information is cleared and the Slot is set to 0.

[0086] 3. Rotate the CTR 180 degrees clockwise, and the wafer will be directly above RC3 and RC2. During the rotation, there is no position change of the wafer between RC and Arm, so no data transfer is required.

[0087] 4. As the CTR decreases, the wafer is placed on the pins of RC2 and RC3. Simultaneously, the material information is transferred from the ArmSlot to the RCSlot, namely RCSlot3 and RCSlot2, and the ArmSlot is cleared.

[0088] 5. Rotate the CTR counterclockwise by 45 degrees until it is positioned between the two RCs, and the wafer transfer operation is complete.

[0089] This data transfer control method binds the rise and fall of CTR to the material information transmission behavior, tracking the wafer in real time.

[0090] In related technologies, wafer information is first transmitted to the destination slot structure, and then the wafer is transmitted to the designated location based on the calculation results. If hardware malfunctions or maintenance / debugging occurs during this process, and the wafer fails to reach the designated location, the wafer information remains stored in the destination slot structure, resulting in lost or corrupted wafer material information, failing to meet the wafer's stored information matching requirements. Taking the four-cavity machine mentioned above as an example, its material information transmission is only related to the input and output actions of the VTR, without considering the impact of CTR wafer holding rotation on material information transmission.

[0091] In this invention, material carrying status information and material identification information are transferred and transferred along with the wafer flow, unrestricted by VTR input and output commands. The CTR can rotate the wafer to any position, supporting manual movement without causing information corruption. It also supports control methods for more high-capacity chambers of the same rotation type. The method provided by this invention can solve the problem of not being able to automatically track wafers and provides ideas for the subsequent design and development of high-capacity chambers of the same rotation type.

[0092] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a material transfer control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device is applied to a process chamber module of a semiconductor process equipment. The process chamber module includes at least two process stations and a rotary manipulator. The rotary manipulator has at least two robotic arms and is used to transfer materials between the process stations. The device includes:

[0093] The information acquisition module 701 is used to acquire the material carrying status information of each process station and each robotic arm, the material carrying status information including occupied status and idle status;

[0094] The first update module 702 is used to, when detecting the material-picking action of the rotary manipulator, acquire the correspondence between each robotic arm and each process position of the picked-up material, update the material-carrying status information of each robotic arm to the material-carrying status information of the corresponding process position, and set the material-carrying status information of each process position to an idle state; or...

[0095] The second update module 703 is used to, when the material-releasing action of the rotating manipulator is detected, obtain the correspondence between each of the manipulators and the process positions of each material being placed, update the material-carrying status information of each process position to the material-carrying status information of the corresponding manipulator, and set the material-carrying status information of each manipulator to an idle state.

[0096] The material transfer control device provided in this embodiment of the invention realizes material information transmission and data transfer during the material flow process. As the robotic arm picks up and puts in the material, the material carrying status information is also transmitted synchronously, which can clearly identify the material position and avoid material information loss or confusion.

[0097] As an example, the number of robotic arms is the same as the number of process stations.

[0098] As an embodiment, the device further includes a third update module, configured to: when the material picking action of the rotary manipulator is detected, update the material identification information of each of the manipulators to the material identification information of the corresponding process position, wherein the material identification information includes at least one of the following: material source information, material number information, and material name information; or, when the material placing action of the rotary manipulator is detected, update the material identification information of each of the process positions to the material identification information of the corresponding manipulator.

[0099] As an embodiment, the device further includes a validity determination module, configured to: determine whether the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotary robot are valid based on whether the material carrying status information and the material identification information match; if valid, execute the step of updating the material carrying status information of the corresponding process position.

[0100] As one embodiment, the material carrying status information also includes an unknown status; the validity judgment module is specifically used for: if the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is empty, or the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is not empty, then it is determined to be a match, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are valid; if the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is not empty, or the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is empty, then it is determined to be a mismatch, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are invalid; if the material carrying status information is unknown, then it is determined that the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotating robot are invalid.

[0101] As an example, the device further includes a third update module, which is also used to: if input material identification information is received, update the process position at the destination corresponding to the input material identification information or the material identification information of the rotary robot to the input material identification information.

[0102] As an example, the third update module is further configured to: when the rotating robot performs a material picking action but does not perform a material placing action, if the initialization action of the rotating robot is obtained, then keep the process position and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the rotating robot unchanged.

[0103] As an example, the third update module is further configured to: if the material placement action of the rotating robot is obtained and the process position does not receive material, then keep the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position unchanged, clear the material carrying status information and material identification information of the rotating robot, and output alarm information.

[0104] As an example, the third update module is further configured to: if the action of the transfer robot placing material at the process station is obtained, update the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station where the material is placed to the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot, and clear the material carrying status information and material identification information of the transfer robot; or if the action of the transfer robot taking material from the process station is obtained, update the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot to the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station where the material is taken, and clear the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station where the material is taken.

[0105] This embodiment also provides a process chamber module, including: at least two process positions; a rotary manipulator having at least two robotic arms, the rotary manipulator being used to transfer materials between process positions, the number of robotic arms being the same as the number of process positions; and a controller including a memory and a processor, wherein when the memory is read by the processor, the above-described material transfer control method is executed.

[0106] As an example, the number of robotic arms is the same as the number of process stations.

[0107] As one embodiment, the robotic arms of the rotary manipulator are evenly arranged in the circumferential direction, and the process positions are also evenly arranged in the circumferential direction. When the rotary manipulator is not performing any action, the controller controls each robotic arm to be positioned between each process position. When the rotary manipulator performs a material picking operation, the controller controls the ejector pins of each process position to rise and controls the manipulator to rotate so that each robotic arm is positioned at its respective process position. Then, the controller controls the robotic arms to rise to lift the material. When the rotary manipulator performs a material placing operation, the controller controls the manipulator to rotate so that each robotic arm is positioned at its respective process position, controls the ejector pins of each process position to rise to receive the material, then controls the manipulator to rotate so that each robotic arm is positioned between each process position, and controls the ejector pins of each process position to descend to place the material at the process position.

[0108] As an example, each of the process sites is a process reaction chamber with an independent vacuum system.

[0109] This embodiment also provides a semiconductor process apparatus, including: a transfer chamber; at least one of the above-mentioned process chamber modules disposed around the transfer chamber; and a transfer robot disposed within the transfer chamber for picking up and placing materials into the process chamber module.

[0110] The process chamber module and semiconductor process equipment provided in this embodiment can realize each process in the above-mentioned material transfer control method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0111] This embodiment also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When executed by a processor, this computer program implements the various processes of the above-described material transfer control method embodiment and achieves the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here. The computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0112] Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes in the above embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instruction control device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the above method embodiments, wherein the storage medium can be a memory, a disk, an optical disk, etc.

[0113] While the present invention has been disclosed above, it is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various modifications and alterations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention; therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope defined in the claims.

[0114] Finally, it should be noted that in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0115] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. The material transfer control device and semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiments are described simply because they correspond to the material transfer control method disclosed in the above embodiments; relevant parts can be referred to the method section.

[0116] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A material transfer control method, characterized in that, A process chamber module for semiconductor process equipment, the process chamber module including at least two process stations and a rotary manipulator, the rotary manipulator being a windmill manipulator with at least two robotic arms, the rotary manipulator being used to transfer materials between the process stations, the number of robotic arms being the same as the number of process stations; the method includes: Obtain material carrying status information for each process station and each robotic arm, wherein the material carrying status information includes occupied status and idle status; When the material-picking action of the rotary manipulator is detected, the correspondence between each manipulator and each process position of the picked material is obtained, the material loading status information of each manipulator is updated to the material loading status information of the corresponding process position, and the material loading status information of each process position is set to an idle state; or When the material-releasing action of the rotary manipulator is detected, the correspondence between each manipulator and each process position of the material being placed is obtained, the material carrying status information of each process position is updated to the material carrying status information of the corresponding manipulator, and the material carrying status information of each manipulator is set to idle state.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the material-grabbing action of the rotary manipulator is detected, the method further includes: The material identification information of each robotic arm is updated to the corresponding material identification information of the process station. The material identification information includes at least one of the following: material source information, material number information, and material name information; or When the material-releasing action of the rotary manipulator is detected, the method further includes: The material identification information of each process station is updated to the corresponding material identification information of the robotic arm.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Before updating the material identification information to the corresponding process station or the robotic arm, the method further includes: Based on whether the material carrying status information and the material identification information match, determine whether the material carrying status information and the material identification information of the process position and the rotary manipulator are valid; If valid, perform the step of updating the material carrying status information to the corresponding process position.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The material carrying status information also includes an unknown status; the step of determining the validity of the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station and the rotary robot based on whether each of the material carrying status information and the material identification information matches includes: If the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is empty, or if the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is not empty, then it is determined to be a match, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotary robot are valid; If the material carrying status information is idle and the material identification information is not empty, or if the material carrying status information is occupied and the material identification information is empty, then it is determined to be a mismatch, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotary robot are invalid; If the material carrying status information is unknown, then the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position and the rotary manipulator are determined to be invalid.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: If input material identification information is received, the process station at the destination or the material identification information of the rotary robot corresponding to the input material identification information will be updated to the input material identification information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the rotating robot performs a material picking action but does not perform a material placing action, and the initialization action of the rotating robot is obtained, the process position and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the rotating robot remain unchanged.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the material placement action of the rotating robot is detected but the process station does not receive any material, the material loading status information and material identification information of the process station remain unchanged, and the material loading status information and material identification information of the rotating robot are cleared, and an alarm message is output.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The semiconductor process equipment further includes a transfer robot for picking up and placing materials into the process chamber module, and the method further includes: If the action of the transfer robot placing material at the process station is detected, the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process station where the material is placed are updated to the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the transfer robot are cleared; or If the action of the transfer robot taking material from the process position is detected, the material carrying status information and material identification information corresponding to the transfer robot are updated to the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position of the material being taken, and the material carrying status information and material identification information of the process position of the material being taken are cleared.

9. A process chamber module, characterized in that, include: At least two process positions; A rotary manipulator having at least two robotic arms, the rotary manipulator being used to transfer materials between the process stations; as well as The controller includes a memory and a processor, wherein when the memory is read by the processor, the material transfer control method of any one of claims 1-8 is executed.

10. The process chamber module according to claim 9, characterized in that, The number of robotic arms is the same as the number of process stations.

11. The process chamber module according to claim 9, characterized in that, The robotic arms of the rotary manipulator are evenly arranged in the circumferential direction, and the process positions are evenly arranged in the circumferential direction. When the rotating manipulator is not performing any action, the controller controls each manipulator to be positioned between its respective process positions. When the rotary robot performs the material picking operation, the controller controls the pins at each process position to rise and controls the robot to rotate so that each robot arm is located at its respective process position. Then, the controller controls the robot arm to rise to lift the material. When the rotating robot performs the material placement operation, the controller controls the robot to rotate so that each robot arm is located at each process position, controls the ejector pin of each process position to rise to receive the material, then controls the robot to rotate so that each robot arm is placed between each process position, and controls the ejector pin of each process position to descend to place the material at the process position.

12. The process chamber module according to any one of claims 9-11, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned process positions is a process reaction chamber with an independent vacuum system.

13. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized in that, include: Transmission chamber; At least one process chamber module as described in any one of claims 9-12 is disposed around the transfer chamber; A transfer robot arm is installed inside the transfer chamber to pick up and place materials into the process chamber module.

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