Automatic teaching method, device, equipment and medium for robot

Abstract

The present invention provides an automatic teaching method, device, equipment and medium for a robot. For a non-rotating processing device, only a guiding device that can make the wafer slide is needed. Compared with the existing teaching tools, the cost is low. Before teaching, it is only necessary to determine the initial position of the robot according to the approximate position of the guiding device. The robot repeats the operation of placing and removing the wafer on the guiding device according to the initial position, calculates the difference in the change of the wafer center on the robot before and after placing and removing the wafer, and continuously adjusts the initial position of the robot according to the difference until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to a first preset value. It is considered that the position change of the wafer center before and after the robot takes and places the wafer is small, that is, the wafer center and the reference position are close, so that the wafer center and the reference position of the guiding device of the non-rotating processing device are automatically aligned, thereby realizing automatic teaching of the robot. It is not only low in cost but also improves the accuracy and efficiency of teaching.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of electronic semiconductors, and in particular to an automatic teaching method, device, equipment and medium for a manipulator. Background Art

[0002] At present, in semiconductor equipment, the transfer of wafers between various processing devices in the equipment mainly relies on the handling of robots. Due to the high processing precision requirements of semiconductor equipment, the robot needs to achieve very high positioning accuracy when placing and removing wafers from various processing devices. However, there are many factors that affect whether the robot can accurately place and remove wafers from each processing device. The most important of these is teaching work. Teaching work refers to the wafer handling robot carrying the wafer to find the reference position of each processing device. The processing device includes a rotating processing device suitable for liquid processing components and other non-rotating processing devices. For example, the rotating processing device includes a coating unit, a developing unit, a front washing unit, a back washing unit and an edge exposure unit, etc. The non-rotating processing device includes a heat treatment unit, a cooling unit, a wall-penetrating unit and a cache unit, etc.

[0003] The existing teaching work mainly relies on a teaching pendant. The teaching personnel controls the robot arm to hold the teaching pendant and then observe with the naked eye to find the vertical teaching position. When the teaching pendant is in contact with the surface of the processing device, this position is the vertical teaching position. The horizontal teaching position also requires the help of the teaching pendant. When the center of the teaching pendant is aligned with the mechanical center of the processing device, this horizontal position is the horizontal teaching position. This method has the following disadvantages:

[0004] 1. It mainly relies on manpower, the teaching process is cumbersome, the teaching work is difficult, and the accuracy of the teaching position mainly depends on the experience of the teaching personnel. Therefore, the reliability and stability of the teaching results are poor.

[0005] 2. Existing teaching tools are expensive, inefficient, and have poor accuracy. They are also easily damaged during use, so they require regular inspection and calibration, resulting in low teaching efficiency and high teaching costs.

[0006] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an automatic teaching method, device, equipment and medium for a robot to improve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic teaching method, device, equipment and medium for a robot arm, which is used to realize automatic alignment of the center of a wafer and the reference position of a non-rotating processing device with high efficiency and low cost.

[0008] In a first aspect, a method for automatically teaching a robot arm comprises:

[0009] Get the initial position of the manipulator;

[0010] When the robot places the wafer on the guide device of the non-rotating processing device according to the initial position, the starting position of the center of the wafer on the robot is obtained; and after the wafer slides along the guide device, when the robot retrieves the wafer from the guide device according to the initial position, the deviation position of the center of the wafer on the robot from the starting position is obtained;

[0011] Calculate the difference between the starting position and the deviation position, and determine whether the difference is less than or equal to a first preset value; if not, adjust the initial position of the manipulator until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to the first preset value, and use the adjusted position of the manipulator as the horizontal coordinate of the reference position of the guide device to complete the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the horizontal direction.

[0012] The beneficial effects of the method of the present invention are as follows: for non-rotating processing devices, only a guiding device that can make the wafer slide is needed, which is low in cost compared to existing teaching tools. Before teaching, the initial position of the robot is determined according to the approximate position of the guiding device, and then the robot can automatically repeat the operation of placing and taking the wafer on the guiding device according to the initial position. By calculating the difference in the change of the center of the wafer on the robot before and after placing and taking, and then continuously adjusting the initial position of the robot according to the difference, until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to the first preset value, it is considered that the position change of the center of the wafer before and after sliding on the guiding device is small, that is, the wafer center and the reference position of the guiding device are close, and the adjusted position of the robot is used as the horizontal coordinate of the reference position of the guiding device, which not only realizes the automatic teaching of the robot in the horizontal direction, but also improves the accuracy and efficiency of the robot teaching.

[0013] Optionally, the method of obtaining the initial position of the manipulator includes: setting a guiding device with a guiding slope on the plane where the non-rotating processing device is located, the positional relationship between the non-rotating processing device and the guiding device is known, and determining the initial position of the manipulator based on the initial theoretical position of the guiding device.

[0014] Optionally, the guiding device includes more than three guiding members, each of which has a guiding bevel and a placement surface; the diameter of the circle formed by the placement surfaces of all the guiding members is larger than the diameter of the wafer, and the difference between the two is in the range of 0-0.3mm. Its beneficial effect is that by providing guiding members with guiding bevels and placement surfaces, and setting the diameter of the circle formed by the placement surfaces of all the guiding members to be slightly larger than the diameter of the wafer, after the wafer slides onto the placement surface, the error between the center of the wafer and the reference position is within a smaller range, which not only achieves preliminary calibration, shortens the time required for teaching, and improves teaching efficiency, but also facilitates the subsequent robot to find the coordinate point with smaller error between the center of the wafer and the reference position during multiple placement and retrieval operations on the wafer, thereby improving the accuracy of the robot's automatic teaching.

[0015] Optionally, the starting position and the offset position of the wafer center are both determined by the wafer automatic centering function. The beneficial effect is that the automatic teaching of the robot is achieved by utilizing the inherent functions of the semiconductor device, and the teaching cost is low.

[0016] Optionally, the difference satisfies the following formula:

[0017] △X=X1-X2

[0018] △Y=Y1-Y2

[0019] Among them, (X1, Y1) is the starting position coordinate of the wafer center on the robot, (X2, Y2) is the deviation position coordinate of the wafer center on the robot from the starting position, △X is the difference between the starting position and the deviation position on the X-axis, and △Y is the difference between the starting position and the deviation position on the Y-axis.

[0020] Optionally, the method further includes: the manipulator moves the wafer to above the guiding device according to the horizontal coordinate of the reference position; sets the single descent distance of the manipulator; and sets the rising distance of the manipulator when the manipulator cannot detect the wafer after descending, wherein the rising distance of the manipulator is greater than the single descent distance; and finds the vertical coordinate of the reference position of the guiding device by gradually reducing the difference between the single descent distance and the rising distance of the manipulator, thereby completing the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the vertical direction. The beneficial effect is that the addition of automatic teaching in the vertical direction can not only avoid damage to the wafer due to excessive falling distance when the manipulator places the wafer, but also avoid the problem of reduced processing efficiency due to increased movement distance of the manipulator when the manipulator retrieves the wafer.

[0021] Optionally, the method of finding the vertical coordinate of the reference position by gradually reducing the difference between the single descent distance and the rising distance of the manipulator includes: when the manipulator rises according to the rising distance, setting the new single descent distance to half of the rising distance; when the manipulator cannot detect the wafer after descending according to the new single descent distance, setting the new rising distance of the manipulator to half of the new descent distance; until the difference between the new rising distance and the new single descent distance is less than or equal to a second preset value, the vertical coordinate of the manipulator's position is used as the vertical coordinate of the reference position. The beneficial effect is that by gradually reducing the difference between the single descent distance and the rising distance of the manipulator, until the difference between the two is less than or equal to a second preset value, the vertical coordinate of the manipulator's position is used as the vertical coordinate of the reference position, thereby achieving automatic teaching of the manipulator's vertical direction with high accuracy.

[0022] In a second aspect, an automatic teaching device for a manipulator comprises:

[0023] An acquisition unit, used to obtain the initial position of the manipulator;

[0024] The acquisition unit is configured to acquire the starting position of the wafer center on the manipulator when the manipulator places the wafer on the guide device of the non-rotating processing device according to the initial position; the acquisition unit is configured to acquire the deviation position of the wafer center on the manipulator from the starting position when the manipulator retrieves the wafer from the guide device according to the initial position after the wafer slides along the guide device;

[0025] The processing unit is used to calculate the difference between the starting position and the deviation position, and determine whether the difference is less than or equal to a first preset value; if not, the initial position of the manipulator is adjusted until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to the first preset value, and the adjusted position of the manipulator is used as the horizontal coordinate of the reference position of the guide device to complete the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the horizontal direction.

[0026] In a third aspect, the present invention provides an electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a program that can be run on the processor, and when the program is executed by the processor, the electronic device implements a method for executing any possible design of any of the above aspects.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a readable storage medium, wherein the readable storage medium stores a program, and when the program is executed, it implements any possible design method of any of the above aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1A schematic diagram of the process flow of the automatic teaching method for a manipulator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a guide member provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of a guide device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a process for automatically teaching a manipulator on a guide device of a non-rotating processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a process in which a wafer slides along a guiding device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the Z-axis automatic teaching process provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of an automatic teaching device for a manipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 A schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein should be the common meanings understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present invention belongs. The words "including" and similar words used in this article mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.

[0037] like Figure 1 As shown, in order to solve the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides an automatic teaching method for a manipulator, which is used to realize automatic teaching of a non-rotating processing device in a semiconductor device by a manipulator, such as a heat treatment unit, a cooling unit, a through-wall unit, and a cache unit, etc., comprising:

[0038] X / Y axis automatic teaching process:

[0039] S101, obtaining the initial position of the robot.

[0040] In some embodiments, obtaining the initial position of the manipulator includes: disposing a guiding device having a guiding bevel on the plane where the non-rotating processing device resides, wherein the positional relationship between the non-rotating processing device and the guiding device is known, and determining the initial position of the manipulator based on the initial theoretical position of the guiding device. In this embodiment, before determining the initial position of the manipulator, a corresponding coordinate system is first established. For example, a three-dimensional coordinate system is established within the semiconductor device, and the coordinates of each non-rotating processing device within the device are obtained within the three-dimensional coordinate system. Then, based on the positional relationship between the guiding device and the corresponding non-rotating processing device, the initial theoretical position of the guiding device is determined, and the initial position of the manipulator is determined based on the initial theoretical position. It should be noted that after establishing the three-dimensional coordinate system within the semiconductor device, the coordinates of each non-rotating processing device obtained are theoretical coordinates, which may actually contain errors. The purpose of the teaching process is to determine the actual coordinates of each non-rotating processing device, and then to modify the stored theoretical coordinates to the actual coordinates.

[0041] In some specific embodiments, the guiding device includes three or more guiding members, each of which has a guiding slope and a placement surface; the diameter of the circle formed by the placement surfaces of all the guiding members is larger than the diameter of the wafer, and the difference between the two is in the range of 0-0.3 mm. For example, Figure 2 As shown, the guide members 200 each have a guide slope 201 and a placement surface 202; Figure 3 As shown, the guiding device includes four symmetrically arranged guiding members 301. The diameter of the circle formed by the placement surfaces of the four guiding members 301 is 300.3 mm. The diameter of the wafer 302 placed on the guiding device is 300 mm. Figure 4 As shown, the non-rotating processing device 401 and the guiding device 403 are arranged on the same plane, and all the guiding parts of the guiding device 403 are fixedly installed on the plane. The robot 404 places / retrieves the wafer 402 on the guiding device 403 according to the initial position. In this embodiment, the non-rotating processing device 401 is a heat treatment unit in the semiconductor equipment.

[0042] S102, when the robot places the wafer on the guiding device of the non-rotating processing device according to the initial position, the starting position of the wafer center on the robot is obtained; and after the wafer slides along the guiding device, when the robot retrieves the wafer from the guiding device according to the initial position, the deviation position of the wafer center on the robot from the starting position is obtained.

[0043] In some embodiments, the starting position and offset position of the wafer center are determined by the wafer automatic centering function. It should be noted that the wafer automatic centering function can only determine the wafer center when the wafer is on the robot. Therefore, during the robot automatic teaching process, only the initial position coordinates of the robot and the change in the relative position of the wafer center on the robot before and after the robot places the wafer based on the initial position are known. For example, Figure 5 As shown, when the robot 502 places the wafer 503 on the guiding device 501 according to the initial position, the semiconductor device's own wafer automatic centering function determines the starting position (X1, Y1) of the wafer center 505 on the robot 502 at this time, that is, the wafer placement center. Since the wafer center 505 and the guiding device reference position 504 are quite different, the wafer 503 will slide along the guiding slope of the guiding device 501 to the lower right until it slides to the placement surface of the guiding device 501. At this time, the error between the wafer center 505 and the reference position 504 is within 0.3mm. When the robot 502 retrieves the wafer 503 based on the original initial position, the position of the wafer center 505 on the robot 502 will change. The semiconductor device's own wafer automatic centering function again determines the deviation position (X2, Y2) of the wafer center 505 after it deviates from the starting position on the robot 502, that is, the wafer retrieval center.

[0044] S103, calculate the difference between the starting position (X1, Y1) and the deviation position (X2, Y2), and determine whether the difference is less than or equal to a first preset value; if not, adjust the initial position of the manipulator until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to the first preset value, and use the adjusted position of the manipulator as the horizontal coordinate of the reference position of the guiding device to complete the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the horizontal direction. In the automatic teaching process of the non-rotating processing device, only the guiding device with a guiding bevel and the automatic wafer centering function of the semiconductor equipment itself are required. Compared with the existing expensive teaching tools, the guiding device has a low cost, and the guiding device itself can perform preliminary calibration, shortening the teaching required for automatic teaching, thereby improving the teaching efficiency.

[0045] In some embodiments, the difference satisfies the following formula:

[0046]

[0047] △Y=Y1-Y2

[0048] Among them, (X1, Y1) is the starting position coordinate of the wafer center on the robot, (X2, Y2) is the deviation position coordinate of the wafer center on the robot from the starting position, △X is the difference between the starting position and the deviation position on the X-axis, and △Y is the difference between the starting position and the deviation position on the Y-axis.

[0049] Regarding the setting of the first preset value, in some specific embodiments, a common first preset value a1 can be set. Only when the absolute value of ΔX and the absolute value of ΔY are both less than or equal to a1, it is considered that the position change of the wafer center before and after the wafer slides is small, that is, the wafer center and the guide device reference position are close. In this case, the position of the manipulator after adjustment is used as the horizontal coordinate of the guide device reference position. Alternatively, two first preset values a2 and a3 can be set as needed. Only when the absolute value of ΔX is less than or equal to a2 and the absolute value of ΔY is less than or equal to a3, it is considered that the position change of the wafer center before and after the wafer slides is small, that is, the wafer center and the guide device reference position are close. In this case, the position of the manipulator after adjustment is used as the horizontal coordinate of the guide device reference position.

[0050] In order to prevent the problem of the wafer being damaged due to the high drop distance when the robot places the wafer, and the problem of the robot moving a long distance when retrieving the wafer, which leads to slow processing efficiency, some embodiments also include a Z-axis automatic teaching process:

[0051] The robot moves the wafer to above the guiding device according to the horizontal coordinate of the reference position; sets the single descent distance of the robot; and when the robot cannot detect the wafer after descending, sets the rising distance of the robot, and the rising distance of the robot is greater than the single descent distance; by gradually reducing the difference between the single descent distance and the rising distance of the robot, the vertical coordinate of the reference position of the guiding device is found, and the automatic teaching of the robot in the vertical direction is completed.

[0052] In some specific embodiments, the step of gradually reducing the difference between the single descent distance and the ascending distance of the manipulator to find the vertical coordinate of the reference position includes: after the manipulator ascends according to the ascending distance, setting the new single descent distance to half of the ascending distance; when the manipulator cannot detect the wafer after descending according to the new single descent distance, setting the new ascending distance of the manipulator to half of the new descending distance; until the difference between the new ascending distance and the new single descent distance is less than or equal to a second preset value, using the vertical coordinate of the manipulator's position as the vertical coordinate of the reference position. It should be understood that the second preset value can be set according to the actual required accuracy, or can be directly set to 0.

[0053] For ease of understanding, this embodiment further illustrates the specific implementation method of the Z-axis automatic teaching in combination with a specific application scenario system. Figure 6 As shown, the specific steps include:

[0054] In step a, after the robot 601 brings the wafer 603 to the top of the guiding device 602 according to the horizontal coordinate of the reference position, the vacuum of the robot 601 is turned off, and then the robot 601 moves downward by 2 mm. Then the vacuum is turned on to detect whether the wafer 603 is still on the robot 601. If it is, the robot 601 is moved downward by 2 mm while the vacuum is turned off. The above operation is repeated until the vacuum detects no wafer 603, that is, the wafer 603 has been placed on the placement surface of the guiding device 602.

[0055] In step b, when the vacuum cannot detect the wafer 603, the robot arm 601 automatically rises 2.4 mm, and then changes the 2 mm in step a to 1.2 mm and repeats the operation of step a.

[0056] Step c, repeat steps a to b until the position between the wafer 603 and the placement surface of the guiding device 602 is confirmed, that is, when the second preset value is 0, the vertical coordinate of the position of the robot 601 is used as the vertical coordinate of the reference position of the guiding device 602.

[0057] like Figure 7 As shown, based on the above-mentioned automatic teaching method of a manipulator, the present invention provides an automatic teaching device for a manipulator, including an acquisition unit 701, for acquiring the initial position of the manipulator; the acquisition unit 701, for acquiring the starting position of the center of the wafer on the manipulator when the manipulator places the wafer on the guiding device of the non-rotating processing device according to the initial position; the acquisition unit 701, for acquiring the deviation position of the center of the wafer on the manipulator from the starting position when the manipulator retrieves the wafer from the guiding device according to the initial position after the wafer slides along the guiding device; a processing unit 702, for calculating the difference between the starting position and the deviation position, and judging whether the difference is less than or equal to a first preset value; if not, adjusting the initial position of the manipulator until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to the first preset value, and using the adjusted position of the manipulator as the horizontal coordinate of the reference position of the guiding device to complete the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the horizontal direction.

[0058] It should be understood that all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0059] like Figure 8As shown, in other embodiments of the present invention, an electronic device 800 is disclosed, which may include: one or more processors 801; a memory 802; a display 803; one or more applications (not shown); and one or more computer programs 804. The above components may be connected via one or more communication buses 805. The one or more computer programs 804 are stored in the memory 802 and configured to be executed by the one or more processors 801. The one or more computer programs 804 include instructions, which may be used to execute the following: Figure 1 Each step in the corresponding embodiment.

[0060] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations of these embodiments are possible. However, it should be understood that such modifications and variations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention as set forth in the claims. Furthermore, the invention described herein is susceptible to other embodiments and may be practiced or implemented in a variety of ways.

Claims

1. An automatic teaching method for a manipulator, characterized in that: include: A guide device having a guide slope is provided on the plane where the non-rotating processing device is located, the positional relationship between the non-rotating processing device and the guide device is known, and the initial position of the manipulator is determined according to the initial theoretical position of the guide device; When the robot places the wafer on the guide device of the non-rotating processing device according to the initial position, the starting position of the center of the wafer on the robot is obtained; and after the wafer slides along the guide device, when the robot retrieves the wafer from the guide device according to the initial position, the deviation position of the center of the wafer on the robot from the starting position is obtained; Calculate the difference between the starting position and the deviation position, and determine whether the difference is less than or equal to a first preset value; if not, adjust the initial position of the manipulator until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to the first preset value, and use the adjusted position of the manipulator as the horizontal coordinate of the reference position of the guide device to complete the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the horizontal direction.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The guiding device includes more than three guiding members, each of which has a guiding slope and a placement surface; The diameter of the circle formed by the placement surfaces of all the guides is larger than the diameter of the wafer, and the difference between the two is in the range of 0-0.3 mm.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The starting position and offset position of the wafer center are both determined by the wafer automatic centering function.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The difference satisfies the following formula: △X=X1-X2 △Y=Y1-Y2 Wherein, (X1, Y1) is the starting position coordinate of the wafer center on the robot arm, (X2, Y2) is the offset position coordinate of the wafer center on the robot arm from the starting position, △X is the difference between the starting position and the offset position on the X-axis, and △Y is the difference between the starting position and the offset position on the Y-axis.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that Also includes: The robot moves the wafer to above the guiding device according to the horizontal coordinate of the reference position; Setting the single descent distance of the manipulator; and when the robot cannot detect the wafer after descending, setting the ascending distance of the robot, the ascending distance of the robot being greater than the single descending distance; The vertical coordinate of the reference position of the guiding device is found by gradually reducing the difference between the single descent distance and the ascending distance of the manipulator, thereby completing the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the vertical direction.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The step of finding the vertical coordinate of the reference position by gradually reducing the difference between the single descent distance and the ascending distance of the manipulator comprises: After the manipulator rises according to the rising distance, a new single descent distance is set to half of the rising distance; When the robot cannot detect the wafer after descending according to the new single descent distance, the new rising distance of the robot is set to half of the new descent distance; until the difference between the new rising distance and the new single descent distance is less than or equal to a second preset value, the vertical coordinate of the position of the robot is used as the vertical coordinate of the reference position.

7. An automatic teaching device for a manipulator, characterized in that: include: an acquisition unit, configured to arrange a guide device having a guide slope on the plane where the non-rotating processing device is located, wherein the positional relationship between the non-rotating processing device and the guide device is known, and to determine the initial position of the manipulator according to the initial theoretical position of the guide device; The acquisition unit is used to acquire the starting position of the center of the wafer on the robot when the robot places the wafer on the guide device of the non-rotating processing device according to the initial position; The acquisition unit is configured to acquire a deviation position of the wafer center on the manipulator from the starting position when the manipulator retrieves the wafer from the guide device according to the initial position after the wafer slides along the guide device; The processing unit is used to calculate the difference between the starting position and the deviation position, and determine whether the difference is less than or equal to a first preset value; if not, the initial position of the manipulator is adjusted until the adjusted difference is less than or equal to the first preset value, and the adjusted position of the manipulator is used as the horizontal coordinate of the reference position of the guide device to complete the automatic teaching of the manipulator in the horizontal direction.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a program that can be run on the processor, and when the program is executed by the processor, the electronic device implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. A readable storage medium having a program stored therein, characterized in that: When the program is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is implemented.

Images